[atari 2600]

I went to see Deerhoof open for them last year and left two songs into The Flaming Lips' set...as I predicted I would.

I saw them do The Soft Bulletin live at the 40 Watt and maybe that was a bad one to see first.

As such, I am puzzled by all this "they're great live" jabber.

If I must score something for The Flaming Lips, I will say that my friend Andrew thinks more highly of them than I. He was at the same show and loved it.

But that's all neither-here-or-there to an extent.

Let's go by what we know a bit, shall we?

The Flaming Lips' "Death Valley '69," while not atrocious, is also fairly feeble. I'd venture to say it's on par with what, say, Wilco (in their own way), could come up with if they attempted it. The studio version by Sonic Youth of this song (not my favorite, by any means) beats out most hypothetical comers who try to cover it. And the live version(s) of "Death Valley '69"?
Forget about it...there's never gonna be a another band that can do that...ever.

On the other hand, Sonic Youth could cover any The Flaming Lips song and although it may not sound (in some cases) like the song, it would be a better version in the majority of cases, I would imagine.