Earlier this month, NASA got the results it desired after 17 years of pointing the Hubble telescope at nothing in particular. Beyond the inky field in the void of stars and planets NASA received images proving we are just 1 galaxy in a 100 million galaxy system. One of the hopes in the mission was to discover evidence of the Big Bang, but we're gonna need a bigger telescope.
With this discovery, there's no better time to announce Ben Greenberg (formerly of Pygmy Shrews and Zs, now of The Men) has a new record under his Hubble moniker, which once soundtracked NASA images from the eponymous telescope. In our 2012 interview with Greenberg he said, “I feel that NASA is vital, not just to our country but humanity as a whole, vital as almost anything we’re spending money on right now.” Transitioning to the now, we are still spending money on stupid shit, making it an fitting time to reacquaint with the unknown via Hubble. On “A Long Way From Home” Greenberg's signature style is like catching a glimpse of the Big Bang in the near distance. There's an anxiety within it, as though he can feel a long-desired destination is within reach – one that came at the consequence of leaving a home on the other side of the universe.
NASA's most recent discovery has the potential to resonate in our insecurities chambers, as we come to terms with the fact that we're a long ways from knowing where we came from. These are answers that possibly won't come within any of our collective lifetimes. Though we can't do anything about that, listening to Hubble's “A Long Way From Home” feels like being part of that seeker's journey towards the outer reaches of space and time.
Hubble's Hubble Eagle LP is out October 26 on NNA Tapes. Hubble is playing Saturday September 21 at the New York Book Fair at MoMA PS1.
