I think you may be onto something here - switching FL with RR on "Race For The Prize" makes it match the stereo mix with the vocals alternating left and right front. It also puts the harmony vocals and distorted drums discrete in the rears.
HiRez Poll Flaming Lips - SOFT BULLETIN [DVD-A]
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I think you may be onto something here - switching FL with RR on "Race For The Prize" makes it match the stereo mix with the vocals alternating left and right front. It also puts the harmony vocals and distorted drums discrete in the rears.
j9
Well-known Member
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Oh wow, I was at that show!
I actually like the tunes on this album a lot--I think of Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi as a matched pair. But yeah...it's crazy loud, and the mix crosses the line from delightfully wacky and eccentric to slightly overboard. I've read that Fridman sort of "studied" under Scheiner on Yoshimi, and he clearly learned some things from the master. But I think he went a little bit nuts on this, his first solo outing. A couple of tracks, though, like "Spiderbite Song" and "Buggin," I think are really good.
Anyway: five bucks!!! And how cool is that ticket stub?
In case anybody missed it: The Lips performed "Race for the Prize" (inside giant bubbles!) on last night's Colbert:
Showing how to have live music and still be safe! lol I wonder how much those bubbles cost? Re-usable? The next essential piece of concert regalia?
The56Kid
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
I need to give Soft Bulletin another listen, but all I recall about my initial listen is the shit, highly compressed DR. Absolutely love Yoshimi, so here’s to Mr. Scheiner yet again!
Sashaaa
Senior Member
One of the very very very very few releases on this site I may give a ten. Because not only do they have to be a 10/10 musically (I've only rated just over 30 albums 10/10 on my rateyourmusic account), they have to have a phenomenal mix, and I will have to say, this is one of em. It's my third favorite album of all time, and this mix totally does it justice. It's inventive, daring and fun as hell. Legitimately makes the music even better (theres only 1 or 2 releases I will say that about). I honestly have no idea why this isn't rated as highly as yoshimi. Sure it's a loud mix, and I hate the loudness war just as much as any of you here, but it's so hard to deny how amazing all of the daring production choices and music is.
I think the main thing that separates this release from yoshimi and at war with the mystics is the music. While I will say that at war with the mystics is incredibly underrated by most of the world and I wholly give the music a 8/10, the mix is still on par with this one (10/10 mix). Similar story wish yoshimi (except it has almost as much love for the music as the soft bulletin), where the music is a 9/10 and the mix is a 10/10. The soft bulletin is perfect musically and I rated the music a 10/10 and the same goes for the mix. The only other albums I can say the same about is async (surround) by ryuichi sakamoto, wish you were here, avalon, and vespertine by bjork.
It's a shame some of the lips' other work, mainly embryonic, wasn't treated with a 5.1 mix (especially since it was released as a stereo dvd-a!).
Phenomenal mix and album
10/10
btw I mentioned my rym account, you can find it here if you'd like: https://rateyourmusic.com/~RelentlesSausage
I think the main thing that separates this release from yoshimi and at war with the mystics is the music. While I will say that at war with the mystics is incredibly underrated by most of the world and I wholly give the music a 8/10, the mix is still on par with this one (10/10 mix). Similar story wish yoshimi (except it has almost as much love for the music as the soft bulletin), where the music is a 9/10 and the mix is a 10/10. The soft bulletin is perfect musically and I rated the music a 10/10 and the same goes for the mix. The only other albums I can say the same about is async (surround) by ryuichi sakamoto, wish you were here, avalon, and vespertine by bjork.
It's a shame some of the lips' other work, mainly embryonic, wasn't treated with a 5.1 mix (especially since it was released as a stereo dvd-a!).
Phenomenal mix and album
10/10
btw I mentioned my rym account, you can find it here if you'd like: https://rateyourmusic.com/~RelentlesSausage
Do watch Baggy's video--and if you're a completist, track down UFOs at the Zoo, Christmas on Mars, and (especially) the VOID video collection.
Sashaaa
Senior Member
I already own yoshimi, soft bulletin, mystics and embryonic on dvd-a. Meant to complete the collection with those but I think I gotta buy those three now
.Also wanted to note that while the embryonic 5.1 mix isn't ultra dynamic by any means, it's not nearly as compressed as the other releases. DR10 from foo_dynamic_range. Not too shabby huh.
EDIT: I did watch baggy's video, really enjoyed it and found it informative.
popshop
800 Club - QQ All-Star
Not to say anyone is right or wrong, but I emailed Flaming Lips manager Scott Booker in January of 2018 about Embryonic:
"Unfortunately, we never did a 5.1 of Embryonic! We would have released it if we did!!
Best,
SDB"
"Unfortunately, we never did a 5.1 of Embryonic! We would have released it if we did!!
Best,
SDB"
I think I gotta buy those three now
You have to be a true fan to sit through Christmas on Mars (at least it can be had for cheap!), but the VOID videos are great....
I think you just have to like quirky B movies. I watch it almost every year in between Halloween and Christmas!
Popcorn box from a screening I saw in a tent at a fest the Lips played summer 08.
Been wondering whether to obtain a copy of this, or not. Quite a few people here and over at Steve Hoffmann have described the mix as sounding distorted and compressed. The original CD from 1999 is very brickwalled. I'm not really a fan of distorted and compressed-sounding music, no matter how adventurous the 5.1 mix is. Otherwise, I absolutely love the album and have done so, since it was NME's Album Of The Year in 1999!
Get it! I think the distortion--on both the stereo and 5.1 versions--was deliberate. It's just part of the band's aesthetic.
The 5.1 is slightly less fatiguing than the stereo, to my ears at least. It’s definitely worth having if you love the album.
The vocals on the first track are way too quiet for me, but it gets better as it goes. The sound is just as grotty as the stereo.
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Somewhat ashamed to admit that I am only discovering this album now - and actually worked “She Don’t Use Jelly” as a Warner Bros Records promo mgr - but left WB. just before this album came out.
Startling on every level - majestic and intimate at the same time. The mere fact it exists in surround makes it a 10 all the way
Startling on every level - majestic and intimate at the same time. The mere fact it exists in surround makes it a 10 all the way
Update: just rummaged through some old stuff and realized I must have gotten an advance copy of this just before I left but never listened to it…like a schmuckSomewhat ashamed to admit that I am only discovering this album now - and actually worked “She Don’t Use Jelly” as a Warner Bros Records promo mgr - but left WB. just before this album came out.
Startling on every level - majestic and intimate at the same time. The mere fact it exists in surround makes it a 10 all the way
Update: just rummaged through some old stuff and realized I must have gotten an advance copy of this just before I left but never listened to it…like a schmuck
Very interesting. Are you still in the music industry (if you don't mind my asking)?
