A song by song review of Embryonic (by The Flaming Lips)

[KarthXLR]

Convinced of the Hex: The first time I heard this song, I hated it. The more I've listened to it, the more it's grown on me. The darkness in this song envelops you as you slowly fall into the hypnotic bass line, lyrics by Wayne Coyne, and the all out new direction of the Flaming Lips latest insane asylum of music. A great lead in for this new experiment.

The Sparrow Looks up at the Machine: A sharp drumbeat in the background, with echoing voices approaching from all sides. This half-smooth, half-chaotic mix of music slowly melts your mind into it's own ego, setting up mood for the rest of the album. Fantastic follow-up to Convinced of the Hex.

Evil: With slow strange notes starting it up, Wayne's voice comes in with some regretful and emotional lyrics, followed by odd and welcomed echoing of the other members voices in the background accompanied by piano and all other oddities of sound. A strange song that leaves you in awe.

Aquarius Sabotage: Taking a complete turn from the last song, this song starts WITH JUST ABOUT EVERY INSTRUMENT GOING COMPLETELY INSANE. A fast-moving, upbeat song that has notes bouncing off the walls. A turn about a minute in leaves it at almost completely synthesizers. Fantastic song, love it.

See the Leaves: A jam session of Bass and Percussion. Heavy bass line accompanied with erratic snare drum beats and strange use of electric beeps and synthesizers. Wayne sings along with other members humming in the background. Turn extremely creepy right around 3 minutes. Haunting sounds accompanied by bizarre lyrics. Great...Halloween song?

If: Ok, I honestly am confused by this song. It's so bizarre and strange, you really can't say much about it.

Gemini Syringes (featuring Thorsten Wörmann and Karen O): Starts out with a low bass line. Nice beat to it. Some guy is talking over a loudspeaker in the background. Synthesizers come in. A really weird one, but the kind of weird that walks up to your doorstep, presses the secret button, is shot into your secret lair, and discovers that you're actually not what you pretend to be. The church-like lyrics of the Wayne and his crew in the background only add to the weirdness. Guy in the background is talking about math now. Extremely weird, love it.

Your Bats: Heavy Guitar riffs now, followed by some nice drumming. All music stops as Wayne starts making some crazy lyrics, talking over....himself. All music stops. Synthesizers completely take over. Weird is now beautiful, like a mummy hatching from it's shell to discover that it has wings and flies off to find his young ones in the sea.

Powerless: The Bass Line, once again, takes the spotlight as odd sounds are playing. Wayne's voice echoes as he sings. Guitar riffs come in out of the nowhere, sharp, fast, and random, adding a level of unpredictability to the song. Guitar takes it's Ritalin and plays notes normally, but spaced out. Bass Line calms down, Wayne starts his echoing again. The rocketship takes off, and departs for it's missing hats.

[End of CD 1]

The Ego's Last Stand: Starts off with random things. Double Bass Line bumps in, followed by some "OH"s. Crazy stereo voice of Wayne pops in. Strange singing all over the place. Random instruments still going through. Strange beeps and buzzes surround me. I look for a way out, but the sweet sound of intoxication binds me to the gas. The percussion flies in, speeding up the song, giving a faster beat. The drums stop, giving the bass full control again. Strange "Ah"s and "OOOH"s come in.
An invisible cloud makes invisible changes.
The antics are crime.
A man holds again.
And there's no explanation.

I can be a Frog (Featuring Karen-O): By-far the weirdest, yet hypnotic song, accompanied by The Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen-O making animal and other various noises in the background. The lyrics suck you into the tornado that's eating up your porridge that you made specially for death. Short, but great.

Saggitarius Silver Announcement: Yet another bass line leads in, followed by Demon Days-ish singing. Like a prayer to the silver machine that sells it's men as slaves to the fish and cacti in the ocean. Crazy lyrics.

Worm Mountain (featuring MGMT): Heavy Bass Line leads in, followed by light synths and some nice percussion. Wayne punches his way through the noise making as much fuss through the danger-notes. Awesome beat with great sounds from all over. Nice chanting at 4 minutes. Great song.

Scorpio Sword: Sharp uneducated sounds start out, echoing in the madness. The instruments go mad, playing notes at any given time. The Insane Asylum is let loose, going to buy a new TV to watch explosions create peace in the nations while the giant cave takes away love from the factory. Yeah...I have no idea.

The Impulse: Fun stuff. Nice Jazzy song with an electric voice in the background. Extremely smooth. Love it.

Silver Trembling Hands: Starting out with a congo line and Wayne singing his "Ooh"s, the song breaks out into rock and style as the world explodes, leaving its shell behind to follow it's career to the heights. One of the best songs on the album, which of course, is why The Lips put it at track 16.

Virgo Self-Esteem Broadcast (featuring Thorsten Wörmann): "MMmmmmmmm"s lead the lyrics, as sharp sounds and wolf's are heard in the background. "AAAAaahhhh"s take over for a bit. You realize the emptiness of what you really love only to shelter it with unforgiving thoughts and words. The man in the background repeats, "This is the beginning" letting you know that the consequences of stealing love is not yet over. Hypnotic song, love it.

Watching the Planets: The strong lead out to the dark experiment. A great dark finisher for this amazing experiment. Yes yes yes, killing the eagle. Yes Yes Yes! Killing the eagle tonight. No No No! I got no secrets to hide. Oh Oh Oh, Oh Oh. Oh Oh Oh, Oh Oh. Oh Oh Oh, Oh Oh. So see, that times gonna rise. Great finisher, love it.

Overall: The Flaming Lips have outdone themselves. We can only hope that these crazy experiments continue to thrive from the weirdest band in the United States. The new dark album is gritty and strange, visiting unfamiliar territory in our minds. The artwork is great, the songs are great, and "furry" deluxe package is not only a great addition to the Flaming Lips discography, it's by-far one of the best Flaming Lips albums to date.

This is a MUST-BUY if you enjoy The Flaming Lips. I recommend listening to it if you get the chance, Lips fan or not.

[KarthXLR]

;_;

I worked hard on this :'(

plus music video

The Flaming Lips - "I Can Be A Frog" (Official Video)

[Ianki]

the real best band in the country:

http://blogs.wweek.com/music/2007/08/12/...t-10-2007/

[Professor Funbucks]

Hadouken! - That Boy That Girl

[zaneyard]

the flaming lips sound really cool, karth
I'll check out their last.fm page when i have some free time.

[KarthXLR]

the flaming lips sound really cool, karth
I'll check out their last.fm page when i have some free time.

If you like them, even slightly, you've gotta go to one of their shows. They are amazing. Real Crowd Pleasers.

[zaneyard]

shit, I never realized that I've heard these guys before. Heard the songs, just never knew who sang them.