I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS-Live at Summer Stage, Central Park, NY, July 26, 2010 (2010).

This was a cool show that the Flaming Lips played in Central Park.  It came during the Embryonic tour and the setlist focuses on that album, but they play tracks from many of their more recent discs.  We get “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song,” “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” and “Do You Realize??” as well as “She Don’t Use Jelly” (has the band ever not played this song?).

Wayne Coyne is in good form, enjoying the weather and ranting or raving when appropriate.  The dis of George Bush that introduces “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song” is rather cathartic.  And the lengthy but enjoyable intro/explanation of “I Can Be a Frog” is really great–drummer Cliph gets to give examples of the proper sound effects for a motorcycle, the breeze, a bumblebee and a sneeze.  And multi-instrumentalist/godlike figure Steven Drozd just plays the hell out of everything–I can’t imagine what the show would be like without him.

I have two problems with this show–I’m spoiled by the NPR downloads, so this bootleg recording from about fifteen rows out isn’t crystal clear.  NYCtaper did a great job setting up in a close location, but while the music sounds good, as he points out:

I recorded this set with my best mobile unit from literally within the first fifteen feet of the crowd — great for atmosphere, but not so good for avoiding much crowd participation. I was so close as to literally be underneath Wayne’s bubble during “Fear”. The listener should understand that this recording was captured from a prime experience location at this show. With that caveat, enjoy!

As I said, the music sounds great, and you can really hear all of the instruments and effects quite well, but Wayne’s voice is not so clear.  There are some bits where you can hardly hear him at all (but hey it’s a free bootleg so shut up), and two–the Lips are one of the most visually stunning bands around, so hearing a live show with no visual, where you know something awesome is happening onstage is a major bummer. I know this is true for every concert that you listen to, it just feels moreso here–I mean, I didn’t even know that he walked around in the bubble during the intro to the set. 

I read some complaints about the setlist–that there were only 13 songs played.  I can see the complaint, but what you’re getting during the show is extended versions of lots of the songs.  Many of the songs have codas at the end or interactive introductions, so “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song” comes in around 7 minutes and “The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine” clocks in about 9 minutes total (that’s a combined time of 4 or 5 songs usually).  And yes, Wayne does tend to chat a lot.  But he’s so sincere and his emotions are so genuine, it’s hard not to get wrapped up in them.  When I saw them live about eight years ago, it was one of the most joyous concerts I had ever seen.  And I’m sure they are only more so now (man I’m bummed I missed them with Weezer this summer).

[UNFINISHED: August 23, 2011] “El Morro”

It’s very rare that I don’t finish a story.  I was educated as a reader to carry on and to finish things.  You cant’ criticize something, I was told, if you don’t watch/read/see the whole thing.  But you know what, sometimes you just don’t likes a story. So why should I have to devote time to something if  I’m not enjoying it?

All this is leading to me saying that I didn’t like this story and I didn’t finish it.

I read about two pages of it and I will say this for it: I really liked the dramatic structure and the dramatic risk that Means took.  He has two characters in a car.  One of them won’t stop talking (about the same 4 topics) the other one is sick of him talking.  By the second page, she is actually putting her fingers in her ears to block out the man’s voice.  That’s brave writing because we hear a lot of what this man is saying.  And, while I’m not entirely sure why she didn’t want to hear it, I didn’t want to read it because it was really dull.

I skimmed forward and it appears that something happens to the characters, but I wasn’t willing to find out what.

Whenever I don’t like a story I like to see if I have read anything else by that author for comparison. I have read three other stories be David Means.  One was really short and I only finished it because it was so short.  The other two I liked, but as I recall, one of them felt really long.  So, this one fits in pretty well with that group.  It’s clear that Means is not a favorite of mine.