![]() Within 45 seconds I texted the guys that the first song “Fight Test” sounded an awful lot like Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son”. I needed a couple minutes of me-time, so I immediately fired up Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Last Wednesday, I had just wrapped up a work call when Mitch texted his album for the week. Unlike previous EONS contestant The Donnas, who I only knew from appearing on Charmed, The Flaming Lips were a legitimate hit band with some songs that I knew and a reputation of being some pretty good musicians. Of course I’m referring to the first time I saw the band play, headlining the The Peach Pit After Dark on Beverly Hills, 90210. This week I ran all the way to Beverly Hills when Mitch announced that this week would feature The Flaming Lips. If the album is unknown (by me), my mind runs to anything I can associate with the artist. If I know the album, it’s a rapid-fire association game and I immediately run to my inherent biases for or against. The reaction is immediate and almost instinctual. But while you guys have to wait until Mitch hits the “publish” button on Substack, we wait for the text message from the next week’s pitcher to announce his album. I look forward to Wednesday mornings every single week. And I’ll join them in voting this amazing record into the Newbury St. I’ll enjoy them celebrating the awesome conceptual theme that turns these songs into something much more than a collection of singles. I’ll let them extol the virtues of the inventive and expressive instrumentals. I’ll leave it to my compatriots to talk about the beautiful melodies that fill this deeply profound and meaningful album. To provide us with a roadmap and a glimmer of hope for a possible happy ending. To let people know that they’re not alone, that others have thought and felt the same things. ![]() In many ways, it’s the highest purpose of art: to tell stories that explain the unexplainable. It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round And, of course, the final, optimistic stanza in “Do You Realize?” The call for ego-less perspective in "Up Above the Hum”. The reminder to live in the present moment in “All We Have is Now”. The literal burst of light and life in “It’s Summertime”. One of the best things about Yoshimi is that it provides us with some hopeful answers to help us deal with all that existential dread. Forced to embrace the reality that all of this is indeed real, and left to find moments of light and happiness in the ever-present and oppressive shadow of death. Grappling with the literal fear of disease and death while also watching as our societal illusions fall away under the weight of hatred and lies. We’re all living through an ongoing collective trauma, all of us pretending that we’re not beaten and broken. Of course, my experience isn’t unique by any means. Until I lost so many people from my life, so quickly, with no goodbyes. I appreciated them philosophically, but I didn’t really connect with them. When I first heard those words many years ago, I found them both profound and a little juvenile. ![]() Let them know you realize that life goes fast ![]() In Yoshimi, Wayne Coyne says just that in “Do You Realize?”:Īnd instead of saying all of your goodbyes There’s some comfort in the honesty of someone saying directly what we all know deep inside: that sooner or later we’re going to die and lose everything. It’s weird to say, but I’ve always liked death songs and albums. Most of the time I don’t even know why I pick specific albums, but when I look back I can always find the real reason, the emotional truth behind different picks.Īt first I thought I picked The Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots because I wanted to write about hipster concept albums that only sort-of make sense, but after writing that pitch I realized that I picked Yoshimi because I really needed to write about death and trauma and loss. One of the best things about EONS is that we don’t really pick the records we pitch - the records pick us. The truth is always there, in the words, in between the words, around the words. It’s all there, even if the readers don’t notice. No matter how hard you try, you can’t hide your voice or your emotions from your words. One of the best things about writing is the naked honesty.
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