I like to talk about music. I'll ask people what their favourite album is, who their favourite artist is, what their first gig was, what they're most excited to listen to at the moment.
In the late '90s, these conversations often resulted in people recommending Spiritualized to me. This was at about the time of their most well known album, Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space, into the 2000s and most of the 2010s. I never listened to the band -- or, come to think of it, these people's recommendations -- during this time.
I don't know why I resisted. Maybe it was because everyone recommended the band's Floating in Space album, and I thought it could never live up to expectations. Or I had limited space in my head for new bands.
Finally, in 2018, after taking my son to baseball practice in Finsbury Park, I saw a sign on the Underground that drew me in. It was the cover of Spiritualized's then-new album, And Nothing Hurt. It featured a photo of a lonely looking astronaut surveying a moonscape, with some Morse code.
Maybe it was the Morse code that drew me in. Everyone I'd talked to in the previous two-plus decades had spoken English when recommending the band. No one used Morse code.
I decided to listen and loved it, and its sort of companion, 2022's Everything Was Beautiful. They're great. So is Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space. They're amazing and I'm a fool for waiting so long.
Updating My Spiritualized Conversations of the Past 25 or so Years
I should say that, starting back in the '90s I've kept extensive notes about music, including albums that various people have recommended. I started this with the thinking that the music would be a good way to keep a conversation and possibly a friendship going. In the 25 or so years since, I've let these conversations related to Spiritualized languish.
So, lately, I've tried to update as many people as possible to let them know that they were right about Spiritualized.
My tally is below, but if I've missed you on this list of people with whom I've spoken of Spiritualized but had not listened, please get in touch and I'll give you a full apology for my neglect in taking your suggestion onboard.
To date (last updated 4 October 2024), I have atoned with:
✔ Cindy Skroska
✔ Brad Bradford
✔ Lynn Lincecum
✔ Steve Stephenson
✔ George Clinton
✔ Bill Clinton
✔ Pete Barbutti
✔ Kerry Scrug
✔ Gerald Davis
✔ Gerald Porter
✔ Gerald Geraldson
✔ Gerald Sky
✔ That one guy who played drums in Jason Alphonse's band, I think his name was Gerald
✔ Gerald (my dad)
❓ Bjorn Steppenwolf (do you know Bjorn? I lost track of him after meeting in Lowestoft)
✗ Tim Falafel (R.I.P.)
