While few could have guessed how far the Flaming Lips would have progressed since their goofy garage-psych incarnation of the late 80s, the direction they have taken is not surprising. What is startling is how successful they are. 1997’s Zaireeka, the best joke played on a major label since Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music, was a four CD set designed to be played on four different stereos simultaneously. The couple thousand people who actually bought it and followed through were rewarded with a lusciously psychedelic experience. Amidst rumors of psychological collapse, Wayne Coyne lead a series of “Parking Lot Experiments” with synchronized playback of cassette tapes in car stereos. This evolved into a small club tour called the “Boombox Experiment” which left fans entertained but worried — were the Flaming Lips giving up rock ‘n’ roll?
The Soft Bulletin broadcast the answer loud and clear. Taking off from the orchestral grandeur of Mercury Rev’s (former Lips Jonathan Donahue’s band) 1998 Deserter’s Songs, the Lips were ten times more ambitious. The overwhelmingly meticulous sound sculptures could have collapsed into a meandering mess, but instead, zero in on the emotional theme of each surprisingly focused song. While old fans may miss the less frequent “rocking out” parts, the band continues to deliver as one of the best live bands around, and have closed a chapter of their career one lysergic kiss away from perfection.
