0:00 - Okay I'll Admit That I Really Don't Understand 2:50 - Riding to Work in the Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now) 9:54 - Thirty-Five Thousand Feet of Despair 14:55 - A Machine in India 25:17 - The Train Runs Over the Camel But Is Derailed by the Gnat 31:31 - How Will We Know? (Futuristic Crashendos) 33:54 - March of the Rotten Vegetables 40:20 - The Big Ol' Bug Is the New Baby Now
When this album came out, I went to a show thinking they would just play the songs. Little did I know that me, my friend, and about 40 other people got to go on stage, sit in chairs, and control the volume on boomboxes while the band members conducted us. It was flippin' amazing! Wayne was practically sweating on me, lol. I even got to hand him a tape of my crazy music. I always wondered what he thought about it.
It’s now on Apple Music as a box set with the four discs listed separately, only now, we have the advantage of having easily moved cell phones, so you could just make sure four people click on the first track of their specific disc at the same time as everybody else, and then everybody could pick up their phones and move them around as they wanted.
When this came out I had the neighbors coordinate this for Halloween music. It was odd, strange, and great. Released late October just in time! 4 houses playing it perfectly. good times
1) "Okay I'll Admit That I Really Don't Understand" **** 0:00 **** 2) "Riding to Work in the Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)" **** 2:51 **** 3) "Thirty-Five Thousand Feet of Despair" **** 9:53 **** 4) "A Machine in India" **** 14:52 **** 5) "The Train Runs Over the Camel But Is Derailed by the Gnat" **** 25:16 **** 6) "How Will We Know? (Futuristic Crashendos)" **** 31:29 **** 7) "March of the Rotten Vegetables" **** 33:53 **** 8) "The Big Ol' Bug Is the New Baby Now" **** 40:21 **** = 45mins & 32secs
This video posting will be regarded as a highly important and esteemed contribution to Lips fans and to RU-vid viewers in general. The Lips themselves probably haven't heard the album like this since the days of recording it.
I did the math on this, and there are 15 different ways to listen to this album. That’s absolutely unbelievable. With most albums you’re bound to have different experiences, from person to person, listening to it, but having an album where you have so many different potential listening experiences is truly revolutionary.
Spencer Raney Infinite different ways, actually, if played on 4 CD players as intended back in 1997. People all pressing play together at the start of each track would never get the songs synched the same way twice. Then there’s how loud you turn up each boombox or stereo and where you place the speakers from each-different every single time. It’s in Wayne’s original liner notes-no listening experience could be the same twice! I’ve played it about 16 times with friends between 2000-2009 and each listening experience and mix was totally different.
best thing the Lips ever did. the concept alone. but then the content stands up to a stereo mix too. I've heard Wayne speak disparagingly about it. He "doesn't realize"
personally I think Oczy Mlody is one of their best records, although it is very different than their other material. It's just a really emotional and beautifully made album - like A Crow Looked At Me on uppers
okay i'll admit that i really don't understand how pitchfork's jason josephes could give 0 out of 10 to this masterpiece. the concept is amazing, each combination is a different kind of feeling. the only unconvenient thing is that in 1997 people really needed 4 stereo players to get the whole experience. but c'mon this album is flawless.
spleeks mcgleex Exactly my thought : elitist ! That's what they are ! Jason Josephes was a real prick to award it a 0... but he made amends 2 years later by giving the Lips' masterpiece a perfect 10 ! (that's how he avoided being killed by Lips' fans, btw...)
I feel like it's the opposite of elitist, the major problem of that review was giving this type of album to a dude who only had one CD player he had to put a paint can over to actually use
This is the one band that said one album we want 4 with one running track between the 4. It's probably the most ambitious as far as artist vs label. This album would never be made today. The rest you either get or won't ever.
thanks for doing this. I only listened to this once before.The way it was intended, with 4 separate sound systems. It was very very disorienting and a little intense.
If this came out when I was a teenager we would have totally done this as an experience and thought it was the greatest thing ever. The closest thing we got was a hint on "Completion Backwards Principle" but was never actually a reality. But this is staggering.
+Mike Gervasi There are certainly some nice things about the sounds. There are some unpleasant dissonances running throughout. The exercise of getting into the Flaming Lips is actually one where you must accept sourness, which ultimately lends originality to the beautiful, pitch-perfect moments.
+Vincent Michael And this is actually a big choice that a rock fan must make: Can he/she suffer through a band's moments of discord to discover joyful moments? Some folk don't go for all this here noise.
The unmixed versions of this really need to be posted somewhere online. I bought this album when it came out on CD, bought it again when it came out on vinyl, and still the most convenient way I can think of is if I could play a mix of these things while throwing my laptop and cellphone into the mix.
I have this on CD from when it first came out, I need to find four CD boom boxes to play it again with friends it’s one of the best records to listen to like that for obvi reasons
I haven't had a chance to listen to this album properly, but I've got a hunch that with some of the dissonance and the weird way in which some of the sounds were split between discs that it's integral to the experience. That said, this video is still awesome. Thanks.
I went to the show in okc ,and I am glad I did not have to go on stage. You have to listen to it from afar to trip out(non acid). I help them out as extra on 2videos and c o Mars
En los 90's era cliente habitual de una disquería, el encargado me regaló muchos discos de esos que estaban ahí juntando polvo. Cuando me dió el Zaireeka le dije "son 4 porqué me das esto?". Me explicó de que se trataba, me lo llevé y por curiosidad fui escuchando uno a la vez. Un día con unos amigos juntamos dos grabadores, mi equipo de audio y mi PC que tenia una Sound Blaster y unos parlantes Edifier. La experiencia fue una maravillosa locura, tanto que la repetimos varias veces cada tanto. Les aseguro que así es la única manera de disfrutar esta obra. Pasé las pistas a AVI, las mezclé y a pesar que el sonido era mejor que el de este video (con todo respeto), es un gran error hacer eso. 4 discos y 4 reproductores es la única fórmula y no importa que la sincronización sea perfecta. Saludos
Jose Manuel Tena Diaz Eh, i politely beg to differ... but this one definitely is a crucial one, as it was the stylistic turning point of the band. The pivotal album between their early garage rock and the experimental multi-influence rock (notably mixing rock and electronic music) that was to prevail henceforth and become their trademark. Just my opinion, eh. ;)
Couldn’t agree more! This album is way better than Soft Bulletin, which is fantastic but overrated. Yoshimi, Embryonic and The Terror are all better as well, but Zaireeka is the masterpiece!
I remember trying to play this with my CD system (huge speakers), an iMac, portable CD player and PDA as the other speakers some time circa 2002. Crazy.
We have the LP trying to set up 4 different record players that all seem to run at slightly different speeds but man it's fun to have a few beers and try to sink up the lps 🤘🤘🤘
How much would it cost to buy four semi-portable CD players? I have a couple but I can't carry them around and put them in the same place. Also, does it much precision to time the tracks perfectly?
+Toby Wan Yaahhh, I Know. It´s hard. even when you got them all separated on mp3 and try to play them sync on different devices it´s actually impossible the perfection in-between them, because you can´t run all the way through the room to play all the four play buttons you have to press, and each electrodomestic device has a different default of pre-play time [a matter of milliseconds actually, but still, NOT sync] so..... I guess this is the first and most accurate way to listen to Zaireeka syncronized. I appreciate the upload.
+Toby Wan what if you got the same type of player and got 4 friends and throw in a six pak for the hell of it. Same devices play at the same time, so it would work unless your friends are fuckups and can't into counting or something.
+perplexics Well thought! I like this plan very much because even in case, such as mine, in which you don´t have a whole Flaming-Lips-Fan combo of pals to stick around, you just can ask them the favor to play them sync and then kick them out of your place, and the Zaireeka time is all for you. !!!!!!!
How was this mixed? I like the lips stereo mixes of the songs, but this is ALL the parts, and I love it. I gotta do the cell phone thing too. Excellent idea.
Sound8Vision No it wasn't. They came up with the idea for this album from when they did a live performance with 40 cassette that people played in their cars in a parking garage. But this album wasn't recorded that way at all. It was done in a studio. Do you really think it would sound even half as clear as it did if it was coming from a bunch of cassette players echoing in a parking garage?
This is great but it really hinder the coolness factor of it by not listening to it on multiple CD players. When my friends and I listened to the album we had different types of CD players from a small boom box, to a Alarm Clock radio, to a nice sound system. From track to track we would adjust the volumes on each one. Each person was in control of a radios volume. It was a really fun experience.
This is a different mix than other versions I've heard/owned. It works well on several tracks (like 35,000' of despair). This multiple disc idea grew out of the listening parties that the Flips would have in Tulsa OK. Then true to form they took the concept to its logical conclusion
After reading the Pitchfork review I was wondering what album he was listening to. Aparrently, according to him, all flaming lips fans would rather buy inhalants and detox than listen to this album. He'd rather have a sandwich in the same review. Makes you wonder what constitutes for a career in rock journalism.
Everyone aware of the 0/10 should look at the new pitchfork article commending Zaireeka where the new writer shows his disgust with the previous review. It captures the beauty of the album. Much better piece!
AlmostHuman102 Totally agreed ! These bastards are used to taking albums down. I've been checking God knows how many albums scores on Wikipedia, and indeed, they are those giving the least positive scores (NME isn't far behind in criticizing, if my memory serves me well). It's even kind of a miracle when i found some really high grade by Pitchfork ! That Jason Josephes could go fuck himself for giving that 0/10 and such despising comments, even if he sorta tried to make it up to fans with his 10/10 score for THE SOFT BULLETIN. So yeah, basically, Pitchfork definitely are definitely elitist bastards and certainly no reference to me. Thumb up to you for your most pertinent comment !
I really wish they would come out with a synched version of this album. I guess that would be counter to the DIY nature of listening to the album though.
Apparently the frequencies in "How Will We Know?" are to represent a superstition that hearing high and low frequencies causes premonitions... anyone had any? x'D
I.... got...... to.... have this piece of ARTTTTTT I.....LOVE...this...idea... for vinylnatics is this a must have. making art with art Is a good combi
Nice , I finally get to hear what this should (mostly) sound like, but shouldnt there be a warning too? Wasnt this album meant to have something like binaural beats in it that made it dangerous for some?
The flaming lips: Zaireeka (1997) A estas alturas los flaming lips no tienen que deberle nada a la música con el disco más extraño que haya escuchado jamás. 4 compact disc que deben ser escuchados en 4 equipos de música diferentes y al mismo tiempo. Es decir que deben haber 4 personas que accionen los 4 discos al mismo tiempo y le den play. La experiencia es octonfònica. La superposición de sonidos es embriagante y la polifonía es única. Estamos ante un disco sumamente extraño en su concepción y audición. Dan de por si un espectro infinito. Y cada disco no suena una sola cosa, es decir, el disco 1 no suena la batería, por ejemplo, sino que se va altercando durante los 45 minutos. Para generar un instancia aún más de confusión. Sostenido por composiciones simples. Es decir de que si lo hubieran sacado en forma en común (es decir en estéreo). No hubiera ocurrido nada, más allá de ser otro disco de los flaming lips. Según una entrevista a Wayne coyne el líder de este psiquiátrico musical: la idea original era realizar 100 discos pero se fue simplificando a 10 hasta que la Warner brothers permitió estas 4 grabaciones simultaneas. ¿Escuché este disco que la banda propone? Si, 3 veces. Y las 3 veces tuvimos que generar una logística y compromiso de 4 personas para escuchar Zaireeka. Y la experiencia es fabulosa, formidable, única y maravillosa. No se vuelve en un acto onanista la escucha. O en público. Es algo totalmente diferente. El disco comienza con Okay I'll Admit That I Really Don't Understand (Ok admitiré que realmente no entiendo). Algo que realmente sucede. Realmente no entendemos lo que pasa. Con la voz de Wayne y el ritmo de batería cruda que tanto me gusta. Uno de los puntos altos es How will we know (Como conoceremos) explicando a la humanidad (¿?) como conoceremos en el futuro: “ Como lo sabremos /Si esta ráfaga de ruido estamos escuchando/Es el martillo más grande del mundo /Cayendo sobre nuestras cabezas aplastando nuestras vidas/ Y todo lo que hemos dicho/ Aplastando la existencia de cualquier pequeño efecto que hayamos tenido/ ¿O es solo un flujo supersónico inventado en el futuro?/ Explotando tan fuerte que puedes escucharlo antes de que suceda/ ¿Cómo lo sabremos?”. Otro punto alto es el final del disco con "The Big Ol' Bug Is the New Baby Now" (El viejo bicho es un nuevo bebé ahora) Con una narración que dice lo siguiente: “Tenemos tres perros a los que les encanta masticar cosas, así que siempre les damos algunos juguetes y animales de peluche y cosas para que puedan destruirlos. Y, por lo general, todo lo que obtenemos se tritura en pedazos en un par de días. Y un día me di cuenta que este peluche que habíamos comprado (lo tenían desde hacía una semana) había quedado relativamente ileso, un poco sucio, pero realmente no tenía ningún daño. Así que estuve observándolos durante los siguientes días y me di cuenta de que, por alguna extraña razón, este pequeño animal de peluche parecía gustarles a todos por alguna extraña razón. Era especial para ellos, no solo no lo masticaron, sino que lo hicieron parecer como si fuera su bebé. Lo trataron como si fuera su propio bebé, así que pensé, "esto es raro". Qué extraño es esto: de todos los juguetes y cosas que les conseguimos, por alguna extraña razón, este, que en realidad no era diferente del resto, este fue elegido para ser especial. Ahí vas. Así que pasó un tiempo y un día me di cuenta de que esta caja de "insectos grandes de plástico", que había estado guardando en un estante en el baño, de alguna manera se había caído, y desafortunadamente parecía que los perros ya habían masticado la mayor parte. las cosas en él, las grandes arañas gigantes, hormigas y cucarachas y cosas que estaban en él. Y mientras caminaba por la casa recogiendo los pedazos triturados de estos insectos de plástico, me encontré con el bebé, ya sabes, ¡su bebé de peluche! Y ahí estaba, hecho pedazos, como todo lo demás, todas las otras cosas, finalmente este fue hecho pedazos. Más tarde, me encontré con uno de los saltamontes gigantes que, por alguna razón, no había sido masticado en absoluto, ni siquiera una pequeña marca de diente. Así que miro, y se me ocurre que por alguna razón sus afectos han cambiado. Y puedo ver claramente que, en lugar del animal de peluche, el gran bicho es ahora el nuevo bebé”. Un signo de madurez por parte de la banda. Los Flaming Lips siguieron experimentando con otras cosas, con temas más largos de 4 a 6 horas. Incluso un tema que dura 24 horas que se puede escuchar en su sitio web (¡!). La escucha de este disco es absurda, ya sea desde la concepción como así también desde la ejecución. Les dejo este disco difícil para escuchar, pero como una orgía (en este caso de sonidos), el placer no es solitario, sino de a 4, que es mucho más divertido. Bicho raro son estos labios ardientes.
Was thinking how the 4 CDs could be ripped to computer and played in various combos with AUDACITY, could even divide each stereo CD into LEFT and RIGHT and playback more combinations. So you could have (15 variations): CD1 / CD1+CD2 / CD1+CD3 / CD1+CD4 / CD1+CD2+CD3 / CD1+CD2+CD4 / CD1+CD3+CD4 / CD1+CD2+CD3+CD4 / CD2 / CD2+CD3 / CD2+CD3+CD4 / CD2+CD4 / CD3 / CD3+CD4 / CD4 And it's too late map out L and R channel combinations too.
Pretty sure that someone who knows how to use Logic could map each of the 8 tracks into Atmos. Not a good as a full Atmos remix, but better than nothing.
so, i'm listening to this and i can't imagine that what i'm hearing is four WHOLE songs being mixed together. were the individual albums never intended to actually be listened to independently, and if not, then really, what was the point?
Point was to mix the sync and possibly offset each records playtime enough to theoretically get an infinite amount of different sounds because each track was specifically designed to fit well with the others at most points. It wont always work perfectly of course because it was made by humans.
TerminalConstipation What was the point ? Well, I don't have Wayne's address right here under my thumb, but... wait a sec'... *start fumbling through my mountain of papers*
![The Flaming Lips - Zaireeka [FULL ALBUM] [HQ]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
