Lore: Hawkwind sent me down one wild rabbit hole that I wasn’t ready for. First, this won’t be the last time we visit this band because they have produced over so many albums over the years that they started using aliases like Hawklords and Psychedelic Warriors. While that’s true I ended up focusing on the album art because there was something compelling about the figure and the staff they carried…
“We stepped through the portal into an endless sea of, what most would call trash, but I came to realize the word belongings was more appropriate. What seemed to be hills and mountains, were in fact pile after pile of items. Some broken beyond simple repair and others as if they were made seconds ago.
Without a sun, moon, clouds, or any notable change in the sky it is hard to tell how long we have been here until a figure appears before us. Their arms are outstretched presenting to us a staff that seems to be fashioned from countless other staves. Once we take it the figure falls backwards into the pile and we make our way back through the portal. A faint whisper echoes in our mind as we leave. ‘Spread far and wide the bounty you have been given.’”
The other piece of info that I stumbled into was that in many East Asian cultures (like Chinese, Japanese, and Korean), the number 4 is strongly associated with death and loss. This is due to the words for “four” and “death” sounding very similar (e.g., sì in Mandarin). Many buildings skip the 4th floor or omit it entirely in elevator banks, as has been done with the 13th floor in western cultures. The two deaths concept came to mind as well: something dies once when it has no more life, but dies again when no one is left alive who remembers it. Not sure why this one went as deep as it did, but the number four had to be used because of it.
If this inspired you in some way please let me know!
Link to Mechanical Stuff pdf: https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/ku7ikWj8cDg0
Pertinent Links:
Lyrics: https://www.lyricsfreak.com/h/hawkwind/album/space_bandits+115623
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Bandits
Listen: