Category Archives: the flaming lips

…Is Getting Burned

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Track One is called “Schizophrenia.” But it’s adorable and perfectly composed, so I don’t dial up the head shrink when Jukebox the Ghost skitters through the Yes I can, No I can’t, Yes I can lyrics like they are performing warm-up scales at a frenetic pace.

…yes I can
I swear to it,
that’s just how my brain works.

It might be one of the best opening tracks ever to grace an album. It just might be. Jukebox the Ghost has been touring nonstop since 2006 and their second LP is called Everything Under The Sun.

They got guns, they got knives,
they got guns, they got knives,
they got guns, they got knives and spies,
I am no informant.

They’re a three-piece. You know how much we love three-pieces who sound like half an orchestra around here. And I love a lyricist who can make me smile.





They knew my name,
they screamed and screamed,
they knew everything.

You could say that I’m well liked
but I’ll never be friendless…

You could say that I’m alright
or you could say schizophrenic…

And now, The Little One is hooked, because you’ve got upbeat tunes, excellent song composition, a mixture of instruments, and lyrics that help me explain myself to you.

They’ve played with Ben Folds, Tally Hall, and showed up on David Letterman in September of this year! Woot, boys!

Probably more notable to mention than the tour they literally JUST kicked off with Barenaked Ladies is their appearance at both SXSW and Lollapalooza this year. Yes, that means it’s time for you to know about them, since you obviously missed them on NPR’s World Cafe Wednesday. Tell your friends. It’s like, everything you love about The Mountain Shin Lips in a Death Cab. Isn’t it? ISN’T IT.

Check out Track 6, “The Sun”.

Click to Play Jukebox The Ghost – The Sun

Quick, buy the album NOW and pretend you’ve owned it since it was released in September. Buy Let Live & Let Ghosts, too, because that one is a dandy-dandy.

the sound of one band clapping

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Most of us find it hard to hear new music without comparing it to something we’re already familiar with. “This really reminds me of [insert awesome band whose obscurity makes you ultra-hip here].” I’d like to avoid this syndrome but I can’t seem to, so why don’t I just list some artists that came to mind while listening through If a Band Plays in the Woods… by Philistines Jr.: They Might Be Giants, The Flaming Lips, Eels, The Cure, Aphex Twin, Kraftwerk, Joy Division, Failure, Sigur Ros, Polyphonic Spree, New Order, Dntel, and more that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. In case it didn’t come across clearly, I’m saying this album has a ton of moods and shifts. The trick is putting it all together into something coherent and listenable. For the most part, that’s what Philistines Jr. accomplish here.
One of the driving forces behind this band is Peter Katis, who has been building a solid reputation as a producer for acts like The National, Interpol, and Tokyo Police Club. Katis’ ear for production is really what pulls this album’s complex, multilayered tracks together. That’s quite a feat when you’re moving from a creepy string arrangement to a dramatic waltz (“Set List Title Cableguy”) or an island groove to a driving dark rock anthem (“If I Did Nothing But Train for Two Years…”). These songs have more moods than Sybil but it all makes sense somehow. Take track 8, “Twenty Miles to NH,” for example.

I have to draw one more comparison that I couldn’t shake: somehow I was constantly reminded of Mull Historical Society. Remember them? Did anyone else actually listen to them? Here’s a reminder or, perhaps more likely, an introduction:


Download Mull Historical Society – I Tried

Those guys were a little bit of alright. It might be a Scottish thing, but we can talk about that some other time.

Think I’ll buy me a football team

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With a new year comes resolutions.

The history of making New Year’s resolution began with the Babylonians approximately 4,000 years ago. The Babylonians New Year’s Day was March 23rd which was a logical time because spring begins and crops are planted.

We can thank Julius Caesar for the fact that we celebrate the new year on January first. Julius Caesar choose January 1 to honor Janus, the two-faced god who looks backwards into the old year and forward into the new.

Still, it was the Babylonians that gives us the idea to make resolutions. They made resolution’s to the gods to get favor. Then if a resolution is broken it was considered bad luck. One had to give great thought to a resolution to be better, yet one they would have a good chance at keeping

Like quitting smoking for New Years is just asking for failure.

Download The Mother Hips – Smoke

The Mother Hips are a Country tinged rock band from San Francisco. This song come off the album Green Hills Of Earth, the title of the album was taken from a sci-fi book by author Robert Anson Heinlein.

You might have once had a resolution to lose weight. It’s a great idea, but 12 months is a long time to keep those pounds off. I mean, you gotta exercise AND watch what you eat! That’s tough!

Download Cage – Fat Kids Need An Anthem

Chris Palko, better known by his stage name Cage, is an American rapper from New York City. He has released three studio albums and two extended plays. Cage is also the founder of the underground hip-hop supergroup called the Weathermen.

Of course, a common resolution for 2010 will be to save some money, With the year of the Great Recession behind us (so they say) it might make more sense to save more than we have in the past.

“The blues is losing someone you love and not having enough money to immerse yourself in drink.”

–Henry Rollins

Download The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs With Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon – Money

This is probably my favorite album of 2009. The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs With Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon was a creative rethinking of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of the Moon.

I am just so enamored by all these people collaborating on this one project. It’s an epic thing and it turned out great.

We here at inALLcaps hope that your 2010 is super great and fantastic. That all your wishes come true. That milk and honey rain down on you from the heavens. We hope you quit smoking, lose weight, and save tons of money. Just be sure that you spend some money on these awesome CDs below.