Flaming Lips - Embryonic

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toomilk
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Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by toomilk »

Has anyone else heard this? I'm listening to it right now.

Half way through verdict: it's fantastic. It's much darker than their last several albums and has some very jammed-out parts. Highly recommended.
spaced
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by spaced »

Has any one else on here been or got tickets for their upcoming tour? I was wondering if it will be the live spectcular of recent years (hampster ball etc) or if they are going back to days of old (judging from new album). Got tix for troxy in London, very much looking forward to it.
Zenchan
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by Zenchan »

Really loving the first disc, not listened to the second yet. Full of lovely discordant tones and noises, it kind of reminds me of XTRMNTR when it first came out.
jadams501
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by jadams501 »

Eh, I think it's fairly weak. There are some good moments scattered throughout and some great textures, but it IS sprawling, overlong, and undisciplined. There's a good EP spread across the 75 minutes, or perhaps a good album had they spent more time honing the material, but I think they've overreacted to people saying they weren't weird enough anymore, and released a record that won't have a whole lot of staying power.
Noddy
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by Noddy »

The vinyl for this album is now ready, just ordered it. Clear blue/green double LP with cd included. Should arrive tomorrow. They always make big effort with vinyls. Love this album, it might well be their best, full respect for making an album as far out as that at this stage in their career. Saw them @ Glasgow last month, excellent as ever. There is a strong Can/Silver Apples vibe to this album I reckon.
rameses
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by rameses »

I've not heard this, but to go slightly off topic have you heard their version of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon".

There might be a link here
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niamhm
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by niamhm »

rameses wrote:I've not heard this, but to go slightly off topic have you heard their version of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon".

There might be a link here
Cheers for the link Rameses downloading that just now and will listen with interest later today.
They Transmit
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by They Transmit »

I love this album. I really like how the drums are super distorting but its all part of it. Great stuff and for me a return to their more interesting guise. I'm pretty tired of the odes to the common man vibe they've been plowing of late.
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Crashing Bore
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by Crashing Bore »

Wasn't too impressed. Anyone read a review of the NYE show?
aadamm
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by aadamm »

I think Embryonic is the best thing they've ever done. It's like they finally made the album I always wanted them to, or something.
spzretent
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by spzretent »

I read the posts here and elsewhere. i bought the cd yesterday. Have listened to it twice. There is nothing on this cd that is going to make want to put it on a third time. I thought I was maybe some cranky old dude who is pining for the days of yore but NO. I just dont like it.
I had a friend take me to task for bailing on bands and not continuing to buy everything they released. We were specifically speaking about Yo La Tengo. I said there is a 3 album stretch that is fantastic. Starting with Painful then Electro-Pura and whatever the next one is I Can Hear The Heart....,.,I never got into those slower releases.
The Lips I have my issues with. But hey, at least I tried.
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duppyconquerer
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by duppyconquerer »

I really like it.
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spzretent
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by spzretent »

I realize I am in the minority on this one. Especially in this thread.
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angelsighs
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by angelsighs »

spzretent wrote: about Yo La Tengo. I said there is a 3 album stretch that is fantastic. Starting with Painful then Electro-Pura and whatever the next one is I Can Hear The Heart....,.,I never got into those slower releases.
I have no opinion on the Flaming Lips but got to chime in on this. Yes that period was a kind of peak for the band, and the slow albums can be lacking in dynamics sometimes, but surely Painful is just as slow as Summer Sun or And Then Nothing..

Plus the albums since I Am Not Afraid.. all have heavy and fast moments in abundance, YLT are far from past it.
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by Shinesalight »

They're the first headliner thats been announced for this year's Greenman Festival. If the line-up looks like a goodun then I'm tempted to go again this year. Went a couple of years ago when Spiritualized and SFA played and, apart from the torrential rain, it was a great little festival.
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spzretent
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by spzretent »

i'll have to check the newer YLT records out then.
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sunray
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by sunray »

spzretent wrote:i'll have to check the newer YLT records out then.
I'd avoid Summer Sun, it's rubbish. The others around it are okay but i haven't heard Popular Songs yet. I would agree with you on that trilogy of albums from 93-97 been their best though.
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angelsighs
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by angelsighs »

sunray wrote:
spzretent wrote:i'll have to check the newer YLT records out then.
I'd avoid Summer Sun, it's rubbish. The others around it are okay but i haven't heard Popular Songs yet. I would agree with you on that trilogy of albums from 93-97 been their best though.
Yeah Summer Sun is quite dull to be fair, but it's got its charms.

Popular Songs is fairly slow as well (at least until the last couple of tracks) but better.

spzretent, the one to check out is I Am Not Afraid Of You And Will Beat Your Ass.
aadamm
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by aadamm »

spzretent wrote:I read the posts here and elsewhere. i bought the cd yesterday. Have listened to it twice. There is nothing on this cd that is going to make want to put it on a third time.
For me, personally, and I realize this may not apply to you at all, three listens is not enough time to form a good opinion of something. Three listens is enough time to establish that something isn't interesting where I expect it to be interesting, but it is not enough to find those things I don't expect. And I would have missed a ton of music that means a lot to me if I hadn't kept listening to an album a dozen times or more, despite the fact that I was pretty sure I didn't like it.

Why listen to it a dozen times or more if I don't like it? Because enough people I respect were telling me it was really good, so I knew I was missing something. (I find this process maybe works best by putting something on and not listening to it. I think when you actively listen, it's hard to break away from your initial reactions. You tend to listen in confirmation mode, going, "Yeah, this melody is just weak, like I thought," or whatever. As background sound, though, I think the nature of attention means that given enough time your brain will find what's interesting about something on its own - I have a theory about this being an evolutionary by-product of "I had better pay attention to whatever is significant in my environment". Anyway, what this boils down to is that there's been loads of stuff that I was lukewarm to, that I started to love with it on while doing dishes or cleaning my apartment or whatever.)

Of course, all this is a time trade-off. Why bother looking for what's good in something over a dozen listens when you have 20 other albums you could throw on right now that you will get immediate rewards from? For me: because the things with the non-immediate rewards usually have deeper rewards. Because I get a thrill of excitement of finally "getting" something. Because even with bands I like and albums I love on first listen, the song I like best on the twentieth listen is not the song I liked right away.

I'm not trying to talk you into liking Embryonic. This topic has just been on my mind loads of late: Grizzly Bear being my personal example. If I gave their album three listens, I wouldn't have given it any more. It's one of my favorites at the moment.
spzretent
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Re: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Post by spzretent »

I know me and I know there is nothing there for me in Embryonic. I admit I may have been pre disposed to not liking it but I value peoples opinions on here and took a flyer on it. There are other records I never gave up on and now love. There are others I have bought and sold multiple times: Trout Mask Replica, Pet Sounds, Shoot Out The Lights to name a few.

I dont have the time to try and listen to releases a dozen times just based on the amount of music I ingest. I'm pretty good at nailing if there is something there, if not i move on. There has to be a reason for me to want to listen again. In this case there was not.
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