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Feb 28, 2018 The Flaming Lips By Christopher Roberts

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The Flaming Lips have announced a new six-CD box set that collects their early work. It’s entitled Seeing the Unseeable: The Complete Studio Recordings of The Flaming Lips 1986-1990 and it’s due out May 25 via their longtime label Warner Bros. Before that they are releasing a single disc compilation, Scratching the Door: The First Recordings of The Flaming Lips, on April 20 via Warner Bros. They are the start of what a press release calls “an ambitious reissue program” for the band in 2017. The Flaming Lips, whose last album was 2017’s Oczy Mlody, have also announced some new tour dates. The tracklists for both releases is below, followed by the tour dates.

The band’s longtime producer David Fridmann remastered everything, with help from the band’s Wayne Coyne and Michael Ivins.

A press release describes Scratching the Door: The First Recordings of The Flaming Lips as such: “Scratching the Door highlights tracks recorded by The Flaming Lips’ original line-up, which featured Wayne Coyne’s brother Mark on vocals. The album includes the band’s first and second cassette demos, in addition to The Flaming Lips’ first self-released EP, which has been remastered from the original 1/4” analog tape master. This marks the first time all of these recordings have been collected together on a single release. Among the other featured tracks are covers of The Who’s ‘Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere,’ Led Zeppelin’s ‘Communication Breakdown,’ and the theme song from the 1960’s Batman television series, which previously appeared on Rykodisc’s 2002 compilation, Finally The Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid.”

A press release describes Seeing the Unseeable: The Complete Studio Recordings of The Flaming Lips 1986-1990 as such: “Seeing the Unseeable brings back into print (physically - they are available digitally) all four studio albums that the band released on Restless Records between 1984 and 1990: Hear It Is (1986), Oh My Gawd!!!...The Flaming Lips (1987), Telepathic Surgery (1989), and In a Priest Driven Ambulance (With Silver Sunshine Stares) (1990). All of these have been remastered from the original 1/4” analog tape masters and include sonic treasures such as ‘Godzilla Flick,’ ‘Unconsciously Screaming,’ ‘One Million Billionth of a Millisecond on a Sunday Morning,’ and their cover of the classic ‘(What a) Wonderful World.’ The set is also packed with rare recordings originally released as B-sides, flexi discs, and on various compilations like, the Sub Pop single ‘Strychnine/Peace, Love and Understanding’ and a cover of ‘After the Gold Rush’ from a 1989 Neil Young tribute album. Also included is The Mushroom Tapes, the series of demos for the band’s final Restless album, In a Priest Driven Ambulance, only previously issued on the Rykodisc compilation CD, The Day They Shot a Hole In the Jesus Egg.”

Read our 2017 cover story interview with The Flaming Lips on Oczy Mlody from our 15th Anniversary Issue

Scratching the Door: The First Recordings of The Flaming Lips Tracklist:

1. “Bag Full of Thoughts”
2. “Out For a Walk”
3. “Garden of Eyes”
4. “Forever Is a Long Time”
5. “Scratchin’ The Door”
6. “My Own Planet”
7. “Killer On the Radio”
8. “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere”
9. “Batman Theme”
10. “Handsome Johnny”
11. “Flaming Lips Theme Song 1983”
12. “The Future Is Gone”
13. “Underground Pharmacist”
14. “Real Fast Words”
15. “Groove Room”
16. “Jesus Shootin’ Heroin”
17. “Trains, Brains & Rain”
18. “Communication Breakdown”
19. “Summertime Blues”

Seeing the Unseeable: The Complete Studio Recordings of The Flaming Lips 1986-1990 Tracklist:

Disc One: Hear It Is

1. “With You”
2. “Unplugged”
3. “Trains, Brains and Rain”
4. “Jesus Shootin’ Heroin”
5. “Just Like Before”
6. “She Is Death”
7. “Charlie Manson Blues”
8. “Man From Pakistan”
9. “Godzilla Flick”
10. “Staring At Sound/With You (Reprise)”

Disc Two: Oh My Gawd!!!...The Flaming Lips

1. “Everything’s Explodin’”
2. “One Million Billionth of a Millisecond on a Sunday Morning”
3. “Maximum Dream For Evil Knievel”
4. “Can’t Exist”
5. “Ode to C.C. (Part I)”
6. “The Ceiling Is Bendin’”
7. “Prescription: Love”
8. “Thanks To You”
9. “Can’t Stop The Spring”
10. “Ode To C.C. (Part II)”
11. “Love Yer Brain”

Disc Three: Telepathic Surgery

1. “Drug Machine In Heaven”
2. “Right Now”
3. “Michael, Time To Wake Up”
4. “Chrome Plated Suicide”
5. “Hari-Krishna Stomp Wagon (Fuck Led Zeppelin)”
6. “Miracle On 42nd Street”
7. “Fryin’ Up”
8. “Hell’s Angel’s Cracker Factory”
9. “U.F.O. Story”
10. “Redneck School Of Technology”
11. “Shaved Gorilla”
12. “The Spontaneous Combustion Of John”
13. “The Last Drop Of Morning Dew”
14. “Begs and Achin’”

Disc Four: In a Priest Driven Ambulance (With Silver Sunshine Stares)

1. “Shine On Sweet Jesus - Jesus Song No. 5”
2. “Unconsciously Screamin’”
3. “Rainin’ Babies”
4. “Take Meta Mars”
5. “Five Stop Mother Superior Rain”
6. “Stand In Line”
7. “God Walks Among Us Now - Jesus Song No. 6”
8. “There You Are - Jesus Song No. 7”
9. “Mountain Side”
10. “What A Wonderful World”

Disc Five: Restless Rarities

1. “Death Valley ‘69”
2. “Thank You”
3. “Can’t Stop The Spring” - Remix
4. “After The Gold Rush”
5. “Death Trippin’ At Sunrise”
6. “Drug Machine In Heaven” - Sub Pop 7” version
7. “Strychnine/Peace, Love And Understanding”
8. “Lucifer Rising”
9. “Ma, I Didn’t Notice”
10. “Let Me Be It”
11. “She’s Gone Mad Again”
12. “Golden Hearse”
13. “Stand In Line”
14. “I Want To Kill My Brother; The Cymbal Head”
15. “Five Stop Mother Superior Rain”

Disc Six: The Mushroom Tapes

1. “Take Meta Mars”
2. “Mountain Side”
3. “There You Are”
4. “Five Stop Mother Superior Rain”
5. “Rainin’ Babies”
6. “Unconsciously Screamin’”
7. “Stand In Line”
8. “God’s A Wheeler Dealer”
9. “Agonizing”
10. “One Shot”
11. “Cold Day”
12. “Jam”

The Flaming Lips Tour Dates:

Mar 03 - Okeechobee, FL - Okeechobee Festival
Mar 05 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre
Mar 06 - Knoxville, TN - The Mill & Mine
Mar 07 - Birmingham, AL - Iron City
Mar 09 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
Mar 10 - Richmond, VA - The National
Mar 11 - Bensalem, PA - XCite Center at Parx Casino
May 06 - Memphis, TN - Beale Street Music Festival
May 31 - Jackson, WY - Jackson Hole Center for the Arts
June 02 - Eugene, OR - McDonald Theatre
June 03 - Seattle, WA - Upstream Music Fest + Summit
June 04 - Bonner, MT - Kettlehouse Amphitheater
June 06 - Garden City, ID - Revolution Concert House
June 07 - Ogden, UT - Ogden Amphitheatre
June 08 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up Aspen
June 22 - Saskatoon, SK / CAN - Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Fest
June 24 - Winnipeg, MB / CAN - Jazz Winnipeg @ Burton Cummings Theatre
July 20 - Cheshire, England - Bluedot 2018, Jodrell Bank
July 21 - London, England - Kaleidoscope Festival, Alexandra Palace
Nov 09 - Weissenhauser Strand, GER - Rolling Stone Weekender, Ferienpark
Nov 16 - Europa-Park, GER - Rolling Stone Park

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