The Flaming Lips - Embryonic

"We think it's gonna be called Embryonic but we don't know if it's gonna just be called Embryonic or it's gonna be called Embryonic and...something else, but we think it's gonna be called Embryonic. You can write that if you want and not be humiliated later."

http://stereogum.com/archives/progress-report/progress-report-the-flaming-lips_067682.html

and now we have this from Billboard:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/flaming-lips-stretching-out-for-mystics-1003972098.story

Sweet! A Double Album! I scoring a bag of LA Confidential!

The other day I listened to this bootleg called "Shit shooting with Wayne" and it was basically this long interview with Wayne right after Transmissions came out when they were on tour with Tool. They asked him what the Lips would do if they ever found a mainstream audience and Wayne said they'd probably fuck it up on the next album cos they're too into doing their own thing.

I thought about that last time I listened to At War With the Mystics. Even the songs that annoy me on the album ("YYY", "Haven't Got a Clue"), I still have to give them props cos they are weird experiments.

Can't wait for this one. I'm hoping it'll be like a return to Zaireeka-style long-form psychedelia, songs interlaced with stuff like the end of "Riding to Work in the Year 2025".

Low expectations after Mystics but what the hell, I'm sure I'll buy it anyway. Seeing them at ATP New York. Please don't disappoint, guys.

Speaking of Zaireeka, I wonder if they'll ever mix it to one CD.

Well, some of it was, onto b-sides.

I think a couple made it onto the Race for the Prize single... forget where else.

I predict this will sound like MGMT.

this is how those songs came out:

Waitin' For A Superman

Single/EP info

Warner Bros. Records UK, 1999
9362-44746/44747

Warner Bros. Records US, 2000
9362-44793

US CD

01. Waitin' For A Superman (Radio edit) (Original version from the album The Soft Bulletin) (Is it gettin' heavy??) Listen
02. Waitin' For A Superman (Album version) (From the album The Soft Bulletin)
03. Waitin' For A Superman (Mokran remix) (From the album The Soft Bulletin)
04. Riding To Work In The Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now) (Stereo remix; original version from Zaireeka)
05. Thirty-Five Thousand Feet Of Despair (Stereo remix; original 4CD version from Zaireeka)
Plus Quicktime videos of Waitin' For A Superman, Race For The Prize, and Be My Head.

UK CD1

01. Waitin' For A Superman (Radio edit) (Original version from the album The Soft Bulletin)
02. Riding To Work In The Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now) (From Zaireeka Disc 3, 1997)
03. Thirty-Five Thousand Feet Of Despair (From Zaireeka Disc 3, 1997)

UK CD2

01. Waitin' For A Superman (Radio edit) (Original version from the album The Soft Bulletin)
02. Riding To Work In The Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now) (From Zaireeka Disc 4, 1997)
03. Thirty-Five Thousand Feet Of Despair (From Zaireeka Disc 4, 1997)

Perhaps the saddest song from 'The Soft Bulletin', 'Waitin' For A Superman' is one of the most impressive combinations yet of Steven's music and Wayne's lyrics. The orchestration of the song provides an awesome atmospheric backdrop to the forlorn piano melody that underpins the song. Within this powerful and sombre sonic tapestry, Wayne's lyrics convey a piquant personal sadness, pinned back by just a small element of hope.

That hope lies in the idea that, even when you are facing a vast darkness in your life, the solid people you rely on are still there for you, even if they can't actually change the way things are going. Maybe they can't bring back the light, but they can be there for you to hold onto in the darkness...

The B-sides of the UK release complete the 4CD set for '35,000ft Of Despair' and 'Riding to Work in 2025', with these tracks making up CDs '3' and '4' for the 'Zaireeka' structure, thus providing the first full UK release of any of the material from 'Zaireeka'. The first two CD parts for these songs can be found on the two UK 'Race For The Prize' singles.

The US release has something extra though, besides the shortened and speeded up edit of the main track and the two album versions, in the form of the stereo mixes of '35,000ft' and '2025'. These mixes date from the early versions of 'The Soft Bulletin', and are adaptations of the 4CD versions found on 'Zaireeka'. Both tracks are fully remixed and re-edited, with some of the 4CD elements discarded, and with some minor additions. They remain as weirdly futuristic visions of the human condition, and work out sounding almost as good as the original versions, but somewhat less expansive. They're also only otherwise available on the Japanese version of 'Race For The Prize'.

As if that wasn't enough, the US CD5 also has QuickTime 4 files providing both versions of the video for 'Waitin' For A Superman' and the videos for 'Race For The Prize' and 'Be My Head' (the latter from 'Transmissions From The Satellite Heart'). The full version of the 'Superman' video never made it onto MTV etc, as result of 'too much blood' being involved. Pretty dumb really, for such a beautiful video...

----------

Race For The Prize

Single/EP info

Warner Bros. Records UK, 1999
9362-44718/44719

Warner Bros. Records Japan, 1999
WPCR-10594

UK CD1

01. Race For The Prize (From the album The Soft Bulletin) Listen
02. Riding To Work In The Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now) (From Zaireeka Disc 1, 1997)
03. Thirty-Five Thousand Feet Of Despair (From Zaireeka Disc 1, 1997)

UK CD2

01. Race For The Prize (From the album The Soft Bulletin)
02. Riding To Work In The Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now) (From Zaireeka Disc 2, 1997)
03. Thirty-Five Thousand Feet Of Despair (From Zaireeka Disc 2, 1997)

Japan CD

01. Race For The Prize (Flaming Lips version from the album The Soft Bulletin)
02. Race For the Prize (Remix from the album The Soft Bulletin)
03. Riding To Work In The Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now) (Stereo remix; original 4 CD version from Zaireeka)
04. Thirty-Five Thousand Feet Of Despair (Stereo remix; original 4 CD version from Zaireeka)
05. The Big Ol' Bug Is The New Baby Now (Stereo remix; original 4 CD version from Zaireeka)

The first single from 'The Soft Bulletin', this single made the official Top 40 in the UK, as well as receiving plenty of drive-time airplay on Radio 1.

There's little wonder why this was the case - from the instant the drums come whacking in underneath squealing strings and a twinkling piano, it is clear that the Lips kept on walking through the sunset after they finished making 'Zaireeka'. The song is a tale of two scientists who venture to the brink in their competitive search for a cure to some deadly disease. It's a tale of woe coupled with hope. The instrumentation is a melodic rush, periodically driven by those drums, periodically lapsing into a string-backed lament. For the scientists must sacrifice all - love, their families, life itself - to achieve the goal of saving humanity, and so instead fulfil their greater love for all mankind.

The telling refrain is, "Theirs is to win if it kills them, they're just humans with wives and children." Pretty thought provoking for a glorious pop song, wouldn't you say?

As for the B-sides of the UK singles, these are nothing new to the US fans, but represent a necessary effort to release the 'Zaireeka' concept onto the domestic UK market, given the high price to be paid for an import copy of the 4-disc album. These two songs are the ones that have been carried into the new live performances and are perhaps the most 'conventional' tracks from the simultaneous playing experiment. Here we have the tracks from disc 1 on CD1, and disc 2 on CD2. The tracks from discs 3 and 4 appeared on the subsequent UK single, 'Waitin' For A Superman.'

Trainspotters will notice that (on both CDs) the sleeve lists the Peter Mokran remix of 'Race', while the version included is the Lips own...

As for the Japanese CD, this covers both LP versions of 'Race', plus the bonus of three of the stereo mixes of songs from 'Zaireeka'. Originally slated for inclusion on the early working version of 'The Soft Bulletin', these tracks are essentially remixed and re-edited versions of the 4CD originals. They still sound glorious, and you don't need four CD players to hear them, although you do trade off the startling effect of that total surround sound, and lose some of the depth and orchestration in the process. '2025' and '35,000ft' later turned up on the US CD5 for 'Superman', but this is the only commercial release of the stereo 'Big Ol' Bug' mix, otherwise only available on a limited WBR (US) promo CD.

I thought it was the other way around, with "Race For the Prize" originally being a "Zaireeka" track. Right?

wrong.

Nope ive been following the Lips online since 99 and i remember them saying they tried "Race For the Prize" when they were doing Zaireeka. Didn't fit on the format (too short/poppy) but they definitely tried it out. Listen to the drums/synths. They both have the sound that they got in "March of the Rotten Vegetables".

OK.

I had Zaireeka mixed to one CD at one point in the past.

I just bought Zaireeka!

Zaireeka is one of the most amazing records I've ever heard. Using just discs 1 ands 3 is a pretty good experience and a hell of a lot easier than doing all 4. Figuring out different ways to play it is part of the fun!

http://download.wbr.com/flaminglips/Silver-Trembling-Hands-DMD_SMALL.jpg

Anyone heard the new Stardeath and White Dwarfs album?

(Not sure I wanted to start a new thread, so figured I'd ask here since they are former Lips road crew, singer is nephew of Wayne Coyne, plus all the sonic similarities, etc.)

new album cover?

http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/98/l_211eeb7f33c94d2aa47e3ec2b0c1ab9c.jpg

Was just about to post that! I was gonna care about this album at all but that's ridiculously cool.

Yeah wow holy crap cool

Fuuuuuuck!

The style of these tracks will be different to the previous albums, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and At War with the Mystics, and has been reported to be similar to the style of Joy Division, a Miles Davis group, and John Lennon.

from wiki, but still, o_0

a Miles Davis group

BE SPECIFIC! WHICH ONE???

The one with the cosmic vaginas.

The three new songs have been posted

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X9JMFTHZ

Downloading them now....

"Convinced of the Hex" sounds like they directed the drummer to impersonate Jaki on Can's "Vitamin C"! The song over the top of it doesn't really go anywhere, though, not that it's intended to. Still, it's immediately apparent that this isn't going to be At War with the Mystics (thank god).

"The Impulse" is slow and breezy and has lots of vocoder all over it. This isn't like Jamie Foxx in your face, though, it's soft.

"Silver Trembling Hands" is cool! The verses sound like a punk band rehearsing in another room with echoed out Wayne over the top, but the choruses are half-time lite 70s rock.

I dig the production on these songs.

i just hope its not so abrasive sound qualitywise, mystics is damn near unlistenable

Man, on second listen I'm struck by how all three songs sound like imitations of songs I like by other bands.

"Convinced of the Hex": Vitamin C by Can
"The Impulse": A number of early Air songs
"Silver Trembling Hands": the bassline is directly lifted from The Wipers' "Youth in America"

And I like all three, I guess, but each of them makes me want to put on the original source material instead.

So happy this stuff is definitely a new direction. Just hope they aren't the best songs on the record...

Good god I love the drum sound on "Hex". It's got that Zaireeka/Bulletin-era distorted single-mic'd flavor but with a nice and crisp and juicy high end. Can, yeah, but also "Okay I'll Admit That I Really Don't Understand"...

Love Wayne's vocals on "Silver Trembling Hands". Kind of wish the levels on the distorted guitar were alot louder during the verses though.

Pretty good listen so far. Like the new direction. Hope it doesn't disappoint

this is great, thanks.

i just hope its not so abrasive sound qualitywise, mystics is damn near unlistenable

OTM!! I don't care what the songs are like as long as the production is decent. The last record couldn't have been worse.

it was a bit... loud.
other than that, i had no problem with the sound of awwtm.

"Convinced of the Hex": Vitamin C by Can
"The Impulse": A number of early Air songs

― ya'll are the ones who don't know things (Z S), Saturday, June 27, 2009 12:37 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I think they sound a little like Oneida and Black Moth, respectively. Cool they're paying it forward and invited em both to ATP.

I pretty much love everything I've heard on this record. Very psyched for it.

yes i agree Whiney all the songs that have leaked so far are amazing.

why some publications on the internet want to do a decade list before the year is out is beyond me...

there's an insane push to be OMG FIRST even if its at the cost of artists. Its stupid. That's why a lot of blogs did "Best of the first HALF OF THE YEAR" lists this year. It's gonna get dumber and dumber until it defys all logic. We're gonna start seeing year end lists in August in 2010, i assure you

Scottpl gave a good answer as to why Pitchfork's starting their best-of-decade stuff soon on this thread: Pitchfork's P2k: The Decade in Music

^ That links directly to his post.

why the fuck aren't you at 51 yet?

Because I care about this place, music, and music criticism and I'm trying to contribute to the board?

Why are you always so negative towards me, Whiney? Am I really that bad? (Plus, I'm a fan of your writing! I follow you on Twitter!) Jeez dude, seriously.

I sincerely think that Scott gave a good explanation for P4k doing their year-end stuff early, and I wanted to post a link to it here in case some people who are interested in that particular issue were also interested in seeing how someone very eloquently spoke to it!

I really shouldn't even bother to explain myself to haters anymore, it's tiring.

it's just tough love, kshighway

Hahaha, thanks Whiney! I half believe you. :-)

Here it is laid out.

My problem is not with Scott's argument--I definitely think Scott made a valid point, Scott's a smart dude, and that's totally a fine decision for the fork. I assuredly will be checking their list, even if i'd personally prefer that it came out in Jan/Feb 10.

But I was talking about a reactionary trend that's sweeping through the ENTIRE MUSIC MEDIA CYCLE. You responded with what sounded like, "Well, Pitchfork says this..." Which to a media professional (yeah, yeah, LOL, I know, STFU) is the equivalent of having an argument with someone about a band and they reply "Well, it's pitchfork's best new music, so what do YOU know?"

People find that annoying, and you should generally do less of that if you want ppl to like you on this borad. That's the less snarky version. Sorry I snapped at you.

it's so hard to stay mad at this guy

Whiney, no problem!

Just for clarification, I didn't post that link to Scott's explanation as an appeal to any authority Pitchfork might have, and I wasn't asserting that his position is the "correct" one. I just wanted to call attention to the fact that he gave compelling reasons "as to why Pitchfork's starting their best-of-decade stuff soon," because I thought doing so would contribute to the discussion as to whether it's good or not that pubs publish these lists early. I don't think his is the definitive word on the subject at all, but I do think he gave compelling reasons for why Pitchfork is doing what it's doing. I generally agree with you though that the trend of pubs' publishing list early is a really annoying one, although I'd also say that the list deluge that usually comes late in the fall is very overwhelming, and I'm not sure how it would stop unless publications either waited until early next year, stopped doing lists, or whatever. Maybe we should just all learn to filter the deluge. Not sure.

But anyway, yeah. I know I'm an avowed P4k booster, but I don't think they're right on everything, and I definitely wasn't doing a "Well, it's pitchfork's best new music, so what do YOU know?"

Really like the slowed down ending of "See the Leaves" but the rest of it kind of seems like part 2 of "Convinced of the Hex". That's probably not a bad thing cos that song kicks serious ass but as a song it isn't as memorable.

I'm really liking the rough sound of this new stuff though. It's like they taped it on a 4-track and then went back in Ableton for overdubs and remixes.

I finally got this! Haven't had a chance to listen too much, but I dig it. I had only heard "Killing the Ego," which I wasn't nuts about on its own, but it sounded AWESOME coming in at the end. Definitely an album that works best as a whole, not just a collection of tunes.

Props to Soundslike. Great mix.

Thanks so much, glad it's working for you : )

anyone get this on vinyl? very curious to hear about the mastering/level/sound quality on it...

haven't heard the vinyl, but i'd be curious too. but the thing is, i'm figuring that the crazy overblown mastering thing is part of the Lips' aesthetic agenda at this point, isn't it? I mean, it's gotta be a *choice* they're making ... Maybe not the *right* choice, but a choice all the same. Not like Fridmann is incapable of making a clean recording -- that Mtn. Goats record he did, for example ...

yeah i'm sure it was purposeful but i wonder if vinyl will inherently sand off a bit of the edge just because of the format itself?

probably? it is interesting though -- i sort of assume that Drozd is the main sonic architect of the band, and that he really *wants* his drums to sound all distorto and nuts. it'd be interesting to hear him w/o all that compression. he is obviously a ridiculously sick drummer.

how did I not check this out earlier? this is maybe the best flaming lips album ever

I'm not one to follow end-of-year lists or music journalism/criticism generally--but I'm curious if 'Embryonic' is getting any love in this year's polls?

at metacritic it got a consensus score of 79/100 based on 31 reviews. not too bad but not enough to make the top 30 of this year. #56 if i counted correctly. on rateyourmusic it is currently at #11 but i am surprised by the low rating of 3,77. in 1981 eg with that kind of score an album would have hardly made the top 100.

btw there is a thread on the end-of-year polls somewhere.

I figured it would be a divisive album--so I'm not surprised that averaged scores are, well, average. But for those who dig it, they seem to dig it a lot--not unlike early-70s Miles Davis : )

It's pretty high in the Potchfork and NME polls from memory.

*Potchfork*

Blame the iPhone.

Yeah, I dig it a lot. My album of the year, no contest.

dark side of the moon came out, today, on itunes.
it's actually really good.

e really *wants* his drums to sound all distorto and nuts

yeah my first time through the record from start to end and man there are a lot of really fucked up distorted noises on this (which I love).

thinking specifically about that ridiculous percussive sound on track #9.

yeah, some of the drums on here sound massive! still, my fave percussion might be the match being being struck loop thing. Kinda lovely.

Holy fuck, I like Dark Side of the Moon again and it's the fault of The Flaming Lips. I haven't liked that record since the magical mushroom age of 13.

was worried this might wear thin quickly, but i'm still in love with it. and the vinyl mastering sounds excellent. deeper, not so much brickwall distortion up front. i mean, the noise is definitely still there, but it doesn't do quite as rough a number on the tympanic membranes.

I really love their take on Dark Side, wow. "Money" is so shiny and metallic. Everything else has that nice trippy crunchy Lips 2k9 sound! Haven't listened to that record since, yeah, 13 or so....

oh dammit are you going to make me buy this Lips Dark Side of the Moon?!

Just listened to it, and yeah, it's good! It doesn't sound tossed off at all (hello Beck masturbation series), in fact it kinda sounds like they put as much or more time into it than Embryonic!

Listening to their DSOTM followed directly by Embryonic (as it is in my iTunes library is a remarkably seamless transition. I don't think I'd want them to make a habit of it, but the project's results are pretty cool. I need to listen a few more times to have something more than "pretty cool" to say about the album though.

Shit, didn't know they were actually issuing their DSOTM. Not a Floyd fan that far in, but I'll give it a try. . .

The airport stuff in On the Run is hilarious.

Funny thing is, on the Lips official message board the uniform opinion is that it is the worst thing they've ever done! Glad some people here like it, cos I think it's fine myself.

'Embryonic' or the DSOTM cover?

DSOTM cover. Some people really don't like Embryonic tho.

Ran out and bought the 2xLP version. Sounds AMAZING, even better than the CD I've been listening to. I made a 48k needledrop recording the first time I played it cos I know I'm going to wear this record out. I am obsessed with this record, particularly side 2.

any chance of uploading that needledrop? i'd love to hear the vinyl version, but my record player is out of commission for the foreseeable future ...
in other news, Sounds Like's Zygotic mix is pretty awesome -- i hadn't listened to it until recently because I wanted to digest the actual album ... but it is worth downloading if you haven't already -- the transition from Led Zep into "Rated X" is mindblowing.

Yes I might put it on the green devil this week, if my internet connection starts getting better. "Zygotic" is amazing too!

awesome, thanks! (what's the green devil? your blog?)

ayo, adam the limited edition CD version comes with a "a bonus audio DVD which features the album in full dynamic range at 96k 24 bit audio"

I got that version but still haven't played the DVD yet. Is it just like playing a regular DVD?

No green devil is mascot for a popular torrent site. But that's members only so it may end up on another instead.

Yeah, i heard about the DVD. I think it's just audio only, which is a shame cos the Lips always do such awesome psychedelic visual stuff for their DVDs. Supposedly another version is coming out that has a DVD with sessions footage but who knows when. The big problem with this album is that there are so many damn versions of it (iTunes, CD, Deluxe, Mega Deluxe, etc.).

i liked the fuzzy box :)

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b276/oliver8bit/comparison_powerless.jpg

Its up there.

is that LP on left, CD on right?

That's not at all surprising.

Never warmed to this record but it dominated their Bestival set - all but five songs - and sounded phenomenal in that context. Quite something to see how the Coyne charm and showmanship made Embryonic seem like main-stage headliner material. Clearly when you have huge laser-emitting false hands you can get away with a lot.

not feeling it... not enough production & too classic-rock inspired. just me.

HELL YES.

Havent seen "See the Leaves" yet. But "Blastula" is pretty damn cool!

http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/musicvideo/8402-the-flaming-lips-see-the-leaves-warner-bros

So, I'm currently listening to Embryonic in full for the first time in roughly 6 years or something, and I remember this record sounding so thrilling when it first came out, just in its messiness and its sprawl. Listening to it now, though, it just feels like a badly mastered, often near-unlistenable recording of a band pissing about - with the exception of maybe 2 or 3 tracks. I can totally see what they were aiming for, and it seemed great at the time, but this record really hasn't aged all that well.

I actually think At War With The Mystics is the superior record, even though it's plagued with a similar loudness problem.

The drums on watching the planets are worth the price of admission

There's some excellent drumming throughout the whole record, but it's a bit of a shame that the drum sound is so ghastly.

this album seemed like an attempt to use whatever effects were used to makes wayne's vocals bearable and apply them to everything else.

oh wait this isn't the zaireeka thread

It arguably all works better on The Terror.