PAGE 16 THE RETRIEVER WEEKLY FEATURES Aprilll, 2000 Flame On: Flaming Lip Michael Ivins Breaks It Down

AUTUMN PATTERSON would have ended up in the same spot Retriever Weekly Staff Writer eventually. TRW: Why do you think the new album In order to support their latest studio is so much more emotional and a lot less album, the Flaming Lips have put together "fun" than some of your stuff in the past? a radically different live show that com­ MI: Well, I think we're concentrating bines video images, pre-recorded sound more on that this time. I mean, we listen to and hundreds of pairs of headphones in a lot of pop music and there's not a lot of order to accurately reproduce the unique ambigu-, ambi-, ambiguity ... I will have to sound of The Soft Bulletin. say that I've learned how to spell After losing guitarist Ronald Jones, the "Albuquerque" pretty well. Lips turned away from traditional rock fare TRW: I don't suppose you could give it to experiment with mixing different types a go? of sound. The Soft Bulletin is a collection of MI: I'd have to see a paper ... It's A-L­ songs which developed over the course of B-U-Q-U-E-R-Q-U-E. And what's - the the group's many multiple sound source other one? "Cincinnati" is a good one, too. experiments, most notably their 1997 It's Cin-Cin, and then you've got the dou­ release Zaireeka, a four-CD set meant to be ble "n" in the middle of the word, not the played simultaneously in order to achieve beginning of it. ... I think a lot of stuff was the desired effect. The newest album going on at the time, too, between spider sounds best when listened to with head­ bites and near death experiences. phones, so that the listener can hear all the TRW: Was it you with the spider bite or odd nuances - the buzzing of bugs and the freak car accident? percussive vocals, for instance. MI: I had the freak car accident. I was , Recently, The Retriever Weekly had the sitting at this intersection, and a car drove · chance to chat with Flaming Lips' bassist by and the whole tire and wheel came off Michael Ivins about The Soft Bulletin and the car and came bouncing down the road resulting headphone shows. What ensued at me. I'd never seen anything like that was a lot of music philosophy, some near­ happen before. It bounced onto the hood death experiences and a short spelling bee. twice, and I still say if it had come through TRW: What factors do you think con­ the windshield it would probably have tributed most to the difference in sound and killed me. It put a big dent in the hood and feeling on your 1994 studio release Clouds actually shifted the front fender so that my Taste Metallic and Zaireeka I Soft Bulletin? door couldn't open. Yeah, there was that MI: I think a lot of ideas that are on and spider bites all over the place. Zaireeka and Soft Bulletin were swarming Flaming Lips TRW: This tour, your shows have been around. Technology had caught up with us Flaming: Wayne Coyne, Michael Ivins and Steven Drozd are the Lips. a bit unusual. Can you tell me how the idea so that we were able to do a lot of that stuff for the headphones concert came about and with samples, hard drives and computers. MI: Even while we were making with guitars and turning them up real loud what people should expect when they go to TRW: Do you think it had anything to Clouds Taste Metallic, we thought that we and using as many effects as we could find. do with losing the guitar? had come to the end of what we could do Even if we hadn't lost Ronald, we probably see UPS, page 17 music notes I new Hlbum Reuiews

Air The Virgin Suicides (Astralwerks) minimalist guitar riff-laden work of their Air: French Band, best known for their well-received debut album "Moon Safari." mellow brand of synthetic groove-rock off However the catchy pop has been retro­ of the Astralwerks label, has been entrusted graded even further than before to fit the by Sofia Coppola and company to create movie's 70s theme, leaving a prefabricat­ the haunting soundtrack for her first film ed-suburb-polyester aftertaste. effort, The Virgin Suicides. The story, as far Technically, nothing is new is accom­ as I can discern from the album informa­ plished in this album. Guitars sent through 'There are movies that define every decade'. 'Body Shots' is one of these movies. It explores a few days in tion and film propaganda is the telling of vintage filters, old Hammond organs, syn­ the lives of 8 young men and women living in Los Angeles. After a night of alcohol, sex and moral choices, the tale of five sisters, ages 13-17, who all thesizer portamento, subdued drum breaks, things begin to go awry, and their lives will never be the same. The aftermath of one night begins to take a commit or attempt suicide through several and reverberated xylophones compliment a toll on each and everyone in the group. Values and self worth are challenged, friendships are threatened and tasteful vignettes. Each segment focuses on melodic backbone set by the first few these four young men and four young women look back on what happened and struggle for the answers to a different emotion, creating a collage tracks. Also, the tempo of the entire album very difficult questions. effect ranging from the humorous and shal­ is slow and unchanging, which creates a The characters are based on stereotypical young adults who talk openly about how they feel regarding vari­ low love relationships of high school to the soporific effect at times. And since not one ous issues which affect their lives. However, when one of them accuses another of rape, it forces many more macabre stages of teenage angst turned to track deviates from this standard the whole difficult discussions about what exactly happened that night. These four women and four men are forced to depression. Apparently Air has followed album either puts you to sleep or in a trance remember what they did or what they ignored and face the consequences of their actions. suit, creating variations upon a theme, each by track five. Of course, if the sound of the While 'Body Shots" deals with many of the important issues faced by today's young adults, alcohol abuse and corresponding to a different vignette. '70s bell-bottom rock-ballad movement is its consequences seem to be the most significant. It is apparent that some of the characters have no recol­ The aural movement approached by the what you are looking for, then by all lection of their choices or actions and some are dared to take sides and finally group on this album is really a carryover means, this album is the one for you. - come clean with honest impressions of their friends. They are quick to judge from the brand of synthesizer-heavy and Alex Scott others while trying to avoid being judged themselves. They all search for the willingness to find the truth, face their deepest fears and forgive one another. As Spring Break approaches, plans are being made to party non-stop for days. Many students will cut loose, and many more will witness first-hand the wild behavior of their peers. The yearly college ritual of drinking too much, partying too much and wearing too little can produce a similar scenario as seen in 'Body Shots". While it is a rite of passage for many students to experience Spring Break, think before you act and eat before you drink. ..Everything in moderation! .. THE CHALLENGE: 11 Rent DOI)V SIICJTS' today and write back to your college paper or log on to www.powerstudents.com/bodyshots to express your reactions, concerns and solutions for the future of your generation and the generations to come. • Only you can make the difference. NEW LINE © 1999 New Line Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. © 2000 New Line Home Video. Inc. All Rights Reserved. HOME VIDEO I