Flaming Lips.

Really? They are flaming?

I don't know where The Flaming Lips got the name, but I guess I don't care so much. I forget sometimes, that this is one of the most badass bands in the universe, until I give another listen to Yoshimi (Lyrics so killer, worth posting):

Her name is Yoshimi
she's a black belt in karate
working for the city
she has to discipline her body

'Cause she knows that
it's demanding
to defeat those evil machines
I know she can beat them

Oh Yoshimi, they don't believe me
but you won't let those robots eat me
Yoshimi, they don't believe me
but you won't let those robots defeat me

Those evil-natured robots
they're programmed to destroy us
she's gotta be strong to fight them
so she's taking lots of vitamins

'Cause she knows that
it'd be tragic
if those evil robots win
I know she can beat them

...and so on.

(YEAH! - take your vitamins Yoshimi - yeah!!!)

I don't know why, but this song really inspires me to create. It reminds me of how one of my art teachers, in discussing a painting of his, told us how he painted the entire painting while listening to some U2 album. This was as if some trade secret had been revealed to me. But more than that, it was a revelation of how much music can color ones life. How it can inspire and motivate you in a particular direction. This is particularly true of those who are normally creative, but sometimes have a teensy weensy bit of a challenge harnessing that creative energy and focusing on just one project. Amen brotha.

So, get out those old favorites, or new killers (I might suggest the new Madeline Peyroux here) or anything that really truly rocks your boat, and create some cool stuff.

And what's not to love about a song titled, "Free Radicals (A Hallucination of the Christmas Skeleton Pleading with a Suicide Bomber)"? Nothin, man. Nothin. Who doesn't want to create something special when thinking of this? Maybe little alien stuffies, or some fluffy cupcakes, or a huge wall mural, or, or or.....

Did I mention I saw them at the Del Mar racetrack in San Diego? Jealous much? ;)