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
U.F.O. Story
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But being healthy's just a big drag anyway
I'm startin' to reconsider things
I'm gonna live like a trucker without his uppers every day
Me and mom sit and talk all night about
Peace and love and politics
And the millionaires we'll be someday
She told me something, I forget what it was
Ronny Van Zandt's ghost lives inside of me
But he just sits there
I don't know what he does
I'm leaving everything behind
Except my mind and my valentine if I got time
Gonna go to some redneck town where
They hold class in the middle of the night
If my school had burned to the ground
I would've gotten smarter sooner
And you know that's right
The lyrics to The Flaming Lips's song U.F.O. Story seem to express the singer's disillusionment with conventional society and traditional expectations. He or she feels that living a healthy, responsible lifestyle is confining and uninteresting and prefers to live more recklessly without the constraints of self-care. The singer may acknowledge that this could lead to a more challenging life, but seems to embrace the freedom it may bring. The lyrics also touch on the idea of social and political issues, and how this may affect personal and communal progress. The singer has a vision of becoming a millionaire someday, which may be a nod to the American dream or an indication of their desire for success and status.
The singer's mentions about their mother and a conversation between them about peace, love, and politics, may imply their search for ways to make the world a better place. Additionally, their reference to Ronny Van Zandt's ghost living inside of them suggests they may internalize the values of the well-known Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer. However, the singer is unsure about the impact this may have on their life as the ghost just sits inside of them without any clear direction. Ultimately, it seems that the singer is ready to abandon their current life and head towards an uncertain future, hoping to gain knowledge and freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm draggin' everybody down
I feel like I'm bringing everyone down with me
But being healthy's just a big drag anyway
I think staying healthy is boring and not worth it
I'm startin' to reconsider things
I'm beginning to think differently about my life choices
I'm gonna live like a trucker without his uppers every day
I'm going to live life on the edge like a trucker without using amphetamines every day
Me and mom sit and talk all night about peace and love and politics
My mom and I have deep conversations about important topics like love, peace, and politics
And the millionaires we'll be someday
We dream of becoming millionaires someday
My momma told me something once
My mom once gave me some advice
She told me something, I forget what it was
I can't remember what the advice was
Ronny Van Zandt's ghost lives inside of me
I feel like I possess the spirit of the late musician Ronny Van Zandt
But he just sits there
But I don't know what he does or how to access his potential
I'm leaving everything behind
I'm abandoning my current life
Except my mind and my valentine if I got time
Except for my thoughts and maybe my significant other if I have enough time
Gonna go to some redneck town where they hold class in the middle of the night
I plan to go to a rural area where people attend classes at unconventional hours
If my school had burned to the ground
If my school had been destroyed in a fire
I would've gotten smarter sooner
I would have learned things faster and more efficiently
And you know that's right
And you can be sure of that
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MICHAEL IVINS, RICHARD ENGLISH, WAYNE COYNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dixxy
From 4:22 onward : unusually quiet for a Lips song... ^^''
One of those rare serene moments in those nuttiest' discography, like e.g. SLEEPING ON THE ROOF or VIRGO SELF-ESTEEM BROADCAST... those soft, calm pieces which really stand out in their often hectic/energetic/psychedelic work. Beautiful, i'd say.
Vincent
I wish I could have that piece as a stand-alone on Spotify and stuff
Josh Winn
Does anybody know if the story told is true?
David Barrett
if you ask the question then you already know the answer