Flaming Lips
Zaireeka
Label ©  Unknown
Release Year  1997
Length  3:01:44
Genre  Indie
Personal Star Rating [1-5]  
  Ref#  F-0011
Bitrate  192 Kbps
  Other  
  Info  
    Track Listing:
      CD1:
      1.  
      		 Okay I'll Admit That I Really Don't Understand  
       2:51  
      2.  
      		 Riding To Work In The Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)  
       7:02  
      3.  
      		 Thirty-Five Thousand Feet Of Despair  
       4:58  
      4.  
      		 A Machine In India  
       10:23  
      5.  
      		 The Train Runs Over The Camel But Is Derailed By The Gnat  
       6:13  
      6.  
      		 How Will We Know? (Futuristic Crashendos)  
       2:23  
      7.  
      		 March Of The Rotten Vegetables  
       6:27  
      8.  
      		 The Big Ol' Bug Is The New Baby Now  
       5:05  
      CD2:
      1.  
      		 Okay I'll Admit That I Really  
       2:51  
      2.  
      		 Riding To Work In The Year 202  
       7:02  
      3.  
      		 Thirty-Five Thousand Feet Of D  
       4:58  
      4.  
      		 The Machine In India  
       10:23  
      5.  
      		 The Train Runs Over The Camel  
       6:13  
      6.  
      		 How Will We Know? (Futuristic  
       2:23  
      7.  
      		 March Of The Rotten Vegetables  
       6:27  
      8.  
      		 The Big Ol' Bug Is The New Bab  
       5:10  
      CD3:
      1.  
      		 Okay I'll Admit That I Really Don't Understand  
       2:51  
      2.  
      		 Riding To Work In The Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)  
       7:02  
      3.  
      		 Thirty-Five Thousand Feet Of Despair  
       4:58  
      4.  
      		 The Machine In India  
       10:23  
      5.  
      		 The Train Runs Over The Camel But Is Derailed By The Gnat  
       6:13  
      6.  
      		 How Will We Know? (Futuristic Crashendos)  
       2:23  
      7.  
      		 March Of The Rotten Vegetables  
       6:27  
      8.  
      		 The Big Ol' Bug Is The New Baby Now  
       5:11  
      CD4:
      1.  
      		 Okay I'll Admit That I Really  
       2:51  
      2.  
      		 Riding To Work In The Year 202  
       7:02  
      3.  
      		 Thirty-Five Thousand Feet Of D  
       4:58  
      4.  
      		 The Machine In India  
       10:23  
      5.  
      		 The Train Runs Over The Camel  
       6:13  
      6.  
      		 How Will We Know? (Futuristic  
       2:23  
      7.  
      		 March Of The Rotten Vegetables  
       6:27  
      8.  
      		 The Big Ol' Bug Is The New Bab  
       5:10  
    Additional info: | top
      Review by Jason Ankeny

      A combination of the words "Zaire" and "Eureka," Zaireeka is a term coined by Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne symbolizing the fusion of anarchy and genius. It's a perfect title; Zaireeka is the culmination of the Lips' helter-skelter brilliance. Pushing the concept of interactive listening into new realms of possibility, the work extends Coyne's infamous "parking lot experiments" into not merely one album, but four separate discs that can be played separately or in groups of two, three, and four with multiple stereos. (Properly synchronized multi-disc playback requires more than one person -- it's literally a party album.) Between combining the discs and toying with volume, balance, fidelity, etc., the options are truly limitless. No two multi-disc performances can be repeated, thanks to the space-time continuum and discrepancies from one CD player to another. Musically as well as conceptually, the Lips are defiantly experimental throughout Zaireeka; individually, each disc sounds more like free jazz than pop, although Coyne's diamond-sharp melodic sensibilities prevail even during the most chaotic moments. With each additional disc, the music's force and ingenuity reveals itself: "Riding to Work in the Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)" is an epic orchestral noise suite, "Thirty-Five Thousand Feet of Despair" is a multi-narrative plane-crash drama remarkably evocative in its depiction of fear and chaos, and "How Will We Know? (Futuristic Crashendos)" features such extreme high and low frequencies that it can lead to disorientation, confusion, or nausea (the track is not recommended to be played while operating a motor vehicle or in the presence of infants). Logistical nightmares aside, Zaireeka is a dense, difficult work, recommended only for the hardiest Flaming Lips fetishists; however, they're in for the musical experience of a lifetime.
    Links/Resources | top