by RAF KATIGBAK

From their awkward acid punk youth spent listening to the Bee Gees and opening for Black Flag, to their four-CD Zaireeka project, to their epic effort The Soft Bulletin and their latest, Grammy-winning album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Oklahoma City's the Flaming Lips have spent nearly two decades keeping people guessing. Add to that their twisted take on pop culture - backing Beck, covering Kylie, appearing on Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed, and in Coyne's own filmic adventure Christmas on Mars (due for completion this Christmas), not to mention battling Toronto's tourist woes alongside the Rolling Stones - and Wayne Coyne, Steve Drozd and Michael Ivins are living proof that the only way to do something original is to do something you really love. The Mirror got some Lips from singer Wayne Coyne.

Mirror: So I gotta ask, how was "SARS-stock"?

Wayne Coyne: It was comparable to having sex for the first time. It's a big build-up and only afterwards do you realize what's happened. In the middle, you can't soak in what's going on, then it goes by really quick and before you know it, you're packing the truck and looking for a bathroom.

M: Wow, that does sound like my first time having sex. There was quite a contrast between your show and the Stones.

WC: Sometimes bands like the Rolling Stones are relegated to playing the same, 30-year-old songs - which is great. But I'm glad we've got people asking us, "What are you doing tomorrow?" So far, we've enjoyed the freedom of being in the times.

M: It's almost been two decades of steady rockin' it - what's been the major impetus for change?

WC: After The Soft Bulletin, we realized we weren't gonna be one of those bands that sells records - we actually thought that was gonna be our last record. So we figured no one else would care about this but us, so why don't we do exactly what we feel like doing? Little by little I got over being insecure and worrying about being cool, which only restricts people. Now I'd rather make an utter fool of myself but be honest and do what I really believe in.

Like a prayer

M: It seems, over the years, like your lyrics have gotten simpler and your music has become more complex.

WC: That's really the power of building the atmosphere around the sentiment. The lyrics by themselves might seem too blunt and too bleak, but sometimes you can just say one word and with the right music and atmosphere, it can represent the whole Bible if you want it to. When you're young, you enjoy outer experiences and when you're older you get to thinking about inward experiences. When we were 25, we wanted to talk about Evil Knievel and UFOs, and when I was 45, I started thinking about the Evil Knievels and UFOs inside my mind.

M: I get the sense that pushing the envelope is more of an afterthought for you guys.

WC: That's very true. It comes from an inner longing rather than a desire to be progressive. Purposely pushing the envelope makes for really boring, nothing music. You have to be speaking from some sort of inner despair. Playing or making music is like praying. You're reaching out to the universe for some solution, for some answer, but you create a question that comes back to you, and sometimes hearing your own question is a kind of answer. It keeps you longing and satisfies you at the same time.

Pop goes the world

M: Your Kylie cover rules. What do you think of the current state of pop?

WC: It seems that personality and the way people look in pictures is almost more important than the music. To me, that's not bad news, that's good news! I think that people don't realize how freaky people like Puff Daddy or NERD or Missy Elliot are. Some of that music is just the weirdest shit, and here it is being played on MTV all the time! Most people write it off, going, "Oh this is just stuff for kids," or "They're just putting some gal with big breasts on the video" - so what! You can still hear the music and hear the ideas.

M: And women with big breasts isn't necessarily a bad thing.

WC: Exactly. People always pick on whatever's popular, thinking it must be the lowest common denominator, and I say that's too simplified.

M: You've always put a lot of effort into your shows. Right now, you're rocking the films/balloons/confetti/big furry suits vibe - where does this all come from?

WC: It's mostly because we don't have any particular skills - and I don't mean that to be humble. My singing heroes were Gibby Haynes from the Butthole Surfers and Johnny Rotten - these guys can't actually sing, they were just weirdoes who decided one day that they would sing. I never thought that people should pay money to see me sing. So we don't sing very well and we don't dance, so we figured, fuck we gotta do something.

M: So what would the ultimate Flaming Lips show be like?

WC: Well, we've always liked the idea of building a stage that would slowly creep out and crush the audience at the biggest crescendo moment. At the end of the last encore, the crowd would be in worship mode and you'd see confetti and balloons falling from the ceiling as the stage crushes you - you're killed at the moment of ecstasy. No, the best thing about what we do is that it's really nothing, but, in the right atmosphere, it can become magical. Even if we had a million dollars, I don't think we could get something better than what we have, but I'll certainly keep trying. Maybe I could have a couple of laser beam guns shooting out of my forehead or something.

All ages show with Mt. Egypt and Blood Thirsty Lovers at Metropolis on Wednesday, August 13, 7pm, $29.50

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