Flaming Lips fans?

chris harris · Post by **chris harris** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:46 am

from the rehearsal footage, it appears that they might actually be playing like a real rock band (i.e. no backing tracks) on tonight's VH1 tribute to the Who. Should be pretty great.

acjetnut · Post by **acjetnut** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:49 am

Very cool! I like the Flaming Lips a lot - ill have to check this out.

centurymantra · Post by **centurymantra** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:51 am

acjetnut wrote:Very cool! I like the Flaming Lips a lot - ill have to check this out.

That is cool...I really revel in the memories of my Flaming Lips concert experiences from their early years. The original three-piece line-up was truly amazing...one of the very few concert experiences I consider to be genuinely life-altering. The following four-piece lineup that carried them into the '90s was nearly as transcendent. Anyone who was lucky enough to be there knows what I'm talking about. Their first drummer even played in a VERY Keith Moon style. Me and my crew of Flaming Lips devotees caught pretty much every Michigan performance over the course of several years. In a strange and surreal turn of events, they even played a basement show in my home town of East Lansing. That was kind of an "am I dreaming" experience watching them turn that basement into an alternate universe with their sonic goo, strobes, smoke machines and liquid lights. It became a cornerstone of the E. Lansing cultural mythology. I still dig the Lips and think it is amazing and great that they forage forward into new territory, but I was always bummed that Wayne decided to put down his guitar.

Sorry I missed that show...I'll have to scope out Youtube.

dr.ona · Post by **dr.ona** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 9:08 am

DAMN!!
Flaming Lips in your basement???!!!!

centurymantra · Post by **centurymantra** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:30 pm

dr.ona wrote:DAMN!!
Flaming Lips in your basement???!!!!

Well...it wasn't my basement. But it was a basement just down the street. This would have been right around the "Oh My Gawd..." era of the Lips. Man, was that awesome. Gives me some goosebumps thinking about it.

RefD · Post by **RefD** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:51 pm

centurymantra wrote:
dr.ona wrote:DAMN!!
Flaming Lips in your basement???!!!!

Well...it wasn't my basement. But it was a basement just down the street. This would have been right around the "Oh My Gawd..." era of the Lips. Man, was that awesome. Gives me some goosebumps thinking about it.

that's at the dawn of creation for them, if i'm not mistaken.

chris harris · Post by **chris harris** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 6:38 am

it was their second full length. They had been around for a few years at that point.

centurymantra · Post by **centurymantra** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:06 am

subatomic pieces wrote:it was their second full length. They had been around for a few years at that point.

Yeah, that is correct. This would have been around 1987-88...'88 if I had to guess - and they had been together as a band for a good 4-5 years at that point. To my mind, they were pretty much at the height of their powers at that point. It wouldn't have been too long after this that Richard English, their orginal drummer would be leaving the band.

Good times.

Rolsen · Post by **Rolsen** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 6:50 pm

I'm pretty well versed from Clouds Taste Metallic forward - what is an essential 'earlier' Lips album?

I hate to say it, but I was a little underwhelmed by them during the Who tribute. I didn't necessarily enjoy a full orchestra behind Pearl Jam either (reminded me of late-90's alternative heavyweights, when everyone was getting an orchestra behind 'em!).

littlesongs · Post by **littlesongs** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 6:14 am

That basement show must have been pretty magical.

Rolsen wrote:I'm pretty well versed from Clouds Taste Metallic forward - what is an essential 'earlier' Lips album?

I think In a Priest Driven Ambulance is a watershed record.

RefD · Post by **RefD** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:39 am

subatomic pieces wrote:it was their second full length. They had been around for a few years at that point.

i dunno much about them apart from what i read in 'Staring At Sound'.

wondertwinpowers · Post by **wondertwinpowers** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:27 pm

Steven Drozd is one of my all time favorite drummers.

centurymantra · Post by **centurymantra** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 6:31 am

littlesongs wrote:That basement show must have been pretty magical.

Rolsen wrote:I'm pretty well versed from Clouds Taste Metallic forward - what is an essential 'earlier' Lips album?
I think In a Priest Driven Ambulance is a watershed record.

I'd agree. That really was a big "turning point" record that introduced the band's new sound with a four piece / two-guitarist lineup. They were also coming off what was arguably their weakest record "Telepathic Surgery" - pretty much written in the studio with no solid direction and in the midst of a band breakup. The records before that were pretty cool, though I'm not sure how well they stand up today to someone who wasn't there experiencing the band and their live shows. The incredible psychedelic punk rock roller coaster ride of their concerts really just sent the songs from those first few records into hyerspace. That being said, both 'Oh My Gawd...It's the Flaming Lips' and 'Hear it Is' have some awesome stuff on them. There is this sort of subliminal kind of vibe and depth in those early records that, if you can tap into it, really brings something out. I actually haven't pulled those records out in years. I think I might do that this weekend.

chris harris · Post by **chris harris** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 8:22 am

wondertwinpowers wrote:Steven Drozd is one of my all time favorite drummers.

Kliph, their new drummer, is like a clone of Steven. He plays almost exactly the same way.

chris harris · Post by **chris harris** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 8:25 am

centurymantra wrote:That being said, both 'Oh My Gawd...It's the Flaming Lips' and 'Hear it Is' have some awesome stuff on them. There is this sort of subliminal kind of vibe and depth in those early records that, if you can tap into it, really brings something out. I actually haven't pulled those records out in years. I think I might do that this weekend.

bingo! They didn't quite have amazing musical chops at that point. And, they were primarily what you might consider a punk band... but, there was definitely this weirdness that seemed just bursting to come out.

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