With The Flaming Lips‘ enduring relevance — be it through timely collaborations, ballsy experiments, or the ability to still offend — it’s easy to forget that they’ve been a band for more than 30 years. Now, that history will be unearthed and explored with a series of new reissues from Rhino and Warner Bros.
On April 20th, the labels release Scratching the Door: The First Recordings of the Flaming Lips, a 19-track compilation of cuts from the band’s original lineup, which featured frontman Wayne Coyne’s brother, Mark, on vocals. This is the first time these songs — which are taken from the band’s first two cassette demos and first self-released EP — have ever been collected on a single release. There’s also a few covers, including The Who’s “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere”…
…and Led Zeppelin’s “Communication Breakdown”. Each song has been remastered from the original sources by longtime producer David Fridmann, as well as the Lips’ Coyne and Michael Ivins.
01. Bag Full Of Thoughts
02. Out For A Walk
03. Garden Of Eyes
04. Forever Is A Long Time
05. Scratchin’ The Door
06. My Own Planet
07. Killer On The Radio
08. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
09. Batman Theme
10. Handsome Johnny
11. Flaming Lips Theme Song 1983
12. The Future Is Gone
13. Underground Pharmacist
14. Real Fast Words
15. Groove Room
16. Jesus Shootin’ Heroin
17. Trains, Brains & Rain
18. Communication Breakdown
19. Summertime Blues