by Jon Shina (@___flower___sounds___)
At the end of 2002, the uniquely weird and underground college radio station WZBC at Boston College played their top 100 albums of the year. That list contained some of the weirdest and most obscure music to be played anywhere in the country, and on that list was Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. What’s interesting about that fact is that The Flaming Lips were the only band on that list who were also signed to a major label (Warner Records).
Yoshimi came out three years after the band's critically acclaimed album The Soft Bulletin, five years after the band's widely in every way (even format) experimental album Zaireeka, and also worth mentioning a shocking nine years after the band’s only commercial hit “She Don’t Use Jelly.” Yoshimi was The Flaming Lips’ synthesis of their entire artistic career up until that point, and the result was a vast album in scale, sound, and scope that answered the question, “What if someone made Kid A, but they wore their hearts on their sleeves?” It is unscientific, but common knowledge, that most musicians, artists, and bands get less interesting and less creative as their careers endure, with a trajectory that points downward as the years progress. Adding another unique charm to this album, is that Yoshimi is the tenth studio album by The Flaming Lips, and can be argued that they created their best and most critically acclaimed album so late in their history.
Only two of the original members, Wayne Coyne and Micheal Ivens, still remained at this point in the band's then eighteen year existence. The band’s third and longtime member, multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd, would soon be regarded as a musical genius after the release of both Yoshimi and The Soft Bulletin, where he played the most pivotal role in the creation of the vibe and overall environment of the album. Also joined in the production is the self-titled Yokota Yoshimi from the Japanese noise art rock band Boredoms. The Lips met Yoshimi while on tour during Lollapalooza ‘94 and quickly became smitten by her. They remained big fans of her solo work and invited her to collaborate on their upcoming album. And finally… behind every electronic and acoustic sonic wave length on this album is the “Indie Super Producer” Dave Fridmann. For those production heads out there, Fridmann is the sound of The Flaming Lips, and most of the heavy hitters in the Indie world that followed the release of Yoshimi. When MGMT was signed to Columbia, the band was asked which producer they wanted to work with, to which their response was “We like the way that the drums on The Flaming Lips album sounded.” What was to follow is the “Dave Fridmann Sound'' which you can hear in every Tame Impala and Spoon album to follow, as well as just the fabric and DNA of modern musical production… Big Drums and Slick Synths.
There are 100 tracks on this reissue, including demos, covers, remixes, alternative mixes, live tracks, story telling, helium voices, and even Sponge Bob. Without going into the weeds of every track, the most interesting ones are the demos. These demos are obviously real and raw, but they also show us how the Yoshimi sausage was made. They prove the talent and songwriting that The Lips possess, and that even if you stripped down all of the slick Fridmann production, behind each of these songs are talented and gifted musicians. The best case in point of this statement is the demo “Do You Realize?? (1st Chords Wayne) - Demo” where you hear a solo Coyne beautifully singing and playing guitar and messing up. This track is as captivating and gorgeous on its first take as the final studio version on the album. “Do You Realize” has entered the cultural fabric, and has become a song that now plays at weddings and funerals, and when performed live to thousands of fans tripping on various substances causes them to cry their gazing eyes out with joy and sorrow as their hearts burst out of their chests while embracing their loved ones. Truly a momentous album in American history.