OTHER TECH

How about doing more Flaming Lips 5.1 audio releases in the future?
Does the format itself warrant the time and energy we put into it? I don't know. Maybe.

Should I take that to mean you'll do something in 3D instead?
[laughs heartily] For me, the 3D thing is cool, but everybody has already beaten me to the punch. I can't see you having a bigger freakout experience than seeing Avatar when you're doing Ecstasy.

Hmm, I don't know - that could possibly cancel the experience out.
Yeah, maybe so. Seriously, though, some of the 3D stuff I've seen just isn't compelling enough. It still comes down to story and content, and the other 20 dimensions of things. But it's all good fun. I don't have any deep complaints. If I had an idea to do a movie in 3D that was worth it, yeah, I'd do it.

What about a 3D Lips concert?
Well, I'd argue that we're probably beyond 3D in real life. It doesn't get any more dimensional. During our summer tour stop in Pittsburgh, we had a giant laser beam shooting out over the audience, and it gave them the feeling they were surrounded by all these things that were connected to us singing and playing. Putting on the glasses - that's a great trick for a movie. But putting them on at a show - that's too much work for you to be able to focus on just one part of it.

To me, being in a movie theater watching a movie doesn't engage enough of the senses. The temperature lacks, and it doesn't smell like anything. There's no smell-o-patch to the movie, despite the smell of popcorn. When you're at a concert, everything is engaged, so you don't have to worry that you're missing out on anything. Everything you need to see and hear and touch is already there.

Hey, somebody should write a song about that.
[laughs] I think some people already have! That's why we do the live concert thing. It's not like watching a movie or listening to music at your house. Plus, you're there with a bunch of people. Everything is encompassed in it. It's not just about music, it's about meeting people who want the same things you do - and that goes beyond music, that goes into lifestyle and who you want to be. And that's why music is important. It's a common ground. Standing together with people in the same room who want the same things we do - that's the greatest thing in the world.

Maybe it changes the world.
Well, music and technology change you, and then you change the world. Yeah.