Man or Astro-man?
Man or Astro-man? are a mostly instrumental band from Auburn Alabama, they are known for combining the surf rock style of the early sixties with various samples of old, kitsch sci-fi movies, with a decided punk edge that has become more prominent over time. They're also known for covering Mystery Science Theater 3000's "love theme". Their connection to the show runs fairly deep, as many of the aforementioned samples of kitsch sci-fi come from movies that were riffed on Mystery Science Theater 3000, and Joel Hodgson has done pyrotechnics for the band's stage shows. The main members of the band go by "Star Crunch" (guitar, and vocals when those come up), "Birdstuff" (drums), and "Coco the Electronic Monkey Wizard" (bass & electronics). Other members have joined and left the band over the years.
- Is it....Man, or Astro-man?
- Project Infinity
- Intravenous Television Continuum
- Experiment Zero
- Made From Technetium
- EEVIAC Operational Index and Reference Guide, Including Other Modern Computational Devices
- A Spectrum of Infinite Scale
- A Spectrum of Finite Scale
- Anonymous Band: None of them are credited by their real names. In fact, you've got to dig to discover who's who.
- Cover Version: Several, from Echo and the Bunnymen, to David Bryne, to Dick Dale
- Educational Song: They've covered "Interplanet Janet" from "Schoolhouse Rock"
- Hidden Track: Several, most of which are several minutes of silence followed by a brief joke.
- Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness: Around 6 or 7.
- New Sound Album: "Made from Technetium" was a darker and grittier album compared to their previous works, and their last three albums have each been more abstract than the last.
- No-Hit Wonder: They've had one actual hit: "A Simple Text File", which is just a dot-matrix printer "singing". Otherwise, they make it on touring and their rabidly loyal fans.
- Recycled in Space - Surf Rock. IN SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!
- Sampling - of old sci-fi
- Self-Titled Album - Is it....Man, or Astro-man?
- The Band Minus the Face: Averted; the members stay fairly deliberately anonymous, so if one needs to leave, the band doesn't fall apart.