If you love movies about solemn, pensive young people in dystopian futures, killing each other as part of an allegory about the structure of human society and the necessity of violence for self-preservation, then you must be one happy weirdo this November.

Prior to becoming a trolling poster-boy for the Mormon Church’s nonsensical views on homosexuality and same-sex marriage, Orson Scott Card was better known as the author of Ender’s Game, a novel that, though it only came out in 1985, has become a seminal part of the American science-fiction canon. The novel, which won both the Hugo and Nebula awards (for non-nerds: top prizes for sci-fi and fantasy fiction), tells the story of a young boy, Ender Wiggin, who is recruited by international armed forces so that he can be trained to fight a seemingly-hostile alien race. Ender proves to be lethal and ruthless and is used as a tool by those in power to eradicate the aliens. The extent to which Ender does so “against his will” is subject to some debate, but the main idea here is where we should be drawing our lines in the classic conflict of “kill or be killed.”

Over 20 years later, in 2008, Suzanne Collins had an overnight success with a relatively similar theme when the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy swooped in to fill the gaping void left in the wake of the last Harry Potter novel for adults who demand their fiction fast, fantastical and at a seventh-grade reading level. (I presume I do not need to recap the plot here.) Katniss Everdeen (who might as well just be Jennifer Lawrence by this point) is certainly a much less morally ambiguous character than Ender Wiggin (her main character flaws seem to be that she’s a little mopey and disengaged), but she faces similar questions in her own “kill or be killed” scenario. At what point is it necessary to use violence to promote your own well-being and does there ever come a point where we won’t kill another person when our own life is on the line?

Both stories have now been turned into grandiose Hollywood productions. Ender’s Game was released last Friday, to relatively mixed reviews, and the second story in the Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire, will be released on November 22, a promotion which this movie almost certainly does not require. (As Conan has often said, “just trying to help this little film out, get the word out there.”) This, of course, means that as part of the promotional run-up to these films, we are treated with movie “soundtracks,” which may or may not include songs actually in the movies but will at least include “songs,” that are at least sung by very popular musical acts, because MONEY.

Two of the songs used to promote these films come to us by way of two of the most respected and critically-acclaimed bands of the past several years: the Flaming Lips and the National. These bands are also certainly both “popular” to some degree though they’re not exactly “my mom knows who they are” popular and it’s probable that many of the potential viewers of these films will have no familiarity with them at all. It seems more likely that (following a trend that seemingly started with the Twilight movies) the producers of these films reached out to the Lips and the National because, while trying to cast the widest net possible, these bands seemed to fit snuggly into the “well-known act that a music-savvy young adult might appreciate” slot on their demographic score-card. Given that this all has the opportunity to be nothing more than a transparent money-grab, it’s somewhat interesting then that both bands not only turned in songs that are entirely enjoyable but that actually seem to reflect the themes of the films they’re meant to promote.



The Flaming Lips took their task so seriously, in fact, that they actually wrote and released an entire EP of songs based on the story of Ender’s Game. For those familiar with the Lips’ discography, it isn’t exactly surprising that they’d revel in the opportunity to release a musical essay about a boy who is shot into space to save the world from aliens. If Orson Scott Card hadn’t written it, Wayne Coyne probably would have. The themes of survival and the inner-struggle between being peaceful or violent are also vintage Flaming Lips material.

Their song, “Peace Sword (Open Your Heart)” is a throwback to their Soft Bulletin-Yoshimi days where they perfected the art of couching heavy, existential lyrics in airy, psychedelic sing-a-longs. Wayne Coyne doesn’t say much here (some of the other songs on the EP are a bit darker and more direct, which is probably why “Peace Sword” was chosen to represent the film) but we still get a poignant look at the conflict Ender faces as he becomes a world-extinguishing killing machine.

Lines like “I was trained to ignore your pain” and “I drained the sun of its light” are contrasted with the repeated mantra of the song “open your heart to me, open your heart, you’ll see.” It’s a chilling image of Ender at the helm of an intergalactic space station, recognizing that he’s a utensil of death while softly encouraging his enemy to “open their hearts” to him… likely meaning both to try to sympathize with him, understand him and, physically, open their hearts, as he ends their lives. The name of the song itself, “Peace Sword,” is a contradiction of pacifism and destruction and eerily symbolizes the way in which Ender strokes his enemies’ hair with one had while slicing their throat with the other.



The National’s contribution to the Catching Fire soundtrack was originally called “Dying is Easy” but was mysteriously renamed “Lean” prior to the album’s release because heaven-forbid a song promoting a movie about post-apocalyptic murder-games seem too “edgy.”

Being a fairly staunch National fan, I have no problem defending the frequent criticism that many of their songs “sound the same,” though even I have to admit that the chord progression, melody and pacing of “Lean” are all very similar to the track “Pink Rabbits” off of the National’s Trouble Will Find Me LP released earlier this year (which I voted as my favorite song of the first six months of 2013). Despite the similarities, the song still works for all the same reasons: a circular underlying-urgency, a propulsive build-up to a climax that never seems to arrive and Matt Berninger’s melancholy, half-awake delivery like a melodic drunk on the verge of passing out.

The verses stick to a formula, describing the ways in which “everybody” is the same in that we’re all desperate in various ways and that we’re all essentially just looking out for ourselves. These are concerns that could potentially be grafted onto the residents of Katniss’ District 12 (ie. needing friends, knowing when the world will end, knowing what you’re running from) though in a humorously incongruous line Berninger sings: “everybody wants a sip of wine to drink.” (Haha, no, you want a sip of wine to drink Matt, these people want their children to not be recruited for the murder-Olympics and to wake up breathing in the morning.)

In the pre-chorus of the song, the narrator then sings of an impending doom, a “fever on the rise” and “waters in your eyes,” before singing (in a lyric that is so fundamentally Berninger-esque, it’s hard to believe he hasn’t used it yet): “lover, lead us all to smithereens.” The refrain is then “dying is easy, I believe my love, and my love relieves me.” It’s a sentiment that’s almost the inverse of the “peace sword,” switching the point of view to that of a potential victim. If it’s easy to kill someone (and it seems to be for Katniss) then it also must be easy to die. The National take the idea of Katniss being “victorious” by killing others and cynically flip it around to the perspective of the collateral damage.

It makes sense. There’s not much to live for in Panem anyway, and there are worse ways to die than at the hands of Jennifer Lawrence.

At this point in their career, the Flaming Lips have become a cottage industry unto themselves, cranking out a variety of albums, doodads, and collaborative efforts seemingly whenever they like. This year has already seen the release of their 15th album, the bleak but beautiful The Terror, along with a retooled live show that landed triumphantly at Artpark back in July, jettisoning the balloons and birthday party ruckus in favor of a dazzling, psychedelic, quasi-religious revival with Wayne as space age preacher man. The Lips weren't done yet with 2013 however as this week saw the release of their contribution to the Enders Game soundtrack, a 5 song EP portentously titled Peace Sword.

Now it should also be clear that as the blog's resident Flaming Lips obsessive, I am not entirely capable of being impartial where the Lips are concerned, so take this review for what it's worth with that in mind. 

Anyways, something about Ender's Game must have struck Wayne Coyne and Steve Drozd because Peace Sword turns out to be an achingly heartfelt tour of the Flaming Lips sonic oeuvre. "Peace Sword (Open Your Heart)" kicks things off with an undiluted dose of Steven Drozd psychedelic ear candy, the stuff that's been doled out sparingly since 2006's At War With The Mystics. Soaring, unabashedly beautiful, and optimistic, it's a stark contrast with the aggressive bleakness of The Terror, and a refreshing reminder of the Lips' capacity for beauty.

After a decade of laying relatively low Moby is back and it looks like he wants a taste of the sweet success he found when he introduced mainstream audiences and Madison Avenue ad execs to electronica with his mega platinum selling Play. Teaming up with the ubiquitous Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne for the soulfully stirring "The Perfect Life," Richard has gone for his vintage sound: gently textured electronics unobtrusively backing humanist neo gospel vocals that make you want to buy something or sit in a park. The video qualifies as vintage Wayne Coyne lunacy/boilerplate: our heroes decked out in Mariachi suits, walking the streets of your town USA, singing and bringing joy to the masses while encountering Burger King, dancing gimps, scantily clad women, and roller-skating ghosts. Watch, enjoy, but instead of buying something, hug somebody.

Western New York's stellar summer concert season continued Wednesday night with a wonderful and freaky blowout from The Flaming Lips at Art Park's outside amphitheater. Not even the blistering heat courtesy of THE HEAT DOME could keep the area's wildest music fans from turning up to see and hear what the Oklahoma City psychedelic rockers had up their sleeves three years after their last local appearance, and we didn't leave disappointed.

Things got started in controversial fashion with Pittsburgh electronic act Tobacco opening the show with an interesting set of hip hop inspired sound collages and sardonic visual projections that always seemed to be lampooning American commerce. The chilled out vibe was ideal for a crowd baking under the early evening sun... until the set abruptly ended with official looking types pulling the plug mid jam. Word on the street has it that some porn was included in Tobacco's visuals, but I didn't see it to be honest with you (I do recall a lot of Fat Boys footage), and even if that was the case, that's pretty cheesy considering three years ago a projection of a giant nude star goddess "gave birth" to the Flaming Lips to kick off their show. The "thin line between art and pornography" indeed.

The word going into the show was that frontman/ideas guy/guru Wayne Coyne had revamped the Lips' live set after a ten year run. Not only was I glad as it was getting a bit hackneyed, I was also very keen to see what was next from the longtime Oklahoma City multimedia artist. What that was turned out to be a shiny mic stand / lighting rig / podium connected by tubes to the lights surrounding the pop art pixilated video screen, with flashing lights pulsating to and from and around the entire stage. It was all very sci-fi, even more so when Wayne in a blue space alien suit reminiscent of his Christmas On Mars movie took his place on his cloud spaceship/altar/podium and led us in song. Gone was the space bubble, the giant balloons, and the rote pomp and circumstance that opened previous Flaming Lips show. The band took their places, the lights kicked in, the music started, and the journey began.

Kicking off with "Look... The Sun Is Rising" and the title track off of their current album, The Terror, the show was framed by the album's Brian Eno ambience and Krautrock influences, creating an intense and strangely beautiful musical experience that carried through to the show's end. Resident Lips musical genius Steven Drozd was on fire with the sonic ear candy that found it's way into every song, highlighting the pretty bits that have been a hallmark of their sound for 20 years. Whether it was the gorgeously fuzzed out Iommi-esque guitars of "The W.A.N.D." or the majestic splashes of sound that punctuated "Virgo Self Esteem Broadcast" and "Silver Trembling Hands," Drozd seemed to be wringing the sweet sounds from the music washing over us for the mesmerized audience's enjoyment.

Rooted to his mic stand light rig contraption and robbed of his usual habit of running around, Wayne took full advantage of his elevated perch upon the vaguely Doctor Who podium he designed, reaching out to the audience, exhorting us to get wild and enjoy the natural beauty surrounding us in conjunction with their show, and singing with tremendous clarity. The wonderful humanity of Lips classics like "Race For The Prize," "All We Have Is Now," and "Do You Realize?" was on full display in large part due to his excellent vocal work, which definitely seems to be getting better with age. Stripping the show of some of the gimmicks and the "inside of a snow globe" effect that was a large part of the Lips live experience for this new exhibition has forced him to up his game as a performer and showman, and he was terrific.

A cohesive musical experience from start to finish, the show built to an exceptional apex, starting with a spirited cover of Devo's "Gates Of Steel" that continued into a powerful exploration of their current single "Turning Violent" and the main set closing crowd pleaser, The Soft Bulletin's "Spoonful Weighs A Ton," pummeling the crowd with it's joyful ear candy, ear candy that carried over to the encore's always heartfelt "Do You Realize?" The Lips brought the show to an apocalyptic and visually intense close with "Always There In Our Hearts," The Terror's closing track. As the music throbbed, the lights flashed and the infrequently utilized confetti canons blasted their confetti into the night, the crowd got swept up in the experience one last super intense time, our senses tested and worked over before being sent home dazed and sort of confused.

It was a Flaming Lips show different from previous Lips shows yet still quintessentially a Lips show in every way, an energizing and focused art experience that showed that even in their 30th year the Lips are blazing ahead and finding new ways to express what they're all about, which is quite a bit actually. Between Tobacco's contentious and controversial abbreviated set and this new and improved Flaming Lips experience, the show Wednesday night was a spicy and memorable happening... and definitely one of the best shows of the year.

It's a good week for Western New York Flaming Lips fans (of which there should be many considering they record their stuff down the road near Fredonia) with tomorrow night's show at Artpark and yesterday's excellent piece by John Hugar about Zaireeka. Today they also get the new video for "Turning Violent", off of their sublime current release, The Terror. A relatively sedate and minimalist affair by Wayne Coyne standards, the focus is on the music until the song's climax when the crazy light show kicks off and the freak-out commences, perhaps previewing tomorrow night's entertainments. The only thing that would make this week better for Lips fans would be if Sugar City announced they were bringing back their wonderful Zaireeka listening parties...

For a moment, it seemed like the Flaming Lips were everywhere. With mainstream success in front of them, at the later point of an already long and respectable career, they would have had every right to just lock in and continue to replicate their earlier success, but they did not. The Flaming Lips continued to push ahead and showed themselves to be more inventive than ever. Embryonic, their last LP (not counting a series of EPs and collaborative releases) was a psychedelic epic trading the earlier simplicity of songs like “Do You Realize,” for something darker, more complex and definitely weirder. It established that this band still had something interesting left in them, and with the release of The Terror, they have confirmed that they remain in the midst of a very fruitful period.

The Terror is, at first, difficult to approach. 55 minutes of sprawling songs that are more textural droning pieces then pop songs with discernible hooks and choruses. “You Lust,” which appears early in the record, is emblematic of this. A droning track with intermittent synth whooshes and enigmatic chanting, it sounds like a transmission from purgatory. This sets the tone for the rest of the record.

Throughout The Terror, the Lips are more interested in creating sonic landscapes, sometimes suffocating and consistently darker than previous efforts. There are no songs in the vein of “Do You Realize,” or “Race for the Prize,” and definitely nothing like that song about giraffes they once did. It is not that they are no longer capable of these types of songs, they are, and the non-album “Sun Blows Up Today,” a bouncy and jubilant ode to the end of the world, demonstrates this capability well. However, this album is after something very different, and represents more of a unified statement than a collection of singles.

Wayne Coyne, the most immediately recognizable member of the band, takes a decided backseat to the instrumental arrangements written by chief song writer Steven Drozd. Coyne’s presence is felt as spectral falsetto, lost in space, seemingly searching for contact, for something to latch onto. This element of searching for a way out is central to the record. Later tracks like “You Are Alone” with its echoing questioning refrain brings this theme to the forefront.

The last third reflects a growing frustration and dread as the search for a way out becomes possibly interminable. “Butterfly, How Long It Takes to Die” introduces a low end that seems to fill these remaining songs with a vague menace. It is also at this point that a percussive element, mostly absent from the first part of the record returns, returns. This slowly builds through the last few songs until an echoing drum returns to close out the record.

By the time we reach the end, “Always There, In Our Hearts,” it is apparent this album is not offering a hopeful way out. It only offers catharsis, in the aforementioned reentry of percussion. This return is thrilling but tinged with menace. However, the angular guitar signals that this build up at least led somewhere. And perhaps, if the album droned out to the end, that would have been fundamentally more unsettling. Ending as it does, The Terror, in its way, offers a certain hope that the nameless menace this album evokes at every point will finally show itself, will finally present itself as something to be overcome.

The Terror stoically plunges itself into these dark spaces, it is a continued and active engagement with them. This is where the album succeeds. This album requires an investment of time and attention to see how it unfolds, to see how everything connects. It is something refreshingly new from a group who has been around for some time. It is the creation of a sort of headspace, a commitment to following out a certain idea and tone through to its logical conclusion. Of course, since this is the Flaming Lips, these songs are done artfully and the experiment succeeds. These textural songs, evoking a Martian landscape, and dark as they are, yield a certain beauty.

Grade: A

Earlier this morning, Artpark released their full summer concert schedule.  Traditionally, the Tuesday in the Park series is for nostalgia freaks with acts like Billy Idol, Chicago, and ZZ Top still chugging along on yesterday's hits. The Coors Light Wednesday series, though, is usually a bit more interesting.  Two of the stand out acts to be playing this summer is MGMT on June 19th and the Flaming Lips on July 17th. MGMT is busy preparing their third studio album, set to be released this summer, and just recently released one of the forthcoming album's songs, "Alien Days," for Record Store Day. As for the Flaming Lips, they just released their latest critically acclaimed album, The Terror, last week and are making their return to Artpark after playing a bonkers show couple years back in 2010.

April always represents a coming-out party of sorts for the independent music industry. The winter months are being phased out, and as the days get longer and warmer, the need for new and invigorating music only grows stronger. With the renewal of Spring comes its accompanying melodies to motivate and captivate us, to get us out of the house and out into the parks and onto the patios, to inspire us, so that we too can get the creative juices flowing and start anew. It's a beautiful thing, folks. This month, even before reckoning with the extensive catalog of stellar Record Store Day releases (April 20!), it's a pretty overwhelming list. After finding about 30 candidates that qualified for the top ten most anticipated April releases, it was difficult to deny mentioning some of these albums that are also worth your time, so I've set aside a few honorable mentions before getting into the main inventory. Hold on to your hats.