"The Soft Bulletin" (1999) - I thought of this recording after listening to Mercury Rev's "Deserter's Songs" (see previous post). Both records are super-unique. They share a Producer and some sonic tricks. Yesterday afternoon, after a flurry of activity, I engaged in a flurry of inactivity. I can goof off with the best of them. Pure sunshine poured into my hermetically sealed, private backyard sanctuary; I pulled out a chaise lounge, and a comfy cushion, armed myself with my trusty Sony Walkman and my fabulous Grado headphones. I sunk into the sounds of the Flaming Lips record and swam to the deep-end. It is an amazing recording. Musical, catchy, with Wayne Coyne at his awe-filled, questioning, wondering, sweetly-inspiring, philosopher-king best. Yes, it all sounded totally fresh and great; beautifully melodic. It was, and still is, a break-through record. Steven Drozd emerges as one of the all-time great r&r drummers. He is a multi-talented creative dynamo, he can play pretty much any instrument with a dazzling musicality. So yeah, I totally blissed-out on the sounds. The vibrations, the sunbeams, the greenery, and looming trees conspired to put me in a transcendent mood. Chalk it up to the healing power of art and importance of goofing off. It was an enriching afternoon, for sure.