Venus Beads >> What I wouldn't give to make time stand still

Venus Beads - "Heaven And Back"
(Emergo Records / Roadrunner Records, 1990)

This song kicks off one of my favorite EPs ever, fittingly titled Transfixed.  The bassline (surely in the top .01 percentile of all time) is just ridiculously sexy and sinister, in a very dub-wise post-punk way, like The Pop Group, Moonshake, P/i/L, Gang Of Four.  The guitars lull you into a sense of calm before launching an ambush... Yes, you can tell by now that I like that tactic.  There's even some excellent and mystical wind chime action about halfway through.  The lyrics are not about God or religion.  The mastering level (volume level) is very low, so you have to turn the volume and bass up on this one in order to put the boom in your box.  (If someone out there can "remaster" this song by increasing the loudness and bass levels, and then send it back to me, I'd be forever grateful and I'd post it on here.)  This band allegedly had a minor college radio hit with the song "Moon Is Red", but "H&B" is the song that could've really captured the public's imagination, in my opinion.  I still don't know what the band's name means; same goes for Bailter Space, Bark Psychosis, Kallabris, Nice Strong Arm, You Am I, A.C. Temple, Songs:Ohia, Grand Funk Railroad, Kayo Dot, Bananarama, Oöphoi, Gastr Del Sol, Orthrelm, Kajagoogoo, Hoobastank, Ui, The Plimsouls, Waka Flocka Flame, The Bevis Frond, Olivelawn, and many more.
Note: Transfixed was only released on 12" and cassette, but their record company was nice enough to include it as bonus tracks on the CD version of the band's album Black Aspirin, which is where I obtained this mp3.  Dischord and Touch & Go have also always been good about doing that.

Planets with similar climates: The Stone Roses - "I Wanna Be Adored" (1989), Bailter Space - "Robot World" (1992), Volplane - "Lost In Blue" (~1997), Verve - "The Sun, The Sea" (1993), The Cure - "Open" (1992), Swervedriver - "Deep Seat" (1991).

Currently basking in: The glow of the discovery that the cool unlabeled little aloe seedling that I bought for $4 at Harold's yesterday is apparently a devastatingly sexy "tree aloe" species called Aloe africana, which can get over six feet tall:

Photo of adult plant courtesy of toptropicals.com

Currently out of: spinach tortillas, feta, banana rum, coconut rum, lime juice, sand, topsoil, stapler