As we all know from skimming, re-reading, ingesting, and re-releasing into the air in a poisonous vapor, Coldplay’s Chris Martin is “a charming guy. Like, very charming.” But an even more charming major label artist is Wayne Coyne, who tweets pictures of naked things and uses really enthusiastic language. It was only a matter of time before charms collided, and that moment came/will be on April 21 a.k.a. Record Store Day, when shelf space is cleared for a double LP of Flaming Lips collabs, some old but most new and prime cuts of BUZZworthy flesh.
Chris Martin’s contribution sits at the very end of The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, a record featuring a Cecil B. DeMille-indebted cast of thousands, including Bon Iver, Nick Cave, Erykah Badu, Jim James, Tame Impala, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Ke$ha, and Biz Markie. We’ll have to wait til (closer to) Record Store Day to discover what became of these “meatings of the mind,” but based on the older material that fills in some gaps in the content, a psychedelic freakout of some sort is in order regardless of how straight edge the guests. The double album will be on swirly vinyl (pictured above) with no two copies looking the same, and there are no plans for repressing after the initial batch.
Also available on the same day will be a split 7-inch with Mastodon, who cover “A Spoonful Weighs a Ton” on the B-side. The A-side is the Lips’ version from The Soft Bulletin, which really comes alive on 45 rpm.
The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends tracklisting:
A1. 2012 (ft. Ke$ha and Biz Markie)
A2. Ashes in the Air (ft. Bon Iver)
A3. Helping the Retarded to Know God (ft. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros)
B1. Supermoon Made Me Want to Pee (ft. Prefuse 73)
B2. Children of the Moon (ft. Tame Impala)
B3. That Ain’t My Trip (ft. Jim James of My Morning Jacket)
B4. You, Man? Human? (ft. Nick Cave)
C1. I’m Working at NASA on Acid (ft. Lightning Bolt)
C2. Do It! (ft. Yoko Ono)
C3. Is David Bowie Dying? (ft. Neon Indian)
D1. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (ft. Erykah Badu)
D2. Thunder Drops (ft. New Fumes)
D3. I Don’t Want You to Die (ft. Chris Martin of Coldplay)
• The Flaming Lips: http://www.flaminglips.com