Never Really listened to the Lips before i saw this
Only song i had ever heard was she dont use jelly, this film has made me become a pretty big fan i totally recommend it
shareOnly song i had ever heard was she dont use jelly, this film has made me become a pretty big fan i totally recommend it
shareI'm the exact opposite, I was a huge fan until I saw this film.
share[deleted]
Hmmmm, well it's like this, the film touches on drug addiction throughout the film as sort of a touchstone, and Wayne almost seems to pride himself on this whole notion of having been there done that (who hasn't really), yet he is surrounds himself with drug addicts and is complacent about it, he acts dismissive about his crackhead neighbors, and while Steven is battling his demons he turns a blind eye and yet uses him for many of the great ideas that end up on his albums, because lets face it they are Wayne's albums, he comes off as a control freak always trying to prove something, the music didn't seem like it was coming from a genuine place to me after seeing this. For some reason I thought there was some deep tortured artist deep down, but in reality it really doesn't appear that way, he seems more like an Andy Warhol, trying to get his ideas from others, after seeing the film I felt I could begin to understand why Ron Jones left the band. I guess I could probably explain this better I'm in sort of a rush, it just really bummed me out, I've lost my own loved ones to addiction so it's not like I'm coming from this totally naive place. When you're in a position of power there are things you can do, and by that I mean just not turning such the blind eye and priding yourself off of the past that has clearly damaged so many closely surrounding him, it felt so irresponsible and almost souless. I mean I know he's just a lead singer in a band I shouldn't expect him to be larger than life or something, but for some reason I guess I expected more. It all makes more sense in a way after watching some of the self indulgent stunts they did back in the day, yeah I went to a bar to hear all those cd's played at once, I felt sort of bamboozled then, but even more so now, it felt like it was really phony watching it come together in the documentary, phonier than I had previously realized. I don't know if I'm making total sense, but that's the gist, an overall big disappointment for me, excuse all the run-on sentences.
shareDo you think that seeing what Steven went through changed his attitude at all? I just always figured that Wayne didn't care if others chose to do drugs, it was just something that he didn't like to personally engage in. I got the impression that his being there when heroin almost destroyed Steven's life made him realize that there was more to it than it being a simple lifestyle choice.
In case, I'm sorry about your change of heart. The Flaming Lips rock my socks and I hope you experience that happiness either with the Lips or without them.
While I'll admit that my impression of Wayne has changed over the years, I don't believe that (just because he was at one time) he was always purposely avoidant of Steven's addiction.
I have only seen the film once, but after seeing this and having read "Staring at Sound", I walked away with the impression that Wayne once ignored it, but later on realized that it was going to kill Steven and confronted Steven about it. I remember revisioning the song "Fight Test" after seeing the movie because I thought that Wayne shed knew light on its actual meaning in the film.
"I thought I was smart
I thought I was right
I thought it better not to fight
I thought there was a virtue, in always being cool
So it came time to fight
I thought "I'll just step aside"
And that the time will prove you wrong
And that you would be a fool
I don't know where the sunbeams end
And the starlight begins
It's all a mystery
Oh. To fight is to defend
If it's not now then tell me when
Would be the time
That you would stand up and be a man
For to lose I could accept
But to surrender I just wept
And regretted this moment
oh that
I was the fool"
I thought that this clearly spelled out Wayne's feelings on the subject. He once thought it was cool to go with the flow and not stand up to someone over such an issue, but that he was a fool and regrets it.
Disagree?
The only thing I find a little disparaging about the Lips as of late (coming from a more than 15 year fan) is how much Wayne acknowledges his own stardom; it makes him less relatable (if that is a word).
I respectfully disagree. It seems to me that he's acknowledging and subsequently using his stardom to spread his point of view, which in my opinion could do the world some good right now. From recent interviews I've read, he seems more humble than ever. Still talks about how he could still be working at Long John Silvers. This year, the Lips decided to put on an New Years Eve bash in their hometown instead of New York or some other ritzy city. Although I wish they would have come back to Chicago for NYE, I really admire that they stick to their roots by doing something other than moving to LA and wearing throwback jerseys.
share[deleted]
There were a few moments in the documentary and in the commentary that I thought made Wayne look kind of irresponsible or insensitive or something. Like when he was talking about how he used to sell drugs when he was 16 and said he didn't think anyone should sell drugs, but then went on to say how he made so much money doing it and that sometimes it's good to take risks. Kind of a mixed message. And it did seem like he was very nonchalant about what was happening with Steven, which was really bizarre.
share[deleted]