HiRez Poll Flaming Lips - AT WAR WITH THE MYSTICS [DVD-A]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this new 5.1 HiRez release from the Flaming Lips on Warner Brothers.

Very cool! In the booklet is a section on 5.1 setup, and a 5.1 Map of each tune! These guys know how to do 5.1!! :banana:

Absolutely phenomenal mix, as usual from the Lips. A solid 10 in every category. Love it, love it, love it!

JonUrban said:

Very cool! In the booklet is a section on 5.1 setup, and a 5.1 Map of each tune!

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They did that previously with the Yoshimi and Bulletin DVD-A as well. Glad they keep up the good work

YmSeb said:

They did that previously with the Yoshimi and Bulletin DVD-A as well. Glad they keep up the good work

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Yep! I was just still pleased that they cared enough to do it again!

I am surprised that I am the first to vote on this - I know it just came out on Tuesday, but...anyway, a 10.

I avoided the original stereo release even though it came out months before. Didn't want to be "tired" of the songs when I heard this. It holds up quite well (IMHO) in comparison to Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi both song and sound wise.

As is typical of the Flaming Lips this is a "funhouse mix" which may not work with everyone's music but is a perfect fit for them. Chock full of extras - a great bang for your buck. The bonus version of Bohemian Rhapsody won't make anyone forget Queen - but it's tremendous fun nonetheless.

elmer said:

I am surprised that I am the first to vote on this - I know it just came out on Tuesday

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O.K., I'm going to follow Elmer's lead on this...

I actually had the rare pleasure of WALKING into a store and BUYING this on release day! Remember when that was the only way to buy music? I intentionally didn't pre-order it just so I could have this experience again. :banana:

I gave it a 9, for two reasons: #1) regardless of how great the fidelity is or how great the mix is (both are great here, IMHO), this music simply isn't for everyone. It's somewhat of an acquired taste. Reason #2 is the same, except replace the words "this music" with "Wayne's singing."

I love these guys for their devil-may-care attitude toward music as art. But, I must admit, as I was listening to the outtake of "Goin' On", I couldn't help but think how much more I'd like it if Wayne could sing.

Anyway, back to the mix, if you have "Yoshimi" or "Soft Bulletin," AWWTM is more of the same. For me, 'nuff said. Music was never so much fun to listen to. :banana:

Oh, one more thing. And, honestly, I don't know why I feel compelled to tell you all this, but some of you might want to be forewarned before you watch the "Bleep-Blops". If you've seen the Flaming Lips in concert, you've seen the naked girl dancing video. Well, here you have her dancing through the entire disc! @:

Paul

The surround on the first track is STUNNING and overwhelming. Not for the "anti-gimmick" set! I want to live with this a bit more, but it's a least a 9. I just want to give the music a bit more of a chance. For surround, it's a 10 all the way.

I've been listening more since my last post regarding this disc, and I am finding some really captivating musical moments here. REALLY nice stuff. And, of course, it's flying all over the room.

I wanted to point out, if you didn't catch it by examing the scans at the top of this thread, that they decided to save some space by presenting the surround mixes in 88.2/24, so they could present the outtakes and radio sessions in DVDA 48/24 stereo. That's a fair trade, IMHO, because their extras are usually good.

One more thing - has anyone else noticed how some of their stereo extras are amazing in PL II? Not just on this one, but on Yoshimi and Soft Bulletin as well. Sometimes I have to do a double take because these sound so discrete!

Paul

More great music and another mix for the surround sound time capsule from one of America’s finest working bands. I’m pretty sure it won’t win many new fans, but I don’t think the Lips really care - - which is of course part of their charm. They do what they do, and to those who support them, they again show themselves to be quite generous; once again cramming the dvd with extras.

To expand on a point already made by dr. simple: we have a hi-rez 5.1 disk here which also found room for multiple videos in Dolby surround, hi-rez stereo sessions/outtakes (one of which is even in hi-rez 5.1). Just for comparison’s sake, how come the Lips found a way to pull this off and Bjork couldn’t? (Not to diss Bjork, but this is a good example of the care and value this band puts into its releases).

Also, special props should go to the art direction. For those that own all three surround discs, take look at the consistency of the booklet art, liner notes and dvd menus across the three releases. Jon’s mix-map scan is a great example of this. It’s pretty obvious somebody’s been working overtime on the “vision-thing” - - it’s like a boxed set released over a period of years rather than all at once. Very impressive. (Compare that to say, Porcupine Tree, Barenaked Ladies, Donald Fagen or Beck - - all of whom I like a great deal, but none of whom even use a consistent jewel case across releases).

Lastly, regarding the bleep-blop visualizations, let me first say I enjoyed the ones on the previous releases, but it’s a no-brainer: I give the nod to the very artfully rendered naked dancing girl.

This group really does present their music in great packages that are well thought out and executed. They use and promote surround as well as any group. How about putting as much thought in using a lead singer that could actually sing? The music is a stretch to appeal to anything more than a tiny niche market for all of eternity, but a better singer would sure help. I bought this but haven't even opened it yet. I own but don't ever play the last two Flaming Lips DVD-A's but want to have them to show off since they are internet darlings. Mention The Flaming Lips to anybody I know my age and I get the Flaming what?

Chris

How's the mastering? Is it closer to Yoshimi in loudness or off the charts like Soft Bulletin? Looking forward to this one.

...they decided to save some space by presenting the surround mixes in 88.2/24, so they could present the outtakes and radio sessions in DVDA 48/24 stereo. That's a fair trade, IMHO, because their extras are usually good.

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I think the 88.2 is either the native sampling rate, or they upsampled from 44.1.

Chris Gerhard said:

This group really does present their music in great packages that are well thought out and executed. They use and promote surround as well as any group. How about putting as much thought in using a lead singer that could actually sing? The music is a stretch to appeal to anything more than a tiny niche market for all of eternity, but a better singer would sure help. I bought this but haven't even opened it yet. I own but don't ever play the last two Flaming Lips DVD-A's but want to have them to show off since they are internet darlings. Mention The Flaming Lips to anybody I know my age and I get the Flaming what?

Chris

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Chris:
Thank you for not using the word "novelty" again... and I must agree with you that Wayne isn't a good singer. But I honestly think this band would lose a lot of its charm if anyone else were singing. I take some comfort in the fact that Wayne is the first one to admit he can't sing!

dr. simple said:

Chris:
Thank you for not using the word "novelty" again... and I must agree with you that Wayne isn't a good singer. But I honestly think this band would lose a lot of its charm if anyone else were singing. I take some comfort in the fact that Wayne is the first one to admit he can't sing!

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You are welcome but you used the word. Yes, Wayne has the benefit of being the first to hear himself sing, so he could state the obvious first. Charming is a better word than novelty, but whatever word is used I bet I am not alone in having "it" wear off quickly. I think a good singer could better represent Wayne's vision and overcome the glaring weakness so apparent with repeated listening. Off key singing is charming once but loses that charm over time for me.

Chris

In honor of this slightly "mystifying" thread, I submit the following for your enjoyment. http://youtube.com/watch?v=uJC6GWZGswY

Wayne Coyne's off kilter/key vocals certainly have these "fans" swooning.

I bought this and The Soft Bulletin yesterday, so I'll listen and vote in a bit.

Haven't voted yet, (only listened once all the way through), but the mix is superior to the, at times eccentric and to me unlistenable on a couple of cuts, Soft Bulletin surround mix. The sound isn't as harsh and jarring either. On another topic, Chris...what's the point of buying these if you never play them, and only want to show them off, whatever that means?.

zobalob said:

Haven't voted yet, (only listened once all the way through), but the mix is superior to the, at times eccentric and to me unlistenable on a couple of cuts, Soft Bulletin surround mix. The sound isn't as harsh and jarring either. On another topic, Chris...what's the point of buying these if you never play them, and only want to show them off, whatever that means?.

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Because of the surround mixes and the fact they are interesting for the first couple of listens to me. I don't like everything I own but I either like everything I own really well or it is really unique. These discs are fun to show what surround systems can do, although I will likely stick with this one and Yoshimi primarily for that purpose. The Tipper "Surrounded" DVD-A is another one I like to use for that purpose but don't find much value in the music. It is demo material, although I expect some people will likely scratch their head rather than find it interesting. Long term, I expect I will sell them all because I shouldn't lose too much money. I expect the cult fan status of this group to endure for sometime. I loved Yoshimi the first several times and bought Bulletin before the group grew tiresome for me.

Chris

It took me a long while to get into the original "Soft Bulletin" CD. I bought it originally because it was one of the must-have discs of the year in the British music press but I was disappointed at first and the only reason I kept it was due to the store refusing to exchange it for something else. I guess that this was a stroke of luck because the album really grew on me and I wouldn't part with it today (although the production's a bit too dense and brittle for my taste). I haven't played the new disc enough to really appreciate the songs so from my past experience it will be a while before I can pass judgement on the music but the surround mix is first-rate. It really took me by surprise when the stereo bonus tracks opened up to Dolby 5.1 for "Bohemian Rhapsody".

mattB2 said:

It took me a long while to get into the original "Soft Bulletin" CD. I bought it originally because it was one of the must-have discs of the year in the British music press but I was disappointed at first and the only reason I kept it was due to the store refusing to exchange it for something else. I guess that this was a stroke of luck because the album really grew on me and I wouldn't part with it today (although the production's a bit too dense and brittle for my taste). I haven't played the new disc enough to really appreciate the songs so from my past experience it will be a while before I can pass judgement on the music but the surround mix is first-rate. It really took me by surprise when the stereo bonus tracks opened up to Dolby 5.1 for "Bohemian Rhapsody".

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Yep, some artists and albums are like that. I remember when a friend first got me to listen to Zappa’s “We’re Only In It for the Money” back in the mid-70’s. I thought it was a disjointed piece of junk. Now, I count it among my all-time favorites. (Now there’s an album could sound great in surround!). Similarly, I found NIN’s “Downward Spiral” absolutely unlistenable when it was first released. But then sometime around the late-90’s it finally hit me as a challenging but rewarding listen.- - and the recent surround version is nothing short of jaw-dropping.