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Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Jim Connelly's
Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Monday, January 15, 2007
Jesse Steichen's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Friday, January 12, 2007
Bill Bentley's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Tom Ridge's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Lee Templeton's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Anthony Carew's 13 Fave Albums Of 2006
Monday, March 27, 2006
SXSW 2006: Finding Some Hope In Austin
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Letter From New Orleans
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Jennifer Przybylski's Fave Albums of 2005
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Music For Dwindling Days: Max Schaefer's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Sean Fennessey's 'Best-Of' 2005
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Lori Miller Barrett's Fave Albums Of 2005
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Lee Templeton's Favorite Recordings of 2005
Thursday, January 5, 2006
Michael Lach - Old Soul Songs For A New World Order
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
Found In Translation — Emme Stone's Year In Music 2005
Tuesday, January 3, 2006
Dave Allen's 'Best-Of' 2005
Monday, January 2, 2006
Steve Gozdecki's Favorite Albums Of 2005
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Johnny Walker Black's Top 10 Of 2005
Monday, December 19, 2005
Neal Block's Favorite Recordings Of 2005
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Jenny Tatone's Year In Review
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Monday, December 12, 2005
Jennifer Kelly's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Thursday, December 8, 2005
Tom Ridge's Favorite Recordings Of 2005
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Ben Gook's Beloved Albums Of 2005
Monday, December 5, 2005
Anthony Carew's Fave Albums Of 2005
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Prince, Spoon And The Magic Of The Dead Stop
Monday, September 12, 2005
The Truth About America
Monday, September 5, 2005
Tryin' To Wash Us Away
Monday, August 1, 2005
A Psyche-Folk Heat Wave In Western Massachusetts
Monday, July 18, 2005
Soggy But Happy At Glastonbury 2005
Monday, April 4, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 3: All Together Now
Friday, April 1, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 2: Dr. Dog's Happy Chords
Thursday, March 31, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 1: Waiting, Waiting And More Waiting
Friday, March 25, 2005
Final Day At SXSW's Charnel House
Monday, March 21, 2005
Day Three At SXSW
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Day Two In SXSW's Hall Of Mirrors
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Report #1: SXSW 2005 And Its Hall Of Mirrors
Monday, February 14, 2005
Matt Landry's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
David Howie's 'Moments' From The Year 2004
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Lori Miller Barrett's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Noah Bonaparte's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Kevin John's Fave Albums Of 2004
Friday, January 14, 2005
Music For Those Nights: Max Schaefer's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Neal Block's Top Ten Of 2004
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Jenny Tatone's Fave Albums Of 2004
Monday, January 10, 2005
Wayne Robins' Top Ten Of 2004
Friday, January 7, 2005
Brian Orloff's Fave Albums Of 2004
Thursday, January 6, 2005
Johnny Walker (Black)'s Top 10 Of 2004
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Jennifer Przybylski's Fave Albums (And Book) Of 2004
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
Mark Mordue's Fave Albums Of 2004
Monday, January 3, 2005
Lee Templeton's Fave Recordings Of 2004
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Monday, May 12, 2003
Another Day At The Office For The Flaming Lips
Neumu's Steve Gozdecki writes: Fugazi and Ani DiFranco are the exceptions that help prove the rule. That is, the rule that says that to reach any kind of sizable audience, you almost have to accept a smidge — if not a full schmear — of corporate sponsorship at some point. With the Flaming Lips in town I'm reminded yet again of this unfortunate reality, as I type during the hours between their two Chicago appearances today.
This morning they did a free "gig" on North Michigan Avenue, a tie-in with one of the local television morning news shows, which found them playing current single "Fight Test" a few times and getting interviewed by the chummy news anchor. The sparse crowd — many of them literally asking "Who are these guys?" — tried valiantly to stay warm in the 40-degree weather, even as Lips leader Wayne Coyne couldn't be faulted for looking enviously at his band mates, dressed in furry animal costumes while he wore his trademark three-piece suit and tie.
With not all that much to watch, the crowd was fairly chatty, but it was something one guy I talked with said that really resonated with me. He told me that he didn't like the Flaming Lips' older music, but that he really liked their last two albums (The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots). Coffee-less, I mumbled something back about "Yeah, they've definitely mellowed and gotten more interesting."
The stranger's reply? "Plus, it really helps that they've got the muscle of that AOL Time Warner money going for them."
The gears in my head slowly turned trying to formulate a follow-up question — I wasn't sure how money could possibly help a band make better music, unless it means that the musicians can quit their day jobs or afford more studio time — but the guy then looked at his watch, adjusted his tie, said "I'm late for work," and left.
Thinking more about it now, the money line makes more sense. It's clear that at this stage in their career, the Flaming Lips are willing to work within the corporate machinery, their resistance to the process weakened. (Consider that this is a band that used to employ brutal strobe lights throughout their entire freakishly loud sets, inducing nausea in many a fan, while singing songs about Jesus shooting heroin.)
As one who came somewhat late to their party, my first experience seeing them live was on the tour for The Soft Bulletin. They played a budget-priced show at a Wrigleyville sports bar, as part of a British brewing company's attempt to simulcast "the perfect toast" via radio and television from a number of different American cities. On that night, the band's appearance at this corporate gig seemed rather subversive, all fuzzy animal suits, hand puppets, and confetti-tossing, even as they did make sure to perform "She Don't Use Jelly" (still their best-known song) as the warm-up to this silly promotional scheme.
But the audience that night was... not subversive, but downright confrontational. When a disc jockey from a local "alternative" station came out to ask everyone to raise their glasses and join in the toast, George Carlin's seven forbidden words flew heavily in his direction, as did empty (and some non-empty) plastic cups and promotional decks of playing cards. Even as poorly behaved as Chicago baseball fans have proven to be lately, this was not this bar's normal crowd; no, these were independent-minded Flaming Lips fans who felt like they were being exploited by marketing in its most ugly and heavy-handed form.
But that was then, and this is now. The Flaming Lips have since appeared in computer commercials and served as Beck's support, and they're playing several heavily sponsored street festivals — basically beer gardens held on closed-off streets, with corporate banners drowning out the sights and sounds of the hosting neighborhoods — in my city this spring.
The perennial teenaged part of my brain tells me that I should hate the band for this, and wishes they would fight the good fight and keep the DIY spirit the way people like Ian McKaye and Steve Albini continue to. But the salt-and-pepper hair sported by Coyne and Steven Drozd, and the receding hairline on Michael Ivins' stubbly skull, remind me that at a certain age a little financial security can go a long way.
And it's not as if the band is hooking up with Timbaland and appearing in Pepsi ads, desperately trying to send Yoshimi... into platinum sales territory. They're doing the music and stage show that they want to do, recruiting friends to don animal costumes and join in their daft menagerie — what Coyne describes as "a great big birthday party." And as I left this morning's brief performance to go to the office, a grin crept across my face at the absurdity of this herd of furry creatures led by Ringmaster Wayne, trying to bring a bit of sunshine to the working day. It's the Flaming Lips' job, and they do it damn well.
Postscript: What a difference half a day can make; seeing the Lips perform at the evening festival brought me off my morning high. The crowd — young, white and wealthy, toting way too many cell phones — embodied everything that threatens to turn me into a hermit, cheering rapturously as a local disc jockey thanked the tequila and beer companies sponsoring the event. The band seemed to be playing everything according to a script, with Wayne cheerleading and audience members high-fiving each other left and right.
On this night, the people Kurt Cobain so despised ruled the roost. The most telling moment for me came during a song when the Lips' filmed backdrop featured women in leotards doing aerobics — the whoops filling the air nearly drowned out the band, proving again the time-proven selling power of T&A. And it hit me then that in embracing the machinery, the Flaming Lips were threatening to drag me in as well.
The InsiderOne Daily
Report appears on occasion.
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