The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips Album: “At War with the Mystics [CD & DVD]”

Album Information :

Title:

At War with the Mystics [CD & DVD]

Release Date:2006-04-04

Type:Unknown

Genre:Classic Rock, Indie Rock, Mood Swing

Label:Warner Bros.

Explicit Lyrics:Yes

UPC:075994414126

Track Listing :
1 - 1	Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
1 - 2	Free Radicals Video
1 - 3	Sound of Failure/It's Dark... Is It Always This Dark??
1 - 4	My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion Video
1 - 5	Vein of Stars Video
1 - 6	Wizard Turns On...
1 - 7	It Overtakes Me/The Stars Are So Big...I Am So Small...Do I Stand a C
1 - 8	Mr. Ambulance Driver Video
1 - 9	Haven't Got a Clue Video
1 - 10	W.A.N.D.
1 - 11	Pompeii am Götterdämmerung Video
1 - 12	Goin' On Video
2 - 13	Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (2.0 Stereo)
2 - 14	Free Radicals (2.0 Stereo)
2 - 15	Sound of Failure/It's Dark... Is It Always This Dark?? (5.1 Surround)
2 - 16	My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion (2.0 Stereo)
2 - 17	Vein of Stars (2.0 Stereo)
2 - 18	Wizard Turns On... (2.0 Stereo)
2 - 19	It Overtakes Me/The Stars Are So Big...I Am So Small...Do I Stand a C
2 - 20	Mr. Ambulance Driver (2.0 Stereo)
2 - 21	Haven't Got a Clue (2.0 Stereo)
2 - 22	W.A.N.D. (2.0 Stereo)
2 - 23	Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung (2.0 Stereo)
2 - 24	Goin' On (2.0 Stereo)
2 - 25	Why Does It End? (2.0 Stereo)(Outtake)
2 - 26	You Gotta Hold On (2.0 Stereo)(Outtake)
2 - 27	Your Face Can Tell the Future (2.0 Stereo)(Outtake)
2 - 28	Gold in the Mountain of Our Madness (2.0 Stereo)(Outtake)
2 - 29
2 - 30	Bohemian Rhapsody (2.0 Stereo)(Outtake)
2 - 31
2 - 32
2 - 33
2 - 34
2 - 35
2 - 36
2 - 37	Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (2.0 Stereo)
2 - 38	Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (2.0 Stereo)
2 - 39	Mr. Ambulance Driver (2.0 Stereo)
2 - 40	Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (2.0 Stereo)
2 - 41	W.A.N.D. (2.0 Stereo)(Mix)
2 - 42	2006 Classen High Commencement Speech (5.1 Surroun [5.1 Surround)

Review - :

Since 1999's {^The Soft Bulletin}, {$the Flaming Lips} have issued an album once every three or four years -- roughly once per presidential term, making {^At War with the Mystics} the second album they've made during {%George W. Bush}'s presidency. While {^Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots}' themes of seizing the moment and accepting mortality could easily be read as a reaction to 9/11, {^At War with the Mystics} is a more overtly timely album for the early 2000s, dealing with the motivation behind the war in Iraq and {%Bush}'s presidency. By grappling with heavy subjects like these, it could seem that {$the Flaming Lips} are taking their role as one of America's most prominent and beloved {\alternative rock} bands too seriously, but {^Mystics}' light touch shows that they can still be important without being self-important. In fact, the album's most pointed tracks are the most playful. As they did on {^Yoshimi}'s {&"Fight Test,"} {$the Lips} couch their aggression in bouncy melodies and playful production tricks. With its robotic {\doo wop} vocals and strummy acoustic guitars, {&"Yeah Yeah Yeah Song"} -- which asks its listeners if they could do any better if they were handed all the power in the world -- sounds oddly like a {$Paul Simon} song updated for the 21st (or maybe even 22nd) century. {&"Free Radicals,"} which sounds like {$Prince} via {$Beck} with a dash of {$Daft Punk}, and {&"Haven't Got a Clue,"} which boasts the refrain "Every time you state your case, the more I want to punch your face," get their points across emphatically -- almost too emphatically, actually, for as catchy as these songs are, they don't really expand on their thoughts or sounds much. However, the middle section of {^At War with the Mystics} is expansive and intimate at the same time, like many of {$the Flaming Lips}' best moments have been. {&"My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion"} and {&"Vein of Stars"} play like updates of {^The Soft Bulletin}'s effortless, weightless beauty, and {&"The Sound of Failure"} is a reminder that it's OK to be sad sometimes (while getting in digs at the {\teen pop} platitudes of {$Britney Spears} and {$Gwen Stefani}) set to a gorgeous backdrop of {\soft rock} flutes and guitars and twittering electronics. This stretch of songs plays almost like a suite, which ties right in with {^At War with the Mystics}' {\prog rock} leanings. {$Pink Floyd} is a major influence on the entire album: {&"The Wizard Turns On..."} is a spacy, late-night instrumental that could easily be synched to {#The Wizard of Oz}, while {&"Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung"} also taps into {$Floyd}'s elaborate, epic power. These trippy moments make {^At War with the Mystics} the most {\psychedelic} and least immediate album {$the Flaming Lips} have done in a long, long time, and the way that {^Mystics} bounces back and forth between its ethereal and zany moments gives it a disjointed, uneven feel that makes the album a shade less satisfying than either {^Yoshimi} or {^Soft Bulletin}. Still, as standout tracks like {&"Mr. Ambulance Driver"} and {&"Goin' On"} show, the band is still fighting the good fight and confronting the bad things in life with hope, optimism, and just the right amount of (magical) realism. [This CD/DVD edition features outtakes, radio sessions and video extras, in addition to the 5.1 Surround mixes of the standard album tracks.] ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide


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