BCB 100 - The Flaming Lips

[the masked man]

Funnily I was never that fond of "The Soft Bulletin" (hated the production, particularly the over-loud drums), and their earlier output is patchy in the extreme. I feel that all the much-praised 'experimentalism' is just the noodling of musicians too snobbish to embrace their pop instincts. Finally they ditched the elitism got it right on their last two LPs. The latest one is their finest by some way - an aural bath I can wrap myself in, while mixing as many metaphors as possible....

Still their best song is their earliest pop hit:

Song - She Don't Use Jelly
Album - At War With The Mystics

Oh, and I liked Curve, even though they never bettered "Ten Little Girls".

[morganspacehorse]

i would have to say that theres more noodling on the newest album than any of the 90s albums, but each to their own.

[The Write Profile]

Yeah, I don't really hear too much noodling on Clouds Taste Metallic or Transmissions from the Satellite Heart, either- I mean, neither LP has tracks that exceed 5 minutes, and they're both pretty compact in their design- maybe some of the songs are a bit too anarchic for their own good, but there's a pop acumen in there. Zaireeka aside, they definitely improved throughout the decade, however.

There's certainly a sense that they're moving towards something 'big' in their work- as Loveless nails exactly, Soft Bulletin is the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot of their career, for better or worse. At War with the Mystics is an improvement over the spotty Yoshimi. While it meanders a hell of a lot, even during the best bits (the Floydian "Pompei At Gotterdamerung," for instance), it's a reasonable compromise between certain aspects of its two predecessors.

[nathan]

I'm kind of with the Baron on this. After listening to them since the early 90's, that Soft Bulletin sure was a bit of a surprise. But then I got bored of it after about 2 months. Same with everything since.

They've never really had much substance and never will but people seem to find it in there somewhere. I do like them, but c'mon...

[Beno]

I only know them from Soft Bulletin onwards and of those albums Soft Bulletin is the best by a fair margin. I found Yoshimi a big disappointment but At War the Mystics has been a big return to form. So it's:

Album: Soft Bulletin
Song: The W.A.N.D

[Ranking Ted]

I got on board at Transmissions... and it was a climb to Soft Bulletin and then a decline back down again. The last LP was, um, ok, but never got anywhere near as (yes) transcendental as that mighty career peak.

LP: The Soft Bulletin
Song: Waitin' For A Superman

[Leg of lamb]

I'm kind of with the Baron on this. After listening to them since the early 90's, that Soft Bulletin sure was a bit of a surprise. But then I got bored of it after about 2 months. Same with everything since.

They've never really had much substance and never will but people seem to find it in there somewhere. I do like them, but c'mon...

They don't have much substance? Tackling the big questions of love, life and death and doing so successfully with wonderful pop songs is pretty substantial, surely?

[Bungo the Mungo]

I like the earlier stuff better. It's a little more raw and loud. Also it's a bit more confused and experimental, which makes their albums a bit patchy, but the peaks are so much higher.

I love you (but not in a gay way).

Oy! Hands off! He's mine!

[nathan]

They don't have much substance? Tackling the big questions of love, life and death and doing so successfully with wonderful pop songs is pretty substantial, surely?

So that's what he's been warbling about? Compared to Ol' Hank, they ain't nuthin'.

[Sneelock]

album: In a Priest Driven Ambulance
song:
win: Hells Angel's Cracker Factory (yes, really)
place: can't exist
show: Felt Good to Burn

feeb pretty much said what I would have said so I'll just sing instead!
If Love was a drug and it was cheap, everybody could get some sleep!
I love these guys!

[bobzilla77]

One of the greats. The Soft Bulletin is one of those, y'know, special records. Probably my favourite album by a still-functioning artist.

Album: The Soft Bulletin
Song: 'The Spark that Bled'

should become common parlance. Man asks in record shop: 'Sir, do you have records by still-functioning artists?'

I remember telling people at work I was going to see the Flaming Lips, this must have been 1996 or so before they were major league famous. One of the ladies laughed and said "well with a name like that I'm sure they're GREAT." I said, "They're probably my favorite living band." The whole group looked at me and one of them said, "You mean most of the groups you like are, what? UNDEAD?"

[Clippernolan]

Album - Yoshimi
Song - All We Have Is Now

[Matt Wilson]

Like so many modern bands (and they're not so modern when you think how long they've been around) I like certain songs more than whole albums. And there's good songs on every Lips LP I own. I could make a much better compilation, quality-wise, than any of their actual records.

The Soft Bulletin was one of those overly-praised CDs that when I finally heard it I was a tad disapointed. Again--some excellent songs but the whole is somewhat less than the, well, you know...

And the highlights of Yoshimi are every bit as good as those of Soft Bulletin.

Not to mention they're a tremendous live act.

[The Write Profile]

Not to mention they're a tremendous live act.

Indeed, the time I saw them in Auckland in '04 was one of the most special indeed, just the sheer sense of fun they bring to their shows- light shows! crowd members invited on stage to dance in animal constumes! string sections! Of course, there's something knowingly overblown about it, but I think there's also a strange modesty and unselfconsciousness in the shows, amidst all the silliness, their set (and the band) was really tightly honed.\

A good Flaming Lips compilation that covers 93-06 would be a good idea, I know there's that collection of their early 80s work, so it would be useful to have a complimentary one.

[Leg of lamb]

The Soft Bulletin is one of the few albums which I feel strongly about as a, y'know, coherent statement and all that jazz. I'd never want to hear it chopped about and fucked with.

[pcqgod]

My username is a contraction of the song title "Pilot Can at the Queer of God."


Album: In a Priest Driven Ambulance
Song: Frogs

[BARON CORNY DOG]

My username is a contraction of the song title "Pilot Can at the Queer of God."


Album: In a Priest Driven Ambulance
Song: Frogs

Excellent! Did you play a Lush record today? I saw them open for Lush at the Backroom, it was either between Priest Driven and Hit To Death (both great, neglected records) or right as Hit To Death was coming out. I recall a half hour of cacophony. After that, every time they came through town, they raised their game. They're still doing it today.

[pcqgod]

My username is a contraction of the song title "Pilot Can at the Queer of God."


Album: In a Priest Driven Ambulance
Song: Frogs

Excellent! Did you play a Lush record today? I saw them open for Lush at the Backroom, it was either between Priest Driven and Hit To Death (both great, neglected records) or right as Hit To Death was coming out. I recall a half hour of cacophony. After that, every time they came through town, they raised their game. They're still doing it today.

I wish I had seen that show. I remember seeing the Lips at Liberty Lunch playing after Throwing Muses first time I saw them, probably around 92.