The Flaming Lips - The Soft POLL-etin

obv suddenly everything has changed, spark that bled a close 2nd

To prevent vote splitting, I didn't include the Mokran remixes, but I actually far prefer them to the regular versions. It's a real shame the Mokran remixes are no longer available. Supposedly the band themselves dislike them.

Disintegrate

Mokran remix of Race for the Prize is the gold standard version as far as I'm concerned.

I heard the song live before I heard the album, and the remix is the one that sounds sounds like the confetti-cannon-joy-tears-17-year-old experience I remember.

I prefer the original "Race for the Prize" on the basis of ENORMOUS DRUMS.

buggin.

love the whole album, of course.

A record that got me through a tough time and there are so many songs to choose from...

"A Spoonful Weighs a Ton" -- if only for that moment it goes from the plaintive verse to the Bonham jam. Pure joy there.

"The Spark That Bled (The Softest Bullet Ever Shot)" -- perhaps the proggiest song on the record, but also loaded with melodies.

"What Is the Light? (An Untested Hypothesis...)" -- a friend of mine always thought this sounded like Yes, but if so, all the better b/c the soaring "It surrounds you!" section makes me smile every time.

"Waitin' for a Superman (Is it Gettin' Heavy??)" -- originally, I thought this just plodded. Then I noticed the second version on the American release (which may be the original mix) -- and something about the harmonies on that version just transforms the whole thing.

"The Gash (Battle Hymn for the Wounded Mathematician)" -- the most "Lips" sounding song on this, I remember reading somewhere that Nilsson's score to Robert Altman's "Popeye" (arr. Van Dyke Parks) was the inspiration for this. Interesting and a great, weird freak-out...but I've never heard that connection myself.

"The Spiderbite Song" -- my sentimental favorite. Yes, it's ridiculously literal. Yes, it's sentimental. But more than anything, it's a beautiful testimonial to the bond between the three guys in the band -- and in that sense it's just tremendously affecting.

"Buggin' (The Buzz of Love Is Busy Buggin' You)" -- I'm sure this raises the ire of a lot of folks, but classic for me for the chorus and for the line "Girls love bugs." Pure poetry.

All that said, can it be anything other than "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate"? I dunno, though I may hold off my vote to consider reconsidering.

race

All that said, can it be anything other than "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate"?

exactly :)

too many choices

What Is the Light? is my underdog choice.

gah! this is impossible. great album.

if what is the light/the observer were in fact one long track, as I originally thought, then that might have got my vote. as is...no, it's too difficult. at least half of these songs could take it at any given time.

Voted Superman. And has anyone else noticed that he doesn't sing "waiting for a superman" on the song, just "waiting for Superman"? My theory is that he added the "a" to the title to prevent lawsuits from DC Comics.

Can't decide between What Is The Light and The Gash.

flaming lips & superman = both owned by time warner inc

I haven't listened to this album in years, but What Is the Light still pops into my head regularly.

Shit, I have to go find that CD. It isn't even in my iTunes.

The Gash is my instinct, but like others, I've not listened to this in a long, long time.

this is a supreme album imo, and it really holds up as well. "feeling yourself disintegrate" probably will get my vote but i also have a soft spot for "a spoonful weighs a ton". and the rest of them.

Love this album, though I kind of overdosed on it earlier this decade. Maybe it's time to get re-acquainted. Still remember hearing "Race For The Prize" for the first time, summer of 99 at Other Music and thinking: "uhhhh, who is THIS?"

it's only just struck me that they only played one song off of this album on the recent tour ('race for the prize'), but we got at least four off of the vastly inferior yoshimi. hope this doesn't mean that they're now sick of it...

When I got this album it was weird cos the first time I listened to it I was actually let down by it, cos I was comparing it to Zaireeka and IMHO it is a weaker record. But now, I'm having a real hard time picking a favorite song. Even the slight ones ("A Spoonful Weighs a Ton") are wonderful. "The Gash" instantly struck a chord in me though, so I'm going with that.

The Gash. Taking their ELO love to some kind of illogical conclusion.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

seeing an encore of what is the light/the observer in 2003 after a heavy and fairly cloying yoshimi set means theyve got a special place. but maybe the tie will be broken by the gash, its what springs to mind whenever i think of the album.

"Race For The Prize" for me, although I prefer the single mix with less distortion in the snare drums.

Disintegrate for me. That song really struck a chord when my grandfather died. It was the first close family death I'd experienced and Wayne's ruminations on mortality were a great comfort. I saw them live, supporting Mercury Rev, the day before Soft Bulletin came out and that was one of the tracks that really stood out on first hearing, with its prap-pa-pa voice/drum loop and beautiful guitars and synths.
As the years have gone by I'm always surprised how parts of SB still sound so amazing. Some of the more epic songs, like The Gash and What Is The Light, have become big favourites for me too. The way the kick drum pulse gives way a glorious, almost funky, Drodz breakbeat in the latter is just stunning.

i was going to try and listen before voting but never got the chance, voting for "A Spoonful Weighs a Ton."

welcome back Geir!

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

"Slow Motion" – 3:49 0
"Sleeping on the Roof (Excerpt From "Should We Keep the Severed Head Awake??")" – 3:33 0

Boo!

hmm, i voted for the winner.

surprised that "spoonful" placed so low!

what is "slow motion", a bonus track?

i didnt vote, impossible

Slow Motion is on the UK version instead of Spiderbite- I've never heard it.

yah, couldn't vote on this