A playlist of Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne’s favourite songs
Psychedelic outfit The Flaming Lips have been active for almost 40 years, releasing their eponymous debut EP in 1984. However, things have changed a lot since then. The original line-up saw current lead singer, guitarist and keys player Wayne Coyne relegated to just guitar duties, with his brother Mark taking charge of vocals.
However, when Mark decided to leave the band in 1985, Wayne took over the leading role and has since led the band through an impressive 16 studio albums. Despite a rotation of different members coming and going over the decades, Coyne and multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd are the only two to remain a constant.
The band have been championed for their live shows and bravery in experimenting with new sounds. For example, Zaireeka – their 1997 quadruple album – was designed to be played on four different audio systems so that the discs could be played in various combinations.
Despite moderate media coverage during the 1990s, it wasn’t until the band released The Soft Bulletin in 1999, followed by Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots in 2002, that they really broke through and received wider critical acclaim.
These albums were noted for fusing delicately arranged synths and MIDI keyboards with regular rock instruments. The Soft Bulletin was often labelled as one of the best albums of the whole decade, and Yoshimi was even made into a musical in 2007.
A wide range of artists clearly inspires Flaming Lips’ unique sound. Luckily, Coyne once revealed all of his favourite songs, which give us a greater insight into the kind of music that has influenced him.
Firstly, a classic Beatles track – ‘Tomorrow Never Knows.’ Coyne describes the psychedelic masterpiece as a “fucking weird song” yet also “a fucking great-sounding piece of music.” He also describes the track as a massive influence over The Flaming Lips, who picked it apart to discover how the Beatles made such a great-sounding song.
Next is a slightly unusual pick, Tom Jones’ ‘I Know.’ However, Coyne states that his choice is because “I sometimes do try to wonder ‘How did we get the way we got?’ My mother absolutely loved Tom Jones.” The Perry Como cover was a favourite of Coyne’s as a kid, stating, “on those early records it was the only emotional music that I’ve ever really heard like that.”
Another childhood favourite is ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ by Peter, Paul and Mary. Coyne says, “it’s hard for me to listen to because it’s so sad. It’s so crushing when the little boy leaves the dragon behind, the dragon is left in the cave, and the dragon misses his friend.” Speaking on the song’s composition, Coyne said that the “harmonies and the way that they build it is a simple arrangement, but the way they build that emotion is uncanny.”
Coyne also includes The Psychedelic Furs track ‘Love My Way,’ which he recalls as greatly inspiring to listen to in the early 1980s. He describes the band as having “fucking cool lyrics and a cool mood” as well as being “so weird, but so simple.”
Amongst other favourites of Coyne’s include ‘Without You’ by Harry Nilsson, ‘Catch the Wind’ by Donovan, ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ by Roberta Flack and ‘The Pusher’ by Steppenwolf.
However, the final song he mentions is Louis Armstrong’s classic ‘What a Wonderful World.’ Discussing the iconic track, Coyne said: “I think there’s something in Louis Armstrong […] he’s so optimistic, and he’s got such a weird voice. […] It’s so over the top and so unique. From this song, and then examining Louis Armstrong’s music and his life, it helped us to embrace the idea that a part of music is that it’s just entertainment done by entertainers.”
Wayne Coyne’s favourite songs:
- ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ – The Beatles
- ‘I Know’ – Tom Jones
- ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ – Peter, Paul and Mary
- ‘Love My Way’ – The Psychedelic Furs
- ‘Without You’ – Harry Nilsson
- ‘Catch the Wind’ – Donovan
- ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ – Roberta Flack
- ‘The Pusher’ – Steppenwolf
- ‘What A Wonderful World’ – Louis Armstrong
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