![flaming lips soft bulletin vinyl 2009 flaming lips soft bulletin vinyl 2009](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/734Go0ZhjBc/maxresdefault.jpg)
I scoured the band’s website, where the entirety of Yoshimi and a handful of earlier album songs streamed free (this was extremely novel and rare at the time, about 2002). I listened half a dozen times before bed. The friend wanted a blank CD and I gave him one on the condition that I borrow this new Flaming Lips thing for the night. I was distracted to the point that I remember images of my stereo, the booklet in my hands, the music and exclaiming about it, and not the drive itself. The warbling tape orchestra, the out-of-nowhere bass thunder on the second track, and that melody on The Spark That Bled had me instantly. In response, my friend bought the only other CD available and inadvertently changed my (musical) life forever. He’d picked up Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots and asked if the band was any good I replied with some half thought that I’d heard “their older stuff was better” without any clue if I was even thinking of the right band. One of the most striking moments in my listening life happened the night I heard The Flaming Lips‘ 1999 masterpiece The Soft Bulletin, driving though rural back roads with a friend who had just purchased the CD blindly. Yet the true greats will always have a place it takes at least time to sort them from the intense but short love affairs with slightly lesser albums. My ears have changed, not to mention my tastes.
![flaming lips soft bulletin vinyl 2009 flaming lips soft bulletin vinyl 2009](https://images.roughtrade.com/product/images/files/000/153/534/original/Oh_My_Gawd!!!..._The_Flaming_Lips-min.jpg)
and yet they’re a revelation once again with the right mixture of time, decay, perspective, distance, environment and attitude. What elevated these particular pieces of music to a realm of formative life experiences? These are the albums I used to burrow into for months, knowing every nook and cranny, knowing the texture and contours like my own skin. I think I’m also looking for inspiration, and answers. Lately, with a few notable exceptions, I’ve been listening to a lot of my personal favorite albums in an effort to tap into the exhilaration of something I know I love. There has been a lot going on in life but as always I’m continuously immersed in music. I haven’t been back to Optimistic Underground in a while.