Man or Astro-Man? reportedly take their name from the promotional poster for the 1960 film The Human Vapor, known in its origin country of Japan as Gas Human No. 1. Also, Man or Astro-Man? are from outer space, and most definitely not Auburn, Alabama. Around the turn of the century, Alpha and Gamma clone replicas of the band began touring in order to meet popular demand for their highly sought-after intergalactic sonic wave forms. Twelve years after their last documented recordings, and after "years of hibernation," the original lineup of Birdstuff, Coco the Electronic Monkey Wizard, and Star Crunch have returned with their ninth album, Defcon 5...4...3...2...1, which finds their futuristic adaptations of surf rock to be otherworldly in technical precision. The following electronic communications were recorded on May 7, 2013.

Your intergalactic sonic wave forms are often documented by one Steve Albini. Is Steve Albini human?

Well, what a lot of people don't know is that Steve Albini is actually the inspiration for The Six Million Dollar Man. Last-minute studio changes resulted in the character having "bionic" implants as opposed to the "microphonic" implants Albini employs. Execs felt the world of studio recording was perhaps not as exciting as that of crime-fighting and espionage, so Albini's character was shelved. They then changed Steve's last name to Austin, and Albini became the Pete Best of electrical implants.

How have the years of hibernation affected your ability to manipulate your instruments?

It didn't affect us as much as it affected our instruments. Those things were dusty.

Fringe speculation on various web portals suggests that Man or Astro-Man? are from Alabama. Please verify.

Actually, we are from Grid Sector 23-B6-1. Coco is technically from the next sector over and only showed up in B6 to play high-school football. His story was loosely documented in the movie The Blind Side. We crash-landed on Earth in 1991 in Auburn, Alabama.

Are Man or Astro-Man? impressed by the World Wide Web?

How many wwws does your world have to type before they realize it is redundant to do so?

What are the current coordinates of Man or Astro-Man?

Unknown. Constantly shifting. But the humidity in the Southeast of your United States—specifically Georgia and Alabama—slows us down enough to call it our temporary home.

What is the optimum temperature and atmospheric pressure to operate an amplified spring reverberation unit?

It's not so much the temperature as it is the electrical current, the closer to pure superconductivity the better.

Have you spoken with the Human Vapor recently?

Due to ongoing litigation, we have not.

For a time, there were traveling impostor Man or Astro-Man? clone units known as Man or Astro-Man? Alpha and Man or Astro-Man? Gamma. They haven't been detected in more than a decade. Were they terminated or assimilated?

They were not impostors. They were bred on pure Man or Astro-Man? DNA, and their life spans were always under question—an experiment that ran its course. I believe you found similar results with your sheep named Dolly.

What are the connections of Man or Astro-Man? with Bellingham, Washington, and/or the Northwestern sector of the United States? Estrus Records is located in Bellingham, Washington. The founder, Dave Crider, is a member of the shortwave club there and heard our SOS beacon many years ago. He thought it sounded musical enough to put out as an album on his label.

What prompted Man or Astro-Man? to title this recording Defcon...5...4...3...2...1?

It's color-coded and easy to remember. That's the easy answer.

Do Man or Astro-Man? have future missions programmed, or is this the final documentation of intergalactic sonic wave forms?

Our history has shown us we can only plan anything the very moment it is happening. recommended