Jim Derogatis

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Staring At Sound: The True Story Of Oklahoma's Fabulous Flaming Lips

Jim Derogatis

Synopsis:

In July 2002, the Flaming Lips released an ambitious album called Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots that merged elements of orchestral pop, electronic dance music, and old-fashioned psychedelic rock with lyrical themes that were simultaneously poignant and philosophical and supremely silly. The album sold a million copies worldwide, introduced the Flaming Lips to a mass audience, and made them one of the best-known cult bands in rock history.

Staring at Sound is the tale of the Flaming Lips's fascinating, long career (which, in reality, began in 1983) and the many colorful personalities in its orbit, especially Wayne Coyne, its charismatic and visionary founder. Written with the complete cooperation of the band, it follows the Lips through the thriving indie-rock underground of the 1980s and the alternative rock movement of the early '90s, during which they found fans in such rock legends as Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Robert Plant, and Devo, and respected peers in such acts as the White Stripes, Radiohead, and Beck.

In the style of Wilco: Learning How to Die by Greg Kot, Hellfire by Nick Tosches, and DeRogatis's own Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, Staring at Sound is an illuminating, well-researched, fast-moving, and very human portrait of one of the most distinctive rock music acts of our time.

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Other editions: Hardcover - 2009, Hardcover - 2006, Softcover - 2004, Softcover - 2003, Softcover - 2000, Softcover - 1996