You know, I never really thought Yoshimi was all that great, so we will see how I feel about this one.

Sound of failure & ambulance driver & YYY Song are def. in my top 10 fav. songs right about now.

Pompeii am Goetterdaemmerung's been creeping into my subconscious, I think. Woke up with that in my head at least twice this week.

Yeah, I almost feel like I'll be buying this out of obligation. I'm not too excited about it.

I've listen to it once, and I did really enjoy parts of it. There are just a lot of other things that I'd really like to pick up (I'm gonna be keeping an eye out for decent prices on those Eno/Cluster reissues), and I'm not sure when I'll ever feel like forking my money over for this. Maybe this weekend if it's on sale somewhere or comes with any extras.

This album finally hit me yesterday. Hard.

I think it was listening to it through headphones.

It's really good. I'm still not hot on certain tracks but the ones that are awesome are absolutely awesome. "The Wizard Turns On..." with headphones is a fucking ride and a half. "It Overtakes Me" is ill. There are a couple of stinkers, but they're not even really that terrible (The Sound of Failure, Mr. Ambulance Driver for example.

Wow, I don't understand how someone could like any of this album and not like "Sound of Failure". Easily the best song.

All of the others aside from "Pompeii" have some - at the very least - mildly annoying aspects to them. I think "Free Radicals" and "It Overtakes Me" are probably my least favorite.

i used to love free radicals but now the annoying stuff has taken over. there's no way at all "sound of failure" is the best song. that's absurd; have you heard "wizard turns on" or "goin on"

Good grief, dude, "Sound Of Failure" is like the best Neil Young song you're gonna hear this year not by Neil.

I guess I'll go ahead and post my thoughts at length on this album.

I don't expect everyone to agree that "Sound of Failure" is the best song, but IMO it's the only one that comes close to their past glories. It doesn't really sound much like anything they've done before, but it exhibits their old playfulness and keen melodic sense better than anything else on the record. "Pompeii" is really cool, too, but it's a pretty blatant ripoff of "One of These Days". I really like "Vein of Stars" a lot, too, but it's kind of just a more straightforward and literal version of a few of their older songs, both in lyrical theme and melody. "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" is fun, but borders on being way too goofy. "Mr. Ambulance Driver" is alright, and I actually like it a lot more in the context of this album than when I first heard it last year.

It seems really odd to me that you would pick out "The Wizard Turns On..." or "Goin' On" as highlights. "The Wizard" is just a passable instrumental exercise with a few cool spacey effects. It's an interlude. And yes, I've listened to it on headphones a few times, but there's nothing really memorable or emarkable about it, IMO. "Goin On" is OK, certianly not one of the worst songs. I just don't understand why you would pick that one out from all of the others, especially if you were to put these up against the Lips' entire catalog.

Of the remaining songs, "My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion" and "The W.A.N.D." are decent enough. Neither one has really managed to stick with me, but they're enjoyable when I'm listening to them. "Free Radicals", "It Ovetakes Me", and "Haven't Got a Clue", however, are pretty bad. All have some aspects that seriously annoy me, and two of them are clumsy, preachy garbage. Those three songs often make me reluctant to listen to the album (I hate skipping tracks).

On the whole, I think it's their weakest record since Telepathic Surgery, but there are enough parts about it that I enjoy to keep me listening to it for a while.

I don't think we're really very far apart in our opinions on this record.



This is basically exactly what I would write about the album except the three songs that make me reluctant to listen to it are "Haven't Got A Clue," "Cosmic Autumn Rebellion," and I guess "WAND" for its lyrics. I'm reluctant to put "Sound of Failure" because of how highly it seems you think of it, but it's just not compelling at all to me.

The thing about Goin' On is that it has the same kind of vibe as "Do You Realize" and "Fight Test." It's just a really sweet song with a nice message. The melody is just so floaty and nice. I can't help but love it. It's nothing groundbreaking, innovative, or even terribly cool, but it just works.

The problem with this album is that it sounds cool enough but when I listen the lyrics, I cringe. This especially happens on "Sound of Failure" "WAND" and above all "Haven't Got A Clue."

I really like "It Overtakes Me." Well perhaps "really like" is too strong, but with regard to this specific album, it's one of my preferred tracks. It just works...and I love the (I don't know what term to use but) bridge-ish part with the "You know that it isn't real" lyric. I like that simple guitar part behind it. It just does something for me. And I like the instrumental aftermath a lot more than on "Sound of Failure."

The Wizard turns on is much more than an interlude for me. It would be a turning point on the CD if it were actually good...a kind of separator (sp) between the a-side and b-side a la "Fitter Happier" or something. Like I said about something else, it just does a lot for me. It arouses whatever that feeling is inside that says "I like this music." I think the fact that it's instrumental helps a lot because I'm not a big fan of Wayne's lyrics on this one.

"Vein of Stars" is very meh for me and I'm tempted to lump "Sound of Failure" in with it. They both sound kind of similar to my ears. I'm listening to it again right now to see if I'm way off-base. It has a similar feel. The lyric "So go tel Britney and go tell Gwen" makes me cringe so freaking much. I hate the chorus too...especially the instrumentation. That annoying effect thing in the background I could seriously do without. The melody is irritating. This song sucks. I would apply this quote to Sound of Failure before any other on this album except maybe "Haven't Got A Clue."

"Free Radicals" is at least fun even though it wears thin very very quickly. On my first listen it was my favorite song on the album.

I agree with your closing statement though. Weakest record in a long time, but a few songs keep me coming back. For me those songs are "It Overtakes Me," "Wizard Turns On", and "Goin On."

I'm sorry the lyrics make you cringe. I think they're both sweet and angry. I like them.

It's that problem I have where I hate American Idol and things that are "sweet."

I think though, that I love "Goin' On" for the same reason you guys love "Sound of Failure."

giving this another go. same meh-ish feelings about the first two tracks and disdain for "the sound of failure"

we'll see if it picks up

Dude, you're not a sentimental man are you?
I don't mean schmaltzy, but tender-hearty-like. If you gave it a try, those ulcers might clear up.

i'm a tenderhearted guy. i tear up quite often during touching scenes in movies, or even certain stories on the news. i just can't stand bullshit. "sound of failure" is bullshit.

Strangely enough, I was listening to this album when I was really crunching hard on a deadline, at the end of an incredibly shitty work week, and "Haven't Got a Clue" came on. The whole lyric of "Every time you state your case, the more I want to punch your face" totally epitomized how I felt at that very moment. And for that, it made me smile. So I can't hate that song, because there are so many people here I'd love to punch in the face.

Really? I think the "Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" is the feelgood anthem of the forthcoming summer.

"Free Radicals" kinda reminds me of Ween's "Chocolate and Cheese" in a good way. In fact, a few songs on this record give me a nice Ween vibe.

sometimes i get really into yeah yeah yeah. it's kind of just an explosion of joy. sometimes i'm not in the mood for it and it doesn't do much for me.

"free radicals" in the beginning was my favorite song on the album. never really listened to ween (only thing i can i've heard is phish cover "roses are free") but i used to love that song a lot. but honestly now, it just seems pretty shallow to me and what i used to like about it (the sparse appearances of those cool guitar lines) don't quite do it as much for me, and it's clear how i feel about "sound of failure"