Originally Posted by eschlwc

someone here unthoughtfully panned the flaming lips, and as a fellow okie, i feel the need to mention their great record, the soft bulletin. not only does the album appear on most all the year's best lists of 1999, but it's also been lauded as 'undeniably essential' by the record review on their ten-year lookback in 2009. the album defines symphonic rock. there's simply nothing in the genre that compares, except maybe the couple lips albums that followed. the soft bulletin is huge in scope. there's a naivety in the lyrical perspective similar to many a neil young song. this is paired with the bonham like bash and swirling pink floyd like orchestration. it's one of a kind. i've seen them live four times including an outdoor show in chicago that seemed to leave everyone changed, like we had all read the same great novel together. that night was religious without religion (as flannery o'connor might say). i really like the record before this one, clouds taste metallic, as it's even more innocent sounding, like a man just discovering his forlorn existence although surrounded by his electric guitar and loud kit. they're easily the best thing to come out of oklahoma in decades, and fall in nicely with jj cale, leon russel and, of course, charlie christian. woody guthrie is in a whole other category...