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Rating:
They might not have been the first to do it, nor the best (or maybe they are), but Men or Astro-Man? possess a series of qualities that make it impossible for me not to deeply appreciate them:
-Instrumental surf music is beautiful and they do it well.
-They create chaos: a lot has happened between Dick Dale and them, one of which is punk.
-Fifties sci-fi is beautiful and they abuse it like the Misfits abuse Corman's horror films.
-Their album covers are gorgeous.
Unfortunately, their offering also has very significant limits. I think they know this well too:
-As beautiful as they are, after a while the songs might all start to sound a bit similar.
-As great as they are, after a while their albums might all start to sound a bit similar.
-As good as they are, after a while surf rock bands might all start to sound a bit similar.
-The themes they tackle are solely surf and fifties sci-fi. (on second thought, this is an asset)
That said, Men or Astro-Man? have been the musical accompaniment for important moments of my life:
-I was stuck in traffic on the freeway, imagining surfing in space like in Dark Star.
-I was on my bicycle wondering who would win in a showdown between Gort and Robbie.
-I was in the shower wondering how Moonraker would have been with Sean Connery instead of Roger Moore.
-I was sitting on the toilet wondering how Total Recall would have been if Verhoeven had directed it twenty years earlier with Charlton Heston instead of Schwarzenegger.
Notable qualities for a band I remembered by noticing a poster in the kid's room while rewatching Small Soldiers. I haven't rediscovered other noteworthy bands thanks to that little classic of my childhood. Led Zeppelin is mentioned, but they didn't need me to remember them, and you can hear the version of Another One Bites the Dust by Queen with Wyclef Jean rapping, and perhaps it would have been better if I had forgotten that one. Destroy all Astromen! is the second album by Men or Astro-Men?, it was released in 1994, and it collects tracks already released on various EPs in the previous year.
Tracklist
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