We’re delighted to debut Space Fight’s “Who Do You Think You’re Foolin’?” video from their brand new full length, All Systems Wait out now on the Glasstone Records imprint. And we’ve got a record rummage with the band’s Spencer Miles.
—Ed.
U2 – Achtung Baby, War | U2 is the band that made me want to be a musician. I got Achtung Baby on cassette for my 12th birthday. When that first chord on “Zoo Station” hit, my mind was blown. I immediately wanted to be a rock guitarist. When I got War on vinyl later that year for 25¢ at a garage sale, I must have played it a thousand times, trying to absorb those unbelievable punk-influenced guitar tones.
Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy | Everyone had their High School Zeppelin phase. I had an obsession. The bass lines on Houses of the Holy, especially “The Song Remains the Same,” are otherworldly. I didn’t know who James Jamerson was yet, but John Paul Jones was my first favorite bassist, and his playing resonated with me deeply, so I started the switch from guitar to bass.
The Beatles – “The White Album” | My Dad had an original numbered vinyl copy of “The White Album” from his college days that had seen its share of wear and tear. When I discovered it in my later teens, I destroyed it. Paul’s bass is as much a melodic instrument as a support instrument, and it changed forever what I believed was possible as a bass player, not to mention as a writer. Compositionally, “The White Album” is the Beatles at their experimental and emotional best, evidenced on Harrison’s crushingly beautiful “Long, Long, Long,” among others. Thirty songs to be exact. Unreal.
The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds | The first time I listened to Pet Sounds when I was in college, I wasn’t overly impressed. It seemed a bit simple and not all that exciting. Fortunately, I gave it a second chance. Then a third. After about the 10th listen, I was convinced it was the greatest thing I had ever heard. Every song is perfect, but “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times” may be the most amazing song of any time. Brian’s original mono mix on vinyl is the only way to listen to it, obviously. The stereo remix is pointless.
Steely Dan – Aja | Another album I didn’t know what to make of the first time I heard it is Steely Dan’s Aja. It was also another record from my Dad’s collection. I tried to listen to it when I was around 15, but it sounded pretty lame to me. I rediscovered it a few years later when my tastes had evolved a bit. Perhaps no other band in rock history expanded the boundaries so completely in every category simultaneously, including lyrics, chord progressions, vocal harmonies, musicianship, arrangements, melodies, production, and the list goes on. “Deacon Blues” is an amazing example of all of the above, an incredible blend of jazz and rock that no one before or since could master like Steely Dan.
—Spencer Miles, vocals/guitar
