The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (keyboards, guitars, percussion), Matt Duckworth Kirksey (drums, percussion, keyboards) and Nicholas Ley (percussion, drums). Following the departure of long-time bassist Michael Ivins in 2021, Coyne has remained the band's solo consistent member. The group recorded several albums and EPs on an indie label,

Restless Restless may refer to: *Psychomotor agitation, restlessness experienced as a result of certain medications or conditions Music * Restless Records Albums * ''Restless'' (Sara Evans album) and its title track, 2003 * ''Restless'' (Murray He ...

, in the 1980s and early 1990s. After signing to Warner Brothers, they released their first record with Warner, '' Hit to Death in the Future Head'' (1992). Their 1993 album '' Transmissions from the Satellite Heart'' included the hit single " She Don't Use Jelly" which broke the band into the mainstream. They later released '' The Soft Bulletin'' (1999), which was '' NME'' magazine's

Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

, followed by the critically acclaimed '' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots'' (2002). In February 2007, they were nominated for a BRIT Award for "Best International Act". The group has won three Grammy Awards, including two for

Best Rock Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance was an honor presented to recording artists for quality instrumental rock performances at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Award ...

. They were placed on '' Q magazine''s list of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die" in 2002.

History

Early history and releases (1983–1990)

The Flaming Lips formed in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

in 1983 with Wayne Coyne on guitar, his brother

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

singing lead vocals, Michael Ivins on bass and Dave Kotska on drums. The band debuted at Oklahoma City's Blue Note Lounge. After they hired Dave Kotska as the drummer, Richard English joined the band in 1984. That same year they recorded '' The Flaming Lips'' EP, their only release with Mark singing lead vocals. There are several theories as to how the band chose their name. One possibility is that it was inspired by the 1953 feature film '' Geraldine'', in which comedian Stan Freberg sings several songs, including one named "Flaming Lips". Another possible source is from the 1964 Shirley MacLaine film '' What a Way to Go!'' in which Gene Kelly's character stars in a film titled ''Flaming Lips''. However, according to an article in the September 16, 1993 issue of

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

, Mark and Wayne came up with the name as a reference to a rumor about a classmate who contracted genital herpes after receiving cunnilingus from a partner with active cold sores. Wayne elaborated:

When Mark and I were in, I think it was Junior Year in High School, there was a rumor about this girl who got herpes from this guy at a party. He went down on her with a cold sore. I don't think we knew the girl, and I'm not sure if she even existed, you know how kids just spread bullshit. But when we were thinking of band names one night over a pack of Schlitz and some left-handed cigarettes and remembered how we joked that they both had "Flaming Lips" and it just stuck.

After his brother's departure, Wayne assumed the vocal duties and the band released their first full-length album, '' Hear It Is'', on Pink Dust Records (the psychedelic-rock imprint of

Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/ ...

) in 1986. This line-up recorded two more albums: 1987's '' Oh My Gawd!!!'' and 1989's '' Telepathic Surgery'', the latter originally planned to be a 30-minute sound collage. Drummer Nathan Roberts replaced English and guitarist

Jonathan Donahue Jonathan Daniel Donahue (born May 6, 1966) is an American rock musician. He is best known as the frontman and a founding member of Mercury Rev, with whom he has released nine studio albums since 1991. He is also a former member of The Flaming Lip ...

(also a member of the alternative rock band

Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York.
Original personnel were In a Priest Driven Ambulance'', their first album with producer Dave Fridmann, was recorded at the State University of New York in Fredonia for $5 an hour on a $10,000 budget. The album was host to a marked expansion in the band's sound and their previous experiments in tape loops and effects were given a more prominent role. During this period, Coyne made his transition to a higher, more strained vocal style akin to

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

, which he first used on '' Telepathic Surgery's'' "Chrome Plated Suicide" and has employed ever since. In 1990, the band caught the attention of Warner Bros. Records and was signed promptly after a label representative witnessed a show at which the band almost burned down the venue (American Legion Hall in Norman, Oklahoma) with the use of pyrotechnics.

Signed to Warner Bros. (''Hit to Death in the Future Head'' to ''Clouds Taste Metallic'') (1991–1996)

In 1991, the band started recording their major label debut '' Hit to Death in the Future Head''. The album's release was halted for nearly a year because of the use of a sample from Michael Kamen's score for the film ''

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

'' in the track "You Have to Be Joking (Autopsy of the Devil's Brain)", which required a lengthy clearance process. After the recording of this album, Donahue left the band to concentrate on Mercury Rev, and Roberts left the band as well, citing creative differences. They were replaced by Ronald Jones and Steven Drozd, respectively. In 1993, they released '' Transmissions from the Satellite Heart''. This was the only studio album since ''In a Priest Driven Ambulance'', to date, in which Dave Fridmann has not been involved. Because of the success of the album and the single " She Don't Use Jelly", the band was featured on four popular television series: '' Beverly Hills, 90210'', '' Late Show with David Letterman'', '' Charmed'' and '' Beavis and Butt-head''. The success of this record led to long stints of touring, opening for bands including Red Hot Chili Peppers and Candlebox. ''

Clouds Taste Metallic ''Clouds Taste Metallic'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band The Flaming Lips, released on September 19, 1995, by Warner Bros. Records. It was the last album to feature guitarist Ronald Jones. The album's recording is heavily fe ...

'' was released to much critical fanfare in late 1995, though it did not achieve the commercial success of its predecessor. The strain of the year-long ''Clouds'' tour, added to the stress from the three years touring in support of ''Transmissions'', was a major factor in the departure of Jones in late 1996. He was said to be suffering from a severe case of agoraphobia, although the documentary '' Fearless Freaks'' states that he left because of his growing concerns over Drozd's drug use. In September 2014, the band paid tribute to Jones and the impact his music had on their developing sound by performing '' Transmissions from the Satellite Heart'' live at First Avenue. In February 2015, they performed ''

'' at the same venue. Later, in December, a 20th anniversary box set called '' Heady Nuggs: 20 Years After Clouds Taste Metallic 1994–1997'', was released.

''Zaireeka'' (1997–1998)

The departure of Jones and a general dissatisfaction with standard "rock" music led to the three remaining members of the group redefining the direction of the band with the experimental '' Zaireeka'' (1997), a four-CD album which is intended to be heard by playing all four CDs in four separate CD players simultaneously. The music incorporated both traditional musical elements and "found" sounds (as in musique concrète), often heavily manipulated with recording studio electronics. As part of the development of this project, the band conducted a series of "parking lot experiments" and then later, "boombox experiments". In the parking lot experiments up to 40 volunteers were given cassettes created by the band to be played at a parking lot in their cars' stereo systems simultaneously. In the "boom box experiments" an orchestra composed of up to 40 volunteers with modified "boombox"-type tape players was "conducted" – directed to vary the volume, speed or tone of the tape they were playing (again composed by the band) – by Wayne Coyne. Meanwhile, a series of unfortunate events (recounted in the 1999 song "The Spiderbite Song") beset the band. Drozd's arm was almost amputated needlessly because of what he claimed was a

spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

bite (it turned out to be abscessed as a result of Drozd's heroin use), Ivins was trapped in his car for several hours after a wheel spun off of another vehicle into his windshield, and Coyne's father died after a long battle with cancer.

Mainstream breakthrough (''The Soft Bulletin'' and ''Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots'') (1999–2002)

Though their experimental endeavors received some press coverage, their real breakthrough came with the 1999 release, '' The Soft Bulletin''. Marrying more traditional catchy melodies with synthetic strings, hypnotic, carefully manipulated beats, booming cymbals and oddball but philosophical lyrics (sung much more strongly than on earlier releases), the album quickly became one of the underground hits of the year, even widely considered to be one of the best albums of the entire decade. Compared by many music critics to the Beach Boys' '' Pet Sounds'' because of its inclusion of harmonies and orchestrated sounds, ''The Soft Bulletin'' also featured greater use of synthesizers, drum machines, sound effects and more studio manipulation. After this album was released, Coyne stated that, "if someone was to ask me what instrument do I play, I would say the recording studio." As the band considered an attempt to recreate this complex album live solely with additional musicians to be complex and expensive, they decided to tour as a three-piece and make extensive use of pre-recorded music to fill out those parts that were not performed live by the members of the band. This led to the decision to have the drummer Drozd play primarily keyboards and guitar live instead of the drums. This, in turn, led to a decision to utilize video recordings and projections of Steven playing the drums for some of the band's older songs, so the band added Kliph Scurlock on drums and percussion, Drozd focused on guitars, keyboards, bass (when he plays bass, Ivins plays keyboards), drums and occasional vocals, when he sings, Coyne plays guitars, keyboards and theremin. FlipsLive

To enhance the live experience for their audience and to accurately reproduce the sound of ''The Soft Bulletin'' live, the Lips devised the concept of the "Headphone Concert". A low-powered FM transmitter was set up at shows, and the concert was simultaneously broadcast to small Walkman-style receivers and headphones made available for free to audience members. This would, in theory, allow the audiences greater sonic clarity while still feeling the power of a full live P.A. This concept was debuted in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, and at the South by Southwest conference in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, in March 1999, and was subsequently used on the ''International Music Against Brain Degeneration Revue'' tour. This tour featured Japanese band Cornelius, Sebadoh, Robyn Hitchcock, Sonic Boom's E.A.R. and IQU. Three years later, in the summer of 2002, the Flaming Lips joined bands Cake and Modest Mouse on the Unlimited Sunshine Tour. They also released the full-length '' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots'' to much critical acclaim. Featuring guest musician Yoshimi P-We (who inspired the album's title track) and demonstrating more use of electronic instruments and computer manipulation than ''The Soft Bulletin'', ''Yoshimi'' is widely considered to be the Flaming Lips' first critical ''and'' commercial success after nearly twenty years as a band. The final track on the album, " Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)" earned a 2003

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for

, and the album was certified gold on April 10, 2006. In March 2007, the band revealed that they had recently teamed up with screenwriter

Aaron Sorkin Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American playwright, screenwriter and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. Sorkin has earned an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, five Primetime ...

to produce a Broadway musical based on the album. In January 2012, Pitchfork TV released a forty-five-minute documentary on '' The Soft Bulletin''. The documentary featured several rare archival photos and videos along with interviews from the members, producer Dave Fridmann, and manager Scott Booker. The same year, '' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots'' was adapted into a musical after being in development for years after the album's release. Both '' The Soft Bulletin'' and '' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots'' have been released on

DVD-Audio DVD-Audio (commonly abbreviated as DVD-A) is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio uses most of the storage on the disc for high-quality audio and is not intended to be a video delivery format. The st ...

. Following the success of "Yoshimi", Steven Drozd completed rehab for heroin addiction. This decision was spurred by a physical altercation between Drozd and Wayne Coyne.

Continued success (''At War with the Mystics'') (2002–2006)

Shortly after ''Yoshimi'' and ''The Soft Bulletin'', the Flaming Lips released two EPs in the same vein of their previous album's robotic theme which contain remixed songs from ''Yoshimi'', '' Fight Test'' and ''

Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell ''Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell'' is an EP by The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Ste ...

''. They also appeared on the track "Marching the Hate Machines (Into the Sun)" on the

Thievery Corporation Thievery Corporation is an American electronic music duo consisting of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. Their musical style mixes elements of dub, acid jazz, reggae, Indian classical, Middle Eastern music, hip hop and Brazilian music, including ...

album '' The Cosmic Game''. In 2002 they were invited to work with The Chemical Brothers. Steven Drozd performed lead vocals, while Wayne Coyne performed harmony vocals, on the single " The Golden Path", which was included on The Chemical Brothers compilation album, '' Singles 93-03''. In 2002, they performed as the opening act, as well as the backup band, for singer Beck on his '' Sea Change'' tour. In the summer of 2004, it was announced that the Flaming Lips would appear among the headliners on the 2004 Lollapalooza tour, alongside such artists as Sonic Youth and Morrissey; however, the tour was canceled because of lack of revenue. Also in 2004, the band recorded the song "SpongeBob and Patrick Confront the Psychic Wall of Energy" for the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

of '' The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie''. Following the concerts' cancellation, the band entered Tarbox Road Studio with producer Dave Fridmann and began work on their eleventh album, the more organic-sounding '' At War with the Mystics''. The record, aimed to be a more guitar-based and heavier effort than recent albums, featured more politically conscious lyrics than any of their previous releases, and was released in April 2006 to a mixed yet mostly positive reception. In 2005 the band was the subject of a documentary called '' Fearless Freaks'', featuring appearances by other artists and celebrities such as Gibby Haynes, The White Stripes, Beck,

Christina Ricci Christina Ricci ( ; born February 12, 1980) is an American actress. Known for playing unusual characters with a dark edge, Ricci predominantly works in independent productions, but has also appeared in numerous box office hits. She has receive ...

, Liz Phair, Juliette Lewis, Steve Burns,

Starlight Mints Starlight Mints were an American indie pop band from Norman, Oklahoma, United States. The band was formed in the 1990s and released four albums during the 2000s, after which they disbanded. Their last lineup consisted of Allan Vest (vocals, g ...

, and Adam Goldberg. In that same year, the Flaming Lips contributed a version of " Bohemian Rhapsody" to the album '' Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen''. Also in this year, the Flaming Lips released the DVD ''

VOID (Video Overview in Deceleration) ''VOID (Video Overview in Deceleration)'' is a 5.1 surround sound DVD by The Flaming Lips released on August 23, 2005. It contains new commentary by the band and nineteen music videos made by the band throughout their musical career. Track listi ...

'', which chronicles all of their ventures into music video that have been produced since they signed with Warner Bros in 1991. In October 2005, the Flaming Lips recorded a cover of "If I Only Had a Brain" for the soundtrack of the video game ''

Stubbs the Zombie Stubbs may refer to: Places United States *Stubbs, California, former name of Clearlake Oaks, California Clearlake Oaks is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lake County, California, United States. It is located on the northeast of Clear Lake ...

'', which features modern rock bands covering songs from the 1950s and 1960s. Additionally, the band released one new song, " Mr. Ambulance Driver", for the soundtrack of the 2005 film '' Wedding Crashers'' (a slightly edited version of the song found its way onto the new record). The band released two singles from ''At War With the Mystics'': "The W.A.N.D.", which was featured in a Dell commercial and which was originally put out as a download-only single in early 2006, and "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song", which became their highest-charting single on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, peaking at No. 16. A 4-track EP, entitled '' It Overtakes Me'', was released later in the UK that year. The only instrumental on the album, "The Wizard Turns On... The Giant Silver Flashlight and Puts on His Werewolf Moccasins", earned a 2006

for

, making it twice in a row the Lips have been nominated in that category and won. Following the April 4, 2006 release of '' At War with the Mystics'', the band began a tour to support the album in the United Kingdom, including a finale at the Royal Albert Hall and performances at the O2 Wireless Festival. At the Leeds England date of the festival, the band opened for

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, of whom they are long standing fans. The Flaming Lips UFO stage prop

The band continued to tour throughout the fall of 2006 stopping in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, the Virgin Festival on the Toronto Islands, Atlantic City's House of Blues, The University of Vermont in Burlington, their hometown

, the

Austin City Limits Music Festival The Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas on two consecutive three-day weekends. Inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series of the same name, the festival is produced by Austin-bas ...

, and New York City, NY as well as several other cities. The homecoming show in Oklahoma City was performed at the

Zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to z ...

Amphitheater and included the unveiling of a new

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are ide ...

stage prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

, and would provide footage for the U.F.O.s at the Zoo concert DVD. On December 5, 2006, Oklahoma City honored the band with a downtown alley named after the band.

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

and Charlie Christian were also given street names by the city. Flaming Lips Alley is at the center of Oklahoma City's entertainment district, Bricktown. At the official dedication in 2007, Coyne said of Oklahoma City, "...We're on the way to becoming, I think, the fucking coolest city in America."

''Christmas on Mars'' (2008)

In 2001, the Flaming Lips began filming a low-budget indie film entitled '' Christmas on Mars''. Filming for the movie ended in late September 2005 and premiered on May 25, 2008, at the Sasquatch! Music Festival. The film tells the story of the first Christmas of a colony set-up on the surface of Mars and was written by Wayne Coyne, and co-directed by Wayne Coyne, Bradley Beesley and George Salisbury, with the band and their friends acting in the movie. The band brought the film to rock festivals across America during the summer of 2008 and screened it in a large circus tent they had bought for that purpose. The film was released on DVD on November 11, 2008, along with a soundtrack written and performed by the Flaming Lips. The band released their first live concert DVD, ''UFO's at the Zoo: The Legendary Concert in Oklahoma City'', on August 7, 2007. The band also contributed original songs to the soundtracks of several 2007 films, including "The Supreme Being Teaches Spider-Man How to be in Love" for '' Spider-Man 3'', "I Was Zapped by the Super Lucky Rainbow" for '' Good Luck Chuck'', "Love the World You Find" for ''

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium ''Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium'' is the best movie ever and a 2007 children's fantasy comedy film written and directed by Zach Helm, produced by FilmColony, Mandate Pictures, Walden Media, Richard N. Gladstein and James Garavente, and with m ...

'', and "Maybe I'm Not the One" and "Tale of the Horny Frog" for '' The Heartbreak Kid''.

Official rock song of Oklahoma (2009)

In March 2009 " Do You Realize??" was announced as the official rock song of Oklahoma. Ten choices were put to a public vote, and out of 21,000 votes cast nearly 51% were for "Do You Realize??" The Oklahoma Senate approved this choice unanimously. The Oklahoma House of Representatives failed to confirm the choice after Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City attacked the band for its use of offensive language, and Rep. Corey Holland, R-Marlow said he had been "really offended" when Michael Ivins came to the announcement ceremony in March wearing a red T-shirt with a yellow hammer and sickle. However, that evening, Oklahoma governor Brad Henry announced he would sign an executive order naming the song the official rock song. Henry said that for more than 20 years the Flaming Lips have produced "creative, fun and provocative rock music." "The music of the Flaming Lips has earned Grammys, glowing critical acclaim and fans all over the world", the governor said. "A truly iconic rock n' roll band, they are proud ambassadors of their home state... They were clearly the people's choice, and I intend to honor that vote." However, it was revealed in 2013 that Republican Governor Mary Fallin removed this designation by not renewing Brad Henry's executive order upon taking office in 2011. An alley in Oklahoma City had been named for the band in 2006.

''Embryonic'' and ''Dark Side of the Moon'' (2009)

In 2009, the band released their twelfth studio album and first double album, '' Embryonic''. The album, which was the band's first to open in the ''Billboard'' top 10, was widely critically acclaimed for its new direction; late in the recording the band added Derek Brown on keyboards, percussion and guitar. In December of the same year, the band released their second album of the year and thirteenth overall, '' The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon'', a track-for-track cover of Pink Floyd's '' The Dark Side of the Moon'', which was recorded with

Stardeath and White Dwarfs Stardeath and White Dwarfs is an experimental rock band from Norman, Oklahoma, formed in late 2004. The band has released two albums, one single ("Toast & Marmalade For Tea" on Half Machine Records) and an EP, as well as contributing to The Fl ...

and features guest appearances from

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rol ...

and Peaches. The album was released physically on vinyl and CD in 2010. In 2010, the band performed "I Can Be a Frog" on the Nick Jr. television series '' Yo Gabba Gabba!''. The Flaming Lips at Jodrell Bank Live 6

2011 releases

In January 2011, the Lips announced their intention of releasing a new song every month of the year. In February, they released the first track titled "Two Blobs Fucking". The song exists as 12 separate pieces on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

and must be played simultaneously to be heard as intended. In March 2011, the Lips released the EP '' The Flaming Lips with Neon Indian''. In April, the band released the '' Gummy Song Skull'' EP, a seven-pound skull made of gummy bear material with a gummy brain, which contained a flashdrive with 4 songs on them. This release was extremely limited, but was soon leaked on the internet shortly after its release. In May, the band released its second collaboration EP titled '' The Flaming Lips with Prefuse 73''. It contains four songs and was released in a similar way to the earlier Neon Indian EP, in that the run was extremely limited and consisted of randomly colored, one of a kind discs. This EP was briefly available on the band's official website but sold out shortly after it was put up for sale. June saw several releases by the band, the first being ''The Soft Bulletin: Live la Fantastique de Institution 2011'', a live-in-studio recording of the band's 1999 album '' The Soft Bulletin'' which was on a flash drive embedded in a marijuana-flavored brain inside a strawberry flavored gummy skull. This was only released at the band's two night show at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on June 14 and 15. This show was a special two-night, one morning event in which they played the entirety of The Soft Bulletin one night and a new revamped version of ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' and collaborated with

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is an American folk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2005. The group is led by singer Alex Ebert. The band's name is based on a story Ebert wrote in his youth, about a messianic figure named ...

for a performance of " Do You Realize??" at dawn of the second day. Also included on this flash drive was a best-of compilation titled ''Everyone You Know Someday Will Die''. It included songs from every portion of the band's career as well as a newly recorded intro. The final June release was the '' Gummy Song Fetus'' EP which consisted of three songs on a flash drive embedded in a bubblegum-flavored fetus made of gummy bear material. In July, the band released ''The Flaming Lips with Lightning Bolt'', a collaborative EP with experimental rock group Lightning Bolt, featuring the songs "I Wanna Get High But I Don't Want Brain Damage" and "Working at NASA on Acid". This EP was released on randomly colored vinyl as with the previous two collaborative EPs. In late August, the band announced that it would be recording a six-hour-long song titled "I Found a Star on the Ground". This, along with two other songs, was released in September packaged with a set of spinning discs with animations on them. This release is officially called '' Strobo Trip''. Featured in "I Found a Star on the Ground" is Sean Lennon who, with his band, opened for the Lips in early 2011. In the song Lennon reads off several lists of names of people who donated $100 to the Oklahoma City SPCA and Academy of Contemporary Music at University of Central Oklahoma. 212 names are featured in the song. At midnight October 31, 2011, a 24-hour song was released titled " 7 Skies H3". The song played live on a never-ending audio stream on a special website set up by the band and was made available for purchase as a hard drive encased in an actual human skull, limited to 13 copies. The band's last release of 2011 was a 12" EP collaboration, The Flaming Lips with Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band, sold only at the band's annual New Years shows in Oklahoma City.

''Heady Fwends'', Guinness World Record and other collaborations (2012)

With their previous contract with Warner Bros. Records having expired in 2011, the band re-signed to Warner Bros. for the United States and to Bella Union in Europe in early 2012. The first release under these new deals was '' The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends'', initially released as a limited edition vinyl-only package for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

on April 21. The album features collaborations with artists such as Kesha, Nick Cave, and Erykah Badu. In an interview with American Songwriter, Coyne stated that "Since we were releasing music every month, we thought it would be a little bit boring for us each month to say 'Well here's four more Flaming Lips songs.' We just thought 'Well we'll get some of our friends, and we'll do collaborations and see what happens.'" The album later received a wider release on CD and digitally on June 26 in the US and July 30 in Europe. The Flaming Lips broke Jay-Z's Guinness World Record for the most live concerts (8) in 24 hours, on June 27 and 28, 2012. The attempt was part of the

O Music Awards The O Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the OMAs) is an awards show presented by MTV to honor music, technology and intersection between the two. The 1st O Music Award ceremony was held on April 28, 2011 on Fremont Street in Downtown Las Veg ...

, and was Livestreamed online for the entire 24 hours. The attempt started in Memphis on the afternoon of June 27 and ended in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

on the afternoon of June 28, with 20 minutes to spare. The band played with guests including Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Neon Indian, Linear Downfall and

Phantogram Phantogram may refer to: *Phantogram (band) Phantogram is an American music duo from Greenwich, New York, formed in 2007 and consisting of multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter. The band define their music as el ...

and HOTT MT, among others. The concerts, which were required to be at least 15 minutes long, as per Guinness rules, featured a mix of special covers, songs rarely or never performed live by the band before, and new songs from '' Heady Fwends''. In November 2012 the band's Lovely Sorts of Death Records released a collaborative track-by-track reinterpretation of King Crimson's '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' with

, Linear Downfall, New Fumes, and Space Face entitled ''Playing Hide and Seek with the Ghosts of Dawn'' on vinyl and on their own 'Satellite Heart Radio' website. They also worked on Kesha's ''Warrior'' album (on "Past Lives") and ''Lipsha''. She also featured on their collaborative albums.

''The Terror'' (2013–2014)

The band's next studio album, titled '' The Terror'', was originally due for release on April 2, 2013, in the US and on April 1 in Europe, the tour began with a new member: keyboardist and guitarist Jake Ingalls, Derek Brown focused on percussion and additional guitars and keyboards. Because of a corruption while mastering the record on vinyl, the US release was delayed for two weeks, until April 16. In anticipation of the album's release, their song, "Sun Blows Up Today", was featured in a

Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate (" chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company ** Hyundai A ...

Super Bowl XLVII commercial. The band also released a lyric video on for "Sun Blows Up Today" with animations created by long-time Lips collaborator George Salisbury. The band premiered the new album live at a free outdoor concert at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

on March 15, 2013. Critical reception of the album has tended to focus on its thematic bleakness and the turgid noisiness of its instrumentation. Like the three albums often referred to as "a trilogy" accounting for the majority of the band's mainstream production over the past 15 years (consisting of ''The Soft Bulletin'', ''Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots'', and ''At War With the Mystics''), ''The Terror'' adheres to the love story/space opera narrative structure while taking a much darker approach. As noted in a review by Pitchfork, "''The Terror'' deals in more personal turmoil– loneliness, depression, anxiety... Perhaps not coincidentally, the album was preceded by news of Coyne's separation from his partner of 25 years, Michelle, and of multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd relapsing temporarily." Jon Pareles of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' summarized the thematic content of the album fairly succinctly when he wrote, "The lyrics f 'The Terror'find cosmic repercussions in a lovers' breakup; loneliness turns to contemplation of grim human compulsions and the end of the universe." Another critic goes so far as to say that the album underlines the Lacanian psychodynamics structurally inherent in the conventions of the space opera. Wayne Coyne's own description of his process or the theme of the album jibes well with this critical diagnosis: "We want, or wanted, to believe that without love we would disappear, that love, somehow, would save us that, yeah, if we have love, give love and know love, we are truly alive and if there is no love, there would be no life. The Terror is, we know now, that even without love, life goes on... we just go on... there is no mercy killing." In November 2013 they produced and curated "The Time Has Come To Shoot You Down…What A Sound," a reworking of the Stone Roses' debut album featuring

New Fumes New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Spaceface Spaceface is a psychedelic rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2011. Members include Jake Ingalls (formerly of The Flaming Lips), Matthew Strong (also a guitar tech for The Flaming Lips), Eric Martin, and "Big Red" Daniel Quinlan. Histor ...

, Foxygen, Peaking Lights,

Poliça Poliça (often stylised in all caps) is an American pop band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, formed in 2011. The band consists of Channy Leaneagh (vocals, synth), Chris Bierden (bass), Drew Christopherson (drums) and Ben Ivascu (drums), with Ryan ...

and others. In March 2014, longtime drummer and percussionist Kliph Scurlock left the band, and was replaced by drummer, percussionist and keyboardist Matt Duckworth Kirksey and percussionist and drummer Nicholas Ley. Derek Brown began focusing on guitars, and occasional keyboards and percussion. In May, Scurlock claimed he had been fired for negative comments about Wayne Coyne's friend Christina Fallin, the daughter of Oklahoma's governor and leader of a band called Pink Pony. Fallin had recently been criticized for cultural appropriation after she wore a Native American headdress in a publicity photo. According to Scurlock, his criticism of Fallin's actions led to conflict with Coyne and his dismissal. In response, Drozd said, " is Lips/Kliph bullshit has gone too far. We parted ways because of the usual band musical differences. The rest has been blown way out." Coyne went even further, calling Scurlock a "pathological liar" and stated that he never meant his defense of Fallin, which included posting a photo of his dog in a feathered headdress, to be offensive but that he was "very sorry, to anybody that is following my Instagram or my Twitter, if I offended anybody of any religion, any race, any belief system. I would say you shouldn't follow my tweets; you shouldn't even probably want to be a Flaming Lips fan because we don't really have any agenda."

''Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz'' (2015)

The Flaming Lips studio in Oklahoma City

On August 30, 2015, after hosting the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards,

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

announced that ''

Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz ''Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus. It was originally released independently on August 30, 2015, but was later released commercially on iTunes and other streaming platforms unde ...

'', the free, 23-track experimental album that Cyrus and the Flaming Lips wrote and recorded together, was available via online streaming. The album is described by Coyne as a combination of Pink Floyd and Portishead and "a slightly wiser, sadder, more true version" of Cyrus' pop music output.

''Oczy Mlody'', ''King's Mouth'', and ''American Head'' (2016–present)

According to the Tarbox Roads Studio's website, the Flaming Lips began recording a new album with Dave Fridmann on January 27, 2016. In a June interview with Danish music blog Regnsky, Wayne Coyne said that a new album would come out in January 2017, even though they had originally planned for it to be released in October 2016. Wayne Coyne later confirmed in a September interview with ''Consequence of Sound'', that they would release a new album at the beginning of 2017. On October 20, the band confirmed the January 2017 release date for the album. The band embarked on a tour in support that was described as "rock's greatest acid punch party" with "balloons, confetti cannons and rainbow visuals". On January 13, 2017 the fourteenth Flaming Lips album '' Oczy Mlody'' was released, and featured a guest appearance by Miley Cyrus. The album charted in both the UK and US. On

, April 22, 2017, the Flaming Lips released ''Onboard the International Space Station Concert for Peace'', a re-recording of seven tracks from ''Oczy Mlody'' in a faux live setting. The band's next studio album, '' King's Mouth'', was released on April 13, 2019, for

. Mick Jones of

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

and Big Audio Dynamite narrates the album; Wayne Coyne said of Jones that "he’s on almost every song... it really is quite unbelievable." In late 2019, Coyne and Drozd collaborated with garage rock duo Deap Vally to form a new band, Deap Lips. The project's self-titled debut album was released on March 13, 2020. On March 23, 2020, Drozd announced that the band's sixteenth studio album, '' American Head'', is due for release in the summer. The band officially announced the album's release date as September 11, 2020, along with the single "My Religion Is You" on June 6, 2020. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the band performed a concert in their hometown of Oklahoma City on October 12, 2020, while entirely encased within inflatable human-sized bubbles. Audience members were also protected by plastic bubbles. They performed in this fashion on the

Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second i ...

and again in 2021. On August 16, 2021, Ingalls announced on his Instagram page that he left the band on amicable terms. Also in August, Coyne commented on his Instagram that Ivins was no longer in the band, leaving Coyne as the only original member. Micah Nelson has been on bass for recent live performances. In November 2021, the band released an album of nine Nick Cave cover songs with the young Canadian musician Nell Smith. Smith and The Lips recorded the album remotely during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.

Members

Current members * Wayne Coyne – lead vocals (1985–present), guitars, keyboards, theremin (1983–present), backing vocals (1983–1985, 1991–present), bass guitar (2021–present) * Steven Drozd – guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, backing and lead vocals (1991–present) *Derek Brown – keyboards, guitars, percussion, backing vocals (2009–present) *Matt Duckworth Kirksey – drums, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals (2014–present) *Nicholas Ley – percussion, drums, samples (2014–present) Current touring musicians *Tommy McKenzie – bass (2021–present) Former members * Mark Coyne – lead vocals (1983–1985) *Dave Kostka – drums (1983–1984) *Richard English – drums, keyboards, backing vocals (1984–1989) *Nathan Roberts – drums (1989–1991) *

– guitars, backing vocals (1989–1991) *Jon Mooneyham – guitars, backing vocals (1991) *Ronald Jones – guitars, backing vocals (1991–1996) *

Kliph Scurlock Clifton Thomas "Kliph" Scurlock (born June 16, 1973) is an American musician. He was the drummer and percussionist for alternative rock band The Flaming Lips from 2002 to 2014. Early life Scurlock was born in Topeka, Kansas, the son of Roger W. S ...

– drums, percussion (2002–2014) *Jake Ingalls – keyboards, guitars (2013–2021) * Michael Ivins – bass, keyboards, backing vocals (1983–2021) Former touring musicians *

Ray Suen Ray Suen (born July 5, 1985) is an American musician based in Los Angeles, California, best known for his work with Childish Gambino, Lorde and Mariachi El Bronx. Career Raised in San Diego, California and classically trained, Suen began playing ...

– percussion, violin, harp, keyboards (2009–2012) * Micah Nelson – bass, keyboards, backing vocals (2021)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums *'' Hear It Is'' (1986) *'' Oh My Gawd!!!'' (1987) *'' Telepathic Surgery'' (1989) *'' In a Priest Driven Ambulance'' (1990) *'' Hit to Death in the Future Head'' (1992) *'' Transmissions from the Satellite Heart'' (1993) *''

'' (1995) *'' Zaireeka'' (1997) *'' The Soft Bulletin'' (1999) *'' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots'' (2002) *'' At War with the Mystics'' (2006) *'' Embryonic'' (2009) *'' The Terror'' (2013) *'' Oczy Mlody'' (2017) *'' King's Mouth'' (2019) *'' American Head'' (2020)

Awards and nominations

The Flaming Lips won their first

in 2003, for their track "Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)". To date, the band has been nominated for six Grammy Awards, and won three times.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flaming Lips, The 1983 establishments in Oklahoma Alternative rock groups from Oklahoma American experimental rock groups American psychedelic rock music groups Grammy Award winners Indie rock musical groups from Oklahoma Musical groups established in 1983 Neo-psychedelia groups Noise pop musical groups Psychedelic pop music groups American space rock musical groups Warner Records artists Bella Union artists Restless Records artists Critics of Christianity Musical groups from Oklahoma City