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I was in high school in 2002, so looking back at the albums from the year was a real blast from the past. Some of the albums hold up in my mind. In truth, I never liked an Against Me! album after Reinventing Axl Rose, but that album is still killer. Lifted isn’t the best Bright Eyes album, but it has its charms. Taking Back Sundy’s Tell All Your Friends doesn’t hit me quite as strongly, but at the time I wore out that CD. Mixing my interests with the general popularity of a given album, though, the one I have to cover is the Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.
Flaming Lips are a band to listen to when you are a teenager or love drugs, or are a teenager that loves drugs. I had listened to the Flaming Lips prior to Yoshimi, mostly the song “She Don’t Use Jelly,” but this was the album that hit me at the right time. Also, it’s weirdly kind of accessible for the band, even if it is still odd. And yes, perhaps the psychoactive chemical compound THC was involved in some of my listens to Yoshimi.
I think maybe this is a concept album, though if it is I never tracked the story. At 47 minutes and some change, it’s probably a little long. However, even now, there are three killer tracks from Yoshimi. “Fight Test” is a ripper of an album opener. “Yoshimi Battle the Pink Robots Pt. 1” is the best song on the album, so infectious and fun. Of course, the reason that Yoshimi sticks out is because it provided us with the one Flaming Lips song that broke into the mainstream.
That would be “Do You Realize??” It’s an unusually straightforward and sweet song for the Lips, but it’s still bombastic in the band’s style. “Do You Realize??” doesn’t ask as much of the listener as many songs from the band, but that’s cool with me. I don’t look for “challenging” music. I look for good music. This isn’t my favorite Flaming Lips song, but it is really good, and a deserving hit. It’s when a cult band emerged into the mainstream for a brief glimpse. That probably led to some unsuspecting people checking out the band and hearing some real weird stuff, not unlike people who heard “Tubthumping” and then listened to other songs from Chumbawamba.
The Lips have kept making music since Yoshimi, but only the devoted fans have really struck with them. Wayne Coyne and company will probably always follow their muse, which is fine. One time, that muse gave the world “Do You Realize??” Their interests and the general public’s intersected for a fleeting moment.
