I saw the Flaming Lips at the Big Day Out this year, and also at a concert they put on as part of their tour through Australia. They were great.
Wayne likes to get the crowd participating when the Lips play, and both times I saw them he had these giant Hulk-like fists that he was using to encourage the crowd to do the arm-waving fist-pumping thing during one particular song. The video clip to the song (projected on a screen behind them) had some mediaeval knight type guy that could shoot fireballs and kill small dogs. What’s the name of this song? I can’t remember any of the lyrics but I know it’s not from the Yoshimi LP. Help, for I am going slowly mad.
If by some chance nobody knows the answer feel free to comment about how much you love the Flaming Lips. You’re a real hipster now, baby.
Sorry j_kat, can’t help you with the name, although i did see them at adelaide BDO… Oh. My. God. probably the best day of my life, defineately the best performance i have ever seen (this may have something to do with seeing Zia McCabe dancing on stage in a bunny suit with them, damn she’s hot). i never really got a chance to get into them until now, and i plan on buying yoshimi battles the pink robots at the first chance i get.
sorry j_kat i cant help you there but im just here to say how great the flaming lips are and that anyone who gets the chance should by yoshimi battles the pink robots, there are also some flash videos for “Fight Test” and “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt1” on the flaming lips website.
Which BDO did you go to? I saw them on the first Sydney one (couldn’t get into Basement Jaxx - again!), and I’m kicking myself for not going back on the Sunday and seeing their full show, but I’d already been to the Strokes earlier in the week. I was just way too tired and poor to be making the trip down to Sydney for the third time that week.
Their show at the Sydney BDO was fantastic, though. If Wayne Coyne had started a cult that night, I would have wandered off into the hills and joined him. It was amazing. And it featured Peaches in the Bumblebee suit. I don’t know what song you’re after, though.
I discovered the Flaming Lips just this week - I’ve been listening to Yoshimi battles the pink robots online pretty much non-stop, much to the chagrin of my computer, which really can’t handle the flash images that play with it! And all thanks to that Mitsubishi commercial - they use “Do you realise?” as their song for a car, and I liked the bit I heard enough to google it and discover this band. We have an 80 $ gift certificate to HMV, and we’re actually going to go buy Yoshimi today.
I don’t know about the video you’re asking about, but I just found it interesting that a thread about this band showed up just as I was discovering them! I would love to see them in concert some day, especially after reading comments about them in this thread!
I can’t help with the OP’s question (tragically, I’ve never seen The Lips live) but I thought I’d chime in with some more worship.
I love Yoshimi (just bought the ltd. ed. release with the DVD earlier this week) but I’d highly recommend checking out their earlier works, as well. Transmissions from the Satellite Heart is good (love their cover of Plastic Jesus) and I think The Soft Bulletin is their best album yet. The songs Race for the Prize and The Gash alone are worth the price of this excellent CD.
They use “Do you realize?” for a car commercial? I’m guessing they don’t get up to the part about everybody dying. Oof.
I love the Flaming Lips. My favourite of their albums is The Soft Bulletin. It’s excellent intelligent pop. I particularly like “Race for the Prize”, I work in medical research and I find myself humming it at work and thinking it’d make a great theme song for our noble scientists ;). I haven’t seen any video clips though so I too cannot answer the OP’s question, alas.
I have The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi and totally dig them both.
I got Yoshimi first. My first impression was that Fight Test sort of reminded me of the Meat Puppets. I really fell in love with the album when I got to Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt 1, because it was so intelligent and catchy.
I think Yoshimi pt 2 is an amazing instrumental song.
I first heard them on Radio K (our local college station) playing a song that went over and over “Thank you Jack White for your [something something] Jesus that you gave me”. I actually wasn’t that impressed, and I thought that it might have been a joke that they played it. But when I heard it a second time, I decided to check Amazon reviews and was surprised that they were positive. Sometime after that I got Yoshimi.
In response to the OP: I was at the Melbourne BDO, as well as their solo show at the Palace. I’m not sure if we’re thinking of the same song, but if it was the one involving all the strobe lights and the megaphone, it might have been Lightning Strikes the Postman - I recall the video for that having explosions.
Slightly OT, but after much umming and ahhing, I went and saw Basement Jaxx over the Flaming Lips at Perth BDO (yesterday). I heard the Lips show was awesome, but no regrets on my part–the Jaxx put on an freakin’ awesome show. A small army of vocalists, live percussion and guitar work… the opener “Good Luck” was so good my head almost exploded.
I managed to catch them at the Perth BDO, twas the most fun I’ve had at a concert, with everyone singing along and having a good time. The arm waving and hulk hands came out during a rendition of ‘The Gash’ (I think), so if the set list doesn’t change that might be the song that was mentioned in the OP.
Of course I could be completly wrong, with the onset of delirium due to being sunburnt and all.
“Do you realise that you have the most beautiful face? Do you realise…”
You can kind of hear “…that we’re floating in space” under the car financing talk, but not really. You basically have to know it’s there to hear it. There’s a fair bit (if not all) of the opening instrumental part of the song. It’s an OK commercial, but obviously the song totally caught my attention!
They have the Jack White song on their website, and I’m pretty sure it’s “for that FIBREOPTIC Jesus that you gave me”. It isn’t a great song vocally and musically, but the lyrics are hilarious. “It shone so bright that I couldn’t help beleiving it would save me!”. AFAICT, he is actually talking about Jack White from the White Stripes, since he mentions Meg, a rock band, and a brother and sister link (I know they aren’t really brother and sister, but clearly the Lips didn’t know that at the time!)
Look at me, I sound like an old fan! I do plan on buying The Soft Bulletin, although it’s going to have to wait til I have a job. Yoshimi was actually on sale at HMV this weekend - 10.99 rather than 17.99.
If there is any doubt, he is talking about the Stripes’ White. At the show I saw, he told a story about how in America they have fibre-optic Jesuses, and Jack White gave him one. And that’s what the song is about.
The drummer, Steven Drozd, still owes me $10 from junior high school. If anybody sees them live, do me a favor and tell him that Shorty from Needville is looking for him.
The Lips are very good indeed. I was luck enough to find them by accident in the “Bargin CD Bin”. The Soft Bulletin was in there for $6.99 and I figured to give them a shot. Glad I did and I have been hooked ever since.
FYI I started a thread back in December about their EP, Fight Test, that was nominated for Album of the Year. I found it curious (so did their website) that it is considered an “Album”. The thread did get much attention. Here is the link if anyone wants to start it back up since the Grammys are next week (I think). FYI this is the EP with “Thank you Jack White”.
I also had a Zaireeka “Listening suggestions” thread from last year. I won’t link it but I have not been able to get organized again to have the 4 CD player affect.
I’ve seen the Lips do this song live about 3-4 times. It’s definitely “Lightning Strikes the Postman” from Clouds Taste Metallic. The footage is of David Warner blowing up all his minions in Time Bandits.
Everyone should see the Lips live at some point. I can’t imagine having more fun at a rock concert.
I saw them about 8 or 12 months ago here in California. It was the “warm-up” concert for their tour with Beck. They gave a great show, quite possible the best I’ve seen. Unfortunately, Beck kind of ruined the evening for me. He just didn’t seem to be all that happy to be doing the show. Maybe he didn’t know how, um, energetic the Lips can be.
I’m going to have to say that Clouds Taste Metallic is my favorite Lips CD. It was also the first one I got, so that may be clouding my judgment a bit.
To hijack a bit, I can’t wait 'till their movie (Christmas on Mars) comes out. Sometime this year, last I heard. They have clips and pictures at the Lips website. Check it out if you haven’t. www.flaminglips.com
