[Photo by Laura M. Gray]
While it remains to be seen if Embryonic will become self-titled‘s Album of the Year, the Flaming Lips‘ latest mind-fuck opus has managed to do one thing already: make us care about its claustrophobic, psychedelic sprawl enough to justify spending $25 on the double LP version. It’s an exhausting listen, otherwise, something you have to spread over four sides and consume in doses (a little “Worm Mountain” here, a little “See the Leaves” there).
In tribute to the band’s (inter)stellar “Watching the Planets” performance on Conan earlier this week–which was quickly yanked from YouTube–we collected live clips from the past decade and a half, including a parking lot performance from the “She Don’t Use Jelly” days and lots of bizarre cover songs and collaborations.