Ever since I saw The Flaming Lips on Sunday night, I’ve been obsessed with their song, “Drug Chart.” The song was a mystery to me at the show, so afterwords I did a little research and found out the song was part of their Gummy Skull series. Part awesome limited-edition packaging, part thumbing of the proverbial-nose at modern music distribution, The Flaming Lips put out some songs on a USB encased in a life-sized candy replica of a human skulls. They’ve been charging a few hundred bucks per skull and only made a small quantity, which is super-cool if you were a bit well-off and able to buy one. I’d heard of this project, but didn’t realized they’d been doing it for more than one song release. Apparently they put out a bunch of music this way back in 2011.
“To listen, or not to listen…that is your question!”
Thus, the reason I was totally bewildered by “Drug Chart” on Sunday, was because it was a very limited released song. It’s a strange song and an even stranger choice for the band to play live (especially at a festival). The song opens with a hypnotic drum roll and anemic baseline. Just when you’re nice and lulled, Wayne starts coo-ing about a litany of drugs, including marijuana and crystal meth. Does that sound incredibly stupid to you? It kinda is…but for some reason, I fucking love this song. I can’t even explain why I love, because I can barely understand it.
The mysterious quality to the song is appealing. But it’s more than that. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I wish I could read the lyrics, but alas I have been unable to find them online (I will be your best friend forever if you find them). I guess it’s just as well, I’m sure I’d be disappointed if I was able to decode the song properly. For now I’m content to let the mystery wash over me: I’ve been listening to it on repeat and enjoying the rush.
If you’re a bit of a freak, youu can listen to the song:
And if you decided you want to take multiple “trips” like I’ve been doing…you can go here and download the whole thing for free, along with all the other Gummy Skull songs. You can even download the song “7 Skies H3” a 24-song(!).
Defending Axl Rose 