Staring at Sound: The True Story of Oklahoma's Fabulous Flaming Lips - Paperback

by DeRogatis (Author)

An engrossing and intimate portrait of the Oklahoma-based psychedelic pop band the Flaming Lips, cult heroes to millions of indie-rock fans.

In July 2002, the Flaming Lips released an ambitious album called Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, which 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 career (which, in reality, began in 1983) and the many colorful personalities in their orbit, especially Wayne Coyne, their charismatic and visionary founder. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with the band, it follows the Flaming 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. It concludes with exclusive coverage of the creation of the group's latest album, At War with the Mystics.

Front Jacket

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.

Author Biography

Jim DeRogatis is the pop music critic at the Chicago Sun-Times. Together with Greg Kot, rock critic at the Chicago Tribune and author of Wilco: Learning How to Die, he is the host of Sound Opinions, "the world's only rock and roll talkshow," which is now broadcast on Public Radio. He is the author of Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America's Greatest Rock Critic (Broadway Books, 2000), among other books.