THE FLAMING LIPS: 'YOSHIMI' TWO DECADES ON

JANUARY 2025

Words by Vasili Papathanasopoulos

Photographs by Blake Studdard

Oklahoma City 1983, brothers Wayne and Mark Coyne together with Michael Ivins and Dave Kotska took to the stage together for the first time at the Blue Note Lounge - marking their debut as The Flaming Lips. Four decades on Wayne Coyne remains the only original band member, and the psychedelic luminaries have released sixteen studio albums, eighteen extended plays, ten compilation albums, four visual albums and toured the world over, engaging audiences with their vibrant and engaging live show. They made their way down under in 1995, appearing on the line up of Alternative Nation - they have since graced the stages of some of the country’s most beloved venues and festivals, including the Sydney Opera House and Big Day Out. It’s been five years since The Flaming Lips met with Australian audiences, and they will make their return to our shores next month for a celebratory run of shows.

In 2002, the band released their tenth studio album, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Serving as their highest-selling and most critically acclaimed record, reaching Gold certification in Australia and the United States, and Platinum certification in the United Kingdom. The album track Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia) earned The Flaming Lips their first Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. The album arrived off the back of their lauded ninth record, The Soft Bulletin, and over a decade of relentless work. “We’d been working with Dave Friedman since 1988 and that record came out in 2002,” says Coyne. “So a lot of time spent together, all through the nineties, making lots and lots of records. We were making a record almost every year, you know, going, going, going. We had done The Soft Bulletin, it came out in 1999, and we didn't even skip a beat. We were back in there two months later working.” At its core, the album walks the line between love, survival and the human existence (lyrics such as “Do you realise that everyone you know someday will die?” will punch you in the gut), whilst foraying into what was considered a more contemporary realm whilst still retaining their psych-infused sonic identity. “We were listening to a lot of Timberland and that Madonna record - Music. Do you remember that record? We were just listening to them thinking, 'it'd be cool if we could sound like that.' Not cool, like, to be commercial, but just to sound like that.” Acoustic guitars, crunchy electronics and looping samples build the albums textural wall, whilst effortlessly weaving in pop-leaning melodies. The magic of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is its timelessness. The record stands the test of time, easily slotting itself within a contemporary landscape whilst retaining its noughties qualities and the nostalgia of the bands formative years. “I think it's probably that when you hear it, you can't really define when it was made. It could have been made yesterday, it could have been made, you know, 30 years ago, whatever. But it really has a lot of attention to great, great production.” There’s a symphonic quality to the album, heralded by its softer electronic palette when compared to its predecessor, The Soft Bulletin. A central thread that runs through the compositions is juxtaposition of beguiling and bright sonics with more sombre and melancholic lyricism. “Do you realise that happiness makes you cry?” Coyne sings on Do You Realize, almost serving as the albums abstract. The record does have a conceptual side to it, with its first four songs narrating the story of Yoshimi, who does in fact battle an army of robots. From there, the album ponders the ethics of free will and humankind’s place within the world.

Coyne and his band mates have spent the past few years on the road touring the album in full for its twentieth anniversary. “It's like the best shows we've ever done. Because we've been doing it now, this will be our third year that we're doing it. We've really worked out all the dynamics and all the stage stuff and it sounds better than ever.” He tells me that now there’s a more relaxing and carefree ease to performing, noting that earlier in their career they saw themselves as a ‘studio band,’ adding; “We didn't really think about playing live that much. It was kind of scary to us.” He takes a brief pause before considering the broader context of performing the same songs night after night. “People might think you play music over and over every night, do you get tired of that? Well, we don’t.” He adds “I think some groups maybe they do, but we don't because we love to get it better and better.” Whilst songs from Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots have formed parts of their setlist for the past twenty years, this anniversary tour gives new life to songs that have fallen off of the bands live show since the albums release. “Those songs, you know, previous to playing the entire album like we do now - like a lot of groups are doing now - we wouldn't have played a lot of those songs ever. Some of 'em are difficult songs to play. So a lot of work has gone into it. If you like Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, it's amazing to hear an album from start to finish.” For this particular run of shows, the band honour the album in full whilst also celebrating their entire iconic discography with selected songs from other various albums performed.

I ask Coyne about the process of curating a live set, especially in such special circumstances. He shares with me a story from his youth; “I remember seeing Bob Dylan in 1977, and I had like a set list that I wanted him to do. He didn't do my set list, but I wish he would've. I saw Led Zeppelin in 1978, and I had a list of like, 'why don't you play these songs' [laughs].” In an age where you can easily access a set list online, or view videos from a concert on social media platforms - any disappointment is alleviated before an audience member even steps into the venue. For Coyne, this accessibility to an artists’ live show is a positive progression. “I totally agree with this type of thing where it's like, you know what we're gonna play and you can look at the videos online, you can see like, 'yeah, I wanna be at this show.’” He goes on to note that the typical audience member “probably only knows six or seven of your songs,” whilst also noting that diehard fans will know their favourite artists catalogue like the back of their hand. All these thoughts feed into crafting a set list that not only fulfils their fans wants, but also their own and keeps the momentum of the show alive. “You kind of pick and choose. There's probably the six or seven songs that we know we're gonna play and we wanna play them. We don't have any qualms with playing songs that we know people like, you know? Then you just pick and choose what you think is gonna work. You want the audience to have a certain amount of energy as you go. You work out what songs keep it up and what songs give you a break and all that.”

Within the modern landscape of live music, production is sometimes just as important as the artists own performance. A superb lighting design plan can help punctuate each song, whilst visuals can teleport you into other realms. Coyne cites an unexpected, yet glaringly obvious influence for their own live production: KISS. “People don't realise that we love KISS,” Coyne says excitingly. “People would think that we must love Bob Dylan. I love Bob Dylan, but I love KISS because they have fire and it's a big production.” Returning to the thought that The Flaming Lips’ lyricism is laced with melancholia and sadness fuelled by an alert realisation of the state of humanity, Coyne himself realises the necessity of building a visual escape that informs their live show. "A lot of our songs are kind of melancholic and kind of sad, but they're kind of majestic or something. But you still need it to be a big thing. You kind of run out of energy if you're just kind of doing just music. You gotta have stuff for people to relate to, be part of it and stuff.” Now, The Flaming Lips are known for the visual spectacle that is their live show. The stage is always shrouded in a myriad of colours, streamers, lasers, balloons and more, with eye catching visuals beamed on screens. “We have big video screens and all the stuff that makes live concerts now, just immersive,” says Coyne. The advancement of technology has allowed them to expand their horizons throughout the decades, and push the boundaries of performance. “The way the technology works now with all the ways that you can sound and lights and video, all that is just so insane now. You can carry lasers around with you and it's just, it's amazing. All that is so much fun to play with, so we all love it. People think I'm the crazy one, but really everybody in the band loves it.”

Of course, there is one visual element of their live show that will forever remain synonymous with The Flaming Lips. The space bubble. The first time I experienced the space bubble was exactly nine years ago to the day of this features publication, On January 9, 2015, the band performed a free show in The Domain as part of Sydney Festival’s programming. Mid-way through their set, Coyne entered a large transparent orb that filled up with air, and used this bubble to venture out into the crowd. He stopped approximately two meters away from me, halfway through the crowd to perform a few songs before venturing back to the stage. When speaking of this experience and the notoriety of the space bubble, he shares with me its origin story. Whilst making his independent science fiction film, Christmas on Mars, Coyne was on the hunt for a vessel that could portray his characters spaceship. “I drew it out on sketches for the storyboard. It was like a ball. It was like the way that the Good Witch comes into The Wizard of Oz (1939, dir. Victor Fleming), which is one of my favourite movies. So I wanted to be like a sci-fi version of like this bubble that she was in. So I kept looking for something. I didn't know what it was gonna be. Back then the internet, it wasn't like it is now, but you could still look for a lot of stuff. I was looking and looking and looking, couldn't find anything, and was starting to decide.” It was only after filming these scenes that Coyne stumbled upon the orbs that would become the space bubbles, and decided to stock up on them. He came into possession of the bubbles the day prior to their Coachella appearance in 2004. “We were playing on the third day, I think we played right before The Cure played. I just thought it's the third day of a festival, it's hot, they're gonna be tired or whatever. We gotta do something crazy. So I didn't even tell anybody because I knew that the festival wouldn't allow us to do it.” Coyne notes that he rehearsed entering the bubble in secret backstage, and was handed a knife by his manager should he become trapped and needed to create an emergency exit. “He thought I'd run out of air, but you wouldn't run out of air. I can be in there for hours. So I just did it, and I really didn't know anything. I just thought it would look cool. I thought the audience would think it's absurd and it'd be fun. And it was.” The next day, images of Coyne floating through the crowd in his space bubble had made their way across the world. He recalls a newspaper at the door of his accomodation that used one of the shots as the main image of the publications Coachella coverage. From there, they integrated it into their set. However, Coyne is aware of the hazards that could follow the space bubble. “I would always be scared that I'm gonna break someone's neck or land on somebody that's not expecting it. So I don't really go out into the audience as much now… because sometimes it's just too, too crazy. But yeah, I didn't even know if people would like it. I just knew I liked it and I'd just try it and say 'here we go' [laughs].” The space bubble has yet to enter retirement, and does still appear on stage.

At its core, Coyne likens playing live these days as, “a lot like being in a studio.” He notes the progression in technology and how one can bring each integral part of a song to an audience in-person due to advancements in technology. “The way that all the computers and all the equipment and all that is, you can really sound insane these days. And without it having to be like stadium-type production, you can do a lot of stuff that really sounds amazing and looks amazing, you know? So I think as technology kind of became more available to weirdos like us, we could play with it. Now we really enjoy it, and the audiences have gotten more used to all the weird. I mean, the audience wants weird now. Everybody does something crazy now, you know?” He compares performing at present to performing in the eighties, recalling having to hire equipment and step on stage feeling a sense of the unknown. “you'd just be thrown up there and it always was like a disappointment. We're just not extroverts like that,” he says. With modern advancements comes a sense of comfort, and a more fulfilled creative output for the band. "We like it because we get to sound kind of the way we want to.”

In the age of streaming and the vinyl renaissance, The Flaming Lips are one of those acts that continue to reach new audiences. As mentioned, there is a timeless quality to their music that transcends the eras in which they were written. I ask Coyne his thoughts on how his music continues to reach new audiences and generations, connecting with listeners of all ages and demographics. “It's the best thing ever,” he responds. “People talk about the internet, has it ruined music or whatever? I'd say no, absolutely not. It's made everything that's ever been recorded available to you. If you're a curious person that wants to hear, if you've heard about some music - five seconds later you can be hearing it. I think for a group like The Flaming Lips, that just works perfectly. When people even talked about when music first started to be downloaded, like Napster and stuff like that - I was all for it. People say, 'oh, well they're getting your music for free.' I'm like, 'good.' We stole music all the time. We would steal music more than anybody. So I think it's amazing.” Every few months, posts appear on my social media platforms of people having discovered The Flaming Lips; most notably Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and their work with global superstar Miley Cyrus on her fifth studio album, Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz. Taking a quick detour, that record remains one of Cyrus’ most interesting bodies of work. From its genre, to its songwriting, its release and promotion, the singer challenged what it means to be a contemporary artist. Coming in at twenty three tracks, Cyrus surprised-released the album for free on Soundcloud following a performance of opening track Dooo it with Coyne at the 2015 MTV VMA’s. The album deserved far more acclaim and respect upon its release, and has received a newfound appreciation over the past few years. In turn, this collaborative effort has directed new fans towards The Flaming Lips’ back catalogue. “If people saw us, especially playing with Miley Cyrus or something, half the people will be like, 'what the fuck are these old weirdos doing?' But other people will be like, 'what is this? This is cool.' So it's both ways. It's having access to all this music now, and we play all the time, so we're always invited - even if we're not like a big headliner group, we're always invited to cool festivals. There's always new people at these festivals that are like, 'I never knew about you guys - now I have five of your albums.' I can't tell you, it's the greatest thing ever to be able to just do weirdo shit like we do.” Their impact on the industry, both musically and visually, is undeniable.

Whilst Coyne is bashful about his own impact on psychedelic music, he is excited by contemporary acts within the genre. “King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard played here actually just last night. So they're probably one of the acts that people are looking at like, you know, this is psych rock or whatever. There's just room for everything to be happening now.” He does note however that modern listeners are no longer confined by genre, and that if an artists music is good they will attract fans. “I think if you like songs, then you like that genre or whatever, but to me - some people say it's psychedelic. I'm like, yeah, it can be, but if you don't like their songs it doesn't matter. So I still think it comes down to songs and having a light show and things that kind of are gonna play on you and play on your mind and play in a heavy sense of being together or something.” Coyne cites Billie Eilish, Rihanna, MGMT and Tame Impala as acts that draw his attention and blur the lines of genre. He tells me of his first time meeting Tame Impala, and his admiration for Kevin Parker’s work ethic. “We were loving them, their very first things that we heard about them. We played a show with them in Japan, and they were all on acid and it was just amazing. Then like five years later, they're one of the biggest bands in the world we were like, 'fuck this is cool. You know? They have great, great, great songs. They have a great sound and great songs. To me it has nothing to do with the genre. It's just that they make cool music. And Kevin, you know, he is just a restless, creative person.” His aversion to being a ‘genre-fan’ or conforming to existing purely within one can be traced back to his teenage years, existing as a listener before engaging as a songwriter. "When I grew up, my older brothers took a lot of drugs and we listened to The Beatles, and I just never thought of it as being psychedelic. When punk rock came along, there was a lot of that, that seemed like druggy and freaky. I don't think of it even like now, I don't think of that.” Perhaps its this thought and approach to creating that gives their compositions their timeless quality, and makes their illustrious catalogue accessible to a vast audience.

With celebrations of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots continuing throughout the year, The Flaming Lips have no plans to slow down. However, this does not mean new music is imminently on the horizon. “No new music within the next year or so, just because we're playing and playing. We're playing a lot of shows and we do a lot of releases.” Instead, the band are reflecting on their four decades of music and focusing their energy on bringing all this music to the world through special edition boxsets and releasing all their music on streaming platforms. “We have a track that's called 7 Skies H3 and it's a 24 hour song that we released back in 2010. So it's a group of songs that actually plays for 24 hours. There's one track on there that's eight hours long. It's the most ridiculous ever. So we have a lot of things that are like that, that we are now getting released on streaming services.” Whilst he assures me new music is always in the works, it will be some time before a fully formed body of work will make its way into the world - and he hopes there will be a lot more music. “I'll probably die when I'm like one hundred and twenty - I'll probably hopefully do another fifty albums or something.”