The Ultra-Mega Flaming Lips post, Part 3

So, yesterday we left off with 2006's "At War With the Mystics".... I guess the next time these lads were heard from were a pair of 2009 releases... first up we have "Embryonic".... a double album set, it would be a good look at the Lips' future, collaborating with other artists.....again, also, this album totally changes direction, also, abandoning the goofy greatness of the earlier efforts for a "gloomier" affair...honest to God, you can't say these boys wouldn't take chances, regardless of the outcome.  Karen O, one of my main objects of slobber, helps out here, as does the band MGMT. Another original effort, from one of the most daring and original bands of our time.

2009 also saw the release of their next major project, a complete cover of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon".....I have to say, I do love this album, this (covering an entire album) has been done before (off the top of my head is Pussy Galore's "Exile on Main Street" (see Pussy Galore post)), but this one works almost to perfection, NOT a slavish carbon copy, and not an insult to the original. Both Henry Rollins and Peaches assist here, and to good ending....who could be more PERFECT than Peaches to cover"That Great Gig In the Sky"? I thought it was one of the top albums of 2009, not sure the music buying public agreed......

Next up was an album COMPLETELY comprised of collaborative efforts, 2012's "The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends"......where to begin here? The Lips are assisted by acts as diverse as Yoko Ono's Plastic Ono Band, Nick Cave, Lightning Bolt, and Erykah Badu, and their customary weirdness remains intact ("Helping the Retarded to Know God", "Is David Bowie Dying?")......I enjoy this album as well.....even if you do not, it is almost impossible to not appreciate the Lips' attempts to NEVER play it safe, and to ALWAYS attempt to be original and creative.

Their most recent "official" release would be 2013's "The Terror", honestly, probably my least favorite of their releases, somewhat similar to "Embryonic" in my opinion, but far from worthless. If you are a fan of Flaming Lips, you'll want to hear this, as likely it is simply another step in their journey. God only knows what they might try next, experiments such as "Zaireeka" and "Dark Side of the Moon" are the kind of things that no other band would even dream of attempting, so, we shall see what the future holds.

Tomorrow: Some EP's and other stuff, emptying the Flaming Lips vault. A great, original and underappreciated band who can never be accused of playing it safe or being boring.

EMBRYONIC DISC 1-01 Convinced of the Hex/02 The Sparrow Looks Up at the Machine/03 Evil/04 Aquarius Sabotage/05 See the Leaves/06 If/07 Gemini Syringes/08 Your Bats/09 Powerless

EMBRYONIC DISC 2-01 The Ego's Last Stand/02 I Can Be a Frog/03 Sagittarius Silver Mountain/04 Worm Mountain/05 Scorpio Sword/06 The Impulse/07 Silver Trembling Hands/08 Virgo Self-Esteem Broadcast/09 Watching the Planets

DARK SIDE OF THE  MOON-01 Speak to Me/Breathe/02 On the Run/03 Time/Breathe (Reprise)/04 The Great Gig In Sky/05 Money/06 Us and Them/07 Any Colour You Like/08 Brain Damage/09 Eclipse

FLAMING LIPS WITH HEADY FWENDS-01 2012 (You Must Be Upgraded) (with Kesha, Biz Markie, and Hour of the Time Majesty)/02 Ashes In the Air (with Bon Iver)/03 Helping the Retarded To Know God (with Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros)/04 Supermoon Made Me Want to Pee (with Prefuse 73)/05 Children of the Moon (with Tame Impala)/06 That Ain't My Trip (with Jim James of My Morning Jacket)/07 You, Man? Human ??? (with Nick Cave)/08 I'm Working at NASA on Acid (with Lightning Bolt)/09 Do It! (with Yoko Ono & the Plastic Ono Band)/10 Is David Bowie Dying? (with Neon Indian)/11 The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (with Erykah Badu)/12 Girl, You're So Weird (with New Fumes)/13 Tasered and Maced (with Aaron Behrens of Ghostland Observatory)

THE TERROR-01 Look, the Sun is Rising/02 Be Free, a Way/03 Try to Explain/04 You Lust (with Phantogram)/05 The Terror/06 You Are Alone/07 Butterfly, How Long It Takes to Die/08 Turning Violent/09 Always There....In Our Hearts