First Iowa legalizes same-sex marriage, and now Oklahoma has chosen The Flaming Lips' “Do You Realize??” (the single from their 2002 album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots) as their official state rock song. Methinks the rest of the United States need to get on this cool horse.
Of course, the Lips were initially met with a bit of controversy from “religious wackos” in the Oklahoma house of representatives, who were upset when band member Michael Ivins wore a sickle and hammer t-shirt (which, of course, is common attire worn by a commie pinko bastard, dadgum it), but this saga ends well and gives the state of Oklahoma some much-appreciated scene points. First off, The Flaming Lips beat out the All-American Rejects, Leon Russell and The Call in the state rock song contest, which is living proof that a significant chunk of Oklahomans have "good taste." What's more, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry vetoed the representatives' rejection of the contest results, which with 21,000 votes, named “Do You Realize??” as the winner.
Showing home state pride, frontman Wayne Coyne says: “... I think everybody's knee-jerk reaction in the beginning was, ‘Ah, we knew it was too good to be true. That's more of the Oklahoma we thought we were dealing with.’ But it's not true, and I think that's the main reason I wanted to make sure I got to say something about it. For the governor to stand up and veto it and be on our side, it's such a great story in the end."
According to Billboard, Henry will sign an executive order today, April 28, giving the song its official status in Oklahoma rockdom. Meanwhile, Coyne plans to print up some hammer-and-sickle t-shirts for the the occasion, which will undoubtedly send certain members of the house of representatives running for their Snuggies.