Welcome to my Astro-Man archive

This site is meant to be a visual archive of every variation of every Man... or Astro-Man? 7" single ever released. Most of what you'll see here comes from my personal collection. As information pours in I will post it, so please comment if you think you have something to add. I have no intention of posting MP3s here. I'm sure you can find the music elsewhere. This is just an attempt to collect information about the band's prolific creation of singles into one spot. If you can get past the fact that I rarely clean my scanner, I think you'll enjoy what you find here.

Use the Table of Contents on the sidebar if you are looking for details on a specific 7".


Saturday, March 12, 2011

Man or Astro-Man? In Orbit


America's First Man or Astro-Man? In Orbit was a Man or Astro-Man? 7" EP put out in 1995. It was released by Shake It Records (SHAKE 709), the label imprint run by the Cincinnati record store of the same name. It was an edition of 900. The picture sleeve was made from heavy cardstock. It was printed on one side with glossy ink and then folded into shape. There was no printing on the inside of the sleeve. Some copies also feautured a two-sided Shake It records paper insert. The cover was an almost shot for shot "reimagination" of a 1962 recording of astronaut John Glenn.

Here is a scan of the John Glenn single (thanks to Henry Owings for making me aware of this):



This was also one of the recordings to feature Captain Zeno on rhythm guitar. A somewhat rare photo of Zeno performing with the band is featured on the back sleeve.

Here is a scan of the insert. It doesn't seem to have been included with every copy of the single (it is missing with all three of my copies), but it is a MOAM?-specific insert and it turns up often enough to merit a picture here:



The record itself was available on translucent black vinyl (800 copies) and clear vinyl (100 copies). This is another one that online sellers sometimes try to pass off as clear green vinyl. And even though the record can sometimes appear a little greenish, it is really just clear. Here are both varieties of the 45:



There are four songs on In Orbit: two originals and two covers. One cover, "Manta Ray," was originally done by the Pixies. One of the originals, "Complex 34," makes reference to Cape Canaveral launch pad 34--the site of the Apollo 1 fire that claimed the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, on January 27, 1967.

Here is a stock photo of Complex 34 (awaiting the launch of a Saturn I rocket), and a shot of the memorial plaque that is now affixed to the decommissioned launch column:

3 comments:

  1. I distinctly remember buying the clear copy of this 7" c. 1998 at Stinkweeds for $1.99, then passing it over the table to you at Rosita's Place several years later.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes! With the waiter that looked exactly like Vicente Fox.

    Stinkweeds always had incredible used MOAM vinyl. I think it was because people were embarrassed to sell them back to Eastside. When Stinkweeds closed their Tempe location a young couple bought the store (unsold stock, cash register, record bins and all) and moved it to Salt Lake. I continue to find awesome records there. Such good memories . . .

    ReplyDelete
  3. The picture of the insert was taken from a now defunct site run by a guy named Brad Lynham. Thanks Brad!

    ReplyDelete