A Head Full of Wishes is a site for Galaxie 500, Luna, Damon & Naomi, Dean & Britta and Dean Wareham. With news, articles and lists of releases and past and future shows.
My record collection
[228] Luna - Hedgehog / 23 Minutes in Brussels (7")
This is a seven inch copy of the lead single from Penthouse - a double A-side (-_-) with Hedgehog and No Regrets on the A, and 23 Minutes in Brussels on the AA. But, we all know the AA is really the lead track!
My copy doesn’t have a picture sleeve, which is puzzling. I’m not sure when I bought this - my gut says around the time of release but the lack of a picture sleeve makes that seem unlikely. I’ve certainly had it a while… but maybe it was a collection-filler eBay purchase.
23 Minutes in Brussels debuted live some time in late 1994, there’s a live recording of them playing it, or at least a prototype of it, in New York in November of that year.
Dean introduces it as “a new song” and I suspect that at the time it wasn’t called 23 Minutes in Brussels but, and this is my just winging it, maybe “Spacesuits and Moonwalks” - I think Dean sings that… and I like space! Maybe, more likely “City Slickers”? Maybe someone with better ears can have a listen and pick a title for it!
The next record, and recording of them playing it is from May 1995… at a show I was at, and by then it had acquired the words, and the name, we’re so familiar with:
Initially the song would turn up mid-set, but by 2000 it had become a set closer, or encore. It is the most played song in my database - I was expecting Friendly Advice or Indian Summer to give it a run but it’s head and shoulders above the competition - here’s the top 10:
- 23 Minutes in Brussels - played by Luna 355 times
- Friendly Advice - 296
- Sideshow by The Seashore - 283
- Chinatown - 270
- Moon Palace - 249
- Lost in Space - 225
- Tiger Lily - 223
- Bewitched - 215
- Pup Tent - 207
- Malibu Love Nest - 199
Oddly Indian Summer didn’t even make the top 10, I wonder if it gets played more in the UK so my impression is skewed? I’ll leave that spreadsheet wrangling for another day!
Obviously my database is far from complete (this is based on 450 setlists) but suspect that gives a fairly accurate view of Luna’s most popular live songs. Although I certainly have more setlists from the AHFOW era 1994 onwards.
- Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/013
- Artist: Luna
- Title: Hedgehog / 23 Minutes in Brussels
- Packaging: Plain white sleeve
- Format: 7”
Previously in my record collection: