The Flaming Lips is an American neo-psychedelic band, formed in Oklahoma Ci… Read Full Bio ↴The Flaming Lips is an American neo-psychedelic band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States in 1983. Throughout their career, band members have come and gone, but currently The Flaming Lips consist of original members Wayne Coyne (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Michael Ivins (bass, keyboards, backing vocals), along with members Steven Drozd (drums, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), and Derek Brown (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals). Former members include Mark Coyne (lead vocals), Richard English (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), Nathan Roberts (drums), Jonathan Donahue (guitar, backing vocals), who went on to form Mercury Rev, Ronald Jones (guitar, backing vocals), and Kliph Scurlock (drums).

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.

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Bag Full of Thoughts
The Flaming Lips Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Come on
Don't be afraid
If everyone
There'd be nothing

Nothing
Nothing
Nothing

Nothing left

Put your
If it becomes
Throw it up
Or give it

Give it
Give it
Give it
Give it

So come on
Don't be afraid
If everyone
There'd be nothing

Nothing
Nothing
Nothing
Nothing left

Shut it off

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Bag Full of Thoughts" by The Flaming Lips speak of facing one's fears, letting go of possessions, and questioning the purpose of existence. The opening lines, "Come on, don't be afraid. If everyone, there'd be nothing," may refer to the idea that if everyone let go of their fears and insecurities, there would be no division, no concept of individuality, and perhaps no need for possessions or material things. The repetition of the word "nothing" emphasizes the idea of emptiness, a void that could be filled with something else if one were to let go of inhibitions.

The next lines suggest physically letting go of possessions or material things: "Put your (possessions) / If it becomes (too much), / Throw it up / Or give it." This could be interpreted as a way of ridding oneself of the burdens or distractions that come with material possessions. The repetition of "give it" makes it clear that the focus is on letting go rather than accumulation.

The final lines of the song, "Shut it off," could be seen as a call to turn off the noise of everyday life and unplug from the distractions that keep us from facing our fears and contemplating existence. Overall, "Bag Full of Thoughts" encourages listeners to let go of their fears and material possessions to find freedom and meaning in life.

Line by Line Meaning

Come on
Take action or encourage others to take action.

Don't be afraid
Do not let fear hold you back from acting.

If everyone
Owning the action taken requires everyone's participation and responsibility.

There'd be nothing
If everyone participates, the problem or situation will no longer exist.

Nothing
The current situation or problem doesn't make sense or has no value.

Put your
Confront the problem, take ownership of it.

If it becomes
If the problem presents itself and worsens...

Throw it up
Release the problem, let go of it.

Or give it
Let someone else solve the problem, pass it on.

Give it
Let someone else solve the problem, pass it on.

So come on
Encouraging others to act.