The Flaming Lips’ 11 Weirdest Stunts

The Flaming Lips’ 11 Weirdest Stunts

The Flaming Lips have always been weird, and they have a penchant for showing it off in pretty spectacular, and sometimes head-scratching, ways. They're currently in the midst of an attempt to break the record of most concerts performed in 24 hours (a record held by Jay-Z -- he did seven in that span back in 2006) as part of ...
This post is Members Only.
If you're a member click here. If not, sign up here.
10

10. THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON: Sure, bands tend to cover songs of other bands they admire, but to cover an entire album? The Flaming Lips collaborated with Stardeath and White Dwarfs, Peaches, and Henry Rollins to release their take on Pink Floyd's 1973 classic The Dark Side Of The Moon in late 2009.

09

9. YOSHIMI BATTLES THE PINK ROBOTS: THE MUSICAL: 2002's Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots was perhaps The Flaming Lips' first commercial hit. It was also the first (and only, so far) album they're turning into a musical. It was originally planned to be produced with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, but he's reportedly since dropped off the bill. The show is scheduled to see the light of day this winter in California at La Jolla Playhouse.

08

8. ZAIREEKA: The Lips' eighth studio album, Zaireeka, was released on four separate CDs. All four discs were meant to be synced up and played at the same time -- the only way to achieve the desired mix -- which was not quite convenient for people who had fewer than four CD players in their homes.

07

7. HEADPHONE CONCERTS: Not content with simply performing live, the Flaming Lips gave concertgoers in the late-'90s headphones so that pre-recorded material could be broadcast over an FM radio to mix with the live performance. Most important question: Did you get to keep the headphones?

06

6. CHRISTMAS ON MARS: When you decide playing your own special blend of rock to legions of adoring fans isn't enough, the first thing you do is direct a sci-fi film. Christmas On Mars tells the story of, well, the first Christmas on a newly colonized Mars. The film, written and directed by Wayne Coyne, features the entire band and was debuted at Sasquatch in 2008.

05

5. BLOOD VINYL: Über-limited edition vinyl is nothing new, but when that vinyl comes infused with the blood of the artists? Yeah, that's not exactly normal (unless you're KISS). The Flaming Lips 2012 Record Store Day release Heady Fwends had a lot of guest appearances, and each copy of the blood vinyl version features the blood of collaborators like Chris Martin and Ke$ha.

04

4. THE GUMMY SERIES: Using maybe the weirdest method of getting your music out there, the Flaming Lips put out a series of releases on flash drives encased in life-size skulls, complete with brains, and fetuses made out of gummy candy. One of the editions had a marijuana-flavored brain. Mmmm, brains!

03

3. LONG SONGS: Many experimental artists have some lengthy numbers to their names, but few can compete with the Lips' "6 Hour Song (Found A Star On The Ground)," which clocks in at, yes, six hours. "6 Hour Song" was nothing, though, compared to "7 Skies H3," a 24 hour long track for which the Lips created a special website. The song was released in very limited quantities on a hard drive encased in a real human skull.

02

2. PARKING LOT EXPERIMENTS: Sticking with the idea from Zaireeka that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, the Flaming Lips conducted a series of experiments in which they enlisted up to 40 volunteers to sit in their cars in a parking lot and play unique cassettes, recorded by the band, simultaneously. The Lips also performed the experiment with modified boomboxes, and Wayne Coyne "conducted" his charges to adjust volume, speed, and tone.

01

1. BEVERLY HILLS, 90210: The Flaming Lips appeared on Letterman and Beavis And Butt-head following the success of Transmissions From The Satellite Heart, but it's their guest spot on 90210 that stands out. It went over well ... at least with the characters. Their performance of "She Don't Use Jelly" at the local hangout the Peach Pit impressed Teddy Montgomery enough to gush, "You know, I've never been a fan of alternative music, but these guys rocked the house!"

more from Lists