Ladies and Gentlemen...

The Flaming Lips.

To me, these guys have meant different things. So let's start at the beginning.

I read about The Flaming Lips on amazon.com a few months after Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots came out, at the end of 2002. The site had so many positive reviews posted by listeners, and amazon's editors ranked Yoshimi one of the top five best albums of the year or something like that, so I bought it. Truthfully, I don't remember exactly how I felt about it when I first heard it, but I did like it enough to seek out The Soft Bulletin and Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell soon after.

I enjoyed all three albums, though I wasn't enamored. At that time there seemed to be something silly about the Lips - and there most certainly is something silly about the Flaming Lips, I wasn't wrong about that. What I was wrong about, or, more accurately, what I didn't realize, was the genius in their silliness and, ultimately, in their music.

So after those first few months in 2002 and early 2003 when I was into the Lips I didn't really pay that much attention. I saw them open for Wilco on New Year's Eve back in 2004. They put on a kick ass show. In fact, I was rocking so hard, enjoying the giant balloons landing on my head so much, that I didn't notice images of George W. Bush flashing on the screen during their cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" until halfway through the song. Now, I'm neither advocating or criticizing President Bush and his actions. That doesn't matter to me. I just don't want to see it at a rock concert. It turned me off. The politics made me lose my buzz. I couldn't just rock out anymore. It was complicated now. Damn.

In general, for a few years I just felt they were overrated. Stupid. Not that great. Mediocre, even. I tried Zaireeka and it was more trouble than it was worth (that's 4 discs intended to be played simultaneously).

But lately I've come to my senses. The Flaming Lips are as good as people say they are. This realization was sparked - this past Tuesday, in fact - when they released their newest LP, Embryonic.

I fell in love the first time I heard them play "Convinced of the Hexx" on The Colbert Report. They totally rocked - and they freaked me out in the best sense of the word. When I downloaded the album I was amped, ready to go. And the album delivered. It's 70 or so minutes of Bitches Brew like freak outs, mixed, of course, with the Lips' distinct sensibilities. The bass is mesmerizing. The keyboards - it sounds like Hancock and Corea but don't be fooled, it's only Steven Drozd! Damn. So fucking good. I can't say how great this album is. It really is a masterpiece, and one of those casual masterpieces. Where the band is just fucking rocking for themselves and they inadvertently deliver a fucking gem. It's the kind of album you bust out the pipe for, you know? But, what's cool is, even if you're not stoned it's still fucking freaky and psychedelic as shit.

After listening to Embryonic a handful of times, I moved on (back) to The Soft Bulletin. My first thought: How could I dismiss this band even in the slightest when they have produced an album that sounds like this? The Soft Bulletin is craft incarnate - without loss of emotion. Sonically speaking, can there ever be another album that sounds like this? I don't think you hear too many Flaming Lips wannabes nowadays because most everybody realizes you can't do what they do so don't try. TSB is moving. The sounds move you. The songs move you. The album as a whole moves you, in its humble, effortless greatness. Their are some bold moves on this album but it's all pop music. It's honestly like a Pet Sounds. Innovative. Beautiful. Awesome. Epic.

Enough. You can tell I think the album's diesel. Next stop: The Fearless Freaks, the documentary about The Flaming Lips. I watched it last night and was riveted. It started out as me just wanting to catch a scene or too but by 11:30 I wished it wasn't over. The Lips are weird, but they're sweet guys. They believe in family. They believe in the good things, even though they come from families where a lot of fucked up stuff has happened, i.e. suicide, drugs and jail. Still, they press on.

The entire flick is great because it's so honest. Nothing seems contrived. True, Wayne Coyne comes off a little strong, but he's Wayne Coyne. He's the face of the Lips. It's honest, man, I loved it. Best/Worst scene: watching Steven Drozd talk about his heroin addiction while cooking up some dope. The camera rolls as he searches for a vein. Cut away. Cut back: he's high. So good. Well made. True. Watch it.

So that's it. I'm excited to listen to more shit from earlier on in their career. I've been ignoring so much music. I even can't wait to try and Zaireeka again!

I'll leave you with two things. One, make sure you have really given The Flaming Lips a fair shot. Don't dismiss them like I did cuz they're silly. They're the real deal. Why? Because they're honest guys making the music they know how to make. I've come full circle since dismissing them. Thank god. Two, The Fearless Freaks:





Enjoy, you freak.