Summertime...

...and the livin' is SPACEY!

So why not a rambling, ambling, bRambling summery set? Like lying in the hammock on the front porch at twilight watching the comets and satellites and pondering DEEP SPACE, this set should conjure the bliss of summer and space simultaneously. What better place to start than SF space-folkies The Dodos? Their poly-percussive acoustic-to-fuzz blasts and ethereal harmonies are what summer music is all about. Another stalwart on the SF psych scene, Lumerians bring the drift and sway to your myoclonic hammock, creating passage to the semiconscious state best achieved on warm summer evenings. Altered states are what The Black Ryder are all about, and this track is no exception with its wall of guitar trance and transcendence. And how about "surfgaze" (surf rock + shoegaze)? Can that be a genre? It certainly won't seem far-fetched after you hear this track from the guitar-centric gals in No Joy.

Continuing on from previous playlists, I'm still exploring the oeuvre of Bailterspace, and their unlikely melding of beauty and chaos, thus this track from what many call their finest album. Similarly, Swirlies combine dream pop jangle and sturm-und-drang metallic crunch on this track from what appears to be their career opus. Yet another track from The Psychic Paramount, more monstrous motorik for your pleasure. And the recent self-titled Bardo Pond could be called their best yet, without hypebole. Witness the grandeur of this track.

The strummin' and pickin' of that track (rather uncharacteristic for Bardo Pond, until the distortion storm hits) eases a segue into back-porch heat-lightning acoustica for the rest of the set. Blues Control is just plain WEIRD. Their modus is usually ultra lo-fi meandering with prominent piano and ubiquitous noise, but this track is more of an off-kilter folky rumination. The all-star Desert Sessions make another appearance here (see previous installments) with an aptly named twangy blooz jam. Avant guitarist Chris Forsyth shows us his hip-shakin' side. Gunn-Trusckinski Duo (on guitar and drums, respectively ) continue the theme with their take on acoustic raga. Ben Chasny's Six Organs (he's the lead guitarist for Comets On Fire) excels at such mantric explorations, as is compellingly illustrated here. The UK's answer to John Fahey, James Blackshaw fits right into this set, for obvious reasons. And why not cap it off with the epic somnambulant bliss of Japan's Acid Mother's Temple? Indeed.

Nighty-night!

For you traditionalists who don't mind streaming from this site, the following tracks should appear in the first player below:

The Spacerock Continuum Theme - bRambles
Going Under - The Dodos - No Color
Atlanta Brook - Lumerians - Transmalinnia
Gone Without Feeling - The Black Ryder - Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride
Hawaii - No Joy - Ghost Blonde
Get Lost - Bailterspace - Robot World
San Cristobal De Las Casas - Swirlies - They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days In The Glittering World Of The Salons
DDB - The Psychic Paramount - II
Just Once - Bardo Pond - s/t
Glen Fandango - Blues Control - A Full Tank
Creosote - The Desert Sessions - Desert Sessions, Vol. 10
New Pharmacist Boogie (For Jack) - Chris Forsyth - Paranoid Cat
Taksim II - Gunn-Truscinski Duo - Sand City
S/Word & Leviathan - Six Organs Of Admittance - Asleep On The Floodplain
The Elk With Jade Eyes - James Blackshaw- O True Believers
Soleil De Cristal Et Lune d'Argent - Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Univers Zen Ou de Zero a Zero



But don't forget, you now have the option of spacerock to go:

1. Click on the Kadoo logo instead of pushing the play button in the player below.

2. Click "download" when redirected to the Divshare site.

3. Once downloaded drag it to yer iTunes and sync it with yer pod - simple!