The drum sound on this album is what catches my ear the most. Its just big and bombastic and alive. For this album, its just perfect, because its an album thats about being alive, warts and glory and all.
Dave Friedmann is a genius producer. Almost everything he touches turns to gold. This and Mercury Rev. Very touching music. So happy that a major label produced this music and spent the time promoting it. I don't know if that would happen in today's climate.
I got to see the Lips a couple of times when they've played in my (smallish) hometown of Leicester: first supporting Mercury Rev (during the Deserters Songs tour - soon before they releasd The Soft Bulletin) the second during the Yoshimi tour a couple of years later. Both nights were, needless to say, mind-blowing
Soft Bulletin is one of the best things that I have ever come across. It hits so close to home. Rarely do albums come out that have this much heart, and in my opinion, this album nails the basest of human emotions and illustrates spiritual growth.
I have a friend that I met because I overheard him talking about The Soft Bulletin at a bar. I instantly horned in and in a few minutes the person he was originally talking to had gone on and he and I were animatedly exclaiming “Yeah! What about !?” “Oh man! Yeah!” Not the most brilliant musical analysis but I knew I’d found a new person.
In 2017, my fiancé and I took a take a trip to Atlanta. It was my 37th birthday and we had tickets to see Radiohead. I quickly learned that the lips were playing the same weekend, and that the venue was a stones throw of the room we rented. I only knew two of their songs (Jelly and Yoshimi), but tickets were cheap and it felt like a no brainer. We went in blind and had no idea what to expect. We left the show completely astonished, and it took us awhile to process what we had experienced. It was a celebration of the human experience. The good, the bad, and the inevitable. It stands as one of my favorite experiences with music, and more importantly, one of my most cherished memories with her. Every time I think about that night, I smile and feel close to her. I became an immediate fan and rushed to catch up on their discography. I couldn't believe that I had missed out on The Soft Bulletin.
Dave Friddman is my absolute idol, the sounds he's captured are just so wonderful and alien. Yet they don't seem jarring or out of place, the man is a genius.
I'm so sick of this band being described as weird or quirky, they've always sounded beautiful to me and Wayne is a real gentleman who articulates himself with such simple eloquence.
Yes it can but I was commenting on the music and those particular adjectives crop up repeatedly in reviews. I think it's too easy and lazy to describe it in that way, otherwise a huge proportion of my very varied music collection could be described as such.
Anton - well said...; beautiful melody...musical textures.. and Wayne's charisma speaking of feelings that anyone has a hard time speaking about... Forget the chatter about weird, quirky..I try not to focus o what others think....Soft Bulletin - Top Album of 90's ... Top Album of my LIfetime. Wayne Coyne - Treasure and on the +side of human race....he's on my top 10 most interesting people ever.
Tim Hines The Soft Bulletin if anything seems to get better with time. I love the majority of their stuff and every album from 'In A Priest Driven Ambulance' onwards is genius. The 2 I play the most are 'In A Priest ....' and 'Soft Bulletin'. The only band I thought that ever came close to their sonic majesty was The Beta Band.
This album defined my college years, I was in awe of it entirely... he's a fun guy but you can tell Wayne is peripheral to its success musically, Drozd and Fridmann are the geniuses
I can't get enough of these guys. They're utterly brilliant, moving, evolving artists. There is such a raw, rich beauty in what they do, and it's such a fascinating trip to watch and hear about their whole creative process. Their music touches me like no other quite has. Here's to them continuing to do what they do so excellently for decades to come.
The Soft Bulletin in blew my mind when I heard it. It is a top 10 in the soundtrack of my life. And when I find a fello fan in the wild it is a insta-friendship
This album is one of my favorites. Back to front, I can listen to the entire thing. It's only gotten stronger over the years. Thank you wayne, thank you band.
Thank you for this documentary, Pitchfork. You lot continuously prove that there is more to journalism than just criticism. Not to mention you guys seem to be the only ones who got the track listing right. Masterpiece documentary.
The biggest shock to me is seemingly how much Wayne is a pretty sober dude. I think he probably experimented a bit and probably experienced some kind of ego death, because he just gives that vibe with knowing himself and his feelings and just being earnest. He's so articulate in a way that you just wouldn't be if you were still heavily doing psychadelics in your 40s.
Please, you have to make more of these! My humble suggestions: In the Aeroplane Over The Sea Music Has the Right to Children Weezer Blue Loveless F#A#infinity or Lift Your Skinny Fists like Antennas to Heaven Spiderland
I was two hours early for their concert in Denmark in around 2008. So I was standing in the middle of the empty crowd area and anticipating the show. Then suddenly Wayne Coyne walked out on center stage and it was just him and me and it seemed like we were totally alone. And he just just waved and said hi, and I waved back. And we went our separate ways. I don't know why, but it really made a big impression on me.
Was lucky enough to see them play this album with an orchestra at Red rocks amphitheater a few years ago. Best show of my life. One of my favorite albums too, especially when I'm feeling anxious about life and about death. Love these guys and proud to be from Oklahoma.
In my opinion the most sonically important albums since Sergeant Pepper's maybe pet sounds. Every song on this album is a gem. It featured heavily in the soundtrack of my early to mid-twenties. Thank you guys
The Soft Bulletin slowly has become an album that means a lot to me, and getting to hear more about the thoughts/process behind it is really cool, thank you Pitchfork
I absolutely love Steven Drozd. Such an honest human with such amazing ability to sculpt notes and chords with scale and key into feelings that are familiar to us. I’m not bad at playing music (guitar, drums, some keys) but I could never write music with such skill.
Went to see or should I say hear the Flaming Lips in Central Park quite a few years back.The show was sold out but you could sit in the park close to the venue and hear it just fine. In the Morning of the Magicians on that summer night was pretty much a religious experience.
I loved this album! I played it over and over and over for months and months and months... After watching this documentary, I went and dug up my old CDs and I'm gonna go on another long stretch of playing this album.
What's really cool is that, for a lot of musicians and bands, their early music (sometimes even just their first record) is their best. It says something that the Flaming Lips made their tour de force in the 90s, considering the band got its early start in, what? The late 70s? Pretty impressive.
That's my favourite and the first Lips album I ever bought(and the cover's cool too). I was pretty young, heard Ladies & Gentlemen by Spiritualized and Deserter's Songs by Mercury Rev, had my mind set on fire and then started hoovering up weird neo-psych bands wherever I could find them. I remember there was a gig advert in the NME for the Flaming Lips and the sentence-long caption was something like 'weirdo American psychedelic band who sing about zoo animals'... SOLD. Soft Bulletin came out about six months later and then they blew up, but Clouds is still my personal favourite, and Transmissions From The Satellite Heart has my desert island disc choice Chewin' The Apple Of Your Eye on it, so those two are very special to me.
One of my favorite albums, album titles and album covers. Everything worked out just right. Something so absurdly and audaciously conceived could fail 99 times out of 100, but The Soft Bulletin was the miracle.
The Soft Bulletin and Clouds, along with Yoshimi are obviously fucking great albums. But I think Hit To Death is a criminally underrated album. I was in love with that album long before I ever heard Soft Bulletin I wish more people gave it a mention, because it's definitely worth a listen; same with A Priest Driven Ambulance actually.
That never clicked with me.For me, something changed from Clouds onwards - they had an ear for a melody that wasn't really there before. I don't know if it was Steven Drozd but in retrospect he seems to have made a huge difference. IMO there's a lack of quality control and focus in pre-Clouds stuff. I bought Transmissions, Clouds and Hit To Death at the same time and the latter really felt noticeably less colourful and interesting. And it lacked the very particular character and personality that marks later Lips stuff out - later on they centred on a kind of philosophical tone: the tininess of us versus the hugeness of the universe and the inevitability of death. Before that their stuff was a lot more messy and bitty, and kind of aimlessly nihilistic. And Hit To Death will always carry the stain of influencing The Futureheads to form and release recorded music. That, I cannot forgive. Don't take this too seriously BTW - I'm not trying to smulch your taste in music. I know a lot of people like HTDITFH, but I just disagree.
@@thesprawl2361 I agree that Clouds was the album that marked their transition to a great band. There are a few standouts on Hit To Death though: Hit Me Like You Did The First Time, Gingerale Afternoon, and Halloween on the Barbary Coast are worth a listen.
I'm sure I could be wrong, but it's nice to see some down to earth musicians who describe their music how it is, or at least in this case, without coming across as having huge egos. I look forward to hearing more of the Flaming lips anthology of music.
Just saw these guys last night. Even though they didn't play too much off TSB, it was an incredible show. One of the greatest albums ever conceived, in my opinion. Thanks for this insight.
I met the flaming lips the other night and was busy trying to find wayne that i didn't talk to steven didn't really know much about him. He's such a genius wish i knew at the time should of spoke to him while i had the time peace bro! if i get a chance to meet you i won't take it for granted next time!!!
when i bought this cd used i was ready a fan upto clouds, and yoshimi but this record just kicked in in full gear when i put it in the cd player driving back home i was so enthralled with it so many emotions and joy was n me i havent felt like that in a while and no record has moved me like soft bulletin its next to clouds and mellon collie and infinite sadness