Wayne Coyne to Sell Chocolate Skull on Record Store Tour
Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne is embarking on a “Record Store Tour” this week, on which he’ll be selling limited-edition reissues of two of the Lips’ earliest releases in strange new ways. After the tour, both releases – 1984’s The Flaming Lips 1st EP and 1983’s The Flaming Lips 2nd Cassette Demo – will be available to purchase at select record stores on December 24th. Each has been pressed in a vinyl edition of 2,000.
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Most impressive is The Flaming Lips 1st EP, which comes housed in a custom-designed “anatomically correct and life-sized” solid chocolate skull, according to a press release. “It’s a life-size human skull [and] a life-sized human brain,” Coyne told Rolling Stone earlier this year, “and the brain is actually sliding out of the skull made with this brain fluid flavored hard-candy.” Each cranium, which is made from “gourmet chocolate,” also contains a “golden coin,” that its owner can redeem for entry into any headlining Flaming Lips concert (if he or she can fit through the door after eating the skull). Consumers who are able to munch their way through what a press release describes as a “substantial amount” of chocolate, will find the Lips release on 12-inch green vinyl, signed by Coyne. It’s the first time the record has been available on vinyl since 1986.
The Lips recorded their 1st EP in 1984. The group’s bassist Michael Ivins, who is the only band member other than Coyne who appeared on the release, has remastered this version. It also features new artwork by Charlie Immer.
In addition to the chocolate noggin, Coyne will be selling The Flaming Lips 2nd Cassette Demo on the Record Store Tour. The Lips have pressed that release on blue seven-inch vinyl that will come signed by Coyne. The group recorded the demo in 1983, and drummer Kliph Scurlock – who joined the Lips in 2002 – remastered its music. It features a cover photo by Coyne’s brother Dennis.
The Flaming Lips put out two releases of new music in 2013, a full-length titled The Terror and an EP inspired by the movie Ender’s Game called Peace Sword. The group is also recording cover version of the Stone Roses‘ first album in collaboration with Tame Impala; it also called off its joint “Lip$ha” album with Ke$ha. “Everything is driven by her schedule,” Coyne told Rolling Stone of the kiboshed Ke$ha collab. “Her situation is a lot different than mine. If I want to record a record today and put it out, I just do it.”
Here are the dates for Wayne Coyne’s Record Store Tour:
12/19 Nashville – Grimey’s
12/20 Louisville, KY – Guestroom Records
12/20 Chicago – Permanent Records
12/21 St. Louis – Vintage Vinyl
12/22 Lawrence, KS – Love Garden Sounds
Here are the Flaming Lips’ upcoming tour dates:
12/29 Broomfield, CO – 1stBank Center
12/30 Aspen, CO – Belly Up
12/31 Aspen, CO – Belly Up
01/10 Squaw Valley, CA – The Last Chair Festival
01/26 Riviera Maya, Mexico – My Morning Jacket One Big Holiday
01/27 Riviera Maya, Mexico – My Morning Jacket One Big Holiday
01/28 Riviera Maya, Mexico – My Morning Jacket One Big Holiday
01/29 Riviera Maya, Mexico – My Morning Jacket One Big Holiday
01/30 Riviera Maya, Mexico – My Morning Jacket One Big Holiday
03/08 Tampa, FL – Gasparilla Music Festival
03/21 New Orleans, LA – BUKU Music + Art Project
03/22 New Orleans, LA – BUKU Music + Art Project