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
Take Me Ta Mars
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We put heads in jars
So take me please, take me to mars
I want to go where they are
I want to go where they are
I want to go
Yeah, and if I'm lost, well I don't care
Cause I walk on endless stairs
Who can blame us for thinkin' the way we do
Cause we don't care what we are
Cause we don't care what we are
Take me please, take me to mars [Repeat: x3]
Take me to mars [Repeat: x5]
The Flaming Lips's song Take Me To Mars is a representation of the alienation and detachment that can happen in the modern world. The lyrics express the desire to escape to another world, to escape the mundane existence on this earth. The first verse is particularly poignant as the singer speaks of driving in his car with heads in jars, a symbol that could represent the detachment we feel when we drive through our surroundings without interacting with them. The heads in jars could also represent a desire to escape the physical world, and to enter a new one either through imagination or the hope of finding life on Mars.
The second verse speaks to the hopelessness and ennui that can come with modern life. The idea of walking on endless stairs represents the monotony many individuals feel in their lives. The singer then challenges someone who says the problem lies with him and states, "I think it's you. Who can blame us for thinking the way we do?" This line represents the shared feeling of detachment felt by many, a way of sharing the burden of life's monotony.
In the chorus, the repetition of the phrase "take me to mars" is a desperate plea for escape from the mundanity of life. It is a call to imagine and strive for something different and exciting. Overall, the song provides a commentary on the alienation and detachment felt by many people in modern society.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah, 'cause when I drive in my car
I am reminded of strange events that I've experienced
We put heads in jars
I have seen things that are impossible to explain
So take me please, take me to mars
I desire to escape the normalcy of life and explore the unknown
I want to go where they are
I yearn to be among those who have experienced the unexplainable
I want to go where they are
I am drawn to those who have seen the inexplicable
I want to go
I need to break free from the confines of society and experience something extraordinary
Yeah, and if I'm lost, well I don't care
I am willing to risk everything to discover the truth
Cause I walk on endless stairs
I am on a journey with no clear destination
You say it's me, I think it's you
We have differing opinions as to what is real and what is not
Who can blame us for thinkin' the way we do
We are simply trying to make sense of the inexplicable
Cause we don't care what we are
We are willing to be labeled as crazy if it means discovering something extraordinary
Cause we don't care what we are
We are not concerned with societal norms or expectations
Take me please, take me to mars [Repeat: x3]
I am desperate to explore the unknown and discover the truth
Take me to mars [Repeat: x5]
I am willing to leave everything behind in order to uncover what lies beyond our understanding
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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