French for Grapefruit

Artist: The Flaming Lips

Album: At War with the Mystics

Date Released: April 3rd, 2006

Tracks:

1. “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)” – 4:51
2. “Free Radicals (A Hallucination of the Christmas Skeleton Pleading with a Suicide Bomber)” – 3:39
3. “The Sound of Failure / It’s Dark… Is It Always this Dark??” – 7:18
4. “My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion (The Inner Life as Blazing Shield of Defiance and Optimism as Celestial Spear of Action)” – 4:48
5. “Vein of Stars” – 4:15
6. “The Wizard Turns On… The Giant Silver Flashlight and Puts on His Werewolf Moccasins” – 3:41
7. “It Overtakes Me/The Stars Are So Big… I Am So Small… Do I Stand a Chance?” – 6:50
8. “Mr. Ambulance Driver” – 4:21
9. “Haven’t Got a Clue” – 3:23
10. “The W.A.N.D. (The Will Always Negates Defeat)” – 3:44
11. “Pompeii am Götterdämmerung” – 4:22
12. “Goin’ On” – 3:39

Standout Song: Tracks 1, 2, 3

Standout Lyrics: They got their weapons to solve all their questions \ They don’t know what they’re for \ Why can’t they see that’s not power, that’s greed \ To just want more and more

Thoughts:

The Flaming Lips have always been one of those bands that I’ve thought I should like. They’re paragons of the indie scene, they have a unique sound, they write songs about ninjas fighting robots. In light of these facts I often think to myself “what’s not to like about them exactly?”

But for some reason The Flaming Lips and I have never clicked. Oh sure, we’ve danced together on a couple of occasions, maybe even shared a kiss or two, but in the end I don’t think it was meant to be. I’m just not that into them, even if it seems like I should be.

Sometimes that happens, I guess.

At War with the Mystics didn’t do much to change those feelings, or lack thereof. Sure, there were a few tunes that caught my attention, but they weren’t enough for me to get really exciting about the rest of the album. Of course, it didn’t help that those few good tunes were the first three tracks on the disc, making it necessary to endure the rest of it.

For the same reasons I can’t pinpoint why I’m unable get into The Flaming Lips as a band I can’t pinpoint why I didn’t like this album. It just doesn’t click with me, and I don’t feel anything when I listen to it. Maybe that has to do with the artificial nature of the music itself; the obvious, heavy production required to produce an electro-folk-rock sound doesn’t lend it any kind of immediacy or warmth, and I have a hard time mentally and emotionally snuggling up to something that sounds like it’s got lots of sharp edges.

I think it might be time I stopped flirting with this band and just said au revoir.

Later Skater,
~Pamplemousse~
(getting disillusioned about his taste)