Although they had formed 10 years earlier, most people, who were musically aware in the 1990s, wouldn’t site their first encounter with the The Flaming Lips‘ music until the release of “She Don’t Use Jelly“, from the 1993 album Transmissions from the Satellite Heart. Over the next decade or so, The Lips explored some of the most adventurous territories of their careers, both live and in the studio. However, they primarily vanished from mainstream view and, by all accounts, didn’t really re-enter the grid until Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002). Although, The Soft Bulletin (1999) was an experimental and personal breakthrough for them, Yoshimi was the first album that really hit the world hard and gained The Lips the commercial success that had eluded them for 20 years. The album brought them the first of their 3 Grammy wins and, in many ways, the group has been riding the success of the Yoshimi wave ever since.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not claiming that the group has remained dormant; my views are actually quite the opposite. In fact, in relation to their endless projects, they may have even spread themselves a bit too thin. After 2 Yoshimi-related EPs [Fight Test and Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell], The Lips released their next “official” full-length, At War with the Mystics, in 2006. Since Yoshimi, the group has released their music video chronicle on DVD, were the focus of a successful documentary, filmed, scored, and released their own feature film, appeared on multiple Hollywood film soundtracks [Spongebob Squarepants, Wedding Crashers, Spider Man 3, etc], appeared on a video game soundtrack, and have collaborated with various other artists on various other projects. They’ve even had an alley named after them in their home state of Oklahoma, where they hold their annual “March of 1000 Flaming Skeletons” Halloween parade, and even have lent their name and energy to the production of a fucking hotsauce. In the midst of all of these projects and live shows, it is understandable why the release Mystics could have been lost and diluted for many. Financially, the album was very “successful”, with the band parting out songs for use in commercials. As a single, unified and artistic project, the release made less of an impact then their previous 2 albums. Later this month, The Flaming Lips are slated to release a double album, which will, hopefully and temporarily, take the focus off of everything else that they are associated with and put it back onto their studio work.
Embryonic won’t be released until October 13th but, to tide every one over, The Flaming Lips have provided a special thank you to their fans. Everybody who purchased a ticket for the summer tour was to be provided withspecial little digital Scooby Snacks, which offered them a first look into the upcoming release. The following was taken directly from the Lips’s official website: Read the rest of this entry →
