[Severian]

Ok, due to the complete soul sucking boredom of my job, I popped the album into iTunes today and played it for several hours, over and over.

Yes, I am a bad human being. But this album is seriously one hell if a fucking ride. It's like the audio-sensory equivalent of floating through space and watching the world die.

It doesn't really rock, so the bonus tracks make a lot of sense. It has none of the textural brightness, lyrical whimsy, or crunchy riffs infused with zaney bleeps and bloops that have defined every Lips album since 1990. It's a challenging album that I'll wager almost no one would buy, and would sink them if it were released in the '90s. But god help me, it's fucking brilliant.

[Severian]

Another day, and four or five more listens. I am floored. The Flaming Lips have created something special. They've finally released the kind of album that either kills a band or turns them into gods. I can see people hating it, but it's haunting me like a past life.

I've gotta say, unlikely as it may seem, the Flaming Lips seem to have blown everyone, Nick Cave, Yo La Tengo, and even My Bloody Valentine included, right the fuck away with this one.

I'd love it if someone else said something, so I could stop feeling like the only cocksucker willing to "steal" the album.

[noisereductions]

love the Lips, but I'm gonna wait to it actually comes out.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

love the Lips, but I'm gonna wait to it actually comes out.

I know, and I wish I had as well... Hearing it is amazing, but without their ever-stylish artwork to stare at, liner notes, and either the hissing of a turntable or a top quality cd blasting the thing at peak volumes through my home, it's just not the same. However, I've paid my Flaming Lips dues with countless concerts and multi-format purchases of albums/reissues, and I bought this album thrice before downloading it.

Also: I am really glad I'm getting to listen to it in the middle of winter instead of the beginning of Spring. Keep up the wait and you'll understand what I mean.

Though I give you props on your patience and loyalty.

[Severian]

I'm going to be castrated when E. reads this. If I edit and remove any mention of having heard the album, you guys will play along, right?

[Severian]

Originally Posted by foreverasskiss

where can i go to listen to it?

The Internet is where I went. More specifically, google. Then on to some torrenting site. Sorry, I really don't remember.

I'm done listening, though. Deleting the torrent, Wiping my devices, and probably issuing some kind of apology to the band. And to my girlfriend, who makes my love of the Lips look like a kitten's fleeting interest in its tail.

[Skuj]

Very excited by your reactions so far and I can't wait until April Fucking Fools.

[Skuj]

Wow. Not many albums blow me away on the very first spin. I'm quite surprised that none of the reviews I have seen so far fail to mention how fucking beautifully melodic this album is. It is just as "songworthy" as Soft Bulletin or Yoshimi, but here they are dressed very differently. I can't say very much after just one spin but I know I'm going to wear this motherfucker out over the next few weeks.

[Severian]

Agree.

I picked up my physical copies. Haven't listened in a month. My only complaint is that the bonus songs, one of which I still haven't heard, are iTunes-only.

Why?

I get "sun blows up.." Because it sounds like a unit shifter pushed by WB. (Why isn't it on the album? Couldn't say)... But the other track is 14:00 and iTunes-Album only. That's disappointing. Like the Lips need people to buy two-to-three formats of their album. That's exactly what I've done of course, but I'm a little pissed about if.

Still, This is a drop dead gorgeous album. If "Priest Driven Ambulance" marked the band's first turning point, and Zaireeka and Soft Bulletin represented their second big shift, this is their fourth game changing masterpiece. Ahead of its time and space. I'm not surprised about the lukewarm critical response.

[Skuj]

It shocked me that just about every line that Wayne sings is dripped in superb melody, while this eclectic soundscape whirls around it. I loved Embryonic for what it is, and what it tries to be, which is a very different kind of animal than Terror. Terror is not fragmentary or schizophrenic like Embryonic. It flows and plays like a 55min piece, and dipping into it here and there will not work. Terror is an album that we will still gush over in 20 years time, like Automatic For The People. I suspect this is a sleeper/grower for many, but it hit me like a ton of bricks.....this strange and beautiful thing. Onto spin number 2 then.

[Severian]

I'm glad you like it. Most of the people I've spoken to seem to be disappointed. It's like they want the band to keep playing Yoshimi for the rest of their career, instead of expanding and trying out new things. Unfortunately for those people, repetition is not what the Lips are about, and they love to push boundaries and put their fans to the test.

I love this album, and I think it's far and away the best of 2013 so far. But is it for everyone? Not at all. It's not even necessarily for Lips fans. Why won't people just accept that "She Dont Use Jelly" was a flash in the pan from two decades ago, and that it wasn't even representative of the Lips back then!

This album actually makes me a little watery in the eyes at times. Tough listen, emotionally.

[Skuj]

Actually, as fucked up as this sounds, this album now seems more relevant since that week from hell in Boston. It roughly arcs the blast to the arrest.

[Severian]

I can't believe this topic has been such a relative dud, or that so few people seem to give a shit about this album. Why it's not turning heads like the Kid A from hell is beyond me.

... I haven't been reading much entertainment news or anything lately, so I could be way off, but it seems like this is the most poorly received Lips album since, Jesus, Clouds Taste Metallic, I guess.

[chocolate_ladyland]

Embroynic is better, but I still dig this. The opening track is one of my favourites of the year

I like the relatively experimental direction the Lips are in now. It's way better than the Yoshimi/Mystics/art pop crap (though Soft Bulletin is good) and about on-par with their noisier stuff

[Skuj]

Originally Posted by chocolate_ladyland

Embroynic is better, but I still dig this. The opening track is one of my favourites of the year

I like the relatively experimental direction the Lips are in now. It's way better than the Yoshimi/Mystics/art pop crap (though Soft Bulletin is good) and about on-par with their noisier stuff

Agree with all, except vs Embryonic. I think this is much better....much more focussed and seamless. But then again, I love The White Album precisely for the opposite reasons.

[Severian]

My hope is that the Flaming Lips have yet to make their White Album. I'm considering the possibility that the end might be near for the band. I'm not sure why, but nobody can go on forever. I hope they release another 2-disc spazz out with more variance in sound than Embryonic, and no singular "feel." Just fuckload of songs that cover every realm of their spectrum.

I'm still pretty much bathing in this album non stop though. I just put it on and listen. I don't even know half of the song names.

What sucks is that only my CD copy came in. The vinyl is still "on it's way" and the cd did not come with an iTunes copy, so there's still one song I haven't heard all the way through. Bummed. Jn certainly not going to buy an iTunes only copy when I've purchased two others, but I'd still like to feel like I'm getting the whole experience.

[SONIC GAIL]

Did anyone esle catch the you lust you tube video that was removed after about 3 hrs?

[Rob Instigator]

did you guys also buy the cheap cellphone that he's hawking?

[noisereductions]

got this album for my bday from my mom. Haven't listened yet. Probably tomorrow!

[noisereductions]

so listened today... I think it might be my least fav Lips album in a long time. Just me?