PPPrrrrrappappa prrrrappappappappa ppprrrrrappappa prrrrappappappappa...
e poi comincia quella meraviglia di canzone che si chiama "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate", quella meraviglia di canzone che prima mi ha sedotto, poi mi ha costretto all'ascolto, infine mi ha spezzato il cuore, troncato il fiato, rapito il cervello. Quella meraviglia di canzone che, verosimilmente, mi ha disintegrato.
Solo le orecchie, aggrappate alle cuffie, si sono salvate. Una canzone che a molti sembrerà nothing special, ma che per me è una delle possibili risposte alla domanda: perchè ami la musica?

"Feeling Yourself Disintegrate", nel momento stesso in cui mi ipnotizzò, 3 anni fa, riuscì a impedirmi ogni altra attività fisica o cerebrale per giorni e giorni, come molte altre grandissime songs. Mi viene in mente, tanto per citarne un'altra, "Under The Milky Way" dei Church... ma questa è un'altra storia.

The Soft Bulletin, uscito nel '99, ha vissuto da subito all'ombra di questa canzone, per me, nonostante sia per intero un capolavoro.
Ascoltarlo equivale ad osservare da un treno in movimento paesaggi illuminati, pieni di vita e di colore.
La voce inconfondibile di Wayne Coyne sorvola queste campagne con la leggerezza di uno stormo di rondini. È una voce vera, toccante, spesso stonata, come piace al Condor (che domenica 9/2 è tornato a volare con una doppietta).
E tutti gli strumenti danno l'impressione di suonare allo stesso modo, creando una simbiosi perfetta, gli archi con i bassi, le chitarre con il piano, tastiere, xilofono.

I Flaming Lips in questo disco (più che nell'ultimo Yoshimi...) riescono nel loro intento di proporre un suono più naturale e spontaneo possibile. Un suono lo-fi, e melodie bucoliche, ma a mio avviso meno stucchevoli di quelle dei Mercury Rev, con i quali i Flaming Lips hanno molto in comune, a partire dal produttore, Dave Fridmann.

Le canzoni hanno il potere di ronzare nella testa di chi le ascolti per lungo tempo, e penso al micidiale avvio con "Race For The Prize", o magari a "Waitin' For A Superman". A volte si lasciano andare a spasimi infantili, che piombano inaspettati alle nostre orecchie, ma le accarezzano, perchè quel basso, quella chitarra, quella voce sono magici, e conservano sempre il loro timbro, così dolce e sensibile.
E anche i momenti riflessivi, gli spazi vuoti - una delle caratteristiche preminenti del disco - riescono ad essere emozionanti.

Ecco perchè il sottobosco mondiale della musica li considera un gruppo di culto.

Elenco tracce testi samples e video

01   Race for the Prize (Mokran mix) (04:08)

02   A Spoonful Weighs a Ton (03:32)

And though they were sad they rescued everyone
They lifted up the sun
A spoonful weighs a ton
Giving more than they had
The process had begun
A million came from one
The limits now were none
Being drunk on their plan, they lifted up the sun
Forcing it off with their hands
The trap door came undone
Above our heads it swung
The privilege had been won
Being drunk on their plan, they lifted up the sun
Yelling as hard as they can
The doubters all were stunned
Heard louder than a gun
The sound they made was love

03   The Spark That Bled (05:54)

I accidentally touched my head
and noticed that it had been bleeding
for how long i did not know.
What was this, I thought, that struck me?

What kind of weapons have they got?
the softest bullet ever shot...

I stood up and I said yeah!!
I stood up and i said yeah
I stood up and i said Hey, Yeah!

From this moment on
blaring like a trumpet
comin from above us
and somewhere below

the confidence of knowing

decsending to relieve us
of the struggle to believe its so

I stood up and i said yeah
I spoke up and i said Hey
I stood up and i said hey yeah

And it seemed to cause a chain reaction
It had momentum it was gaining traction
it was all the rage it was all the fashion
the outreached hands had resigned themselves to

holding on to something that they never had

and thats too bad
'cause in reality there was no reaction

i accidentally touched my head
and saw that it was bleeding
for how long i did not know.

04   The Spiderbite Song (04:01)

When you got that spiderbite on your hand
I thought we would have to break up the band
To lose your arm would surely upset your brain
The poison then could reach your heart from a vein

I was glad that it didn't destroy you
How sad that would be
Cos if it destroyed you
It would destroy me

When you had that accident in your car
That whole thing just really seemed too bizarre
Dodging holes and telephone poles through the dash
A million to one that you could survive such a crash

I was glad that it didn't destroy you
How sad that would be
Cos if it destroyed you
It would destroy me

When you fell in love it was so sweet
So devoted, completely swept off your feet
Love is the greatest thing our heart can know
But the hole that it leaves in its absence can make you feel so low

I was glad that it didn't destroy you
How sad that would be
Cos if it destroyed you
It would destroy me

05   Buggin' (Mokran mix) (03:16)

06   What Is the Light? (04:04)

what is the light
that you have
shining all around you?
Is it chemically derived?

Cause if it's natural,
something glowing from inside
shining all around you
it's potential has arrived

Love is the place
that you're drawn to.
Looking into space
it surrounds you.
Love is that face
that you're drawn to

What is the light
that you have
shining all around you?
is it chemically derived?

07   The Observer (04:11)

THE OBSERVER

(instrumental)

08   Waitin' for a Superman (04:17)

Asked you a question
I didn't need you to reply
Is it gettin' heavy?
But they'll realize
Is it gettin' heavy?
Well I thought it was already as heavy
As can be

Is it overwhelming
To use a crane to crush a fly?
It's a good time for Superman
To lift the sun into the sky

'Cause it's gettin' heavy
Well I thought it was already as heavy
As can be

Tell everybody
Waitin' for Superman
That they should try to hold on
Best they can
He hasn't dropped them
Forgot them
Or anything
It's just too heavy for Superman to lift

Is it gettin' heavy?
Well I thought it was already as heavy as can be.

Tell everybody
Waitin' for Superman
That they should try to hold on
Best they can
He hasn't dropped them
Forgot them
Or anything
It's just too heavy for Superman to lift

09   Suddenly Everything Has Changed (03:54)

Putting all the vegetables away,
That you bought at the grocery store today,
And it goes fast,
You think of the past,

Suddenly everything has changed,

Driving home the sky accelerates,
And the clouds all form a geometric shape,
And it goes fast,
You think of the past,

Suddenly everything has changed,

Putting all the clothes you washed away,
As you're folding up the shirts you hesitate,
Then it goes fast,
Think of the past,

Suddenly everything has changed

10   The Gash (04:02)

Is that gash in your leg
Really why you have stopped?
‘Cause I’ve noticed all the others
Though they’re gashed, they’re still going
‘Cause I feel like the real reason
That you’re quitting, that you’re admitting
That you’ve lost all the will to battle on

Will the fight for our sanity
Be the fight of our lives?
Now that we’ve lost all the reasons
That we thought that we had

Still the battle that we’re in
Rages on till the end
With explosions, wounds are open
Sights and smells, eyes and noses
But the thought that went unspoken
Was understanding that you’re broken
Still the last volunteer battles on

Battles on
Battles on

11   Feeling Yourself Disintegrate (05:17)

Love in our life is just too valuable
Oh, to feel for even a second without it
But life without death is just impossible
Oh, to realize something is ending within us
Feeling yourself disintegrate

12   Sleeping on the Roof (03:09)

This song has no lyrics.

13   Race for the Prize (04:18)

Two scientists were racing
For the good of all mankind
Both of them side by side
So Determined

Locked in heated battle
For the cure that is their prize
But it's so dangerous
But they're determined

Theirs is to win
If it kills them
They're just humans
With wives and children

Upwards to the vanguard
Where the pressure is too high
Under the microscope
Hope against hope

Forging for the future
But to sacrifice their lives
Both of them side by side
So determined

Theirs is to win
If it kills them
They're just humans
With wives and children

Theirs is to win
It will kill them
They're just humans
With wives and children

14   Waitin' for a Superman (Mokran mix) (04:19)

Carico i commenti...  con calma

Altre recensioni

Di  zaireeka

 E' notte. Ora la banda dorme serena sui tetti, qualcuno russa una melodiosa ninna-nanna alle stelle.

 Love in our life is just too valuable... But life without death is just impossible.