Music Review: The Flaming Lips, "At War With the Mystics"
Where do you find giant pink balloons, people dressed in bunny costumes tossing confetti, fake blood and a large gather of folks performing Karaoki-style renditions of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs." Apparently, at a Flaming Lips concert, or at least that's what I found our when I stumbled across The Flaming Lips on "Austin City Limits" last Friday night.
I knew almost instantly I wasn't in for your typical Willie Nelson/Emmylou Harris country-tinged rock "Austin City Limits." This episode definitely had much more of an acid test feel to it. And since I was pretty hopped up on Hydrocodone following my "why would an adult do this" tonsillectomy, I was willing to invest a half hour in something a little funky. Even through narcotic-induced I could see the FLips (as their fans call them, I found out later)were different. There was no rock star smugness, no contempt for the audience, they laughed and joked with the audience, Christ, one of them even brought his father on stage to play saxophone. They acted like music was fun. With equal parts reverence and mockery, Flaming Lips leader, and David Koresh doppleganger, Wayne Coyne even breaks into a sing-along of "War Pigs", but not till he covers his face in fake blood. But the rendition is played seriously, you can see he and the band love the song, a guilty pleasure almost, because they know, that we know, that on some level, the song is great, but still silly. The duality of man, played out on public service country music television show.
OK so two sentences into to this review, you said "uh yeah, we know, where have you been for last decade?" Fair enough, the band has been around for more than a decade, with a not none-too small following I might add. So it took a while, but at least I found them, and as luck would have it just days before they were to release their new album.
I was excited, and feeling like I was on to something. I decided I need to catch up and fast. I would start with their last, and I assumed most relevant, release and work backwards. That meant "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots"(2002), back to the "The Soft Bulletin" (1999) and finally "Transmissions From the Satellite Heart" (1993). I had less than a week, no time for the EP's and live releases, major album stuff only. Working backwards, I fell in love with trippy,dreamy thematic "Yoshimi", the beautiful, surrealistic "Bulletin" and the rawer,more elemental rock of "Satellite Heart."
I am ready. Early morning April 4, a shot rings out in the Memphis sky. Just kidding. I will start again. April 4th, "At War With the Mystics" is released, and I promptly download it from iTunes. Spare me the "you need to own the vinyl" speech, I haven't touched a CD in two years, and haven't been in a CD-only store (is there still such a thing) in three. Besides you get 3 songs not on the CD, when you download it from iTunes, including a great version of "Bohemian Rhapsody".
The album begins with the single most annoying, stick-in-your-head mantra possibly of all time in "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song." Yes, they really do say Yeah, Yeah, Yeah over and over. Ultimately, however, the hook does bring you back (if your counting, that's 2 irrelevent song references I've squezzed into this papragraph, God I am a hack). "Free Radicals," is an apparent homage to Prince. Fun as it is as a farce, it's not a track you will wear a hole in your iPod listening to. The highlights of "Mystics" include "The W.A.N.D." which has a great heavy, groove to it and "Mr. Ambulance Driver" which is so drippy with 70's feeling, you'll swear the sirens in the background must be from an episode of "Emergency!" Where have you gone Randolph Mantooth?!
In the end, "At War With Mystics" lacks the track-to-track consistency that is the hallmark of a great album. Still, it remains a must for FLips fans, of which, I now count myself one. For those still un-baptised in the Flips musical font, I would suggest you start with "Yoshimi" and "Soft Bulletin," and save "Mystics" for those of us who have drank The Flaming Lips Kool-Aid and find it oh so sweet.
I knew almost instantly I wasn't in for your typical Willie Nelson/Emmylou Harris country-tinged rock "Austin City Limits." This episode definitely had much more of an acid test feel to it. And since I was pretty hopped up on Hydrocodone following my "why would an adult do this" tonsillectomy, I was willing to invest a half hour in something a little funky. Even through narcotic-induced I could see the FLips (as their fans call them, I found out later)were different. There was no rock star smugness, no contempt for the audience, they laughed and joked with the audience, Christ, one of them even brought his father on stage to play saxophone. They acted like music was fun. With equal parts reverence and mockery, Flaming Lips leader, and David Koresh doppleganger, Wayne Coyne even breaks into a sing-along of "War Pigs", but not till he covers his face in fake blood. But the rendition is played seriously, you can see he and the band love the song, a guilty pleasure almost, because they know, that we know, that on some level, the song is great, but still silly. The duality of man, played out on public service country music television show.
OK so two sentences into to this review, you said "uh yeah, we know, where have you been for last decade?" Fair enough, the band has been around for more than a decade, with a not none-too small following I might add. So it took a while, but at least I found them, and as luck would have it just days before they were to release their new album.
I was excited, and feeling like I was on to something. I decided I need to catch up and fast. I would start with their last, and I assumed most relevant, release and work backwards. That meant "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots"(2002), back to the "The Soft Bulletin" (1999) and finally "Transmissions From the Satellite Heart" (1993). I had less than a week, no time for the EP's and live releases, major album stuff only. Working backwards, I fell in love with trippy,dreamy thematic "Yoshimi", the beautiful, surrealistic "Bulletin" and the rawer,more elemental rock of "Satellite Heart."
I am ready. Early morning April 4, a shot rings out in the Memphis sky. Just kidding. I will start again. April 4th, "At War With the Mystics" is released, and I promptly download it from iTunes. Spare me the "you need to own the vinyl" speech, I haven't touched a CD in two years, and haven't been in a CD-only store (is there still such a thing) in three. Besides you get 3 songs not on the CD, when you download it from iTunes, including a great version of "Bohemian Rhapsody".
The album begins with the single most annoying, stick-in-your-head mantra possibly of all time in "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song." Yes, they really do say Yeah, Yeah, Yeah over and over. Ultimately, however, the hook does bring you back (if your counting, that's 2 irrelevent song references I've squezzed into this papragraph, God I am a hack). "Free Radicals," is an apparent homage to Prince. Fun as it is as a farce, it's not a track you will wear a hole in your iPod listening to. The highlights of "Mystics" include "The W.A.N.D." which has a great heavy, groove to it and "Mr. Ambulance Driver" which is so drippy with 70's feeling, you'll swear the sirens in the background must be from an episode of "Emergency!" Where have you gone Randolph Mantooth?!
In the end, "At War With Mystics" lacks the track-to-track consistency that is the hallmark of a great album. Still, it remains a must for FLips fans, of which, I now count myself one. For those still un-baptised in the Flips musical font, I would suggest you start with "Yoshimi" and "Soft Bulletin," and save "Mystics" for those of us who have drank The Flaming Lips Kool-Aid and find it oh so sweet.
posted by Slag at 9:05 PM
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