The Ping - The Soft Bulletin

It's not often you come across entire albums that just set your ears ablaze with psychedelic sounds and symphony while presenting a truly relaxing and full sound that makes you feel like you're in a cosmic daydream. That sentence said a lot. And it no where near describes the true feelings of listening to The Soft Bulletin by the Flaming Lips.

Like Dark Side of the Moon, this album (for me) requires listening from beginning to end when it hits the iPod. Wayne Coyne leads the charge here as the mastermind behind it all. He throws beautiful symphonic sounds, truly odd lyrics and an overall delightful sound at you with vocals that allow you to sing along.

The group hit the top 40 back in 1993 when they had some popular radio success with the tune "She Don't Use Jelly". If you remember that song, forget it completely. Pretend you've never even heard of the Flaming Lips. You know nothing and have heard nothing. Go to your library or a store and find The Soft Bulletin. My favorite tunes are "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate" (lovely and ethereal) and "What Is the Light?" (upbeat and catchy).

Make it your personal soundtrack for a week and then let's talk about how you feel. The answer will be "better". Then you'll thank me.

The Ping - Spirit of Eden

This is my first post since May of this same year. About 5 months have passed and I've had plenty to write about, but no inclination to blog it to you fine folks...until now.

Recently I was handed a link to a review of a record I'd never heard of, recorded by a group I had only briefly heard about year ago. Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk is what stirred me out of my blog coma. It needs to be shared. Give it a few listens and you'll understand why. I'll include the link to the review later in this post, but read it after I've waxed a while here, please.

My life, like all lives, is full of personal moments either driven from deep introspection or purely out of external stimulus. I'm referring to those moments you have to yourself when you think about things only you think about (the internal) or when you sit reconsidering your role in an event in your life (the external). I have a second child on the way so I'm starting to rediscover some of the more beauteous things in life that I'll get to share with my son when he's born. I also think about what lies ahead for my 3 year old daughter as she grows into this crazy world. I think about the grief I've felt as far back as 10 years ago when I lost a dear great-grandmother while studying overseas. My own personal reflection, appreciation and remembrance

Often times when I'm deep within these moments, I might think of a song I've heard recently to provide a soundtrack to my introspection. Until last week, I had no idea Mark Hollis and the gents from Talk Talk had written a beautiful epic soundtrack for such occasions. When I listen to this album, I see things so much more clearly in my mind. I'm taken to emotions that I hadn't experienced before while daydreaming of these same episodes all those countless times in the past.

The music is truly personal with mysterious lyrics at times and an even more mysterious, airy sound. It's a progressive composition not fit for live performances, which was exactly what the band conveyed to their label (EMI) at the time. The band holed up in an abandoned church and didn't emerge until they had laid down six complete tracks exploring the spaces of rhythm and melody rarely revealed in records of their day back in 1988. The album is a departure from the popular record and, while elevating them to some higher plane of their own musical existence, it turned into a swan song for the group. I don't believe they ever recorded together again, nor do I believe they should have. The greatest thing an artist can do after such an accomplishment is walk away. The world would know little about them or the album on the larger stage of popular music, but Spirit of Eden would stand as their lasting legacy left to be discovered by those who look hard enough. If you go in search of beauty, you will eventually be rewarded.

Create upon my flesh
Create a home within my head
Take my freedom for giving me a sacred love
--from the song "Wealth"

The aforementioned review is one that is deeply personal and could not possibly have told the story of the album any better. It's incredible, in my opinion. Read this outstanding review of Spirit of Eden.

After you read it, go find the record at a store or at your local library. Listen to it when you have time to spend with it. You won't be disappointed. I'd like to thank Chris for sharing this with me. As silly as it may sound, it has changed me as a fan of music.