Landmark Albums: The Flaming Lips' "The Soft Bulletin"

          
The Soft Bulletin was the Pet Sounds of the 1990's.

Because of the album's rich harmonies and lush orchestrations, The Flaming Lips' 1999 masterpiece has been compared to the Beach Boys' 1966 masterpiece. 

The Soft Bulletin features more synthesizers, drum machines (and like Pet Sounds), sound effects and studio pyrotechnics than their earlier recordings. After its release, Wayne Coyne stated that, "if someone was to ask me what instrument do I play, I would say the recording studio." 

Although The Lips' previous album, the experimental Zaireeka (1997), a four-CD album which is intended to be heard by playing all four CDs in four separate CD players simultaneously, might have put the band on the map (so to speak), The Soft Bulletin was their break through record.

Produced by The Lips along with Dave Fridmann and Scott Booker, the space-rock record combines poppy melodies, synthesized strings, deliberate mechanical beats, and powerful cymbals with hypnotic, philosophical lyrics, establishing it as one of the most successful albums of 1999.

Some critics consider it to be the best album of the decade.

Tracks:

1) Race for the Prize

2) A Spoonful Weighs a Ton

3) The Spark That Bled

4) The Spiderbite Song

5) Buggin'

6) What Is the Light?

7) The Observer

8) Waitin' for a Superman

9) Suddenly Everything Has Changed

10) The Gash

11) Feeling Yourself Disintegrate

12) Sleeping on the Roof

                    

Comments

[Sayorvid]

Okay, The Soft Bulletin was a good album. But saying something is the "Pet Sounds" of that decade is like saying that album is the greatest of the 90s, and that album is OK Computer.

[richie]

This is all subjective, of course!

OK Computer is an amazing record, and I too think it's the best album of the 90's, but production-wise, however, I think The Soft Bulletin echoes Pet Sounds.

And I don't think Pet Sounds is the best record of the 60's, but that's just my humble opinion.

[Ed O'Connor]

Soft Bulletin is quite stunning in many ways. One of my favorite albums of the last 15 years.

This short docu is worth checking out if you're interested in some of the backstory:

http://www.pitchfork.com/news/45029-pitchforktv-presents-documentary-on-the-flaming-lips-the-soft-bulletin/

[richie]

I'll be sure to check out the documentary, Ed. Thanks for the tip.