Hmmmm. This album really grows on you. Isn't that the case? Your most beloved albums, you didn't like at first, but then they grow on you? It was like that with Aeroplane Over The Sea. But then again, Clouds Taste Metallic floored me the first time I heard it. But I digress...

I said it in another thread somewhere, that when discussing art you need to take into account:
1) The artists intent
2) If the artist succeeded in the intent.

It took me a while to accept The Flaming Lips' intent wasn't to do the same old thing they've been doing for ten years (which was great, imo). I had to get past that to appreciate the brilliance of the new album. The two interviews realy helped, and I had said "The only way Embryonic makes sence is if the band just threw their hands up and said 'Let's put out a record of us jamming!'" and I don't believe I was too far off! I know that comment is a little to the extreme of what was actually released, but you know what I mean.

I think what also helped was to listen to the album while driving... in the night-time. Embryonic is NOT a day-time album. Only listen at night-time.

I'm listening now, and it is a beautiful golden blue fall day.

But yeah, the album is very challenging and doesn't play well with some of my moods. Not a bad thing, but it's not like some of the junkie like moments where I will listen to the same lips album for months straight.

Though, all of this combined is exactly why I am a lips fan.

Artist intent is irrelevant. Art speaks for itself.

I'm glad you've found reasons to like it, though.

This is just the way we write music here in Oklahoma. That's no joke. What the Lips've done is exactly what we used to do when it came time to write music. We'd basically just jam, what we called "noise outs" (is there any other way to write music?), record the whole mess, then cherry pick the parts that actually sound like music and make songs out of them. This is a very familiar method to my way of thinking...

quote:

Originally posted by K:
Artist intent is irrelevant. Art speaks for itself.

What if artists intent was for the art to speak for itself?

I really hope they continue in this direction, but even if they don't, that's fine, and I'm really glad they released this while they did!!

Well, historicly, the band reinvents itself every decade/four albums...

1) EARLY PERIOD: Psychedelic Riffage era (1986-1989)
S/T EP
Here It Is
Oh My Gawd
Telepathic Surgery

2) MIDDLE PERIOD: Noize-Pop Era (1990-1996)
In A Priest-Driven Ambulance
Hit To Death in the Future Head
Transmissions from the Satellite Heart
Clouds Taste Metallic

3) LATE PERIOD: Symphonic Experiments era(1997-2008)
Zaireeka
Soft Bulletin
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
At War with The Mystics

So I would assume Embryonic is the beginning of the next stage in the evolution of the band. I can only guess what's to come; the leap from Embryonic to the next album would be equivilant to the leap from Zaireeka to Soft Bulletin, for what it's worth...

quote:

Originally posted by soniclovenoize:


So I would assume Embryonic is the beginning of the next stage in the evolution of the band. I can only guess what's to come; the leap from Embryonic to the next album would be equivilant to the leap from Zaireeka to Soft Bulletin, for what it's worth...

Call it like "New Age Psychedelia Era" or something and the Dark Side cover would fit in there, depending on what they do to it.. if they continue to give this raw feel to the music like with Embryonic, i think that's going to be very interesting. But if they're returning to the psychedelic rock kind of vibe you get from the first few albums, but with a more 'jammy' enunciation, then Dark Side is a perfect fit into this new category..

i just can't wait for their next album of original material though. we just got one, but it's just the aspect of wonderment... where can they go from here??

Yeah. When I first heard about the Darkside thing, I was like "meh" because it was before I'd even heard Embryonic. Now that I've heard embryonic, it makes perfect sence. The solo in Powerless seems like a Floydian middle section to me.

Farts Taste Metallica.

quote:

Originally posted by RDV:
Farts Taste Metallica.

Embryawnic

"Shut Up" W. Coineyeah

I'm still getting to grips with the album, but it's one that you have to invest time in. There's not enough hooks for it to be sufficient background music, plus too many small "moments" to afford to miss them.