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
The Train Runs Over the Camel but Is Derailed by the Gnat
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Born out of the boredom of who's better than the rest.
This time they wouldn't measure the pointless small details,
The only thing that mattered was if the "you" prevailed.
Maybe it's just some coincidence that natural selection always works the best.
What if they didn't count the molecules that failed
And the only thing that mattered were the pieces that prevailed.
The Flaming Lips's song The Train Runs Over the Camel but Is Derailed by the Gnat is a song that explores the concept of natural selection and the idea that the strongest and most adaptable organisms are the ones that will survive. The lyrics suggest that sometimes, our society measures success based on trivial or insignificant things, but when it comes down to it, the only thing that truly matters is survival. The lines "Born out of the boredom of who's better than the rest" suggest that this competitive nature may be fueled by an unconscious desire to prove oneself superior to others.
The song also examines the idea of coincidence and whether or not it plays a role in the principles of natural selection. The lyrics suggest that perhaps natural selection always works the best because it is simply coincidental that the strongest organisms are the ones that survive. The lines "Maybe it's just some coincidence that natural selection always works the best" leave room for interpretation and suggest that there may be more to the concept of natural selection than we fully understand.
Overall, The Train Runs Over the Camel but Is Derailed by the Gnat is a thought-provoking song that explores the intricacies of natural selection and our society's tendency to measure success based on trivial things.
Line by Line Meaning
As if to be some kind of test,
It seems like a test, a challenge to face.
Born out of the boredom of who's better than the rest.
The challenge comes from a sense of feeling superior to others.
This time they wouldn't measure the pointless small details,
The challenge wouldn't focus on insignificant details.
The only thing that mattered was if the 'you' prevailed.
The only thing that mattered was if the individual succeeded.
Maybe it's just some coincidence that natural selection always works the best.
It's possible that natural selection is simply a fortunate coincidence.
What if they didn't count the molecules that failed
What if the failures weren't taken into consideration?
And the only thing that mattered were the pieces that prevailed.
The only important thing would be the pieces that succeeded.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MICHAEL IVINS, STEVEN DROZD, WAYNE COYNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Michael The Shy
@soniclovenoize How can a mix of Zaireeka be terrible? The whole point of the album is to experiment. I personally love the syncing of this particular song. The reverb is hypnotic. It sounded different when I tried it myself, but just as good. In fact, the version of this song I like LEAST is the 5-in-1 mix. It's so boring. Sounds the same every time you play it.
saywonderland
So I haven't listened to each individual parts of these songs before and never realized these songs you posted are combined; it seems like a good song to me! Good job cuz I couldn't even tell.
Alex S
I used to love messing about with these 4 cds, I did A Level music technology and would spend HOURS on cubase mixing the tracks. Happy memories
basston5
so different my own mix in 1999. And I thought mine was really wacked out sounding...great work
creativesunshine85
I love this ~
Psychkemia
This is my favorite ever Flips song.
Mattydigs
Guys... if you've ever heard the 'perfect mix' you would know that the addition of the 5th bonus disk completely ruins it. Those sounds were random and not used therefore any 5 in 1 mix sucks because it is always somebodies feeble attempt to make an already perfect mix sound good with random sounds. That will always suck. Trust me, i've heard them all. Look for the "Perfect Mix".
dawallaby82
THIS MUST BE THE MESSIEST SONG ON THE ALBUM
eons Luna • Alex Ong
Suggestion: put this on while you watch random videos of trains.
3R1CtheRED
howd u get a track of all cds mashed together?