Echo and the Bunnymen Channel God

It was widely reported when N.A.S.A. chose Echo and the Bunnymen's classic tune 'The Killing Moon' to join a shuttle crew in orbit, but on the band's new record 'The Fountain,' they got a bit higher than outer space. Of the 10 cuts, the last song is a lush ballad that has lead singer Ian McCulloch crooning about the world being "half as bad as me" and a chorus that laments the "idolness of Gods.' Note the spelling, as McCulloch did for Spinner: it's "idolness," not "idleness."

"The idols are things people worship," McCulloch tells Spinner. "The person singing the song is God. That's what it's supposed to sound like: it's God's words."

Such deep sentiments aren't just localized to this tune, either. "That's what I love about songs like 'The Killing Moon," he says. "Over the years, I've started to think it's about everything. There are moments in my life where in three sentences I can explain why it's about everything. It's open-ended. Hopefully that separates [Echo and the Bunnymen] from most other things: that there's something in there that is more than just the sum of the parts."

Unfortunately, Echo and the Bunnymen's recent US tour was canceled due to a dispute with the IRS, which surely bums out McCulloch, as he loves playing the States -- he even cites a gig at Radio City Music Hall as his favorite all time performance. They were in fact playing 1984's 'Ocean Rain' with an orchestra, so we can very much understand his sentiments. "I've never felt that completely in it," he says. "Just surrounded by my forest, even when it was dark. I was swaying. It was emotional in one way -- the audience was fantastic and I felt so at home there. I love playing in America. The audiences here are totally different from the English."

'The Fountain' is available now.