Spacemen 3 were an English neo-psychedelic space rock band formed in 1984 … Read Full Bio ↴Spacemen 3 were an English neo-psychedelic space rock band formed in 1984 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce (a.k.a. J. Spaceman) and Peter Kember (a.k.a. Sonic Boom). Their first album, Sound of Confusion (1986), was not successful commercially, but it attracted a loyal fan base. Its follow-up, 1987's Perfect Prescription, is a concept album mirroring the highs and lows of a drug trip. It expanded the group's core of fans and is generally considered their masterpiece.

Playing With Fire (1989) expanded on the psychedelic and drone themes of the earlier albums; its second single, "Revolution" reached #1 on the UK indie charts. But soon after, a combination of personnel changes, drug problems and intra-band tension (especially between Kember and Pierce) began to break the band apart. Recurring, released in 1991, was their last proper album, though its recording reflected the split between Pierce and Kember as each recorded their own side of the album in different studios, with a cover of Mudhoney's 'When Tomorrow Hits' to separate them (Mudhoney would later return the favour with a cover of Spacemen 3's 'Revolution'). It was their most popular record, but by its release Kember and Pierce had already formed new bands, Spectrum,were self described "noise experimentation" and Spiritualized, respectively. The final conflict that contributed to the split was Pierce's decision to release a cover of The Troggs' 'Any Way That You Want Me', as the first Spiritualized single, which Kember had been wanting to cover for years.

From the outset Spacemen 3 had a very defined set of aesthetic principles. They based almost their entire sound on their own concept of minimalism—droning guitars, feedback, as few chords as possible, pounding drums—with their motto “Taking drugs to make music to take drugs to”. Their minimalism bled into their stage show as well. Sitting down to play their guitars and covered in the spinning colours of a cheap psychedelic light show, their stage “act” was very anti-performance. Another striking aspect of Spacemen 3 was their willingness to cover and share their influences. Song titles, lyrics and interviews were peppered with references to bands and artists they believed shared their “minimal is maximal” aesthetic. The Velvet Underground, the Rolling Stones, The Stooges, MC5, early Captain Beefheart, out-there jazz legend Sun Ra, Silver Apples, garage punk of the 1960s such as the 13th Floor Elevators, Red Krayola, and the Electric Prunes; the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean and other surf bands; ’80s rockabilly groups The Cramps, the Gun Club, Tav Falco; blues and gospel acts like Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, the Staple Singers and John Lee Hooker; and the production techniques of Joe Meek, Brian Wilson and Delia Derbyshire were just some of the names mentioned by the band.

Since the break-up there have been a stream of semi-legitimate albums, early demos and live recordings, many of which have been issued by the Kember-affiliated Space Age Recordings. Highlights include Dreamweapon: An Evening of Contemporary Sitar Music, a 45 minute drone piece performed in front of a live audience, Forged Prescriptions, a collection of Perfect Prescription demos and alternate versions (Kember claims in the liner notes that the alternate versions reproduce the layers of guitars they recorded but later removed because they felt they'd never be able to reproduce them live), and the band's singles compilation, which is perhaps the best introduction to the breadth of their work.

In 1998, a tribute album was released on Rocket Girl, which included tracks by Mogwai and Low. Kember’s Spectrum has toured under the banner “Songs the Spacemen Taught Us”, while Pierce routinely includes their songs in his Spiritualized set. In 2004, US journalist Erik Morse published his account of the band’s life and work, Dreamweapon: Spacemen 3 and the Birth of Spiritualized.

Members of the band went on to form Spiritualized, the Darkside and Spectrum (AKA Sonic Boom). Spiritualized carry on, to critical acclaim, though they have largely discarded the dark psychedelic edge. Sonic has also been on the road, playing gigs in London and occasional tours in the US as E.A.R. (Experimental Audio Research), which features synthesizers heavily. The Darkside split, while Rosco (AKA Sterling Roswell) went on to form the Sterling Roswell Blues Band and now is currently in The Gimps.

How Does It Feel?
Spacemen 3 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When I saw you, you looked so surprised
And the oceans flowed through your blue-grey eyes
And I stood and gazed
Through hot summer days
So tell me, how do you feel?

Well I dream of you the whole night through
And I don't even shut my eyes

'Cos what I see, it's pure heaven to me
So tell me, are you for real?

We could make love and live as one
And burn our fingers on the sun
But I have seen what love denies
I've drunk the teardrops from her eyes

We could make love and live as one
And burn our fingers on the sun
We could make love and live as one
And burn our fingers on the sun

So tell me, how does it feel?
So tell me, how does it feel?
So tell me, how does it feel?
How does it feel?
How does it feel?
How does it feel?
Tell me, how does it feel?
Tell me, how does it feel?
Tell me, how does it feel?
Tell me, how does it feel?
Tell me, how does it feel?
Tell me, how does it feel?

Tell me, how does it feel?
Well tell me, how does it feel?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Spacemen 3's song, How Does It Feel?, express a desire for closeness and intimacy with another person, while acknowledging the potential pain and heartbreak that can come with love. The singer of the song is clearly infatuated with the subject of the lyrics, as evident in the dream sequence in which he dreams of the subject “the whole night through” and “doesn’t even shut [his] eyes”. The love the singer speaks of is passionate and intense, with lines such as “We could make love and live as one / And burn our fingers on the sun” expressing a willingness to go to great lengths for their love.

However, the second stanza of the song reveals a more melancholic and conflicted side to the singer. They admit to having “seen what love denies” and having “drunk the teardrops from her eyes”. The implication of this is that the singer has experienced heartbreak before and may be hesitant to fully give themselves over to love again. This inner turmoil is contrasted with the repeated refrain of “Tell me, how does it feel?”, which suggests a desperate need for reassurance and a longing for emotional connection.

Overall, the lyrics of How Does It Feel? convey a deep desire for love and connection, tempered by a fear of vulnerability and the potential for heartbreak. The dreamlike quality of the lyrics, with references to oceans and burning suns, adds to the sense of both passion and conflict in the song.

Line by Line Meaning

When I saw you, you looked so surprised
I saw you and you appeared taken aback or caught off guard

And the oceans flowed through your blue-grey eyes
Your eyes were filled with emotion, as if the tides of the ocean were flowing through them

And I stood and gazed
I stood there and gazed upon you

Through hot summer days
This happened during the heat of summer

So tell me, how do you feel?
Please let me know how you are feeling

Well I dream of you the whole night through
I dream about you all night long

And I don't even shut my eyes
I don't even close my eyes while I dream of you

'Cos what I see, it's pure heaven to me
What I see in my dreams is absolute paradise to me

So tell me, are you for real?
Are you really a tangible person, or are you just a figment of my imagination?

We could make love and live as one
We could engage in passionate intimacy and live our lives as a unified pair

And burn our fingers on the sun
We would take risks and get burned by our own passion

But I have seen what love denies
I have experienced how love can hold us back or keep us from achieving our goals

I've drunk the teardrops from her eyes
I have tasted the salty tears caused by the challenges of love

So tell me, how does it feel?
Please let me know how it feels to be in love

How does it feel?
What does it feel like to be in love?

Tell me, how does it feel?
Please let me know what it feels like to be in love

Well tell me, how does it feel?
Please let me know what it feels like to be in love

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PETER JOHN KEMBER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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01Honey3:00

02Come Down Softly to My Soul3:46

03How Does It Feel?1:25

PT1M25S

Spacemen 3

04I Believe It4:09

05Revolution5:58

06Let Me Down Gently4:29

07So Hot (Wash Away All of My Tears)2:38

08Suicide0:01

09Lord Can You Hear Me?4:33

10Suicide (live)12:25

11Repeater (How Does It Feel?) (live)5:28

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Comments from YouTube:

gr00ve

3y↑17

Takes me back to ‘93. A girlfriend gave me this album because she didn’t like it. We only saw each other once after that.

steph anie!

As good a reason as any to break it off

The Mercury 13

When I 1st heard KLF's Chill Out, I very naively assumed anyone else hearing it would love it too; I was shocked my Mum & brother asked 'What's this rubbish?' - People either get genius or they don't.. Having said that, my Mum liked The Goombay Dance Band, Foster & Allen, Micky & Griff, & London Boys; each to their own eh...