![]() Given the band’s long history of hallucinatory imagery, and the nature of their overdue breakout hit from a couple of years before, “She Don’t Use Jelly,” the whimsical bends were the predictable part of the Flaming Lips’ seventh album. VIDEO: The Flaming Lips “This Here Giraffe”ĭespite that recurring imagery, Clouds Taste Metallic doesn’t really play out as a critter concept album, though there is plenty of room within its rubber walls for God and all of her creatures. So committed was the band to this theme that they can be seen walking in front of the same giant “ZOO” sign in the videos for both “Christmas at the Zoo” and “This Here Giraffe.” The flaming lips christmas at the zoo full#The fauna fanaticism comes full circle toward the end with the celebration of “Christmas at the Zoo.” If this wasn’t the Flaming Lips’ own Pet Sounds, then it had to at least be their Animals. Within its first few songs, Clouds Taste Metallic paints a picture crammed full of cats, dogs, pigs, rats, bats, snakes, frogs, toads, gnats, cows, goats, roosters, bees, bugs, birds and, of course, this here giraffe. It may have also been meant in a more literal-minded way. Most likely the ad line wasn’t asserting that the Flaming Lips’ new LP was the best album of the ‘90s, since the decade was only halfway over, but was remarking on its ambition, color and hummable melodies. This was back when such listicles weren’t thrown together every other day, and, despite its numerous flaws, the MOJO list had an air of credibility, and its placement of the Beach Boys’ crowning achievement at the top was a fair conclusion. It seemed no coincidence of timing that MOJO magazine had just published their 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made issue only a month before, and Pet Sounds had come in at number one. (Above: Michael Ivins (far left) of the Flaming Lips wants to be the star on top of your Christmas tree.The comparison was made either in a magazine adverti-sement, on a promo-tional card made for record store racks, or both, but memory clearly serves that some bright marketing spark claimed on its arrival in the early fall of 1995 that Clouds Taste Metallic was a Pet Sounds for the 1990s. The Flaming Lips make every concert feel like a holiday, so it’s unsurprising several songs in their catalog have been inspired by Christmas – the biggest holiday of them all. “A Change At Christmas (Say it Isn’t So)” isn’t the Oklahoma City-based alternative rock band’s first tribute to Christmas. They had already brought “Christmas at the Zoo” and would soon deliver “Christmas on Mars.” But “A Change At Christmas” stands out, because it displays the “one love” hippie ethos at the heart of many of the band’s songs. In the song, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne wishes he could stop time so the whole world could permanently live in the goodwill of the season. A time, he says, “the world embraces peace and love and mercy/Instead of power and fear.” In the last verse he pleads “tell me I’m not just a dreamer,” echoing John Lennon, another Christmas idealist. Above: Even Santa Claus gets down during a Flaming Lips concert. The arrangement features many of the Lips trademarks, including a sunny wash of synthesizers and toy drum machine. Sleigh bells and chimes bring a Yuletide feel, while a simple piano line holds the melody. “A Change At Christmas” is also notable for being one of the rare times Coyne abandons his signature falsetto to deliver his heartfelt words of hope in his natural range. During the fade-out he declares “I think it’s all going to work out just fine.” The optimism of the track is cemented with Coyne’s final words. While the Lips’ other Christmas songs saw release on proper albums or seasonal singles, “A Change At Christmas” was tucked into the “Ego Tripping” EP released in 2003. At the time of its release, the Lips were riding the success of “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” with a deluge of singles, EPs and other releases. Review: The Flaming Lips – “Christmas On Mars” It’s especially worth digging out in December.Ĭlassic Christmas Carol: “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” “A Change At Christmas” has become buried in the back catalog, but it’s a rare Christmas song that plays well year-round. ![]()
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