‘A song for heavy times’: Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips on Do You Realize??
‘People would tell us they’d played it when their mother was dying in hospital or their brother had been in a car accident. We didn’t know what to say’
July 2022
The reader interview
Wayne Coyne: ‘Once you’ve had a gun to your head, petty things don’t bother you’
As the Flaming Lips play Womad festival, their frontman answers your questions on the vastness of the universe, the musical taste of seagulls, and more
June 2022
The reader interview
Post your questions for the Flaming Lips’s Wayne Coyne
As the psychedelic pop band prepare to play Womad, their frontman will take on your questions about their nearly 40-year career
May 2022
‘Like them, we’re fragile’: how Randall Poster assembled his star-packed birdsong project
The esteemed music supervisor enlisted stars such as Mark Ronson, Nick Cave, Beck, Sean Penn and Tilda Swinton for an ambitious new project
February 2022
Various artists: Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono review – tribute to brilliance of rock icon’s music
Death Cab for Cutie, David Byrne and the Flaming Lips are among artists reworking Ono’s strange sound and outsider songs into something more palatable
December 2020
'My coolness has disintegrated': how pop stars cope with fatherhood
Pop’s mothers have told of guilt, loneliness and record-label prejudice – so do men face the same problems? Wayne Coyne, Ghetts, Thurston Moore and others respond
September 2020
The Flaming Lips: American Head review – psych whimsy wears thin
The American art-rockers try to revisit commercial highs, but their cliches fail to convince
August 2020
My fantasy festival
Wayne Coyne's fantasy festival: the Beatles on the International Space Station
The Flaming Lips frontman curates a cosmic lineup featuring Miles Davis, Igor Stravinsky, Pink Floyd – and space cakes
July 2019
Alexis Petridis's album of the week
The Flaming Lips: King's Mouth review – their most appealing album in years
After a long spell of indulging in 24-hour jams and Stone Roses covers, Wayne Coyne’s band marshal their psychedelic powers for lush, honed songs
July 2018
Bluedot festival review – Gary Numan makes waves at science-pop mashup
The Flaming Lips and Future Islands share the limelight with fake fungi and a luminarium at the event where revellers can flaunt their geek bona fides
September 2017
Festival No 6 review – Charlotte Church throws curveballs and the Flaming Lips ride unicorns
The Portmeirion festival headliners were as eccentric as the location, with operatic pop covers from Church and a typically psychedelic turn from Wayne Coyne
August 2017
Five of the best… new gigs
The Flaming Lips and Green Man: this week’s best UK pop and rock gigs
Catch Wayne Coyne Zorbing overhead in Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow or Nottingham, then get yourself to the Brecon Beacons for the eco-friendly festival
January 2017
The Flaming Lips review – potent hit of feelgood psychedelia
The psychpop veterans throw rock’s greatest acid punch party, complete with confetti canyons, balloons and overgrown aliens
The Flaming Lips: Oczy Mlody review – ponderous synth psychedelia
(Bella Union)
The Flaming Lips: Oczy Mlody review – some of their prettiest music in years
August 2016
Music blog
Wilderness – the festival that mixes music and Momentum
The genteel Oxfordshire festival threw together the Flaming Lips, Robert Plant, pianist James Rhodes, cricket without clothes and insightful political debates
June 2016
Empty Bottle: the 'hole-in-the-wall' that shook up Chicago's indie music scene
Venue’s eagerness to experiment drew bands from the Flaming Lips to Tortoise – and built a reputation for putting on an eclectic mix of memorable shows
April 2016
The Music of David Bowie review – tears shed as stars pay tribute to starman
From The Flaming Lips to Cat Power to Pixies to Debbie Harry, the lineup at the heartfelt tribute night was as wide-ranging and celebrated as Bowie’s career
