Monday, July 4, 2022

Her Space Holiday - The Astronauts Are Sleeping Vol. 1 (1999)


My wife and I have been living in the same house since September of 2009. The first time July 4th came around when we were living here, we had walked up the street to our friend's house, and when the two of us got back to our house, we couldn't help but notice the full-on, professional level (read: outrageously expensive) fireworks party happening in the elementary school parking lot directly across the street from our house. So we sat out on our elevated patio, drinking and watching the show 'til it petered out a little after midnight. I think our friend had given us some painkillers earlier. Great night.

The next year, we invited some folks over to BBQ, keeping our fingers crossed that the fireworks people would show up again. And they did, and it was fucking incredible again. So the NEXT year, we went all out, and threw probably the biggest banger of a party we've ever had here. Tons of people showed up, including the fireworks folks -- there were topless ladies setting off fireworks in the street, a dance floor on the patio, people partying on the roof and fucking in the basement, and just good, good vibes. One of the best nights.

This went on for the next few years, albeit never getting quite as wild as that one. Then one year, our dumb-dick neighbors had been shooting Roman candles directly at this big hedge that acted as a wall around the edge of the parking lot, and surprise, surprise: it caught fire. Within minutes, the whole goddamn thing was ablaze -- remember, we're talking about a hedge that encircles an entire elementary school parking lot -- and total pandemonium ensued. My wife was in Australia at the time, and she called me in a panic because someone at the party had posted a shaky, 10-second video on Facebook of a blazing inferno and someone shouting my name over and over (they were trying to get me to move my car out of harm's way.) Not a good night.

That was the last year the fireworks people showed up. It was also the last year before Donald Trump the Politician came looming into view, reminding anyone who needed reminding that whatever progress one may have thought that we as a country had made -- culturally, politically -- was an illusion, and that active regression was the name of the game. The next year, we went to our friend's house for a daytime BBQ, but no one really felt like partying. And that's where we've been since. The past few years, we've spent the 4th hunkered down with our cats, who honestly seem to handle all the noise pretty well. And every year, there's something terrible in the news that begs the question: What's to fucking celebrate? This year is obviously no different, and I don't have to tell you or provide links for you to know exactly what I'm talking about.

So, what does all of this have to do with a low-key, lo-fi-ish slowcore album, you ask? Probably not a lot, honestly. I initially thought of this record because the final track is based on recordings made in Her Space Holiday's backyard on July 4th, 1996 -- he apparently set up mics to record the neighborhood's fireworks, recorded some improvisations in real time, then recorded overdubs the next day. But listening to it now, it's making a lot more sense. The wistful guitar lines, the sweet, murmuring vocals, the analogue, dimly-lit atmosphere -- it's taking me back to that first year with my wife, sitting quietly, feeling warm and full of love, and watching the lights burst into massive, sparkling clouds that dissipated as soon as we laid eyes on them.

Track listing:
1. The Astronauts Are Sleeping (Enter)
2. Promised a Flight
3. Slide Guitars and Moving Cars
4. Our Favorite Day
5. Sweet Baby Jesus
6. Explosion Existence
7. The Astronauts Are Sleeping (Exit)
8. The Fourth of July


Similar vibes:

20 comments:

  1. beautiful write up - this record sound amazing, gonna have to throw it on today. Happy 4th!

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  2. Thanks for the story in spite of the sour feeling. Keep it up Man..

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  3. Baller shit, brah.

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  4. Well written. A good read with a good point.

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  5. sure. great points. but it really does not matter who is in office. it is really all the same with any president. if we all could get along better then this would help out the most.

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    1. I brought up Trump as a cultural/political symbol. It's true that American culture is largely the same regardless of who's president, although I do think that Trump tapped into a particularly toxic strain of nationalism and encouraged people to really run with it. I also think it matters who the president is, because, for instance, the president gets to appoint judges to lifelong positions, and those positions have direct impacts on the lives of literally millions of Americans. That being said, Biden is a fucking embarrassment and honestly probably not fit to be President. And sure, it'd be nice if we could all get along, but if history has taught us anything, it's that that's pretty much impossible.

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    2. When "it really does not matter who is in office" is uttered by someone I don't know, I turn and walk quickly away.

      But please, DEAR_SPIRIT, why have you not written a book? Stories like this.

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  6. Than you for sharing part of your world, the beauty therein. I would certainly read more.

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  7. Oh WOW !......what a fantastic album and thank you DEAR_SPIRIT for introducing me to the music of Marc Bianchif .....Love & Peace Stu

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  8. Thank you for the great prose. I do agree that Trump tapped into, and legitimized, some particularly vile undercurrents in our country, And brought then to the fore. It does make it difficult to feel celebratory. But, thank you for all the wonderful music!

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  9. Thank you for posting this. I didn't know anything about this artist, but his music turned out to be just what I needed today.

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  10. Of course it matters who is the president of a country. If anything, it's the result AND an indicator of where a society is heading. So good luck...

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  11. DEAR_SPIRIT do you have The Astronauts Are Sleeping, Volume 2 by any chance ?....so loving their music.......Love & Peace Stu

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    1. Absolutely, glad you like this:
      https://mega.nz/file/QO1jmJgR#QfPn8fLtLJacaZgTa13BAohf7ziaO6_qj5ymrh3mQ6k

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  12. DEAR_SPIRIT you are a Gentleman and a Scholar and can't thank you enough for responding to my request. .....I am totally blown away with their music......have a great weekend my friend ....Love & Peace Stu

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  13. the thing about that hedge catching on fire was that i left to go get beer or maybe drugs or check out another party or something and when i got back the hedge had lit up and firepeople were putting it out and suddenly everyone was gone and i missed the best part... wish i had been around for the banger years before!

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    1. That's funny, when I posted this I was thinking, "I wonder if anyone who was there is gonna read this." Are/were we friends? I can't remember who was there that year.

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  14. Just got around to having a listen to this - what a perfectly beautiful record. Thanks for the intro, ima DL volume 2 cos this is really great

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  15. Oh and the party with the hedge fire sounded lit ha ha

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  16. This was an incredible read. Thank you for sharing this little slice of your life.
    My family and I feel the same, it is very difficult to feel celebratory with all the fucking bullshit. Keep up the great work, keep fighting the good fight.

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