Oh my gawd!!! ... Oh My Gawd: the Flaming Lips doesn't suck!

E. Noisefield · 11.03.2012, 11:53 AM

I've always considered this album to be the one Flaming Lips album that I simply could not tolerate. They are such a great band, and that is SUCH a stupid cover and the title is SO fucking lame and the songs are so goddamn dumb that I've always thought it a miracle that they went on to make the music they did.. But the other day at work I needed something loud to drown out the sound of co-worker bullshitting so I could finish my reports and get the hell home, so I put on my headphones and played the album because, frankly, I've listened to all the others way too much at this point.
I was surprised to find that I didn't skip a single song (a first for this album since like 2004) and enjoyed it very much.

Its dumbness is charming, its obnoxious moments are fun, and there are a few really blissful melodic moments! As I recall, most of you bastards hate this band, but I don't care

it's post-worthy that an album I've avoided and been embarrassed by for years suddenly makes sense to me.
Has this ever happened to you, with an album you wished didn't exist and suddenly started enjoying?

Saturday morning bored off my ass break from bed-reading post achieved. Meeting goals is fulfilling

Severian · 11.03.2012, 06:38 PM

I'm sorry dear, but I have to disagree here. I don't hate it, but they were still milking the Butthole Surfers at the time that album came out. There are two or three good songs, and the rest is filler. It's an important album for them historically, but I think overall it's a step backwards from Hear it Is.

Savage Clone · 11.04.2012, 08:39 AM

One Million Billionth of a Millisecond on a Sunday Morning is better than all of their "Soft Bulletin" and onward lite-symphonic saccharine rock music combined. I'm happy for their success and all, but the later half of their music makes my teeth hurt. This album rules. Plus I got it when it was new and my enjoyment had not yet been tainted by the sugary horrors yet to come.

Severian · 11.04.2012, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Savage Clone

One Million Billionth of a Millisecond on a Sunday Morning is better than all of their "Soft Bulletin" and onward lite-symphonic saccharine rock music combined. I'm happy for their success and all, but the later half of their music makes my teeth hurt. This album rules. Plus I got it when it was new and my enjoyment had not yet been tainted by the sugary horrors yet to come.

Hah. I used to feel that way too. Until around 03 I was completely unimpressed by anything after Hit To Death... (except for Zaireeka) and thought the hype surrounding Soft Bulletin was complete bullshit. I loved their first RP, Hear it Is, Telepathic Sugery, In a Priest Driven Ambulance, and Hit to Death was about as poppy as I ever wanted them to sound.

My first reaction to Race for the Prize: "are you fucking kidding me with this shit?"

It wasn't until I heard "Yoshimi... Pt. 2" that the "new" Lips started appealing to me at all. But that song's absurd heaviness and weirdness made me a believer again. They are weirder and heavier than ever. They just allowed their sound to adapt to the times. They couldn't keep playing what was weird in 1987 forever, because it would sound normal or even boring if they did that. Anyway, now I rank them pretty high ... Not Spiritualized or Sonic Youth high, mind you, but still high, in "ratio of awesome albums to length of career."

Still, Oh My Gawd is my least favorite of their albums.

Savage Clone · 11.04.2012, 12:19 PM

I don't think a band should stagnate, but you can progress without making a toothless and unlistenable piece of sappy juvenilia like "Yoshimi," surely.

My main criticism of Spiritualized is that they in fact have not progressed, but have continued to simply make more and more diluted (or in a few cases, more and more overproduced) versions of a once-vital template. They were the best live band on earth from the beginning through Ladies and Gentlemen, but the stuff they have churned out since then has depressed me enough as a one-time ultrafan that I won't even go see them anymore because I want to keep my memories from the early and mid 90s undiluted by all the retreading. They are like looking at yet another damn picture of Chuck Close's head at this point to me, to make a visual art analogy.

Swans, Legendary Pink Dots, Haino....I could go on and on with artists who have been prolific over long periods and gone through many phases without succumbing to regurgitation or cutesy schtickiness to appeal to more people.

Savage Clone · 11.04.2012, 12:22 PM

(But yeah, there are a few pretty bad songs on that album, to be fair)

E. Noisefield · 11.04.2012, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Severian

Hah. I used to feel that way too. Until around 03 I was completely unimpressed by anything after Hit To Death... (except for Zaireeka) and thought the hype surrounding Soft Bulletin was complete bullshit. I loved their first RP, Hear it Is, Telepathic Sugery, In a Priest Driven Ambulance, and Hit to Death was about as poppy as I ever wanted them to sound.

My first reaction to Race for the Prize: "are you fucking kidding me with this shit?"

It wasn't until I heard "Yoshimi... Pt. 2" that the "new" Lips started appealing to me at all. But that song's absurd heaviness and weirdness made me a believer again. They are weirder and heavier than ever. They just allowed their sound to adapt to the times. They couldn't keep playing what was weird in 1987 forever, because it would sound normal or even boring if they did that. Anyway, now I rank them pretty high ... Not Spiritualized or Sonic Youth high, mind you, but still high, in "ratio of awesome albums to length of career."

Still, Oh My Gawd is my least favorite of their albums.

Why you gotta break balls, Severian?

Sometimes I want to talk to you like Jack does to Dot Com on 30 Rock...

"Honestly Dot Com, this need you have to be the smartest guy in the room is... Off-putting"

Severian · 11.04.2012, 12:39 PM

Spiritualized cant be compared to those bands. They're a pop band. They have their sound, and yes it's redundant; I'm not going to claim that anything they've done has been original. They're my favorite existing band because they consistently manage to make the same basic theme sound refreshing and exhilarating. I'd probably be pissed if they tried to switch things up now.

By the way, I saw them last spring for the umpteenth time, and it was the best show I've been to this year. They're never going to top their pre-2000s output, but they continue to make down to earth stoner rock n roll that works (and reminds me that minimal technical skill, attitude, and painkillers are really all you need to make great music.)

Severian · 11.04.2012, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foreverasskiss

o, forgot to mention they get wonderful drum sounds too.

The Lips or Spiritualized?

11.03.2012, 11:53 AM	#1
E. Noisefield the end of the ugly Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: In the hearts of men Posts: 869	I've always considered this album to be the one Flaming Lips album that I simply could not tolerate. They are such a great band, and that is SUCH a stupid cover and the title is SO fucking lame and the songs are so goddamn dumb that I've always thought it a miracle that they went on to make the music they did.. But the other day at work I needed something loud to drown out the sound of co-worker bullshitting so I could finish my reports and get the hell home, so I put on my headphones and played the album because, frankly, I've listened to all the others way too much at this point. I was surprised to find that I didn't skip a single song (a first for this album since like 2004) and enjoyed it very much. Its dumbness is charming, its obnoxious moments are fun, and there are a few really blissful melodic moments! As I recall, most of you bastards hate this band, but I don't care it's post-worthy that an album I've avoided and been embarrassed by for years suddenly makes sense to me. Has this ever happened to you, with an album you wished didn't exist and suddenly started enjoying? Saturday morning bored off my ass break from bed-reading post achieved. Meeting goals is fulfilling
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

11.03.2012, 06:38 PM	#2
Severian invito al cielo Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 11,798	I'm sorry dear, but I have to disagree here. I don't hate it, but they were still milking the Butthole Surfers at the time that album came out. There are two or three good songs, and the rest is filler. It's an important album for them historically, but I think overall it's a step backwards from Hear it Is.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

11.04.2012, 08:39 AM	#3
Savage Clone invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 11,290	One Million Billionth of a Millisecond on a Sunday Morning is better than all of their "Soft Bulletin" and onward lite-symphonic saccharine rock music combined. I'm happy for their success and all, but the later half of their music makes my teeth hurt. This album rules. Plus I got it when it was new and my enjoyment had not yet been tainted by the sugary horrors yet to come.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

11.04.2012, 12:19 PM	#5
Savage Clone invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 11,290	I don't think a band should stagnate, but you can progress without making a toothless and unlistenable piece of sappy juvenilia like "Yoshimi," surely. My main criticism of Spiritualized is that they in fact have not progressed, but have continued to simply make more and more diluted (or in a few cases, more and more overproduced) versions of a once-vital template. They were the best live band on earth from the beginning through Ladies and Gentlemen, but the stuff they have churned out since then has depressed me enough as a one-time ultrafan that I won't even go see them anymore because I want to keep my memories from the early and mid 90s undiluted by all the retreading. They are like looking at yet another damn picture of Chuck Close's head at this point to me, to make a visual art analogy. Swans, Legendary Pink Dots, Haino....I could go on and on with artists who have been prolific over long periods and gone through many phases without succumbing to regurgitation or cutesy schtickiness to appeal to more people.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

11.04.2012, 12:22 PM	#6
Savage Clone invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 11,290	(But yeah, there are a few pretty bad songs on that album, to be fair)
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

11.04.2012, 12:39 PM	#8
Severian invito al cielo Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 11,798	Spiritualized cant be compared to those bands. They're a pop band. They have their sound, and yes it's redundant; I'm not going to claim that anything they've done has been original. They're my favorite existing band because they consistently manage to make the same basic theme sound refreshing and exhilarating. I'd probably be pissed if they tried to switch things up now. By the way, I saw them last spring for the umpteenth time, and it was the best show I've been to this year. They're never going to top their pre-2000s output, but they continue to make down to earth stoner rock n roll that works (and reminds me that minimal technical skill, attitude, and painkillers are really all you need to make great music.)
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|