CDs: Flaming Lips; Various Artists; Leighton Meester
It’s not surprising the Flaming Lips would choose to tackle Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, given their own psychedelic aural history. This isn’t the first time they’ve covered albums in their entirety either: first Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, then King Crimson, then the Stone Roses. But Sgt Pepper’s is the most inventive of the bunch, and the most collaborative.
With a Little Help From My Fwends
Warner Bros
It’s not surprising the Flaming Lips would choose to tackle Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, given their own psychedelic aural history. This isn’t the first time they’ve covered albums in their entirety either: first Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, then King Crimson, then the Stone Roses. But Sgt Pepper’s is the most inventive of the bunch, and the most collaborative.
The band, who will perform at Clockenflap this year, pulled a wide range of musicians into the project: My Morning Jacket, Grace Potter, Phantogram, Moby, and Miley Cyrus, to name a few. The result sounds like one big karaoke party, voices rotating on the mic.
The album is weird, but never at the expense of the Beatles’ lovely melodies. Phantogram do a particularly wonderful job with She’s Leaving Home. The album is a cover in the best sense, reminding us why the original was so good and offering something new. Since the project began, Coyne has extolled Cyrus’ virtues to all who will listen. She gets the original album’s two strongest tracks (Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and A Day in the Life) and makes the most of them.
Whiplash Original
Soundtrack
5 AM Music
may well be the best movie of the year. The story follows a young jazz drummer starting seminary and his demanding, abusive teacher; accordingly, music is quite literally the beating heart of the action. Jazz is everything here - plot, character, emotion, suspense. How does one effectively score a movie about music?
