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
Shaved Gorilla
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And bought him a motorcycle
I swear if God only let us, we would change it
We don't care that much now
The lyrics to The Flaming Lips's song Shaved Gorilla suggest a desire for freedom and control over one's own destiny, symbolized by the gorilla riding a motorcycle. By shaving the gorilla, the song represents a breaking free from societal expectations, as gorillas are seen as wild and non-conforming animals. The lyrics imply that God is the force keeping individuals from making their desired changes, but the line "we don't care that much now," suggests that the singer is willing to accept their current situation and make the most of it.
Furthermore, the shaving of the gorilla may also represent conformity and the desire to fit in with the norm. By taking away the gorilla's natural, untamed appearance, it becomes more socially acceptable and able to ride the motorcycle. This could be interpreted as a commentary on the pressure to conform to societal norms in order to be accepted or successful.
Line by Line Meaning
We got a gorilla and we shaved him
We obtained a gorilla and deliberately shaved off all its hair
And bought him a motorcycle
Additionally, we acquired a motorcycle for the gorilla
I swear if God only let us, we would change it
If we had the power, we would alter the natural order to our liking
We don't care that much now
However, we are currently less concerned about this situation
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MICHAEL IVINS, RICHARD ENGLISH, WAYNE COYNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind