Hit To Death In The Future Head

After being signed to Warner Bros records (which was as much of a surprise to them as the rest of the world) The Flaming Lips set about using a $200,000 advance to record their major label debut. For this record, Jonathan Donahue and Nathan Roberts stayed with the band to get it made before leaving to concentrate on their own things. Being used to recording albums on somewhat smaller budgets, the Lips were somewhat fazed by this amount of money - Warners were trying to hire them $1,000 dollar a day drum techs and put them in huge expensive studios.

What eventually happened helped define the sprawling masterpiece that ultimately resulted. The Lips hired a fairly large studio at a University - with nice white walls, enough space to be happy and a lot of money to spare as a result. They spent a small number of months at it, hiring orchestras, dripping water on guitars, screaming in the toilets, making odd noises with power tools and computers, and just generally being rather indulgent. Some of the orchestra stuff didn't work out - in the absence of rigid music being given to them, they couldn't really produce what was wanted - and the Lips ended up sampling some of the score from Brazil by Michael Kamen. This delayed the record by the best part of a year, by which time there was a whole band again (with two new members) ready to tour.

Anyway, as I said previously, this record is supremely indulgent and full of layers of sound - making it perhaps a little taxing listening. Wayne has been known to describe this album as "Still a bit of a mess really", but admits it was, "A blast" to make. Personally, I think it's a work of art.

Okay, you have to concentrate and it can overload the senses but I don't think I ever heard a record that came that close to being like the music you can only ever hear in your head and never hope to realise. The fact of the matter is that every time you play it there is still something different you can listen to more, and it changes the way the music sounds but never altering the fact that the music is brilliant. If you own this album, put it on with a loud noise in the background, like a lawnmower or a car, and see what you can then hear.

The Ocean side (side 1) kicks off with Talkin' Bout The Smiling Deathporn Immortality Blues (Everyone Wants To Live Forever) which not only has the most extravagant title ever, but also rocks like a thousand Motorheads with boogie pop implants. The chorus is sublime and the noise at the start never ceases to make my heart race. To lead from that into Hit Me Like You Did The First Time is like a musical wet dream really and the album takes off from here.

The Sun is like the recreation of music you hear in dreams and the way it drones but builds is kind of reminiscent of the subtle beauty of bands like Spacemen 3 without sounding much like them (an odd thing to say I know, but I can't help thinking it). Felt Good To Burn is a beauty of a song and the bass sound is unreal. On a really good stereo system, this can make your body vibrate and your windows shake. Another song that's like a dream. The side finishes with the turbopop of Gingerale Afternoon, which is the albums weakest track really. And it's still great.
The Lotion Side begins with one of my favourite songs of all time. Halloween on The Barbary Coast has a demon riff, great lyrics, a fantastic drum clatter, amazing guitar sounds, and a bass line that just tugs at your senses. Music this cool should be illegal. The following song Magician Vs. The Headache is one of those indulgent moments that is still a pretty fantastic rock song. The riff sounds like it could tear your heart out if played too loud live and the mad deep singing is scarily cool. By the way, the Hole In My Head Disco Remix of this song has to be heard to be believed..... Next, the problem song You Have To Be Joking (featuring the sample) provides a welcome little break from the intensity with it's sorrowful look at our screwed up Planet Earth.

The penultimate track is Frogs which is so much of a sing along song it's untrue. Classic noise solo and yet another storming riff. Final track Hold Your Head is a perfect closing track that winds you down after the exhilarating nine preceeding it. A pretty smart arrangement with perfect positioning of the striking chords. If you have the cd there's an eleventh track which is the same forty odd seconds loop repeating for about thirty-five minutes. It's funny for about ten minutes, after twenty it starts to grate a little, and it's rare that you don't summon the energy to get up and switch it off before it's done. Still, it sums up the nature of the album.......

This is the Flaming Lips album to which I personally attach the most sentiment for me, even though it's not neccessarily the best, because it quite honestly changed my life by changing the way I thought about and believed in music. If you don't own a copy, you probably ought to.