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Xfm Meets The Flaming Lips

added 16 October 2008 at 16.28

A sci-fi blockbuster ccalled ‘Christmas On Mars’? Listen to Xfm’s exclusive interview with front man Wayne Coyne about his band’s latest venture...

Twenty five years into their illustrious rock careers and Oklahoma’s The Flaming Lips still haven’t launched a filmography. Wrap your ears around their more-imaginative-than-Picasso-with-a-crayon psych-pop and you’ll too figure out just why that’s so shocking.

But ‘Christmas On Mars’ marks their first venture to Hollywood town. Taking a whole eight years to make, Wayne Coyne and co’s tale about a newly-colonized planet Mars is finally ready for the big screen. Here The Lips front man tells Xfm all about the movie, what’s going on with album No. 12, and how he plans to destroy the minds of the youth of America.

Listen to the interview below…

‘Do You Realize?’ is in the running for the Official Oklahoma Rock Song. How does it feel to be nominated?

“I secretly don’t know if I really want it to happen… I wonder if I should sometimes worry that it gets too saturated...” [Listen To Full Answer]

Why did ‘Christmas On Mars’ take so many years until it was ready for release?

“I never had a real strict agenda when it should come out… I wouldn’t want people to think I got up at 6 o’clock every morning and went hard to work for seven years…” [Listen To Full Answer]

As it was filmed over such a long period of time, were there issues with continuity? Such as the odd grey hair cropping up?

“There are connected scenes in the movie where something that was shot in 2001 with Steven (Drozd), who used to be a boney heroin addict, walks through a door. He then walks out the door in 2005 and he’s forty pounds heavier…” [Listen To Full Answer]

Have you taken inspiration from traditional Christmas films?

“Watching ‘Christmas On Mars’ every Christmas will be a great way to infiltrate and destroy the minds of the youth of America…” [Listen To Full Answer]

How does the process of directing a film compare with making an album? Is it completely different?

“Directing a film was nothing like making the early records. But by the mid-90s records I was becoming more like a Producer/Art Director...” [Listen To Full Answer]

What is the latest on the next Flaming Lips record? Are there plans to record?

“We’re already doing stuff. I kinda feel like a Flaming Lips album that’s really just an album of songs will probably be out by next summer...” [Listen To Full Answer]

Considering the current ‘weak’ state of the music industry, does it feel safe to have a strong relationship with your label, Warner, who are also behind ‘Christmas On Mars’?

“We did get lucky... Who knows how long we’ll last? It might be another month and it’ll all be over.” [Listen To Full Answer]

Tagged as The Flaming Lips, audio

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