Formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, the Flaming Lips won a deserved reputation in the 80s and 90s for their discordant, psychedelia-tinged garage rock, and have recorded a fine body of off-kilter and unpredictable work. They are led by lyricist, vocalist and guitarist Wayne Coyne (b. Wayne Ruby Coyne, 17 March 1965, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA), who started playing music during his high school days. Coyne was joined in the band by his brother, Mark Coyne, who is best remembered for his vocals on the debut album's "My Own Planet". Taking up the microphone following his brother's departure, Wayne Coyne fronted a line-up completed by Steven Drozd (b. Steven Gregory Drozd, 6 December 1969, Houston, Texas, USA; drums/vocals, replacing Richard English and Nathan Roberts), Ron Jones (b. Ronald Lee Jones, 26 November 1970, Angeles, Philippines; guitars/vocals) and Michael Ivins (b. Michael Lee Ivins, 17 March 1965, Omaha, Nebraska, USA; bass/vocals). John "Dingus' Donahue, of Mercury Rev fame, was also a member during the sessions for their first consistent release, 1990"s In A Priest Driven Ambulance.
In 1993, the Flaming Lips played at the Reading Festival in the UK and toured with Porno For Pyros, Butthole Surfers and Stone Temple Pilots. They returned to Reading in 1994 to support the release of "She Don't Use Jelly", which finally took off on MTV over the following year. This, combined with a storming appearance on the second stage at Lollapalooza, at last helped to build a substantial popular as well as critical following. A two-year break preceded the release of Clouds Taste Metallic, their seventh album, a typically confusing but arresting exercise in wide-eyed, skewed pop rock, akin to a restrained Pavement. Song titles such as "Guy Who Got A Headache And Accidentally Saved The World" and "Psychiatric Explorations Of The Fetus With Needles" continued the penchant for adolescent shock value.
Guitarist Jones departed shortly after Clouds Taste Metallic was released. Reduced to a trio, the band returned with Zaireeka, a defiantly uncommercial "experiment in listener participation, using multiple sound sources", whereby four separate CDs needed to be played simultaneously to hear the final mix. The Soft Bulletin (1999) and Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2002) were far more satisfying records, representing the perfect fusion of the band's experimental urges and pop instincts. Wayne Coyne increased his reputation considerably when he voluntarily admitted plagiarism for a track on the latter album, "Fight Test", which bore uncomfortable similarities to Cat Stevens' "Father And Son". He agreed to pay the artist, now known by his Muslim name Yusuf Islam, an undisclosed sum. At War With The Mystics contained enough gorgeous pop vignettes to consolidate their position as one of the most creative units currently working.
