The Flaming Lips are known for their lush, multi-layered arrangements, spacey lyrics and bizarre song titles. They are also acclaimed for their elaborate live shows, which typically feature animal suits, puppets, streamers, video projections and complex stage light configurations.
In 2002, Q magazine named The Flaming Lips one of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die". In 2006, Oklahoma City named a street Flaming Lips Alley in their honor.
The group recorded several albums and EPs for Restless Records in the 1980s and early 1990s. After signing to Warner Brothers, they scored a #9 hit on the Billboard Alternative charts (and #55 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart) in 1994 with "She Don't Use Jelly". Although it would be their only hit single, the band has maintained critical respect and, to a lesser extent, commercial viability with sonically majestic albums such as 1995's Clouds Taste Metallic, 1999's The Soft Bulletin, 2002's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and 2006's At War with the Mystics. The Flaming Lips' 12th studio album, Embryonic, was released in October of 2009. A complete cover of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon was released in May 2010. The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, their collaborative album which features artists like Ke$ha, Bon Iver, Nick Cave and Erykah Badu, was released on Record Store Day, April 2012.
Their next studio album, tentatively titled The Terror, will be released in January 2013.
Their song "Do You Realize??" is the official State Rock Song of Oklahoma.
www.flaminglips.com
25000 Feet of Despair
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Riding to work in 2025 (your invisible now)
Thirty-five thousand feet of despair
A machine in India
The train runs over the camel but is derailed by the gnat
How will we know? (futuristic crashendos)
March of the rotten vegetables
The big ol' bug is the new baby now
The Flaming Lips's song Thirty-Five Thousand Feet of Despair is a deeply introspective track that, when analyzed, appears to touch on themes of technology, despair, and change. At the beginning of the song, the singer openly admits that they don't understand something, leaving the listener to interpret what this unknown thing is. As the song progresses, it becomes evident that the singer is reflecting on the future and the world as we know it. They envision themselves riding to work in 2025 and feeling as if they are invisible. This could be interpreted as a commentary on the increasing sense of isolation in our modern world, where despite being more connected than ever, many people feel lonely and unimportant.
The song then takes on a more surreal quality, with the imagery of a machine in India and a train derailing after running over a camel and being derailed by a gnat. These lines could be interpreted as an allusion to the unpredictable nature of life and the destructive effects that modern technology can have on traditional societies. The song ends on a more optimistic note with the line "The big ol' bug is the new baby now", suggesting that even in a world of rapid change and despair, there is still hope for growth and renewal.
Line by Line Meaning
Okay I'll admit that I really don't understand
Confessing a lack of comprehension or knowledge regarding a particular subject
Riding to work in 2025 (your invisible now)
Traveling to work in the future, where one's invisibility is possible
Thirty-five thousand feet of despair
A feeling of distress experienced at a high altitude of 35,000 feet
A machine in India
A technological device located in India
The train runs over the camel but is derailed by the gnat
A bizarre event where a train initially crushes a camel but then derails due to a tiny flying insect
How will we know? (futuristic crashendos)
Asking a question about an upcoming catastrophic event with a futuristic sound effect
March of the rotten vegetables
A procession of spoiled produce
The big ol' bug is the new baby now
A large insect has replaced a human infant as the focus of attention
Lyrics 漏 Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MICHAEL IVINS, STEVEN DROZD, WAYNE COYNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tgone23
I accidentally touched my head
And noticed that I had been bleeding
For how long, I didn't know
What was this, I thought, that struck me?
What kind of weapons have they got?
The softest bullet ever shot?
I stood up and I said yeah!
I stood up and I said yeah!
I stood up and I said hey, yeah, yeah, yeah!
From this moment on
Blaring like a trumpet
Coming from above us
And somewhere below
The confidence of knowing
Descending to relieve us
Struggle to believe it's so
I stood up and I said yeah!
I spoke up and I said hey!
I stood up and I said hey, yeah, yeah, yeah!
And it seemed to cause a chain reaction
It had momentum, it was gaining traction
It was all the rage, it was all the fashion
The outreached hands had resigned themselves to
Holding on to something that they never had
And that's too bad
'Cause in reality there was no reaction
I accidentally touched my head
And noticed that I had been bleeding
For how long, I didn't know
tgone23
I accidentally touched my head
And noticed that I had been bleeding
For how long, I didn't know
What was this, I thought, that struck me?
What kind of weapons have they got?
The softest bullet ever shot?
I stood up and I said yeah!
I stood up and I said yeah!
I stood up and I said hey, yeah, yeah, yeah!
From this moment on
Blaring like a trumpet
Coming from above us
And somewhere below
The confidence of knowing
Descending to relieve us
Struggle to believe it's so
I stood up and I said yeah!
I spoke up and I said hey!
I stood up and I said hey, yeah, yeah, yeah!
And it seemed to cause a chain reaction
It had momentum, it was gaining traction
It was all the rage, it was all the fashion
The outreached hands had resigned themselves to
Holding on to something that they never had
And that's too bad
'Cause in reality there was no reaction
I accidentally touched my head
And noticed that I had been bleeding
For how long, I didn't know
aaron mumbles
shoutout to Warner Bros for letting the lips make crazy music all these years
Viola Harkless
@jonobrow or like they kept them locked up and then released them, letting* them make music
Ezekiel Brockmann
The Grateful Dead, too.
jonobrow
You're talking as if they did it for any other reason than money...
Charles Lumia
It's pretty amazing. I'm sure that they have had their share of troubles but the label has undoubtedly been great. Look all of the great music on that tracklist! That's proof enough right there.
Bill Shank
1:00 through 1:30 is the greatest 30 seconds of music I ever heard.
Corey-bird
Wise man
joelzico
Love it!
Joshua C
Radio head and the flaming lips were two bands I listened to all the time when I was struggling with heroin for over 10 years and I still love them. But I definitely miss being high as shit listening to their songs. 馃槩 sucks having responsibilities lol.