[Music] Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips

[Ragnar]

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
The Flaming Lips

If you've ever wondered what the sound of a Japanese girl beating the grease out of evil pink robots is (and who hasn't), then this album is for you. Even if you've never thought about it before, this may be a good time to start considering it. I have had this album in my possession for a while, and never actually listened to it until recently. When I finally did so, I realized that I should have played it a lot sooner.

According to allmusic.com, the Flaming Lips are described as "noise pop." Besides being something of an oxymoron, I feel that this is a mainly incorrect classification of this album. I'd have to describe it as an alternative/rock style, with maybe a touch of punk and a fair dose of electronic noise. The electronic sounds blend beautifully into the background, and make a nice contrast with the standard guitar used in many of the tracks. The vocal style used by Wayne Coyne is a sort of strangulated Neil Young style, and it fits well.

The Flaming Lips hail from Oklahoma, where they formed in 1983. Since then, they have released 11 albums. Yoshimi is their 10th, released in 2002. The title tracks "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (Pt. 1 and Pt. 2)" are my favorites on the album. Part One contains in the lyrics the basic "plot" of the song, which is pretty self-evident from the title. The second part is a rollicking guitar melody played over the sounds of a Yoshimi-vs.-Robots battle royal, complete with electronic zaps and screams mixed with faint Japanese dialogue in the background. (You should have gapless playback on for these tracks, as they are meant to flow nicely into each other.) The other tracks on this album are also excellent, and invoke a sort of melancholy feeling while philosophizing about life in the often surreal and psychedelic sounding lyrics and melodies. I especially like the first track on the album, "Fight Test." I will definitely be looking into more work by the Flaming Lips (their latest album, At War With The Mystics, was released in April 2006).

Overall score: 7/7 (Excellent)

[Jason_Miao]

Besides being something of an oxymoron

I've listened to jpop before.  I see no oxymoron.



Anyway, this sounds interesting, and I might look into it despite my aversion to Jpop.  Do you see this more like a radio drama, or is it mainly music?

[Ragnar]

Well, the first thing to point out is that the Flaming Lips hails from Oklahoma, and has nothing to do with Japan other than the girl Yoshimi ^_^;;

Although some of the music tracks flow into each other, it isn't consecutinve except for the robot theme and musings on love and life.

[mohsin123]

According to allmusic.com, the Flaming Lips are described as "noise pop." Besides being something of an oxymoron, I feel that this is a mainly incorrect classification of this album. I'd have to describe it as an alternative/rock style, with maybe a touch of punk and a fair dose of electronic noise. The electronic sounds blend beautifully into the background, and make a nice contrast with the standard guitar used in many of the tracks. The vocal style used by Wayne Coyne is a sort of strangulated Neil Young style, and it fits well.