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
Slow Nerve Action
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She used to mow the lawn
She always wasted everyone
She always turned me on
Now she's turned a kind
That isn't so much in demand
And all us vegetables
She had a cool invisible
Dog that she called Paul
We'd always sit around her house
Watchin' her feed the dog
Now she's got a man
Who don't like dogs, who just likes cars
She's just got a job
'Cause times got hard, so Paul is gone
Now she's turned a kind
That isn't so much in demand
All us vegetables
Can waste our time on someone else
It's all a waste of time again
It's all a waste of time again
It's all a waste of time again
It's all a waste of time again
The lyrics to The Flaming Lips's song Slow Nerve Action are about a woman who used to be popular and exciting to be around, but now she has changed into someone who is less in demand. The singer describes how she used to mow the lawn and waste everyone's time, but also turn him on. She had an invisible dog called Paul who was a source of fascination for those who would hang out at her house. It seems like life was good, but then everything changed. She got a man who doesn't like dogs, and Paul disappeared. She also got a job, probably out of necessity, but it doesn't seem to have brought her happiness. The singer is lamenting that they have lost the cool girl who used to be the center of their attention.
The interpretation of these lyrics is subjective, but it's possible that they're about someone who was once carefree and happy, but then her life changed, and she had to make compromises. Maybe she got married, had children, or had to take on a job that she didn't like to make ends meet. Whatever happened, it seems like she lost some of her spark, and the people who used to hang out with her don't find her so interesting anymore. The line "all us vegetables" is an interesting one, as it implies that the people around her were passive and unremarkable. They were wasting their time with her before, but now they can waste their time on someone else. The repetition of "it's all a waste of time again" at the end of the song suggests a feeling of disappointment, as if the singer is resigned to the fact that things will never be as good as they were.
Line by Line Meaning
It's all a waste of time again
The singer feels like their time has been wasted and that the same thing is happening again.
She used to mow the lawn
The woman referenced was once seen doing normal tasks like mowing the lawn.
She always wasted everyone
The woman used to waste the time of those around her.
She always turned me on
The artist was once attracted to the woman.
Now she's turned a kind
That isn't so much in demand
The woman has changed and isn't as popular as she once was.
And all us vegetables
Can waste our time on someone else
The singer and others like them can now spend their time on someone or something else instead of the woman.
She had a cool invisible
Dog that she called Paul
The woman used to have a funny quirk of pretending to have an invisible dog named Paul.
We'd always sit around her house
Watchin' her feed the dog
The artist and others used to spend time watching the woman pretend to feed her invisible dog.
Now she's got a man
Who don't like dogs, who just likes cars
The woman is now with someone who doesn't share her love for dogs and instead prefers cars.
She's just got a job
'Cause times got hard, so Paul is gone
The woman likely had to get a job due to financial difficulties and no longer pretends to have an invisible dog named Paul.
It's all a waste of time again
The singer repeats that their time is being wasted once again.
It's all a waste of time again
The artist again expresses their frustration with their time being wasted.
It's all a waste of time again
The singer again emphasizes that their time is being wasted for a third time.
It's all a waste of time again
The singer concludes the song by repeating that their time has been wasted and the situation has happened before.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MICHAEL IVINS, RONALD JONES, STEVEN DROZD, WAYNE COYNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Atomcatz69
I hope this is to tease a big reissue of this classic album 😫😭🛸👽
It seriously needs the same treatment Yoshimi got
H K
One of the greatest riffs ever
The Womanatee
The show tonight in Los Angeles was more than I could've imagined. We had so much fun; thank you for the remarkable performance!
Leonard Favor
I saw them in Detroit, August 2nd, exactly 20 days ago! I have not stopped thinking about the show since! It was absolutely beautiful in so many ways!
420 420
Amazing music. I needed this.
Bob King
My favorite Lips album!
Reese Torwad
This guitar weirdly sounds like a vibrating sword, and it's no bad thing.
Nathan Ward
So. Fucking. Great. One of my favorite tracks off of my favorite Lips album.
Erik Perez
One of my favorite Lips tunez
sandraleepitts
I love this record soooo much