Galaxie 500
Encyclopedia
Galaxie 500 was an American alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three albums.

History

Guitarist Dean Wareham
Dean Wareham
Dean Wareham is an American musician, who formed the band Galaxie 500 in 1987. Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Wareham moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia, before settling in New York City in 1977. Wareham attended high school at Dalton School in New York, and then attended Harvard...

, drummer Damon Krukowski and bassist Naomi Yang had met at the Dalton School in New York City in 1981, but began playing together during their time as students at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

. Wareham and Krukowski had formed a series of punk-influenced student bands, before Wareham returned to New York. When he returned in 1987 he and Krukowski formed a new band, with Yang joining the group on bass guitar, the new group deciding on the name Galaxie 500, after a friend's car (a Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 car of the 1960s, the Ford Galaxie 500
Ford Galaxie
The Ford Galaxie was a full-size car built in the United States by the Ford Motor Company for model years 1959 through 1974. The name was used for the top models in Ford’s full-size range from 1959 until 1961, in a marketing attempt to appeal to the excitement surrounding the Space Race...

).
In their early years, Krukowski didn't own a drum kit, so he borrowed one from his Harvard classmate Conan O'Brien
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....

, who'd bought a kit but had recently given up playing it. This drum kit can be heard on many of Galaxie 500's early recordings.

The band began playing gigs in Boston and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and recorded a demo which they sent to Shimmy Disc
Shimmy Disc
Shimmy Disc was an influential New York City based record label founded in 1987 by Mark Kramer. Before it was sold to the Knitting Factory, it was responsible for providing a mass audience for acts including Bongwater, Daniel Johnston, Fly Ashtray, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Boredoms, Ruins, Ween,...

label boss and producer Mark Kramer
Mark Kramer
Mark Kramer , known professionally as Kramer, is a musician, composer, record producer and founder of the New York City record label Shimmy-Disc...

, who agreed to produce the band. With Kramer at the controls, the band recorded the "Tugboat" single in February 1988, and the "Oblivious" flexi-disc, and moved on to record their debut album, Today, which was released on the small Aurora label. The band toured the United Kingdom in late 1988 and in 1989, they signed to Rough Trade
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...

, and released their second album, On Fire, which has been described as "lo-fi psychedelia reminiscent of Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970 he founded The Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key, generally acoustic backing...

 being backed by The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...

", and is considered the band's defining moment. On Fire reached number 7 in the UK Indie Chart
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...

, and met with much critical acclaim in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, but was less well-received by the US music press, who cited Wareham's 'vocal limitations' as a weakness.

With Kramer's live sound production at the mixing board at the band's every gig, the sound and the increasingly loyal audience grew with each release.

Galaxie 500 recorded two sessions for John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

's BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 programme, these later released on the Peel Sessions album. Their cover of Jonathan Richman's "Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste" was also voted into number 41 in 1989's Festive 50 by listeners to the show.

The band split up in the spring of 1991 after a third album, This Is Our Music, Wareham, who had already moved back to New York, quitting the band after a lengthy American tour.

Galaxie 500's records were released in the US and UK on the independent Rough Trade label. When Rough Trade went bankrupt in 1991, Krukowski and Yang purchased the masters at auction, reissuing them on Rykodisc
Rykodisc
Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...

 in 1997.

Musical style and influences

Galaxie 500 used fairly simple instrumental techniques enhanced with an atmospheric production style. The Velvet Underground and Jonathan Richman have been identified as key influences. In interviews on the Galaxie 500 DVD Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste, Wareham cites Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Their music was "colorfully mind-altering, but not in the sense of the acid rock of the '60s; instead, the band developed its own minimalistic psychedelia"...

 as another key inspiration.

Post-Galaxie 500 activities

After leaving Galaxie 500, Wareham tried his hand at production, working with Mercury Rev
Mercury Rev
Mercury Rev is an American alternative rock group, that formed in the late 1980s in Buffalo, New York. Original personnel were David Baker , Jonathan Donahue , Sean Mackowiak, a.k.a...

. He released a solo single, "Anesthesia" in February 1992, and formed a new band, Luna
Luna (band)
Luna was a dream pop/indie pop band formed in 1991 by Dean Wareham after the breakup of Galaxie 500, with Stanley Demeski and Justin Harwood...

. Krukowski and Yang continued to record under the moniker Pierre Etoile, and then Damon and Naomi
Damon and Naomi
Damon & Naomi are an American dream pop/folk-rock duo formed in 1991 by Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang, formerly of Galaxie 500.-History:After Galaxie 500 completed a tour of the US supporting The Cocteau Twins, guitarist and vocalist Dean Wareham quit the band, forcing the cancellation of an...

 (whose first two releases were also produced by Kramer), and as members of Magic Hour. They also began the avant-garde press Exact Change
Exact Change
Exact Change is an independent book publishing company formed in 1990 by Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang of Galaxie 500 and later of Damon and Naomi...

.

In June 2010 Dean Wareham announced on his website that he would be going on an autumn tour under the moniker "Dean Wareham plays Galaxie 500", where he would, as the moniker suggests, only play Galaxie 500 songs.

Influence

Galaxie 500's music had an influence on many later indie music groups, including Low
Low (band)
Low is an American indie rock group from Duluth, Minnesota, formed in 1993. As of 2010, the group is composed of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker , both founding members, and Steve Garrington ....

. It has been covered and referenced by several well known artists. In Liz Phair
Liz Phair
Phair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there...

's song "Stratford-on-Guy", she sings, "And I was pretending that I was in a Galaxie 500 video." In Xiu Xiu
Xiu Xiu
Xiu Xiu is an American avant-garde group originally from San Jose, California. The band is the brainchild of singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart, who has been its only constant member since its inception in 2002. His current bandmate is Angela Seo...

's song "Dr. Troll", Jamie Stewart
Jamie Stewart
James "Jamie" Cyrus Stewart is the front-man of the American musical group Xiu Xiu , a former front-man of IBOPA and Ten in the Swear Jar and a current member of Former Ghosts. He was also a member of 7 Year Rabbit Cycle which has since disbanded...

 sings, "Listen to On Fire and pretend someone could love you." The Submarines did a cover of "Tugboat" in their recent iTunes Live Session EP, recorded with famed indie rock producer Adam Lasus
Adam Lasus
Adam Lasus is an American musician and record producer.Adam Lasus credits include albums by Yo La Tengo, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Lilys, Helium, Juliana Hatfield, Mark Mulcahy, , Clem Snide, Amy Ray, Madder Rose, Michael Cerveris, , Chris Harford, Versus, Dumptruck, Varnaline, Saturnine and...

. The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American eclectic musical group led by Anton Newcombe, whose music spans multiple genres including psychedelia, electronica, folk music, blues, experimental music, and many others....

's And This Is Our Music was titled in reference to the group's album This Is Our Music (which itself was titled after Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....

's album This Is Our Music
This Is Our Music (Ornette Coleman album)
This Is Our Music is a free jazz album by saxophonist Ornette Coleman, recorded in 1960 and originally released in 1961. It is especially notable as Coleman's only Atlantic recording to feature a standard – an unorthodox version of "Embraceable You" – and as the only album to feature...

). Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...

 frontman Thurston Moore
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...

 has cited Galaxie 500's album Today
Today (Galaxie 500 album)
Today is the debut album by American dream pop band Galaxie 500, released in 1988 on the independent label Aurora Records.-Track listing:All songs written by Galaxie 500 except as noted.# "Flowers" - 4:26# "Pictures" - 3:23# "Parking Lot" - 2:52...

as "the guitar record of 1988". British Sea Power
British Sea Power
British Sea Power are an indie rock band based in Brighton, England, although three of the band members originally come from Kendal in Cumbria. Critics have likened their sound to a variety of groups, from The Cure and Joy Division to the Pixies and Arcade Fire. The band are famed for their live...

 also covered "Tugboat" for Rough Trade compilation Stop Me If You Think You've heard this one before. The band Portastatic has also covered "Tugboat". In 2010 the bands Cloudland Canyon and Citay, appeared on a 7" EP together wherein they both covered Galaxie 500. Cloudland Canyon takes on "Temperature's Rising," and Citay does a version of "Tugboat."

Albums

Studio albums:
  • Today
    Today (Galaxie 500 album)
    Today is the debut album by American dream pop band Galaxie 500, released in 1988 on the independent label Aurora Records.-Track listing:All songs written by Galaxie 500 except as noted.# "Flowers" - 4:26# "Pictures" - 3:23# "Parking Lot" - 2:52...

    (1988) Aurora
  • On Fire (1989) Rough Trade
  • This Is Our Music
    This Is Our Music (Galaxie 500 album)
    This Is Our Music is a record album by Galaxie 500, released in 1990 on the record label Rough Trade. It was recorded at Noise in New York City. The album title was lifted from the 1960 album of the same name by jazz legend Ornette Coleman...

    (1990) Rough Trade


Post-split releases:
  • Copenhagen (live, 1990) (1997) Rykodisc
  • Peel Sessions
    Peel Sessions (Galaxie 500 album)
    -Track listing:All songs written by Galaxie 500 except as noted.# "Submission" - 4:10# "Final Day" - 2:54# "When Will You Come Home" - 5:11# "Moonshot" - 3:21# "Flowers" - 4:39# "Blue Thunder" - 3:49...

    (2005)


Compilations:
  • Galaxie 500 (box set) (1996) Rykodisc
  • The Portable Galaxie 500
    The Portable Galaxie 500
    The Portable Galaxie 500 is a best-of compilation for the band Galaxie 500.-Track listing:All songs written by Galaxie 500 except as noted.# "Blue Thunder" # "Flowers"# "When Will You Come Home"# "Listen, The Snow Is Falling"...

    (best-of) (1998) Rykodisc
  • Uncollected (rarities) (2004)

Singles

  • "Tugboat"/"King of Spain" (1988) Aurora
  • "Oblivious" included on a hard-vinyl compilation 7" free with Chemical Imbalance magazine
  • "Blue Thunder"/"Hail" (split
    Split single
    Split single may refer to:*Split album, a split album is a music album which includes tracks by two or more separate artists.*split-single, a variant on the two-stroke engine with two cylinders sharing a single combustion chamber....

     w/ Straitjacket Fits
    Straitjacket Fits
    Straitjacket Fits formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1986 and were a prominent band in the Flying Nun label's second wave of the Dunedin Sound.-Biography:...

    ) (1989)
  • "Blue Thunder EP
    Extended play
    An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

    " (1990) Rough Trade
  • "Rain"/"Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste" (1990) Caff
    Caff Records
    Caff Records was a short lived British independent record label run by Bob Stanley of the band Saint Etienne. The label went by the name Caff, Caff Records and Caff Corporation. Established in 1989, it is most noted for single releases by Pulp and the Manic Street Preachers...

  • "Fourth of July"/"Here She Comes Now" (1990) Rough Trade
  • "Snowstorm" (live)/"Pictures" (live) (2004)

Promotional videos

  • "Tugboat" (1988)
  • "Blue Thunder" (1989)
  • "When Will You Come Home" (1989)
  • "Fourth of July" (1990)

Further reading

  • McGonigal, Mike. "Temperature's Rising: Galaxie 500, An Oral History". Pitchfork
    Pitchfork Media
    Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

    . May 3, 2010.
  • Wareham, Dean.
    Dean Wareham
    Dean Wareham is an American musician, who formed the band Galaxie 500 in 1987. Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Wareham moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia, before settling in New York City in 1977. Wareham attended high school at Dalton School in New York, and then attended Harvard...

    Black Postcards: A Rock & Roll Romance. New York: Penguin, 2008.
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