The Flaming Lips - "Sun Blows Up Today" (Video)

It's been a good long while since we've heard a new jam from The Flaming Lips, so we were stoked to learn that their new record The Terror is due April 2nd, and the lead single just droped on the interwebs! "Sun Blows Up Today" is a synth laden psychedelic trek that recalls a hybridization of some of their more recent fuzzy guitar work, and the subtle melodies of The Soft Bulletin in short — it's killer, and we're loving it. Stream the vid (complete with lyrics!) above...

Flaming Lips 12 Cell Phone Madness, Live!

You may recall that last Monday we were completely taken with the Flaming Lips' idea to drop a 12-track cell phone masterpiece upon the world. Well, we were so taken that we decided we had to see this thing actually happen in the real world. The only problem was that syncing 12 cell phones, much less having access to that many, is no trivial task.

To wit, we enlisted 12 able bodied souls from NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program, and got them to sync up their phones to playback the band's lovely experiment. The result (as you can stream above) is lacking somewhat in sonic fidelity, but is unquestionably interesting. Moreover, the exercise of getting 12 individuals to do something simultaneously is, well, harder than you might think.

So, has Wayne Coyne stumbled upon the wave of the future, the next generation of song-creation madness? Not exactly. What he has done is made music social, and as a result created an experience that is, as always, completely and uniquely his own. Still, this time around it belongs to us as well. Well played, Wayne.

Flaming Lips Drop New Tune For Valentine's Day

Replete with visuals similar to their surround DVD releases, and the sync-voice from the beginning of Zaireeka tracks, "Two Blobs Fucking" is the first piece of monthly new music from the Flaming Lips. Musically, it's pretty damn abstract, and has us seriously wondering if these new tracks won't see the light of day in some sort of surround format down the road. In the meantime, check the track above, and enjoy all the audio-visual curiosity it has to offer up. Love.

Update: Our "wondering" is actually "reality": the band has uploaded 12 parts to the song to youtube, and this is but one of them. Head to the Lips' youtube page along with twelve of your closest pals and sync up your smart-phones to let the fun begin! Check the "instructional video above...

Flaming Lips Bring Zaireeka To Phones

Wayne Coyne Of Flaming Lips at Treasure Island Festival 2009, from the HAD Archive

Sure, for some of you, the exciting news might be that the Flaming Lips have decided to release one single a month over the next year, in an effort to keep things fresh and creative. Don't get us wrong, that's great news. But even more exciting for us is that the band has decided to release their epic 4-CD syncro-play masterpiece Zaireeka for mobile phones!

Why is this exciting, you ask? Well, the original Zaireeka was a 4 disc affair, designed to be played simultaneously and create an on-the-fly mix of the record. The problem is that in the 20-some-odd years since the record has been released, boom boxes (and hence Zaireeka parties) have been conspicuously on the downturn.

That will all change with a fancy little phone implementation, that will let all the Lips nerds within a one mile radius join together in phone-y awesomeness. While we're not sure what stages of development the project is in (it looks like they're still using quicktime in the video, above), the band is promising it'll be around by the end of the month. Very, very, exciting!

mp3: Flaming Lips - March Of The Rotten Vegetables (Stereo Mixdown)

Flaming Lips Coming To Central Park, Conquering Dark Side Of The Moon

Flaming Lips at Treasure Island Festival, from the HAD Archive. Photo by Brian Fong.

After the already-monumentous news that Pavement will be there at the end of the season, it is with great anticipation and glee that we came upon the news that none other than the Flaming Lips will be gracing this year's Central Park Summerstage. Backed by the awesomeness of their latest record Embryonic, there is frankly nowhere we would rather see Oklahoma City's favorite sons than under the stars on a beautiful summer evening.

On top of that, the band has taken their iTunes-only version of Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon live, with a New Year's Eve performance last month, and now the announcement of a similar gig at this year's Bonnaroo. While there's no news yet as to whether the Central Park gig will be Floyd-homage or otherwise, we can pretty much guarantee you it'll be an awesome show, and that you'd be a fool to miss it.

Tickets go on sale Friday at noon.

mp3: Flaming Lips - Money (Pink Floyd Cover)

Flaming Lips: "Watching The Planets" - Video (NSFW)

Just in case you had any fears that the garagey, back to basics sound of the Flaming Lips' Embryonic had somehow caused them to lose a taste for naked bodies and graphic imagery, fear not! The recently released video for "Watching The Planets" (which was apparently filmed at Gus Van Sant's house) features not only droves of naked folk walking and biking, but also the delivery of said folk from the birth canal of an anonymous beast. Needless to say, NSFW, but oh so awesome.

Sadly, video embed appears to be broken. Head here to check out the vid!

mp3: Flaming Lips - Watching The Planets

Treasure Island Festival, Day 2 - Photos, Review

After the awesomeness of day one, we were more than a little excited to get back out to Treasure Island and enjoy the festival's "rock" flavored day. The fact that the TI is somewhat broken up by genre does mean that the crowds differ bit. Not enough that you could point to one factor, but definitely enough that there was a notable change in the air between the two. Sunday's crowd was definitely ready for some solid rock, and the festival definitely did not disappoint.



We started out our day checking in with local faves Vetiver. Given that we love their latest record, and highly enjoyed their show at GAMH earlier this year, we weren't exactly surprised to see the band put on a fantastic performance. That being said, it was pretty clear that the band had transcended some folks' expectations: the crowd was totally rapt, and so were we. If this band didn't already have a solid "keep an eye on them" label, they certainly do now.



From there we stopped in on probably the most hyped band this side of the globe, and caught a set from Grizzly Bear. All hype aside, these guys definitely do deliver live, so it's hard to be snarky about it. The set's dynamic was interesting, as it seemed to start incredibly high energy, and gradually mellow out. An unusual direction for a rock show to go in, but for Grizzly Bear, it seemed to work.



The Walkmen were up next, and what can we say? These guys are clearly in their prime right now. We were wowed by their shows in New York this summer, and the energy is still there. The band delivered a blazing set that was definitely riding the wave of last year's much lauded You & Me. It's really nice to see the band back on the ball after what seemed like a year or two of semi-aimlessness between records. We can't wait for the next one.



As darkness fell on Treasure Island, we made our way to Yo La Tengo's set. Suffice it to say: the band was definitely in mellow mode. For a trio who have the potential to be the loudest thing you've ever heard, it's always interesting when they pull it way back and dedicate the set to songcraft and technique. This set was exactly that, with the band clearly invested in what they were doing, and offering a fantastic night of tunage.



Then it was time for the big show. The Flaming Lips took to the stage, and proceeded to deliver their (now well known) brand of showmanship. The plastic ball was there. The lights were there. The confetti was there. And, so was the girl having the seizure in the front row. Yes, it's sad, but strobe effects were not made for everyone. Even so, the band powered through and delivered an awesome set that spanned many old favorites, and touched heavily on their latest, Embryonic. Our assessment of the Lips continues to be what is has, and always will, be: go see the show. Just go. There's really no other way to get it.

And with that, we wrapped our 2009 weekend at the Treasure Island Festival. It was as awesome as we had hoped, and continues to build on its own momentum. It's also nice to see that both Treasure Island and Outside Lands have carved out their own niche and are happily coexisting. Let San Francisco's festival-laden goodness continue!

Photos by Brian Fong
Many more photos at the HAD Archive

The Flaming Lips Played Conan, Insanity Ensued - Video

The Flaming Lips' Embryonic dropped yesterday, and by all accounts the double-record behemoth is a striking success. We have yet to give it the full once over here at HAD, but we did manage to catch the band on Conan last night, and if the performance is any indication, these guys are more than ready to deliver on their new material.

The performance was a psyched out rave up of the tune "Watching The Planets", and was a pretty damn good example of the band's return to their rawer roots that has been being mentioned in so many reviews. While Karen O wasn't on hand for the tune (as she is on the recorded version), the band was playing as a somewhat epic six piece, complete with flashing gong. Check out the video above.

The Flaming Lips will be at the Treasure Island Festival this weekend.

mp3: Flaming Lips - Watching The Planets

New Flaming Lips Record On Tap For September

We've been sitting around nervously waiting for any official information about the Flaming Lips' forthcoming studio album. Despite a few whispers here and there about progress, we hadn't really heard anything tangible until today, when the tracks below popped up on Austin, TX blog Covert Curiousity.

Apparently the record (which is entitled Embryonic, cover art above) will be a double record, and drops on September 29th. We have to say, the double record always comes with a drop of skepticism, but if anyone can pull off an epic masterpiece, we have to say it's the the Lips.

Now, back to those tracks: they're some of the most abstract stuff we've heard from the Lips in a long time, which is definitely a good thing. At War With The Mystics was definitely leaning towards the perilously poppy, so we're glad to see the band travelling back to an edgier, more experimental sound. Both tracks feature a much more open airy production style than the band has adopted as of late, and we have to say that at moments it even reminds us of some of the band's early records, but with their modern sensibilities in tact. Very tasty.

Meanwhile, if you're looking to catch the band live, they will indeed be touring, and in San Francisco that means a stop to headline the Treasure Island Festival. Well played, organizer-folk. Check the rest of the dates below.

Flaming Lips Summer/Fall 2009 US Dates
Sat, 08/15/2009 Del Mar, CA
Mon, 08/17/2009 Los Angeles, CA
Tue, 08/18/2009 Pomona, CA
Thu, 08/20/2009 Troutdale, OR
Fri, 08/21/2009 Redmond, WA
Sun, 08/23/2009 Morrison, CO
Wed, 08/26/2009 Atlanta, GA
Fri, 08/28/2009 Washington, DC
Sat, 08/29/2009 Philadelphia, PA
Sun, 08/30/2009 Boston, MA
Sun, 09/13/2009 Monticello, NY
Sun, 10/18/2009 San Francisco, CA

mp3: The Flaming Lips - Convinced Of The Hex
mp3: The Flaming Lips - Silver Flaming Hands

The Flaming Lips w/ Stardeath And White Dwarfs - "Borderline"

Apparently this has been floating around on the internets for almost a month, but we just caught wind of it and really couldn't pass up posting about it. There's so much awesomeness going on here it's tough to say where to begin, but we'll give it a go.

For one, this is the best cover version we've heard out of the Lips in a while: "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "War Pigs" lacked a little something in the soul department, and this version of Madonna's (already amazing) classic truly delivers. For another, the tune really rocks: it starts out mellow, but it gradually builds, and when it truly kicks in at around the four minute mark, it's pure bliss. Top it all off with an awesome video reminiscent of the Lips surround DVD's, and well, you've got yourself a big barrel of awesomeness.

Okay, we'll let you enjoy now.

mp3: Flaming Lips With Stardeath And White Dwarfs - Borderline

Christmas On Mars Will Be At The Roxie On Halloween

This just in: the oft-previewed, now complete, soon to be on DVD, Flaming Lips epic Christmas On Mars, will be shown in full-theatre glory at The Roxie starting on Halloween! So, if you find yourself stymied by San Francisco's continual efforts to quiet down Halloween fun, now you have yourself a nice little plan-B. If you have other plans on Halloween, well, the film will be showing through November 5th. Either way, it's win-win!

Wayne Coyne Lives In a Compound

The New York Times has a nice interview with Wayne Coyne today, in the Home and Garden section no less! It talks a bit about his gradually expanding home "compound" and how he puts it to use for everything from band rehearsals to movie filming. Lips fans may remember the house from 2005's Fearless Freaks documentary, and it seems that since then Coyne has expanded into purchasing the three adjacent homes. Indeed. It's a bit of a puff piece, but it's a fun read, and a great way to start your Thursday morning - enjoy!

The Flaming Lips' Christmas On Mars Finally (Finally!!!!) Arriving

We've been waiting for this one for years. YEARS, people. The Flaming Lips have been talking about their feature film Christmas On Mars forever, and it's always just out of reach. First there was mention in interviews, then there was the trailer, and finally the tour of the set in Wayne's backyward in The Fearless Freaks. That's what happens when you decide to make a sci-fi epic in the backyard of your Oklahoma house, we suppose.

Well news has just come down the pike that the band is releasing the DVD on November 11th! That's right kids: you can mark your calendars and all that jazz. The DVD also comes with a soundtrack to the film, so you can your psychedelic on with sonics or visuals, your call. Sadly (and here's the only bad news) the scheduled screening events (which are "across the country"), include no dates in California. Is this an oversight? A maximum diss? Regardless, it bums us out. To the max, man...