Man or Astroman --RARE -- A Spectrum of Finite Scale [tour Only Cd]

Hi All: Here's a treat for you today. Our good buddy Brandonio will be contributing some real gems to the lounge on a regular basis. Way cool! He has a great knowledge of the genre and an INCREDIBLE collection of surf, instro, garage, punque and R'n'R in general. He'll be adding more spice to the place, so keep stopping by and telling us what you like and want on the menu. I'm pleased he's going to help -- that way, you'll get more variety of your favorite fare. A big thanks, upfront. We'll do our best to make your day - or night.

Let's get started: He's serving up this VERY Rare dish --

Limited to 1,000 copies, A Spectrum of Finite Scale tour only CD was self-released by sci-fi surf rock aliens Man or Astro-Man? and made available for sale only at stops on the band's 2001 tour in support of A Spectrum of Infinite Scale. Checking in with 13 tracks (closer to 14, if you count the hidden track, though its actual number is 32), Finite avoids the trap of being a throwaway EP. Instead, it is a highly experimental collection of tracks "done by members of the Astro Staff Live Division, in isolation or in pairs." In non-Astro-speak, what this means is it's a record of songs written and performed by individual bandmembers and tour staff. For those keeping score of the Astro-men's ever-evolving lineup, the members included on this record include mainstays Coco the Electronic Monkey Wizard and Birdstuff (each with two solo tracks and two collaborations with one another, as well as a Birdstuff effort with Blazar), and solo efforts from Trace Reading, Blazar, Q-Beam (the band's lighting and merch guy), and the Brannock Device (Man or Astro-Man?'s live audio tech). Since the record is comprised of songs recorded solo or in pairs, they often lack the full force of typical Man or Astro-Man? songs. Songs tend to meander a bit, giving them, to varying degrees, the feel of being tripped-out slow-dub house music or echoing, spinning, fuzzy-screen dream sequences from vintage sci-fi flicks. Reverb-drenched guitars are essentially absent for the majority of the disc, leaving the music to be composed (presumably on computers) of various sound effects, always-interesting film samples, assorted keyboards, and other gizmos. The results, while well-done and interesting, are missing the propulsive surf rock thread that normally leads the listener through the labyrinthine layers of mysterious noises. In fact, the most stereotypically Man or Astro-Man?-sounding track is "Analysis Paralysis," contributed by the band's live audio tech, the Brannock Device. Far more experimental than any of Man Or AstroMan?'s proper releases, A Spectrum of Finite Scale should serve to reinforce the band's standing as not merely a surf rock revival act, but true innovators. All music

1 After All the Prosaic Waiting...the Sun Finally Crashes into the Earth 2 The Limitations of a Serial Machine 3 MO2 4 Halfway to the Infinite 5 Space Helmet 6 All the Quietest Whispers 7 Mt-52 Tone/Magnus Opus 8 Tolerance in a Transitory Universe 9 Analysis Paralysis 10 Man or Man-Machine? 11 The Potential Energy of Roger Stone 12 Mortimer Butomite's Pocket of Capacitors 13 Fig. A: Dispersion in Full Spectrum Pattern 14 hidden bonus

spectrum

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