MAIN: LINE

So this mainline Jesus is on, right, what is it actually? I always thought it was about a train, especially with the world of gospel awash with songs about trains. Surely it must be God's preferred form of transport, such is the plethora of references, from the Staples Singers to the Carter Family, each espousing the sure-fire way to heaven is by locomotive. It's an odd idea, given how few were around in nothing A.D., but it seems a good idea. Plus it sort of fits that the journey in the other direction is more often by road, if only to please the optimist in me; more folk fit on a train than a car.

But then I got confused. Mainline is also a word associated with drugs and with addiction. Jesus doesn't have that mainline, does he? Scouring the literature, only a few are saying that. But it is interesting how the imagery continues, the tell-tale signs being also tracks. Few encapsulate it better than these guys. Even the rhythm sounds like a choo-choo. 

Pity we can't ask Lou how, or if, he got to Heaven, in the end, by train. Or did he take a car in the other direction. 

But it seems I got it all wrong. It seems Jesus was on the mainline as in telephone line. Or was, at least, available to take a call. With supportive evidence lobbied. Again it's a rum 'un, wondering how such discussions took place before Alexander Graham Bell. Written, I guess. 

Well, that cleared that up. Little else to say.

Trains or telephones. Or just plain Jesus.

Creepy Crawlies: The Spiderbite Song

The Flaming Lips: The Spiderbite Song

[purchase]

After losing their guitar player, The Flaming Lips were in the most experimental stage of their career. Wayne Coyne famously conducted a symphony of 40 car stereos in a parking lot, and another symphony of people holding boom boxes. They also released Zaireeka, the mammoth set of four-discs designed to be played simultaneously. (Of Zaireeka, Coyne said that they were recording an album that "would be so different and exciting it will either make us millionaires or break us". It did neither.)

About this time, a strange series of events occurred: First, drummer Steven Drozd was apparently bitten by a spider, and his arm was almost needlessly amputated. (There is speculation about the true nature of his injuries, but I've read nothing authoritative). Second, bass player Michael Ivins was in a near fatal, and bizarre, hit and run car accident. Third, Wayne Coyne's father died following a battle with cancer.

Following Zaireeka, The Lips released their critically acclaimed masterpiece, Soft Bulletin, on which we find The Spiderbite Song. The Spiderbite Song beautifully chronicles two of the events that the band faced in the preceding year, and the marriage of Wayne Coyne's brother, Mark.

On a related note: The spider pictured above is a Brown Recluse. I don't recommend it, but if you really want to gross yourself out, do a Google image search for "brown recluse spider bite". Not something you want to have happen to you!

Civics Lessons: Race For The Prize

Flaming Lips: Race For The Prize

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The opening line to the first song on the Flaming Lips' brilliant album, Soft Bulletin is:

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

In the United States we are currently caught in a vibrant debate about the best way to provide health care for the citizens of our country.  Many believe that a laissez-faire approach is appropriate.  They argue that without competition in the market place, prices will rise and quality will be reduced.  Adam Smith, pictured above, argued that when markets are unfettered, an "invisible hand" corrects problems of supply and demand and keeps prices low at the same time.  It is true that the for-profit drug companies in the US produce a hugely disproportionate number of life-saving and life-improving drugs, and this is largely due to the fact that scientist are fighting for patents because patents equate to profits.

The other side argues that health care is a right and that the government can and should direct tax dollars to providing it for the people.  They argue that the whole notion of profit should be removed from the health care system because it is unacceptable for anyone to be left uncared for in a nation as wealthy as ours.

I have no idea what Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips thinks about this subject, but I do know that the sad Nature of Man is that we are generally more likely to be "locked in heated battle" over profits than over "the good of all mankind".  Here's hoping we can all work together to find a solution that works for everyone.  In the meantime, enjoy one of the best opening tracks of the decade of the 90's.

Boats: Evil Will Prevail

The Flaming Lips: Evil Will Prevail

[purchase]

When it comes to the Flaming Lips, I came very late to the game. I don't know how I missed them for so long, but it wasn't until about 3 years ago that my brother recommended Soft Bulletin to me.  That album made me an instant fan.  They are now what I would consider a "top tier" band in my library.

There is a lot of discussion online about the Flaming Lips "saving" rock and roll. I guess the idea is that nothing really interesting, or really unique, has happened since St. Pepper and that rock and roll has become predictable and boring since then. The Flaming Lips are supposed to be the exception to this rule.

This kind of thinking sounds to me more like bloggers who are infatuated with the band using hyperbole to express their undying love for them than it sounds like a real issue with the overall health of the art form. In the end, music should be about the tunes, not about exciting new sounds and technologies and there's nothing more boring than weirdness for its own sake.

But, The Flaming Lips don't do weirdness for it's own sake. This is a band with a real knack for using sounds to communicate in a precise way. They are a band that uses lyric not only to tell stories, but also to produce images and moods. And, most importantly, this is a band that takes melody seriously. Without melody, all of the weirdness, nonconformism, and avant-garde unconventionalism in the world are worthless to me.

So, while I don't think the Lips are saving rock and roll - or even necessarily that it needs saving - I do think that Wayne Coyne and the boys have done some very fine work. And even when they are singing about emotive robots or making four CD's that all have to be played at the same time or using sounds that you may not have heard before in popular music, they always remain substantive and ultimately "musical".

The featured track is a pretty straight-up tune, off of the excellent album Clouds Taste Metallic. The "Mother Ship" that is mentioned in the lyrics is probably a space ship, not a boat, but my thought is that the word "ship" qualifies the song for the week's theme. (And, I like this tune a little better than Abandoned Hospital Ship off the same album).