Search - Flaming Lips :: Transmissions From the Satellite Heart

One of my truly formative albums

Matt L | Haverford, PA United States | 04/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this cd in 1995 when i was a kid in 5th grade, trying desperately to fit in. Another kid who was, at the time, an authority on what was cool, told me a little bit about a new CD that he thought was great. Of course, i rushed out and bought it. This was a rare instance of where the trendsetter actually knew what he was talking about.
It is absolutely one of the greatest albums I have ever owned. Certainly in contention for my favorite. Most rock snobs like me can pinpoint the album or a couple albums that truly solidified music as the thing that interested them. For me, this is that album. Somehow, even then, having only listened to the oldies that my parents played on the radio, I was completely absorbed by how unique the sound is. It is an exercise in contrast, between layers of nearly-unlistenable (in that beautiful, irresistible way) noise, and a guitar and vocals with the mid way up and the bass and treble way down. Just like it's on a radio. By the way, I find that one of the most interesting themes in rock music is the band's relationship and treatment of the radio and its place in music and history. This disc can be regarded, I think, as a concept album with this theme at the core. Think the quality of Elvis Costello's "Radio, Radio," and you get the idea.
It is an amazing combination of folk-rock, fuzz-rock and the wonderful 80s indie scene; one that is sensitive and reverent to the traditions of each. It shows pangs of the electronic, avant-garde folk rock that the Lips would become, as evident on Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, but is more grounded in that sort of mid-90s neo-classic rock thing that was going on.
I agree with the other reviewers (it's impossible not to) that "She Don't Use Jelly" is no indicator of the sound of the cd as a whole...except for the 40 seconds of a needle running in the same groove at the end of the record at the end of the track, before it goes on to thenext song. This is not to say that the song is out of place in the slightest, it is simply more straightforward than the rest of the album. Nearly every song overflows with hooks, if you know where to look for them, and Drozd's Bonham-esque drums frequently provide a cool contrast to understated guitars and noise effects. The contrast makes it all the cooler when the whole band starts rocking out together. I could fill the 1000 word limit of this review on each individual song, but it's really enough to say that as experimental as this album is, it never loses sight of songcraft: the tracks are clearly constructed, and it makes the avant-garde accessible. God, i love this album.
Wayne Coyne's vocals are going to be more than likely an acquired taste, but even if you dont like the strained, dissonant quality (leftover from 80's Indiedom - think Meat Puppets' "Up On the Sun"), there's no denying that he is as earnest as he could possibly be.
Advice that I would give to the reviewers and listeners who have heard it and didnt like it, is to keep listening. Give it at least 5 or 7 listens all the way through, with some reflection time between each. This sounds like a pretty intense method just to like an album, but i promise, once you get it, you'll never take it out of your cd player.
In 10th grade, my all my cds were stolen. I had to start over, and I started collecting records. My tastes shifted for a while, and i listened to mostly stuff from the 60s and 70s,and started to see the last 15 years as a musical dark era. Fortunately, I came around after a few months, and realized how much i missed this album. I went out and bought it back, and it was like a homecoming. I think it would be hard for me to overrepresent the impact that this CD has had on my life and my music. In other words, yeah, I recommend it."

I love this album

Hippie Smell | Brooklyn | 05/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album came out around my Freshmen year in college so I was exposed to it before the She Don't Use Jelly song took off. It took me a while to get into it, but once I gave the album a chance it struck me how different the album was and how talented the musicians are. This came out in the grunge 90's and I can't really think of anyone doing anything this psychedelic or weird at the time. I mean no one writes songs about moths in incubators, or zebras running into space ships. It's complete weirdness over the catchiest melodies and music. Also, the layers upon layers of guitar and sound towards the end of moth in the incubator just blows me away every time. Over ten years later it doesn't surprise me one bit that the lips have come out with brilliant studio albums, and the incredible Zaireeka experiment. Few posess their level of imagination or talent. I would also say this album isn't for everyone, but then again most ground breaking albums aren't."

Once Upon A Time

legmuffin | Kansas City, MO USA | 07/27/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"So I'm sitting on a hill in Buckeye Lake, near Columbus, Ohio and it's July or August, in '93 or '94, the Lollapalooza Tour of that year (this will prove to be my one and only 'palooza experience really worth remembering). Two hippies in front of us at the sidestage offer up their joint. My friend and I take a hit or two, as we hear the opening bass line to "Under Pressure" by Queen and Bowie (a song which Sir Vanilla of the Ice turned into a short-lived career). I notice this guy on stage, the bass player, who looks like he just got off work at the local gas station, what, with his blue jumpsuit and all. And that hair! The drummer is ferocious, sipping back a beer with one hand while the other beats the snare to death, his foot pounding the heck out of the bass drum. The lead guiarist, who sports a different kind of wild hair, is all over the map musically, and I can't fathom how one guitar can make so much racket. And lest we forget the singer with the flame colored hair, who stands at the mic with backwards bravado, who seems wounded and sensitive with a delivery I've never quite heard before anywhere. "What is this?" I wondered at the time. "Is this the punchline to a sick joke that I'm not in on?"That was my first encounter with the Lips. It's made an indelible mark on my psyche, and I still can't believe "Jelly" made it on to MTV, that the song made the Lips just a blip on the top 40 radio screen, that they opened for Candlebox (who?)at the time and appeared on 90210. What a strange world we live in, huh?My friend bought this album soon after that concert. The cover photo is pretty telling of what's inside. Notice the distorted manipulation of the photos, especially the elongated speaker. "Transmissions" is definitely a distorted take on the pop/psychedelia motif. Please don't ONLY judge this album solely on the merit of the one-hit wonder status of "Jelly;" there's so much to enjoy here, most of it for me recalling that warm August (or was it July?)day when I first heard and saw the Lips, before Wayne was called a "genius" in the Brian Wilson mode, before "The Soft Bulletin" made them the hip critics' choice. This is the first brick laid in the wall of sound that the Lips currently employ. From beginning to end, this album is all fuzzed out bliss and acid-drenched sunshine; it's pleasant pop music too. A disclaimer on the cd asks the listener to "Please play loud." I advise you to purchase this cd and do just that. Oh, and enter at your own risk."