The Flaming Lips
How does it make you feel when someone tells you that you just don't "get" a band? It usually annoys me when someone tells me that, (especially if it's coming out of some indie snob's mouth). But the reality is that sometimes it's hard to explain why you like a band and why you don't. It appears that The Flaming Lips are often seen as one of these bands that you just have to "get".
Either that, or give it yourself some time to like them. It's true, The Lips are a strange band. Quirky lyrics, bizarre story-telling, obscenely long song titles, no real clear-cut genre to lump them into, and it's really hard to compare them to other bands cuz the sound is so original, (or at least i think it is). I find this all exciting personally, but some people just don't like it.
This brings me to their latest album, "At War With The Mystics", released in early-April of this year. It took me a couple of listens to get into it, and part of the reason is that the first two songs will make the Lips' haters say I told ya so. They're just too strange. The opening track "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song..." has a good yelping part in the background, and an interesting beat... but the deep-man voice in the background along with the yeah-yeah-ing is just plain weird. The second track "Free Radicals..." sounds like a song i could have made up in my bedroom at the age of 12. Not cool, folks. If you really want to do this album justice, just skip the first two songs, and you get to the really good stuff. "My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion..." sounds like the single of the album that we may eventually hear in a Saturn commercial. I've always found the Lips to be especially poignant when they lay back, relax, and do their dreamy thang. Sometimes they get a little too weird, but this album stays on board after those first 2 dreadful songs. "Mr. Ambulance Driver" is a highlight for me. Wayne Coyne's slightly off-tune voice paired with the sweet music is just soo cute!
Lesson of the day: Be open. If you didn't like them before, give them another chance. You may be surprised!
posted by The Chef @ 3:04 PM
2 Comments:
Oh awesome. Thanks for putting this one up, because all the album prices I checked out were way too steep for my budget :)
We should check them out if they ever come to Ottawa, they'd be friggin great live.
now we can be blogspot friends, my dear, and link back and forth to each other vicariously and namedrop each other during secret insider blogger conventions. oh yes.. fame is merely a few more illegally downloaded MP3s away.
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