[afterthefact]

Originally Posted by RdTv

The bottom line is the Flaming Lips (by Wayne Coyne & Michael Ivans own admission) had no creativity and/or musical direction and then Stephen Drozd stepped in the picture and started to write everything and all the music became like bowie/ny dolls/overproduced/smoke and mirrors. The band has gone on record saying this, OK? Therefore The Flaming Lips are a fluke, a joke that has merely lasted this long, am I saying their music or shows are horrible, no, I'm simply saying they have done nothing special or noteworthy. OK, so their shows are probably the most visually stimulating exsperience you can have whilst attending a concert, but that doesn't make up for the over-production and sense of sugar coating the music gives you, especially the new album, save for 3 songs.

Sonic Youth has spawned countless and countless and countless imitators and inspired a legion of people around the world. Their music is built on creativity, substance and excitement, yes even the newer stuff. So, maybe the shows are less visually oriented, but thats because they are better musicians and don't need costumes and glitter to attract people.

the bottom line: SY=,originality,creativity,high quality, substance
Flaming Lips=production,effects,over the top,indie-pop

I have to disagree. Not that SY is better, because honestly I don't think such a question should arise in the first place. It's not fair, it's not like they even make similar music. Apples and oranges, people. But to say FL had NO creativity before Drozd is simply incorrect. Granted, he almost single-handedly made them what they are today, but they were very good pre-Drozd. He just took them in a different direction. In fact, without Drozd, if they continued to progress in what they were doing before, them touring with SY last year would have probably made more sense. And as far as their amazing live shows that can transform the hardest of punk rockers into giddy little children, it is almost exclusively from the mind of Coyne.