6. Embryonic
There are experiences you have when you hear a song for the first time and you literally cannot express words as to how great that moment was. "See The Leaves" was it, for me and others. The most chaotic and jarring piece of music placed on a Lips album was finally given to us on Embryonic, the twelfth and (currently) only double album, which Wayne Coyne once said, "Somewhere along the way it occurred to me that we should do a double album... Just this idea that you can weave a couple of themes into there and you can sprawl a little bit." Sprawling is something Embryonic definitely does. Some found the experimentation to be more rewarding than other Lips albums. Embryonic can be described as the least polished Lips album, but that's a good thing. It's always ready to go from intense to sparse and from melodic to atonal - all at a moment's notice. (see the transition of "See The Leaves") If this album has flaws, it's in its lack of cohesiveness. The album does too much sprawling, which is probably why The Lips haven't done another double album since.
Tracks to Hear: See The Leaves, Evil, The Ego's Last Stand, Silver Trembling Hands http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AjtOiNYlW4
7. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
Oh, Yoshimi. They don't believe that The Flaming Lips can make a psuedo-concept album that would totally get transformed into a full stage play years later. They also didn't think that after The Soft Bulletin The Lips could make another good album, considering the already hit and miss discography (we'll get to that later, but, to clarify, after Soft Bulletin, the band has been great) and the overwhelming response from critics and fans - the old "how can you top this?" syndrome was ever apparent. But, The Lips prevail and surprise... always. More acoustic and more playful,Yoshimi is a good album - with singles like "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt. 1" and "Do You Realize??" But the album really shines in its down moments, especially on "All We Have Is Now." Although there was apparently some plagiarism nonsense with "Fight Test," the album's opener, the album has been widely regarded as a triumph.
Tracks to Hear: All We Have Is Now, In The Morning Of The Magicians, Yoshimi Pt. 1, Do You Realize?? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehSaXAfg-ck