Niki N. Phaser

Babylon Zoo hold a special place in the fascinating world of one-hit wonders, as their most famous song, Spaceman, was the subject of a misunderstanding. It was first presented to the world through a Levi commercial, which used only the techno intro, giving the impression that it’s a pure rave tune. Still, despite the disappointment, Spaceman became one of the seminal hits of the 90′s. And yes, Babylon Zoo are a one-hit band, they have one hit, but that doesn’t mean they have only one good song. On the same album, their debut entitled The Boy With the X-Ray Eyes, we find a similar strange track, called I’m Cracking Up I Need A Pill. It has all those elements that one would associate with Jas Mann. It’s heavy rock, loud, quiet, but mostly loud, it has a rather slow beat with a subtle synth bass and you can almost see Mann doing his Spaceman dance while singing this. His vocals sound as if he’s grinning and sticking his tongue out all throughout the song. The lyrics, of course, hold a lot of the track’s value, having that paranoid neo-glam trademark that conjure a Muse-like universe of conspiracies: “We’ve got information, Government sweat intrepidation, Stigmatise us all, Concealed information, Police crimes on Blacks and Asians, Babylon’s alone”. My favourite lyrics from I’m Cracking Up I Need A Pill are both funny and weird and, if needed, filled with secret meanings: “The animals are fast asleep, Always check if they can breath”.

LISTEN TO THE SONG HERE