Flaming Lips: The Terror

     I've been anticipating the release of The Terror with a combination of excitement and dread. I came to this album with a considerable amount of pent up animosity. Gummy vaginas. 24 hour songs. Videos with Wayne's junk. Gummy skulls. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song. Endless, horrible collaborations. This was to be a fork in the road where I either kept drinking Wayne's kool-aid or I gave up and went back to listening to The Soft Bulletin. I resigned myself to the fact that they weren't going to return to their sound of the Ronald Jones Era and approached The Terror with an open mind. So far, I'm glad I did.
     First, let me preface this by admitting a few things. I'm a dork for prog rock, concept albums and being depressed. On all of those counts, The Terror is in my wheelhouse. However, it is not a casual listen. The tracks blend into each other and none of them will be turned into a salad dressing commercial. Apparently, Wayne and Steven have been going through some difficult times and it is reflected in the songs on The Terror. The music is minimal and stark. The lyrics are about pain and hopelessness. Abandon all hope, ye with animal costumes and confetti guns, who enter here. The days of Wayne crowd surfing in a bubble appear, at long last, to be over.
     The obvious question about a concept album called The Terror is "what IS the terror?". Since this is a Flaming Lips album, the answer isn't that simple. I've only had the album a few hours and listened to it three times, so I don't necessarily have the answer at this point. However, it seems the "terror' is that no matter how much we love or try or care everything ends in pain and hopelessness. Everyday the sun rises and a new day is created, then the sun sets and it dies. Love just leads to pain. Not having control of the controls leads to hopelessness. We are ALL alone; trapped inside our own minds. Our lives are nothing but a daily battle to  deal with the pain and hopelessness, without breaking. Have a nice day!
     The first time I listened to The Terror, it struck me as "space rock" By that I mean ambient, stark and electronic. It created a vision in my head of a man in a disabled spacecraft floating through space having to come to terms with dying alone. You win Wayne, I'm still drinking the kool-aid. I'll leave you with a few of my favorite lyrics from The Terror. Peace.

* Love is always something, something you should fear

* Look, the sun is rising. What will love us now.

* The sun shines down but we're still cold. It's light is not a light that shines.

* Try to explain why you've changed. I don't think I understand.
   Try to explain why you're leaving. I don't think I understand.

* When you shoot the stars away the brightest light is the first to go.

* The terrors in our heads, we don't control the controls.

* I'm not alone. You are alone.

* If you've ever really seen the sunrise you'd see how many times it tries.
   If you've ever really seen the sunset you'd see how long it takes to die.