If you have any information that you think other flipsfans may like to know about, then please do send it to me and I'll try to get around to doing something with it. On with the rumours....

Should be fun....

The guys are having fun - Steven and Michael are still in the rabbit suits, and the mirror balls look beautiful.

I also hear that the August edition of Spin has a feature on Christmas On Mars, as well as covering the album and so on.

Cincinnati, OH @ The Comet Bar - Tues. 7/9, 7pm
Austin, TX @ Stubb's - Weds. 7/10, 10pm
Seattle, WA @ The Green Room - Weds. 7/10, 7pm
Indianapolis, IN @ Luna Music - Thurs. 7/11, 8pm
Philadelphia, PA @ Spaceboy Music - Thurs. 7/11, 8pm
Norman, OK @ Opolis Production - Sat. 7/13, 9pm
Los Angeles, CA @ Sea Level Records - Sun. 7/14, 5pm
Atlanta, GA @ The Earl - Sun. 7/14, 8pm
Boise, ID @ The Neurolux - Mon. 7/15, 9pm
Champaign, IL @ The High Dive - Mon. 7/15, 10pm
Chicago, IL @ The Hideout - Mon. 7/15, 9pm
St. Louis, MO @ Vintage Vinyl - Mon. 7/15, 10pm
Dallas, TX @ Good Records - Mon. 7/15, 10pm
Albuquerque, NM @ Bow Wow Records - Tues. 7/16, 6pm
Las Vegas, NV @ Big B's - Tues. 7/16, All Day
Columbus, OH @ Workbook Studio - Fri. 7/19, 8pm

I believe you can win stuff at most of these too....

So it begins.....

The Kylie song was pretty good fun - they were doing it seriously, but also pretty different from the original. Half the audience loved it, while the rest were a bit confused.... might have been the rabbit suits Steven and Michael were wearing, or maybe the Frog (Wayne's nephew Dennis) and the Dog (Kliph Scurlock) alternately playing onstage and cavorting in the crowd.

This is expected to sell out, so if you want in, go buy now....

Pretty interesting reading...

Sorry if you were eagerly awaiting that one next week. Only two more weeks until the album is out though....

Meantime, check out the 'Do You Realize?' video and sign up for the mailing list (even if you did in the past - it seems some of the old addresses went missing) - WBR are going to be sending some stuff out really soon. It's all linked from the new front page.

This is to precede the release of 'Do You Realize?' as a single in the UK on 1 July. I understand this will be available as a DVD, which will include the very crazy video....

Couldn't say how reliable this claim was...

This is just before the guys play dates through Ireland and the UK. (see tour news)

We'll be adding some downloads to this site shortly, as part of a general overhaul. Stand by...

Note that I had the wrong venue for Cambridge in the UK - this is at the Junction NOT the Corn Exchange....

No final word on the US album release yet, but expect it on 16 July for now...

There may be more, but it's not that likely this time around - doubtless they'll be back again later in the year....

No official confirmation on this yet... meanwhile back at the camp, the press work is starting. I think it's Spin, CMJ and Mojo going through OKC early next week.

1. Fight Test
2. One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21
3. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt. 1
4. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt. 2
5. In the Morning of the Magicians
6. Ego Tripping At the Gates of Hell
7. Are You a Hypnotist?
8. It's Summertime
9. Do You Realize?
10. All We Have Is Now
11. Approaching Pavonis Mons By Balloon (Utopia Planitia)

The tentative release date for the US is July 16th, 2002, the tentative release date for the UK is July 15th. Most likely, "Do You Realize" will be the first single in the UK - probably released on July 1st (although that could change at any moment). The Japanese version of the album will have a bonus track of "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt. 1" sung in Japanese by Wayne!"

These release dates are not gospel - there's plenty of time for things to get changed yet, so don't be surprised to see them shift a week or two in either direction..... it seems that two songs didn't make the final cut, and I guess they may well turn up as b-sides soon enough. These are: 'Funeral In My Head', and 'Up Above The Daily Hum'.

Seattle
Salt Lake City
Albuquerque
Lincoln & Omaha
New Orleans
Birmingham
Memphis
Nashville
Chapel Hill
DC
Milwaukee & Madison
New Haven & Hartford
NYC

Check out the link above to find out more. Hellfire give out show tickets, promo cds, and other promo items to those working on their Street Team.

The release date for the record is still to be confirmed, but looks like being mid-July in the US, and probably similar or slightly earlier for the UK.

Speculation at the moment, but maybe there'll be some tour news soon....

This is going to be an acoustic in-studio performance by Wayne and Steven.

Release of a new record being a deadline to focus the mind and all that....

Should you wish to see the offending article, it's here but bear in mind that the scenes described (in terms of both the preview event and the movie segments) are not real!!

The title has not yet stuck for certain! It comes from Wayne's little collection of songs on the same theme, which are dotted through the record.

Not sure when this is coming out, but we'll try to keep you updated.

This is a five minutes or so piece, incorporating both actual film scenes and some documentary type footage about the making of the film. Scott Booker will also be appearing publicly at SXSW during the 'Manager's as Adversaries' panel: Friday, March 15, 3:30-4:45pm, Lavaca room, Austin Convention Center

No confirmed release dates yet, but it still looks like May (UK) and June (US).

Looks like there are some new copies on the market from somewhere - maybe a new print run, or maybe someone found some stock in the corner of a warehouse. We'll try to find out the details and let you know. Meanwhile, don't get fleeced on Ebay!!

Seems to work when you order, but not sure if people will eventually get an 'out of stock' email.... however, given that there are suddenly 15 copies on sale at Ebay, maybe some people are getting new copies from somewhere?

This is still just being worked on between sessions up at Tarbox Road, where there's mostly just mixing left to do. Looks like the film is coming on nicely though, despite (or maybe because of) the piece-meal creation process.

The new album is taking shape nicely and, once it has a title, there'll be a bit more of a preview on the site. Wayne has described the tone as being similar to that of The Soft Bulletin, but rest assured it won't be a retread. The sound has more of an electronic edge, still moving forward and covering a wider musical span than before. As for the songs, Wayne's sounding sort of wistful or maybe yearning, but he's still on the big themes - the meaning of love, dealing with regret, right and wrong, the effects of sadness on sanity, and being saved from robots.

Steven is back in OKC to work on this.

The band will be doing final sessions during February.

Of 12 songs recorded, a third are instrumental, although I'm not sure whether they will all stay that way. Finishing touches are, of course, still being applied....

No cinema release is planned for the film at present.

UK people - 'Blues Clues' is a kids TV show... think Bob The Builder kind of proportions, maybe. Anyway, kinda surreal!

No news on the mooted DVD of The Flaming Lips Have Landed yet - I think it's really on the back-burner for now, and may not come until more work has been done and a whole package of historical stuff has been put together.

That only leaves Wayne and Scott back home in OKC now....

They're still plugging away, working on a variety of things, for the film and the next record.

You can check out the info on both the management and marketing sides of Hellfire, including the staff..... Scott Booker is keeping himself busy, not in the least by rooting around for a distribution deal in the US for Truck Records.

This stuff is still split between the new record proper and the soundtrack for Wayne's film; these sessions follow two week stints that started 15 May and 26 June, as well as the work done back in February.

The rumoured show in OKC is not happening.

Little else to report from Hellfire, except that, "Wayne's in Acapulco on vacation and everyone else is hiding from each other..."

1) Wayne's movie making continues steadily in and around OKC. No footage to show y'all yet, but here's a few snaps from very early in the screen-testing/fiddling around stages....

2) In tandem, and partly intertwined, more songs are also being created. Demos have been laid down at Bell Lab Studios and yet another return to Tarbox Road is imminent. Expect great things - the yield so far is nice.

3) Some happy friendly Lips fans kind of people have been getting together in clubs and stuff to play Zaireeka. An easier way to get 4 CD players than ram-raiding the local Best Buy and also a fun way to meet some nice people. And it's louder through lots of PAs. Anyway, here's some links:
Adam's Lips site
Eric's in-development zaireeka.com.

4) Some people have been paying silly quantities of money for Lips stuff on Ebay. Let's not lose our grip on reality here people... remember to eat!

Things are actually happening rather sporadically at the moment. The news may ebb and flow as a result...

No more dates anytime soon. Attentions are being diverted elsewhere....

Many apologies for the service interruption - working with my eyes closed became too much effort and I decided to wait until all the problems were properly sorted out. Maybe the break will have done me good?

1. We want people to email to FLipsFans@aol.com if they have any location ideas (preferably in Oklahoma) and if they have any realistic looking space suits we could possibly use.

2. We should start filming this summer.

Other than the above (which mostly clarifies earlier posts), that's all for now bar a couple of snapshots of messing around with cameras - these'll be up later in the week.

Not really sure what happened. On the rumours of a secret show elsewhere under an assumed name - not true, as far as I know.

By the way, I forgot to mention last time that Wayne is also after loan or donation of suitable props/costumes etc for a dilapidated/reclaimed materials Mars colony type of look. (Hey, I only pass the info on, your guess is as good as mine, but I do know that a couple of good looking space suits would come in handy.)

And, from the Okies out there, word/use of suitable locations to shoot in (most of the film is set inside the Mars base, but external Mars-scape stuff is good too). Any ideas/offers of help in these departments, email FLipsFans@aol.com, mentioning the film in the subject title....

Trevor says that the University were placing too many restrictions and the whole thing became unworkable....

The plot of this tale basically boils down to a futuristic Christmas fairytale. The central character will be played by none other than Steven Drozd, and Wayne is set to be typecast as a Martian (or some kind of alien anyway)... it seems that most of the extended Flaming Lips family is set to appear at some point, "because they work for real cheap."

Much more to come on this very soon, rest assured. In fact we'll probably have a few pages on it, and there may even be a chance for Okie natives to amuse themselves by checking out the filming.

Tickets can be purchased in Oklahoma City at CD Warehouse on Northwest Expressway, in Tulsa at Mohawk Music and in Stillwater at the Barn, Main St. Body Piercing, and the Student Union Hub. They are $13 in advance and $16 at the door.

More soon on all of those.

There's clips of songs to download and stuff...

The concept of this feature is to imagine their fantasy Top 40 playlist....

The Lips are listed in a feature in the April edition of Spin, which names the artists they think are the 40 most important right now in 2001. The concept of this feature is to imagine their fantasy Top 40 playlist....

I've added a piece on the soundtrack CD to the promos section of the discography.

The next record promises to be very interesting indeed. The songs are in various states of completion (It's Summertime is more or less done) but the sound could perhaps be described as somewhere in between the 1999 Peel Session and the B-side of the promo Xmas single from last year.... and more, of course.

Check out the pretty interesting Okie Noodling story in the Norman Transcript.

There's a new Lips feature at musicplayer.com

This won't affect Michael's work with the Lips - he'll be in Austin with them next month, and the next record is being recorded at Tarbox anyway, of course!

As before, out of my control. However, console yourself with the news that some decent updates and expansions are in the pipeline between now and Easter. Starting with the long overdue photo album, and including some other very cool stuff!

Brad is a long time Lips associate, helping on most Lips promo videos and director of the Lips bio-short, "The Flaming Lips Have Landed".

Don't expect that next record before 2002... the band figure on working long and hard on this one, as per The Soft Bulletin. The strategy will probably be several short stints in studio, as before.

More to come, in other parts of the site...

See, it's not difficult to get some people together and have some fun. I hear tales that some people at the University of Warwick are going to do likewise... and now some people in Tulsa I think. Get on the email discussion list at Onelist to hear about these things.

Get on over and have it kids....

Haven't checked it out myself, but it sounds like it could be interesting.

Aaron says the photos towards the end are probably the best ones...

Check out the new discography entry for info.

Sorry about this - out of my control. Normally the two URLs point to the same place, but not at the moment.....

This is quite interesting.

Alleged to be on White vinyl (of course!)

Rumours abound of an imminent OKC show too, but there's nothing to report at the moment I'm afraid.

The full feature is apparently in this week's NME... oh, and get voting for the Lips in this year's NME readers' poll eh? And this website, if you're feeling kind!

"When I was out in LA last week, I was excited to hear that Paul Simon would be playing at a small theater just down the street from my hotel. I've never seen him perform and have been a fan for years - so I get some tickets from the Lips product manager at WB (Paul and the Lips are labelmates) and also a guest pass for an after show meet-and-greet. I thought this would be a great chance to ask Mr. Paul Simon to sing on the Lips Xmas album (or EP or whatever it ends up being).

So, I took a copy of the Lips album and a copy of "Hearts and Bones" (a Paul Simon album that I'm a fan of) hoping to get him to listen to the Lips and sign my "Hearts and Bones" album cover. Well, after sitting through a two and a half hour show of new songs and old songs with new arrangements (although there were a couple of highlights) the "invited" went to the after show meet-and-greet. All the WB people were there as well as free drinks and lots of great pastries. After about 15 minutes, Mr. Simon appeared with his assistant, who introduced him to everyone. Mr. Simon seemed quite congenial, shaking everyone's hands and chatting nicely.

After a few minutes I noticed he was available so I went up to Mr. Simon with my "Hearts and Bones" CD cover and the Lips album. (I had placed the "Hearts and Bones" cover on top of the Lips album so after he signed it I could have the Lips album right in hand.) I went up to him said hello, told him how great the show was, and asked him if he would sign my "Hearts and Bones" CD. "I can't do that here," was the reply. I was stunned only for a millisecond (Michael Stipe pulled the same stunt on me a decade and a half ago, claiming it devalued his signature - so I knew artists sometimes refused to sign stuff - which is fine with me.)

OK, so I put the cover in my pocket and try to hand him the Lips CD. He doesn't take it from my hand - he just glances at it. I start my pitch, explaining who the Lips are, that we are labelmates, working on a holiday album... He looks up at me and mumbles a "mmhmmm", when his assistant comes up and takes the CD from me and they both walk away.

Now, I don't see that as necessarily meaning NO, but I would say the odds are against Mr. Simon singing on the Lips record..."

Well, you can't win 'em all... We'll keep the info coming, as it arrives.

We'll put together a full update on the progress with the record once there's something useful and coherent to say.

Sorry this is late, but I've not been home to do site stuff. They showed it the last two nights too...

This is a demo for one of the proposed collaborations on the planned Lips Christmas album. The track is in NME's top 10 things they're checking out this week... While I'm talking mags, this month's Q Magazine extends Wayne's infamy by featuring him in a piece on mad props - with his puppets and fake blood.

There's a whole load of real video with this. Fun stuff! Also, check out these recent news links in Spin... (1) and (2)

The rest of the dates can be found on the tour news page.

Once upon a time, WBR were going to set up a Lips bulletin board to replace this, but I really don't know what happened to that.

Thanks to Migwire of Kingwho for the tip....

Apparently, what you do is post a listing of your acquired shows and someone visiting the list looks over what you have, then emails you for a trade. But it is trade only and not on anything that's in print and available in stores. Check it out, make it work and life could be better.

There you go.... quite a few people have mailed to say the got them this way, but there often seems to be some kind of confusion about whether they actually exist. Just keep on tryin'!

There may be one more to come in Fort Worth..... on the 9th or 10th. But we'll all just have to wait and see!

See www.screwmusicforever.com for complete info.

It's not actually Lips news I know, but what the hell - it sounds like a lot of fun, and Home are a good bunch of guys after all! Go check out the line-up... there's a lot of stuff going on with this.

This is true, but watch you don't get ripped off eh? Remember it'll be repressed sooner or later...

And take care around some of the other Lips stuff on offer - a lot of it is at vastly inflated prices for not that much. Plus some of it is really not what it seems; in many cases the 'ultra-rare' is not so.....

Course, if anyone gets any handy info to give out on any of the above, just drop me a line and I'll put it up!!

Keep your eyes on the tour news page for further dates incoming.

Unfortunately Done and Dusted's planned footage of the show in Chelmsford didn't come off, but they're gonna have a video interview with Wayne to check out.

This is part of the 7th Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival.

Santa Claus features, as do James Brown and Louis Armstrong - you'll have to go buy it to see where they and the others fall....

MTV are filming the other stages, but done and dusted are doing the business in the JJB Arena, so we get some nice Lips webcast. Should be fun....

We'll see if we can get some pictures of the bug feast eh?