Bootleg Friday: The Flaming Lips, 1999

You may be wondering why I'm posting Flaming Lips tracks on a site that has a large focus on soul music. Well, it's because for me, the Flaming Lips are an indie band with soul. Where I find many, if not most indie rock bands, ultimately unsatisfying because of the emotional distance they keep from their material and their audience (as well as their lack of songs), the Flaming Lips are all heart, and on The Soft Bulletin, they had the songs, too.

I didn't know much about the Flaming Lips until I saw them at Irving Plaza in the spring of 2000 while they were touring behind The Soft Bulletin. But when I saw that show, I was blown away by their inventiveness, their whimsy, and most of all, by their conviction. They struck me as the best kind of weirdos; a band doing it differently and uniquely, going out on limbs that no other bands would even think about going on and willing to make fools of themselves in the process, but always in the service of trying to touch people. And they really touched me - when they played "Waitin' For A Superman," even though I had never heard the song before, I teared up. The next day, I went right out and bought The Soft Bulletin and I listened to it non-stop for about six months.

The tracks posted are from U.K. radio broadcasts recorded in the spring of 1999. Of particular note are the absolutely gorgeous acoustic versions of "Feel Yourself Disintegrate" and "Waitin' On A Superman." Enjoy!

Buy The Soft Bulletin at Amazon

Download: "Race For The Prize" 4/21/99, Eve Session
Download: "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate" 4/27/99, XFM Session
Download: "We Can't Predict The Future" 6/8/99, Peel Sessions
Download: "The Captain" 6/10/99, GLR Session
Download: "Waitin' On A Superman" 6/10/99, GLR Session