Transmissions From The Satellite Heart

Amazon.com Sometimes it seems as if there's every other band in America, and then there's the Flaming Lips. The Norman, Oklahoma, quartet makes modern rock that doesn't sound like anyone else; head music, they'd have called it in psychedelia's heyday, weird soundscapes that conjure the bizarre alternate universe on the other side of the funhouse mirror. Transmissions, their second major-label release after a long indie apprenticeship has a mellower feel than early fans might expect, with lots of acoustic guitar and dreamy interludes to shame More-era Pink Floyd, but it's no less weird than their last two efforts. Strange sounds float in and out of the mix, and Wayne Coyne's twisted hick vocals are convincingly demented. Coyne's lyrics tend toward a Dadaist stream of consciousness with occasional forays into junk culture; this is familiar modern rock territory, but songs such as "She Don't Use Jelly," "Chewin the Apple of Your Eye," and "Be My Head" are more effective and less annoying than the would-be gonzo efforts of Frank Black and Sonic Youth because they're catchier and less pretentious. The Flaming Lips may be transmitting to the satellites, but when all is said and done, they live in Oklahoma. --Jim DeRogatis Product description Flaming Lips: Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar); Steven Drozd, Michael Ivins, Ronald Jones. Recorded at Studio Seven, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from January to February 1993. TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE SATELLITE HEART is a perfect example of post-modern ear-candy: sour, rough and skewed on the outside, lusciously sweet and logically structure-less on the inside. It is a Beatles record with Eno at the controls. While the guitar tones are more akin to laser beams than to standard Gibsons, and the effects-laden vocals casually melt into any form of incidental noise (keyboards, feedback, whatever), songs like "Turn It On" and "She Don't Use Jelly" are nothing more than pure pop songs for now (1990s) people. And just as the best of the psychedelic/sonic pioneers--the Lips' obvious fore-fathers--realized that to creatively buck the system they must first embrace its established traditions, Wayne Coyne and company balance extended jams like "Moth In The Incubator" and "Slow Nerve Action" with the simple acoustic folk of "*******." Such moments lift TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE SATELLITE HEART from being just a good record to being masterpiece.
ASIN: B000002ML7
VSKU: DBV.B000002ML7.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:The Flaming Lips
Binding: Audio CD
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Condition Notes: Individually inspected: Guaranteed to play perfectly or your money back. Case may show wear and may be in library packaging. Ships Fast!