Thursday, October 22, 2009

Glide Review- Flaming Lips


Hey There,

I have a new review up on Glide.

It is of those kooky Flaming Lips newest release Embryonic

Check it out right Here!

More thoughts on the The Lips, Embryonic, 1994, and some video and tunes after the jump


I have a soft spot for the Flaming Lips, the first time I saw these strange bastards was on the second stage of Lollapolloza in '94 at the Saratoga Harness Track.  After accidentally breaking a kids nose in the pit during L7's set (sorry guy), I thought a breather may be needed, so we cruised over to the second stage and caught a sick Lucious Jackson set, it was the first time I had heard of the ladies from Grand Royale, and they were funky goodness live.  After that back at the Main Stage, Nick Cave was in the middle of his Goth Drama, which I did not need to see, so we stuck around the 2nd stage and caught the Lips... They were noisy fun in their infancy, flying high off the quirky, She Don't Use Jelly which is still a great song...  (God I love the internet, not from the exact show I was at, but the same tour)

 They were so freaky and wonderful it was delicious.  They didn't overshadow A Tribe Called Quest, George Clinton, some Dude in the Light (trust me) or The Beastie Boys, but they were dam fun.

Clock-swipe a few years ahead, OK, a BUNCH of years and I found my way back to the Lips, friends of mine were really into them (Thanks Pat and Dan) and played me some tracks, I was hooked again.  I had honestly lost touch with them and then got wrapped back up with Yoshimi.  There are so many gorgeous songs on that album, here is one.  I went back and grabbed the Soft Bulletin which I missed, and it was dyn-o-mite.  I managed to catch them a bunch live and reviewed a show for Glide here.  They had grown up but stayed off-kilter and actually blossomed as song writers and musicians.  I dug At War With The Mystics, I would say more then most people or critics, especially The W.A.N.D which I thought was a blast:

Needless to say I was looking forward to this release.  I am underwhelmed.  It is kinda cool, but I think it is too disjointed and even a touch sloppy all over the place with no real grounding.  Some of the sonic tricks are exciting, I simply love the production and the sound on Embryonic, plus Wayne's vocals are always a joy, the record sounds alive which rules. Yet it doesn't hold up to the last few albums, it's long and a bit tedious. Mostly it has the feel of one long song with different parts, a good trend for a double album, but here nothing stands out and the lyrics do little to help the listener decipher anything.  Don't get me started on the message, I think he is trying to tackle everything on earth, in the universe, and mystery's of religion with this album (The Oneness Of All!) and I end up being not sure about anything he is trying to say.... 

I wanted to love it, and I came away thinking...Meah, it is OK maybe it will grow on me...

Anyway, here are two of my favorite tracks...Do you like the album?  Think I am full o'shite?  Feel free to comment.






Silver Trembling Hands (Album Version) - The Flaming Lips





Worm Mountain (Album Version) - The Flaming Lips

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