King Crimson - In The Court of The Crimson King (1969)

King Crimson - In The Court of The Crimson King (1969)

Rating: 13

"For I Fear Tomorrow, I'll Be Crying,"

Best Song: 21st Century Schizoid Man

Worst Song: Moonchild

     I shall be reviewing King Crimson's albums, all 13 of them. For the sake of saving money, I won't be reviewing any of the live albums yet. I own Absent Lovers, Live in Toronto 2015, The Great Deceiver, and Radical Action to Unseat The Hold of Monkey Mind, but I won't be reviewing them until at least all of the studio albums have been finished. King Crimson is my favorite band technically, but I will try not to endlessly gush over all of their albums, because frankly, some of them don't deserve praise. However, some bias may be present, so if you'd like, lower all of these scores by 1-2 if you're not a fanatic unless I state otherwise. Unless you're not a fanatic and consider my score the correct one, in which cool. But this is just a fanatic warning right at the very beginning.

     Anyway, what can be said about this album that hasn't been said? This is the root of the tree that is progressive rock. From this album, emerged progressive rock, fully formed and ready to grace the world with its complicated song form and odd instrumental choices. The background of this album has been stated by hundreds of articles, so I won't spend a long time talking about it here. After their previous band, Giles Giles and Fripp, drummer Michael Giles and guitar player Robert Fripp recruited singer Greg Lake, lyricist Peter Sinfield, and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald to perform a form of music that had been toyed with, but never fully fleshed out: Classical-Jazz-Rock. After playing a few successful concerts, this album was released at just the right time in 1969, and it exploded. Despite only having 5 tracks in just over 40 minutes, it was embraced by the overall public and met with rave reviews (other than Robert Christgau, but whatever).

     Does it deserve this praise however? As you can see by my rating, I certainly think so. This album encompasses everything that prog should aspire to be. By that, I don't mean that every prog album should sound like this, I mean that they should try to live up to their name and be progressive. This album came out of seemingly nowhere, fully formed and out of this world. Many bands continued this formula, and while some just repeated the tropes found in this album, others saw it as a sign to continue to try and innovate, no matter how strange the territory. Sometimes, it would fail miserably, but the influence this album had on good music as well is undeniable.

     But enough about the influence, what about the music?? Well to sum it up in one word: amazing. This is a varied album for the genre, starting off with the progressive thunder of the opener, "21st Century Schizoid Man," one of the all time great tracks from the band. The amount of power, but control over the power shown in this song is mind-blowingly amazing, and the way that the end of the song freaks out, then cuts out right into the flutes of the next song, "I Talk to The Wind," is a testament to album flow. The chaos of the first track moving right into the calm and carefree attitude of the second song is simply amazing. The song itself has one of the best melodies you're likely to find around the era period, and the perfect streak that the album started with the first track is completely continued here. The third song on Side one, "Epitaph," bridges from the second track, and continues the flow going. This one is nearly a combo of the first two songs. It is not frantic, but it replaces the carefree attitude of "Wind," with one of anxiety and worriment. The lyrics up to this point are not very good, but they sound amazing in the context of the album, and this song is possibly the greatest example of that. Even though it's 9 minute, it feels half the length, and the lyrics add to that in a way that is astounding.

     At this point, why shouldn't the album get a perfect score?? It was a pretty much perfect side? Side two unfortunately is why this album falls a bit in my eyes. I quite like the first song, "Moonchild," for about 6-7 minutes, but Fripp and the gang fall into their excess just a bit. That just a bit however, is the straw that breaks the camel's back, because after the very pleasant two minute pop song that comprises the beginning of "Moonchild," comes 10 minutes of very quiet improvised, and not very well produced noodling. This takes up nearly a quarter of the record. It is certainly tolerable, but it is nowhere near the greatness of the rest of the record. In fact, it knocks the score down by 2 points. If only the other songs went on a bit longer to compensate for a 6-7 minute Moonchild, then we may have a runner-up for the greatest album of all time. It may still be a runner up, but a shorted "Moonchild" would put this in top 10 territory for me personally. 

     Fortunately, after the slight blemish that is "Moonchild," comes a song that stands toe to toe with every other song on the album: the title track. The drum fill that segues this song from the previous one is legendary, and it features one of the most beautiful choruses of all time, and a wordless one at that. The lyrics are medieval drivel, but they fit the song amazingly, and the fake ending is surprisingly effective. 

     Overall, this is one of the best albums of all time, and if you haven't listened to this album, check it out now. It's fantastic. 

Beach House - Depression Cherry (2015)

*Beach House - Depression Cherry (2015)*

Rating: 14

"Chances are like night disappeared,"

Best Song: 10:37 or Levitation, maybe?

Worst Song: I have no idea again

Song List:

1. Levitation

2. Sparks

3. Space Song

4. Beyond Love

5. 10:37

6. PPP

7. Wildflower

8. Bluebird

9. Days of Candy

Continuing on with the reviewing of Beach House's Discography, we retreat back just a couple of months ago, to when this album released was near the end of August. I was walking around my local record store, browsing the vinyls of bands like  Rush and Brian Eno, when a song came on the overly loud speakers of the store. A soft chord began on a keyboard, and as it was held, other keyboards began to layer it in beautiful and melodic ways. Then the drum machine began playing softly and a gorgeously ethereal voice began singing "You, and me, with our long hair on the gold wall," I just stopped what I was doing and listened in shock as this amazing song played on and on until it prettily faded out. After it was finished and the next song began, I walked up to the cashier and asked him "What band was that?!" He just looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "It's Beach House, man. Their new album just came out."

About an hour later, I held the beautifully clear "Loser Edition Vinyl" of Beach House's newest album, Depression Cherry. I listened to the album from start to finish a couple times that day alone, and my god, was I in love. This was a band at its peak playing to its strengths and making some gloriously music. Other reviews pinned it as lazy, and it seemed quite divisive overall, but I knew where I stood. I couldn't get enough of this album, and even as I bought Bloom, Teen Dream, and recently Thank Your Lucky Stars, I kept flocking back to this album. It captured some kind of feeling that the others just can't. To be honest, that's what makes Beach House so great. One major complaint that they always get is that every album sounds the same, but after a couple listens, that obviously isn't true. Beach House has this power to tap into emotions that may sound similar at first, but reveal their depth and differences with time. Depression Cherry does this impeccably, by making the jumpy feeling of Bloom toned down and more relaxed.

Listening to this album in order of songs as an album is a must. There is no way to more fully enjoy the songs than to just experience the songs in the order intended by the band itself. This may seem like an obvious fact restated, but in a world where many people have an ipod with 3000 songs, and 2500 albums on their ipod, the flow of albums are being more forgotten about than ever. This album blossoms when listen to in its entirety, and the way that the album calms down through its modest running time almost makes it feel like the day ending and the night beginning. If Bloom is a hazy summer day, then Depression  Cherry is a cool autumn evening. Thank Your Lucky Stars is the middle of the night, if we were to continue on with that comparison, but it's so different from the other two that such a comparison is almost meaningless.

I don't really enjoy track by track reviews, but the flow of this album must be mentioned. The album starts out with the amazing "Levitation," A dreamy reminiscing of days gone by and wishes not fulfilled, before crashing into the noisy, yet chilled out "Sparks,". Sparks almost fades into "Space Song," A song as floaty and beautiful as it sounds. By the time "Beyond Love" comes on, you're overtaken in this world of pretty sounds, and as side one ends, you are given a breather, almost to signify time passing. By the time you flip your vinyl record (or just wait a few seconds),  the night begins to fade in with the fantastic "10:37" which is my possibly favorite Beach House song, and it is followed up by the magnificent "PPP," Which floats like a cloud. Then, the lo-fi "Wildflower" sends you off to another world, as "Bluebird" and "Days of Candy" return you to your world, and after the otherworldly choruses of "Days" ends, you're left in a calm world of beautiful silence. It's a truly remarkable experience...

Overall, I would say get this album right now. Beach House doesn't have a bad song on here, and the whole album is a beautiful listening experience and one that has to be heard to be believed. It's my personal favorite album by them, and a must-buy for anyone who even has a passing interest in dreamy or alternative music.

You can listen to a Youtube stream of the album for free by clicking on this link!

Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars (2015)

Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars (2015)

Rating: 13

"Watch you spin like that..."

Best Song: Majorette? Or One Thing?

Worst Song: I have no idea...

Track Listing:

1. Majorette

2. She's So Lovely

3. All Your Yeahs

4. One Thing

5. Common Girl

6. The Traveller

7. Elegy To The Void

8. Rough Song

9. Somewhere Tonight

Well I certainly haven't written here in a while, and what better band to bring me back than Beach House! I'll probably write my reviews of their discography, but in backwards order, because I'm still getting into their early discography. Anyway, the album, right. Thank Your Lucky Stars has an interesting place in the overall history of Beach House, because 2 weeks ago, no one but the people close to Beach House had any idea that there was going to be another album by them coming out for several years. Then, 9 days before the album released on October 16th, they announced this album. It wasn't outtakes from the stellar Depression Cherry, even though it released only two months prior to this, and it wasn't a b-side collection, it was an honest-to-god new album.

And we'd all better thank our lucky stars, because this album is fantastic. Opening with the pretty but also restrained Majorette, the band echoes with the threads of Depression Cherry, like a name check before a vast change, because after Majorette, the album changes styles drastically. From She's so Lovely onwards, the album is a lyrical dream unlike anything that Beach House has really done before. Stories of girls and innocence lost, almost reflecting upon the album cover. The band is as dreamy as always, of course, but there is an emotional depth to this album that differs from the mood of other recent Beach House records. Where those had a hint of melancholy that bridged over to happiness, TYLS doesn't ever bridge that gap, save Majorette. Victoria Legrand sounds almost cynical and sarcastic on a few songs, and while her voice is as pretty and croony as always, there's something different about her on this album.

Let me stress this fact about the previous paragraph; These changes are good! As much as I loved Depression Cherry, Bloom and Teen Dream, another album in the vein of these released just 2 months after the last major LP would have made an otherwise great album have seemed worse because of context. The other albums are released with just enough space in between them to make you remember the past while loving the present album, but make the overall old songs seem like distant but happy memories. The songs of Depression Cherry are still fresh on our minds, however, and a departure like what we got on this LP was the perfect way to release essentially a double album in the span of 2 months successfully. I'm with the band on this, as a double album called Thank Your Lucky Depression Cherries would have been tiring and an overall tedious listen. But taking these albums as separate works of Beach House art make them both work on their own.

To sum it all up, this is another fantastic album by a fantastic band, and the departure from what they've been doing is a welcome change. This album will be taking up the spot for a record in my LP player for the next few months until something else comes my way. Pick this album up in whatever format you want, cuz its worth a listen or 100! I'll be back at some point with my review of Depression Cherry in the next month or so! See ya.

You can listen to this album for free on YouTube by clicking on this link!

7 Skies H3 (Full) - The Flaming Lips

*The Flaming Lips - 7 Skies H3 (24 Hour Song) (2011)*

Rating: 15

"I can't shut off my head."

Best Section: Metamorphosis

Worst Section: Meepy Morp (Reprise)

Section Listing:

1. 7 Skies H3 (Cant Shut off My Head) (25 Mins)

2. Meepy Morp (55 Mins)

3. Radiation Wind (35 Mins)

4. Battling Voices From Beyond (2 Hours, 30 Mins)

5. Electric Toy Factory (10 mins)

6. In A Dream (An hour and 5 mins)

7. Metamorphosis (7 Hours!!!)

8. Requiem (25 mins)

9. The Other Side (1 hour 5 mins)

10. Immaculate Light From Heaven Consumes Your Body (3 Hours, 35 mins)

11. Meepy Morp (Reprise) (2 Hours 15 Mins)

12. Riot in My Brain!! (1 Hour 30 Mins)

13. 7 Skies H3 (Main Theme) (2 Hours, 15 Mins)

14.  Can't Let It Go (9 Mins)

It all started about a week ago. On 4/20, (no drugs involved) I got the idea to finally get around to listening to the whole 7 Skies H3. I had listened to a 90 minute version (which I loved), and the official 50 minute version (Which I loved almost as much and I'm gonna get around to reviewing soon), but I decided that this was finally the time to listen to the actual entire thing in one sitting. And well, I did it. And I can safely say that the Flaming Lips have created their absolute masterpiece. The fact that they can make 24 hours of music that I can see myself listening to in its entirety again is mind blowing. That is why i love this band so much. Because of the things they do like this. 

     The reason that they decided to do a 24 hour song came by on a very sad and somber note

     Instead of a conventional review I'm going to give you a 24 hour summary of my April 26, the day I listened to the entire thing. Ill explain the parts of the song, and how much I liked them as well, because that is what you are all here for. I'll also rate all of the parts out of 15. Also note this; if I compiled all of the parts of the 24 hour song together by those ratings, the rating would not end up being 15 like I gave it above. 7 Skies H3 is greater than the sum of its parts in concept, themes, and the fact that there is a 24 hour song that I could listen to again and love it again.

12:00 AM: Cant Shut off My Head: I woke up, and 7 Skies H3 began right on time. The first section (Can't Shut off My Head) is one of the greatest parts of the entire song, so it really wasn't that hard to wake up and start it. This part is 26 minutes, which is really long in retrospect if it was put on an album like The Terror or some other one, but on here its among the shortest sections. Sad clean guitars in each speaker play as Wayne sings his pain. Then a beautiful keyboard melody comprising of only three notes plays and repeats for a while. Then it goes back and the beautiful cycle repeats for about 26 minutes. During this part of the song, I just kinda woke up and listened for a while. This is one of the most listenable parts of the song, and its not hard to actually pay attention to all 26 minutes of it. 14/15

12:25 AM: Meepy Morp: Wayne sings for the last time, and then a small drum fill signals the beginning of Meepy Morp. Meepy Morp has a strange name, yes, and Its not exactly the absolute best portion of the song, but it is considerably good, and very hypnotic; a sign of things to come in this song. The first section was amazing, but a bit off putting as to what 90% of the album is going to sound like. This is where Meepy Morp shines. It starts off with a hypnotic repetitive keyboard glitch line that is really hard to describe. Then throughout the 54 minutes that it plays, it slowly builds layers upon layers of keyboards and other instruments. Drums, wind blowing, all while never losing that base loop. It's actually quite gorgeous. During this part, I read a book, but about half the time couldn't help but pay attention to the beautiful sound that was being created. 12/15

1:20 AM: Radiation Wind: This section of the song wasn't hard to listen to and read at the same time. There really isn't too much going on, though it, like the last part has a depressing beauty to it. It just kind of swells depressing chords and Wayne's voice hyper slowed down echoes from the beyond. It gives a real feeling of loss and desolation. During this part I finished my book, and I actually tried to listen to the last 10 minutes of it. It really was pretty nice, but a bit boring for listening to actively 10/15

2:00 AM: Battling Voices From Beyond: Let me just start out by saying this section could be a kick butt 40 minute break with two loops total. But no, to fit the 24 hours, The Flaming Lips decided to make this section a ridiculous 2 and a half hours. This section is BRUTAL. There's distorted drums, a hypnotic loop of only two notes (that appears later and is used much better), screaming, yelling, and choral voices from beyond. Its like a 20 minute loop played 9 times, then they finally decide to move onto the better loop with more variation in the voices and the drums. This part I actually almost fell asleep to I think. It was intense, but after 1 and a half hours of the same damn thing, I got really bored of it. I read a new book, did some review for my exams, and laid in bed for a while during this. To sum it all up, no it isn't bad, but its rating does get decreased by the fact that it is long as heck. 8/15

4:30 AM: Electronic Toy Factory: This section is really short actually. Its a repetitive Can like song with more electronics. It's okay I guess. I really don't have much to say about it. I listened to it actively and enjoyed it. 9/15

4:40 AM: In A Dream: Around here is where the song got really good again. That loop that I said showed up in Battling Voices came into this section, and formed the backbone. Let me tell you, it works a lot better in this section than it did in that one. Its a lot less intense, and this one is more bongo and rhythm focused than the loud and distorted smashing of the last one. And Wayne sings again! This time he sings more depressing lyrics about death and all that, and this repeats for about an hour and five minutes. It may be a slight bit overlong, but its really good, so I'm willing to overlook it. During this section i sat and listened, absorbed by the hypnotic rhythm and singing. 13/15

5:45 AM: Metamorphosis: Oh god. 7 Hours? Why would anyone make a section of a song with an ungodly amount of time like that? And this has to be boring as heck man. Let me tell you that those were my thoughts as Metamorphosis started. Let me also tell you how surprised and happy I was to find out that it was absolute perfection. 7 Hours of Psychedelic noodling, jamming, improvisation, and beauty. How do I even explain it? Let me tell you a normal cycle of the progression. A sad minor chord is strummed, and a bassline plays in the background, slowly complementing it. Keyboard sounds play, maybe drums come in, and it builds up until that sad chord is strummed again, and every single time  it is different. At one point a pretty cool Krautrock jam comes in involving a b flat chord and some drums (not this part's last appearance). Overall, Metamorphosis is the best part of  the song by far and I loved it so much. During this time, my house stirred, I did all of my homework, I ate breakfast, then I took my ipod with me and went to the store. Halfway through my trip, the song ended however. Overall. I am just in love with this section. It is one of the best things the lips have ever done. 15/15

12:45 PM: Requiem: Some pretty chords waved goodbye to the beauty that was the metamorphosis section, and a piano, some synths, and Steven's voice rose out of the dim sadness that this song provides. But he wasn't alone. A very high pitched version of his voice sang with him an octave higher. And the melody that they sung was amazing. Just as this song seems like its going to wrap up however, drums and bass come in, and for the next 19 minutes there's an amazing jam! Its pretty much built up on the chords of the rest of the section, and it just rocks for 19 minutes. Its amazing. During this part, I continued my shopping at Wegmans, and right as I finished and left the store, the section ended. 14/15

1:10 PM: The Other Side: As I drove home, this section slowly faded in and Requiem ended. This part is very pretty, and very reminiscent of the end of Moonchild by King Crimson, except done electronically. Its built up on a loop made in an ipod app called SynthPond, and some pretty chords chime in every few seconds and add some color too it. This part is pretty overlong, but that's okay. This is definitely a part to do other things to. I drove home, ate lunch, and then vacuumed my whole house. Just as I finished that, the next section came on. 10/15

2:15 PM: Immaculate Light From Heaven Consumes Your Body: This section is really long. The second longest section, (3 Hours 35 Mins About). It takes that Krautrock B flat jam that I talked about in the Metamorphosis section, and loops 26 minutes of it a bunch of time, all while adding different effects and sounds around it. During the 2nd or 3rd loop, it reverses it, and some gorgeous sounds come out of that. This is probably the second best part of the song, just because of how amazing the whole loop is, and for some reason, it really doesn't seem that overlong. Its so strange how the two longest sections didn't seem overlong. They were just really well done. Like... wow. I just kind of fooled around on my computer and listened to this section while it was on 15/15

5:50 PM: Meepy Morp (Reprise): The last section faded out sadly, and left us with this. This is not a reprise of Meepy Morp. There is nothing in this section that sounds like Meepy Morp. The chords don't sound similar, or anything. It is literally: A synthesizer farts, and an electric piano noodles for a bit. Then the synth farts, and the piano noodles. Fart, noodle, fart, noodle. Occasionally the piano will take over and play some pretty melodies for a bit, then the synth comes back and farts. And it does this for 2 hours and 15 Minutes! It is ridiculously over long. 10 Minutes is too long for this section. Ugh. Only the electric piano interludes frequently showing up give it a rating over 3. I ate dinner and played video games during this section. It felt like it never ended. 5/15

8:05 PM: Riot In My Brain!!: Thank god for this section. This section kicks all of the butt. It's like someone took Aquarius Sabotage, re arranged it a bit, then took the Battling Voices from Beyond section of this song and combined them into a thrashing, epic, distorted beauty. Theres loud epic drums, an awesome bass line thing that is really hard to describe. Sometimes a distorted harp plays an epic chord. Loud noises flow from speaker to speaker, and Steven Drozd screams and chants in both speakers randomly in the middle and the end. This totally redeems the last section, and if this went on for another hour I really don't think I would care. It's an absolute masterpiece. During this section I listened, and I played a bit of video games. This section is just amazing. Not really any other words for it. 15/15

9:35 PM: 7 Skies H3 (Main Theme): An amazing drum fill signals this part to begin, and immediately as it begins, beautiful string organs fill the sound space. They play the gorgeous chord progression from the first section of the song, and about an hour in, a very Gilmourish guitar comes in and plays a very long and drifting solo that I fell absolutely in love with. Every so often, a radiation wind-esque swell comes in, until the solo fades out, and a Radiation Wind reprise (kind of) happens. This time though, it uses a different chord progression, and its just very pretty, and one of the best sections in the song. Its 2 hours and 15 minutes, but its length is very justified. Its the perfect counterpoint to the last section. During this part I started to drift off a bit. After all I had been up since 12:00 AM that day, and i was nearing 24 hours up total. But i just played games and then i decided to focus on the last 30 minutes of the song. This section was too gorgeous to ignore anyway. 15/15

11:50 PM: Can't Let It Go: As Wayne started to sing again for the first time since 5:45 AM, I knew that this was the big finale. He was singing some very beautiful and sad lyrics around a very similar progression to the first part of the song. Then, he stopped as the beautiful 3 notes from the beginning returned. All of the instruments built up and up and up, until finally, the song ended with a strangely beautiful noise. amazing. Amazing. Amazing. Then I heard Steven and Wayne talk for a bit, and I heard the notes of the song beginning again. It was 4/27, and I had listened 7 Skies H3 in its entirety. 15/15

A year in the making of this review. I never got around to listening to the entire thing until recently, though I did plan to make this review for over a year. I absolutely am in love with this song, and while I cant get around to listening to 24 hours of it frequently, the official 50 minute version serves me just fine. They are both amazing, and I have decided that this album, 7 Skies H3, may be the crowning moment in long-form music and The Flaming Lips. Who else would go and make a song that is 24 hours long and make it an actually amazing song!? That there is why I give it a 15, not because it is the best song I have ever heard. 

     If i judged it on song quality, I would probably give it a 12/15. However, the concept, the beauty, the whole sum of its parts are way better than the individual songs (Though Metamorphosis, Immaculate, Riot, Main theme, and Can't Let It Go show them at their absolute best). This may just be me gushing, but the reason I give this a 15 is because it is the most impressive song that I have ever heard in my entire life. My mind is blown.

Anyway, there is only one more EP in my 2011 Flaming Lips reviews, and that is the one with Yoko Ono. I don't see how it could ever live up to this, and it more than likely wont get even close, but I'll probably enjoy it. After that, expect a review of 7 Skies H3 in its reduced 50 minute form.

6 Hour Song- The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips- Strobo Trip

Rating: 9

"I... Found A Star On The Grouuunnddd"

Best Song: Butterfly (How Long It Takes To Die)

Worst Song: Evil Minds

Update 4/28/14: The 6 Hour Song kinda sucks. an hour of it is unlistenable noise. I listened to it again and lowered the rating down to 9 because they can do so much better than this. Just listen to the 24 hour song.

Track List

1. Butterfly (How Long It Takes To Die)

2. 6 Hour Song (Found A Star on The Ground)

3. Evil Minds

     So... much... Flaming Lips... Agh...

     Good thing it's pretty good! (Well, some of it). Let's get this review started by saying that the EP is not actually just the 6 hour song. It also has 2 other songs, "Butterfly (How Long It Takes To Die)" and "Evil Minds". Both of them are great, but I can't make either of them the best song, just because that would mean the 6 Hours I spent listening to this would be a complete waste. So, obviously, the 6 hour song is the best song on the EP. Butterfly is the best song on the EP.
     The EP begins with the best song on it, "Butterfly," which has one of the most hypnotic drum beats ever.Oh, and the keyboards and vocal lines are awesome too.  It's an amazing song, and it even got a spot on "The Terror", and while I prefer that one to this one, this one is a bit less... mechanical, so I'll give it credit.
     And since I have a lot to talk about for the 6 Hour Song, let's review the last song, and then get to the main attraction. The last song is called "Evil Minds," and while it starts on the odd note of a low voice going "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttt," It immediately follows that with - surprise surprise - a very cool drum beat. Then, the singing and the rest of the instruments come in and what you hear is a very optimistic song, that follows the 6 hour mania of the last song. It's actually a pretty good closer, and if it was an ending to the 6 hour song instead of being separate, I probably would have looked on it a bit fonder. After all, if you listen to a 6 hour song, I'm pretty sure the last thing you'd want to hear is even more of the band, less then 10 seconds after that one ended.
     But let's get on to the metaphorical "main attraction". The 6 hour song goes by a name, and that name is "Found A Star On The Ground" The reason it got this name is because there is only one lyric in the song, and that lyric is Steven Drozd singing "I Found A Star On The Ground." It pops up from time to time, maybe every 30-40 minutes and stays for about... I don't know, 10 minutes? It always changes.
     The song begins with a rush of loud noise, and parts that are indistinguishable from each other. But this only goes on for about 20 seconds, and we are thrown right in the middle of a guitar solo, an epic bassline, and the greatest freakin drums the Flaming Lips could have ever put to be the main part of the 6 Hour Song, (And yes, this drum line appears for a total of like 4 and a half hours of the song, making it the main thing connecting the song). The way to describe this section however, is like if you sped up "Slow Nerve Action", sped up the "Mario Brothers" theme, and smacked the solo from "Powerless" on top of it. And yes, it does sound as awesome as that description sounds like it would be.
     This goes on for a little while (3 minutes), then the solo ends, and Steven Drozd comes in with the singing, and he sings the line over and over and over and over, slow getting more reverbed and spacey, until it goes back into the Slow Powerless Mario section, except this time, the Powerless-esque solo is slowed down so it sounds like a fire engine. This goes on for a while until about the 20 minute mark, where the most annoying noise possible comes on and swallows up everything. Drozd returns and his spacey vocals pick up where they left off. Then, at around 30 minutes, the annoying noise goes away, your ears breathe a sigh of relief, and a new Mario bassline comes in, and Slow Powerless Mario returns, just with the lack of a Powerless solo, so it's just Slow Nerve Mario. This part goes on until about the 1 Hour mark, where the bassline continues, but a new synth line pops up, and a robot voiced Drozd sings the line over and over.
     After he stops, the drum beat and synthy stuff continue, and this goes on until the 1 hour and a half mark, when the drum beat suddenly ends, and one note on a synth plays over and over, very slowly. Then Sean Lennon's voice comes in and begins reading names. Once this is over, a majestic synth part comes in, and it drifts along until the 2 hour and 10 minute mark, when the drums suddenly return, and a new equally epic bassline begins. Drozd sings the lines over and over and over once again. Then this section goes on for about 30 minutes, and new section that is very reminiscent of the end of the first side of "Thick as a Brick" comes on. Sean reads more names, the "Thick as a Brick" section goes on, and then at the 3 hour mark, the drum beat comes crashing back again. There really isn't a bassline to compliment this one, it's more of a flanged synthline that just drifts along while the drum loop just bangs along. Drozd sings, but this time, he hums a new melody along with the line.
     After he stops, this part builds up for a long time, and at about the 4 hour and 5 minute mark, a lower version of the Drozd voice comes in and sings the line. This building up part eventually stops at around the 5 hour mark, when we get a short reprise of the first minute of the song, until it becomes a part with a nice meandering synth part. Sean reads more names, and then the synth line meanders along, with annoying noises until the 5 hour and 30 minute mark, when a wah guitar plays an awesome melody, and a new drum line comes in. Then a nine minute jam commences, which is very much like Fusion era Miles Davis, and this small section is easily the best part of the song, and some of the best jamming in Lips history.
     This section ends with about 15 minutes of the song left, and a nice repeating synth line from an ipod app goes on for a little while. Sean reads some names, and the says "We will always love you," and he repeats that until everything fades out. He says it one more time by himself, with no instruments behind him, and then... silence. Until "Evil Minds" that is.
     And there you have it. The only way to get this is to download it online free, so if you have a lot of time, and a lot of space on your Ipod, go get this EP today. It's a very rewarding listen, but if you aren't a F'Lips fan, then this isn't for you.

P. S. - As I write this, I'm about 6 hours through the 24 hour song, and plan to post a review of every section by itself, so expect the first 5 sections to be reviewed in the next couple weeks.

The Flaming Lips With Lightning Bolt- The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips- The Flaming Lips with Lightning Bolt

Rating: 12

"I man the controls"

Best Song: I'm Working At Nasa On Acid

Worst Song: Nasa's Final Acid Bath

Track List:

Side One: The Flaming Lips With Lightning Bolt

1. I'm Working At Nasa on Acid

2. I Wanna Get High, But I Don't Want Brain Damage

Side 2: Lightning Bolt With The Flaming Lips

3. Nasa's Final Acid Bath

4. I Wanna Get Damaged, But I Won't Say Hi

     ...Noise! Beautiful, Terrible Noise! Really though, this is the best thing they've done in 2011 so far in the reviews! I don't have time, so I'm gonna make this quick. All of the songs are good, and "Nasa's Final Acid Bath," is the worst. "I'm working at NASA on acid" is a space-noise-rock masterpiece. Thats all you need to know. Go download it now.

Gummy Song Fetus- The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips- Gummy Song Fetus

Rating: 9
"I Woke Up From A Bad Dream, Glad That It Wasn't The Real Thing"

Best Song: Squishy Glass

Worst Song: Steven's Moonbow

Track Listing;

1. Enthusiasm For Life Defeats Existential Fear Part 2: 5:06

2. Steven's Moonbow: 1:29

3. Squishy Glass: 6:07

     ...Not as good as I'd hope it would be, but better than them with Prefuse 73. It's a pretty shor EP, clocking in around 12 and a half minutes, so this review will be quick. So this album came packaged in a Gummy Fetus, with the music in a USB in the fetus's head. Pretty gross, I know, but it's kind of funny. Good gift for your Biology Teacher.

     The album begins with "Enthusiasm For Life Defeats Existential Fear Part 2, and it's pretty... ok. Kind of boring, and real drums would have helped the pace of the album a whole lot more. The loop in the right is kind of cool, and the guitar that pops up sometimes is alright. Wayne's singing is ok, but not as good as i hoped.

     The next song, "Steven's Moonbow," is an instrumental version of the interlude from "Is David Bowie Dying?" Let's move on.

     The EP ends with a cool song by the name of "Squishy Glass," It starts off kind of boring, with a two minute synth loop, but the song then kicks off when Wayne begins singing in a cool reverbed voice while guitars come in. Drums come in, though really quiet at first. Part of it sounds like Miles Davis fusion on drugs,  especially when the drums come in. The drums are a bit too rock-like for that comparison, but I can't shake off the Miles feel. But anyway, the song eventually turns into a cool little groove with some ominous Wayne singing. Then the EP ends. The end. Not as good as it could have been, and another song would have been nice, but I'm not gonna complain too much about it, as that 6 hour song is looming ever closer on the horizon...

The Flaming Lips With Prefuse 73- The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips- The Flaming Lips With Prefuse 73

Rating: 5

"But It Slowed Down For Us"

Best Song: Heavy Star Movin'

Worst Song: Be Like That That That

Track Listing

1. Supermoon Made Me Want To Pee

2. Heavy Star Movin'

3. Be Like That That That

4. Guillermo's Bolero

     ...And they fail. The Flaming Lips finally fell behind the boundary of Experimental Music, and just turned this into a pile of Experimental Noise. And this is the bad kind of Experimental Noise. There is almost no drums to drive the album for 3/4ths of the album. For a bit of that 3/4s, the drums were not needed. But on the rest of it, the drums were needed. 

     The most ironic part? On the first song, "Supermoon Made Me Want To Pee," the drums irritate me except for one cool part that reminds me of "March of The Rotten Vegetables" from the fantastic Zaireeka. "Supermoon," is a stupid layer of noise that reminds me of fast forwarding an already bad song. The next song, is very good though. "Heavy Star Movin'" is the calmest song on the album, having an "A Machine In India, (Zaireeka)"-like drift. The vocals are really soothing and nice.

     The same can't be said for the next song. "Be Like That That That is one of the worst songs I have ever heard. It is driven by a stupid loop that sounds like a broken machine. Wayne's vocals are some of the worst he's ever done, and the bass is directionless and stupid. "Guillermo's Bolero," is basically a rewrite of "Alan's Theremin," But slightly more grating and boring, making this EP one of the worst things that the Flaming Lips did in 2011. Hopefully, the Gummy Song Fetus can redeem them, as they're alone again, not bound by the musical style of another...

Gummy Song Skull- The Flaming Lips

Rating: 12

"They've Switched on The Time Machine"

Best Song: In Our Bodies, Out of Our Heads

Worst Song: Hilary's Time Machine Machine

Track Listing:

1. Drug Chart

2. In Our Bodies, Out Of Our Heads

3. Walk With Me

4. Hilary's Time Machine Machine

     Wow, now this is much better. This is the April Flaming Lips music, and it's really quite good! The first three songs are great, and the fourth one is... ok, but overall it's really good! The album has this really cool drugged out feel, and the feel makes sense, as the first and second songs both make drug references in title and lyric. It's also the first Flaming Lips EP to packaged in a strange form. This one comes in, as the title suggests, in a giant 7 pound gummy skull. Inside the gummy skull is a gummy brain, and in the brain is a USB containing the music. They're quite pricey, and not sold anymore, so there is basically no way to get the music, but download it online.
     Let's get into a track by track review. The EP begins with the spacey, reverb heavy "Drug Chart." The drums in this song are incredible, and Wayne's voice is quite cool in it. The lyrics, while not really decipherable, are quite good, but dark. It's not the slightest bit overlong because of the hypnotic drums, and overall, it's the perfect opener for this EP.
    The next song is the fantastic, "In Our Bodies, Out of Our Heads,". It's pretty much Miles Davis fusion as interpreted by the Flaming Lips. If you didn't know, I quite like Miles Davis. Anyway, the song is mostly instrumental, with the title of the song being the only lyric popping up at the end of the song. The wah solo is definitely the highlight of the song though.
     Next comes "Walk With Me," which is the first part in the 15 minute suite that closes the album. Clocking in at 6 minutes, it borders on being overlong, but subtle changes keep it interesting enough. Besides, the singing is awesome, and the drum machine, while not as good as the drums in the last two songs, is a good fit for this song.
     The second and final part of the suite is called "Hilary's Time Machine Machine." Clocking in at 9 minutes, this song unfortunately falls under the category of over long in the vein of "Alan's Theremin," I like "Hilary's" a good deal better than "Alan's" though. All the song really is though is a sped up Fetus's heartbeat in the right channel, an acoustic strumming in the left channel, occasional keyboards, and some mumbling in the center of the channels. It is literally the same idea for 9 minutes, but it's so much softer, and less annoying than "Alan's" so I do like it. It's not the ideal way to end the album, but they could do much worse.
     Overall, this is the best EP they've done in the 2011 catalog so far. Go download it today, as it's really worth it.    

A Quick Note About The Flaming Lips 2011 Reviews: And A Schedule

     So as you know, I'll be doing the Flaming Lips 2011 Discography. I thought it would be a good idea to give you a schedule of the ones I'm doing and the day they should be up. Here you go:

April Release: Gummy Song Skull: Should Be Up 2/28/13

May Release: The Flaming Lips With Prefuse 73: Should Be Up 3/2/13

June Release: Gummy Song Fetus: Should Be Up 3/3/13

July Release: The Flaming Lips With Lightning Bolt: Should Be Up 3/5/13

September Release: Strobo Trip Light And Audio Illusions Toy: Should Be Up 3/12/13

(Note: Strobo Trip is A 6 Hour Song, so I will be listening to an hour a day)

October Release: 7 Skies H3: Should Be Up 4/6/13

(Note: 7 Skies H3 is a 24 (!!!) Hour Song, and I will be listening to it an hour a day)

December Release: The Flaming Lips with Plastic Ono Band: Should be up 4/7/13


That's All Folks! After that, I shall possibly never want to listen to them ever again :)