Initially I was inclined to pretend this never happened, but the whole thing is just so ludicrous that I had no choice but to acknowledge the fact that Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd joined Miley Cyrus for an onstage duet Saturday night of "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part 1." Yes, that's Wayne dressed like an orange obsessed comic book villain and holding a big helium balloon saying "____ YEAH" (where does one obtain a ____ YEAH balloon?) sloshedly muddling along while Miley and her band of crack musicians drained the life out of that Flaming Lips classic. And yes, that's Miley Cyrus, singing like she has gumballs in her mouth and performing in a t-shirt with her face splashed across the front and back as the vast majority of her audience starred blankly ahead. Who does that?
Not even Steven Drozd can save the day; of course his keyboard strains are tasteful and emotive, but Miley's band is so milquetoast he underplays it, denying her already zoned out fans some of his patented ear candy. Not that I entirely blame him, considering those people paid American money to watch a former Disney star warble along poorly to abjectly cheesy countrified pap... wearing a t-shirt probably on sale at the no doubt abundant merchandise stands. Why should he tingle their ear drums with his sweet sonics? Being boring, most probably would have no idea what was happening and freak out anyways.
But is this it? Has Wayne and Co. finally jumped the shark? Considering they did that at the outset, way back in the early 90's when they did "She Don't Use Jelly" on Beverly Hills 90210, the Flaming Lips have effectively proofed themselves against that charge, or at least have raised the bar higher than a blatantly self serving duet with Miley Cyrus. Maybe they'll find some new fans among her flock, fans who would then eventually and inevitably realize that Miley Cyrus is actually TERRIBLE, and defect. We can only hope. If nothing else, it's another context to appreciate just how truly woeful she really is. Just watch out, Wayne and Miley liberally and gratuitously drop the F bomb before and after their performance.
Don't forget they did a collaboration with Ke$ha too. I think it just goes to show that Coyne and company don't feel that they are too good for anybody. unpretentious rock stars, that's a beautiful thing.