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
Lucifer Rising
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Doing all those things I was dreaming of
He's throwing out some with his golden gloves
Well he and I was thinking of a thousand more
Sinners in style, always breathing!
Madame and I now I'm bleeding!
Why else do we love it we still need it
Lucifer is standing on a house of love
As if I wasn't waiting from worlds above
He's boxing out women with his golden glove
He's clean and he's thinking he's rising up
Sinners in style, always breathing!
Where we loved it now we need it!
Why else do we love it we'll still read it
Why else do we love it why else do I love it, yeah!
Hold on to your feelings
Hold on to your feelings
Hold on to your feelings
Hold on to your feelings
Sinners in style, always breathing!
Where we loved it now we need it!
Why else do we love it we still read it
Why else do we love it why else do we love it
Why else do we love it why else do we love it we still love it we still love it!
(Hark the Harold...)
angels sing, fa la la la la la la la la, Glory to the new born king fa la la la la la la la la)
The Flaming Lips's song Lucifer Rising is a commentary on our obsessions and how we keep returning to things that are not necessarily good for us but which we find irresistible. The song starts by referring to Lucifer, standing on a house of love, doing all those things the singer was dreaming of. The reference may seem to suggest that the devil is offering some kind of a Faustian deal, but in reality, the devil here stands for our own desires and urges that consume us. He throws women with his golden gloves, and the singer realizes that he was waiting for this moment ever since his birth, maybe even from worlds above. However, there is some conflict as the singer acknowledges the pain and the bleeding caused by these obsessions. But still, we can't help it, we love it, we need it, we'll still read it, and we'll continue to love it even if it hurts us.
The lyrics reflect the band's interest in exploring the darker realms of the human psyche and how our desires and obsessions can consume us. The song is a powerful commentary on the human condition and how we keep returning to the things that are not good for us. Lucifer here is a metaphor for our own demons that we keep succumbing to. As the song progresses, the lyrics become more strained, and the singer urges us to hold on to our feelings, suggesting that we are at the mercy of our desires and our insecurities, and that is what makes it so difficult. The song ends with a reference to Hark the Herald Angels Sing, an ironic twist on the traditional Christmas carol, further emphasizing the band's fascination with the contradictions and darkness that lurk beneath the surface.
Line by Line Meaning
Lucifer is standing on a house of love
Lucifer is the embodiment of temptation and is perched on top of a foundation of love, which makes yielding to temptation even more alluring.
Doing all those things I was dreaming of
Lucifer represents a vision of hedonism and pleasure, encompassing all that the singer desires and cannot necessarily attain in reality.
He's throwing out some with his golden gloves
Lucifer keeps certain people who do not deserve to partake in his luxuries away with his power, but it is also a nod towards his influence and perceived omnipotence.
Well he and I was thinking of a thousand more
The artist and Lucifer have aspirations of greater debauchery which may be out of reach or unattainable without his (Lucifer's) guidance or power.
Sinners in style, always breathing!
The characters in this song are indulgent and embrace a life of vice and sin, always needing another fix to feel alive.
Madame and I now I'm bleeding!
The singer has been hurt emotionally, potentially by an indulgent partner or experience, but still seems enamored of the lifestyle, represented by Madame.
Why else do we love it we still need it
Despite the negative consequences, there's still an inexplicable draw to this hedonistic lifestyle.
We still love it we still love it yeah!
Regardless of the risks, the artist and characters in the song still find themselves attracted to the dangerous wonders of the life of sin they lead.
He's boxing out women with his golden glove
Lucifer limits access to his pleasures, and even further, seems to control and manipulate women to attain his pleasures and desires.
He's clean and he's thinking he's rising up
Lucifer is viewed as a pristine being with a godlike power, his control seemingly reinforced with each indulgence and temptation.
Hold on to your feelings
Hold onto the emotions evoked by the temptations that are being offered, despite any potential danger or harm.
(Hark the Harold...) (Angels Sing, Fa La La La La La La La La, Glory To The New Born King Fa La La La La La La La La)
A nod to the gospel hymn, with the lyrics subverted to create the impression that the angels, almost like the devil and his lifestyle, have a darker secret that is being whispered but not fully expressed - lending further to the subversive nature of the song.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JON DONAHUE, MICHAEL IVINS, NATHAN ROBERTS, WAYNE COYNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind