The Flaming Lips release 'Flaming Side Of The Moon;' Wayne Coyne expands "Record Store Tour" west
The Flaming Lips have released a surprise new album, Flaming Side Of The Moon, meant to serve as a companion to Pink Floyd's 1973 classic, The Dark Side Of The Moon. Additionally, frontman Wayne Coyne has added three west coast dates to his ongoing “Record Store Tour,” set to kick off today in Long Beach, Calif.
Though the Lips' first foray into the world of Pink Floyd came in 2009, when they released a track-for-track remake of Dark Side, with help from Stardeath And White Dwarfs, Henry Rollins, and Peaches, Flaming Side Of The Moon is an even more ambitious effort.
The album is designed to be played simultaneously with The Dark Side Of The Moon, and is also carefully crafted to sync up with The Wizard Of Oz (an allegedly unintentional attribute also shared by Dark Side).
Though it is predominately being released only in digital format, 100 vinyl copies of Flaming Side Of The Moon will be distributed to friends and family of the group. You can stream the album below, and you can find The Dark Side Of The Moon on most major music services.
The Flaming Lips put out a similarly ambitious project called Zaireeka in 1997, which consisted of four separate discs meant to be played in four different stereos simultaneously.
Continuing his “Record Store Tour” which began in December in the south and midwest, and continued last month in the northeast, Lips frontman Wayne Coyne has announced a trio of west coast appearances. Just like before, Wayne will be promoting the reissue of The Flaming Lips 1st EP, and will host fan meet and greets and signings. Additionally, the singer will again bring an extremely limited version of the EP to all record store stops, housed in a life-sized, hand-made chocolate skull, which also contains a gold coin, granting access to any headlining Flaming Lips show in the world.
On Wayne's first record store run, we caught up with him in Nashville, Tenn. to chat about the reissues, the band's plans for the new year, and the story behind the chocolate skulls, which Coyne was gracious enough to give us a glimpse of. Check out the APTV interview below:
Here's where you can catch Wayne on the west coast, beginning this afternoon:
March 31 – Fingerprints – Long Beach, CA
April 1 – M-Theory Music – San Diego, CA
April 3 – Aquarius Records – San Francisco, CA
And here's a full list of The Flaming Lips' upcoming tour dates:
May 16-18 – The Hangout Festival – Gulf Shores, AL
May 24 – Cirque Royal Nuits Botanique – Brussels, Belgium
May 26 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh, Scotland
May 27 – O2 Apollo – Manchester, UK
May 28 – O2 Academy Brixton – London, UK
May 29 – Capital FM Arena Nottingham – Nottingham, UK
May 31 – Forbidden Fruit Festival – Dublin, Ireland
June 6-8 – Wakarusa Music Festival – Ozark, AR
June 6-8 – X Games Austin, Austin 360 Ampitheater – Austin, TX
June 10 – The Pageant – St. Louis, MO
June 12 – The Fillmore Detroit – Detroit, MI
June 13-15 – Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival – Manchester, TN
July 13 – Bunbury Music Festival – Cincinnati, OH
Aug 30 – End of the Road Festival – Larmer Tree Gardens, UK
Nov 9 – Iceland Airwaves – Reykjavík, Iceland
