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May 25, 2018 By Christopher Roberts Photography by George Salisbury The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips are releasing a new best of simply entitled Greatest Hits Vol. 1 on June 1 via Warner Bros. It will be available on vinyl featuring 11 tracks or as a 3-CD and digital deluxe edition featuring 52 tracks, including a disc of B-sides and rarities. Now they have shared the rarity “Enthusiasm For Life Defeats Existential Fear Part 2.” The song was previously available in 2011 on a USB drive with two other tracks, embedded in a gummy fetus. The band have also launched a new podcast hosted by the band’s Steve Drozd, Sorcerer’s Orphan: A Song By Song History of the Flaming Lips, and its first episode goes into the making of “Enthusiasm For Life Defeats Existential Fear Part 2.” Listen to the song and podcast below.

Previously The Flaming Lips shared a new video for rarity “The Captain,” which was record during the sessions for 1999’s The Soft Bulletin, but never made the album.

A press previous release laid out some of the rarities and B-sides, describing them this way: “Some of the aural treasures found on disc 3 are among the rarest recorded curios in The Lips musical medicine chest including the previously unreleased demo track ‘Zero to a Million’ which features The Lips short-lived line-up that included Jonathan Donahue on guitar (Mercury Rev) and Nathan Roberts on drums. This track was on the original cassette tape which led to The Lips Warner Bros. Records signing. Another early obscurity ‘Jets (Cupid’s Kiss Vs. the Psyche of Death)’ is one of the three tracks from The Lips first-ever WBR CD EP, Yeah, I Know It’s A Drag…Wastin’ Pigs Is Still Radical.

“Various odds & sods included here that have never been available on CD until now include the epic, fan favorite ‘The Captain’ which was left off The Soft Bulletin and a welcome addition to this set. ‘We Can’t Predict The Future’ is taken from a June 2000 John Peel BBC Session. ‘Your Face Can Tell The Future,’ and ‘You Gotta Hold On’ are outtakes from At War With the Mystics sessions. Another rare gem, ‘Noodling Theme,’ is from the 2001 Lips soundtrack to director Bradley Beesley’s indie-film Okie Noodling about bare-handed fishing in Oklahoma. Those lucky enough to attend early screenings were handed a copy of this now ultra-rare 3-song CD upon entry. ‘Spiderman Vs Muhammed Ali,’ originally recorded for 2007’s Music from and Inspired by Spider-Man 3 soundtrack has never released in any form. Prior to this collection, ‘Enthusiasm For Life Defeats Existential Fear Pt. 2’ existed on a USB drive—along with two other tracks—buried within the edible Gummy Fetus sold on tour in 2011. Closing out the collection is ‘Silent Lord’ which is comprised of The Lips mash-up of ‘Silent Night’ with Spacemen 3’s ‘Lord, Can You Hear Me’ from a Christmas 2008 limited edition 7-inch picture disc. The most comprehensive of any Lips compilation to date, Greatest Hits Vol. 1 Deluxe Edition becomes an essential piece of the puzzle into the wonderful and strange world view of The Flaming Lips.”

The Flaming Lips are also releasing a new six-CD box set that collects their early work, Seeing the Unseeable: The Complete Studio Recordings of The Flaming Lips 1986-1990, on May 25 via Rhino. On April 20 they released a single disc compilation, Scratching the Door: The First Recordings of The Flaming Lips, via Rhino. On Record Store Day they released a new song, “The Story of Yum Yum and the Dragon.” The band teamed up with Dogfish Head Alehouse to make a beer called Dragons & Yum Yums, which was the official beer of Record Store Day, and the song was released on a special 7-inch pressed with the beer (with the B-side fittingly titled “Beer in Your Ear”). The Flaming Lips also shared a video for “The Story of Yum Yum and the Dragon.”

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

The Flaming Lips Tour Dates:

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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