Flaming Lips sound like MMJ? I guess...

[cmasters]

Today on the college radio station I DJ for I told listeners that I was going to play Flaming Lips followed by My Morning Jacket and stated that MMJ gets compared to the Flaming Lips quite a bit, and I just don't understand it. Anyway, I played "Slow Action Nerve" by The Flaming Lips and followed it with "Off the Record," two people called in and said that the Flaming Lips track didn't really sound like the MMJ song... and no... the songs aren't that same. But really... do you all think they sound a lot alike? Wayne and Jim both have falsetto voices, both bands play instruments... otherwise, I'm kinda confused here.


discuss....  ;D

[sweatboard]

That is one comparison I have NEVER Got either.  I just don't see it AT ALL, and my wife was saying it before anyone was printing it all over the place.  I get most of the comparisons people use to describe MMJ but this one is really  just lost on me.  

[MMJ_fanatic]

I will definitely chime in here and say that Jim sounds as much like Wayne as my guitar playing sounds like James Marshall Hendrix's

[ManNamedTruth]

The only similarities there are is that they're both amazing, eclectic and emotional bands. The Lips are way more psyhcadelic and there sense of humor comes across more. The Lips' punk backgrounds make them different too.

[tomEisenbraun]

i think that the soft bulletin stuff is probably the most comparable to mmj, just in the make-up of the material, and wayne's voice is relatively comparable to jim's there. it's probably just how high they sing though. and the fact that they're both kinda weird. but other than that, they're both amazing, but completely in their own right.

The Jacket rocks harder though. I would love to hear those guys cover Slow Nerve Action. Hoooooly crap that would be beautiful. I know Pat would bust that shit out, after mentioning that song to him and seeing his eyes just light up.

Either way though, they're definitely different.

[corey]

The only time that I've ever remotely had this thought was when i first heard "Anytime". The phrasing of the vocals in the "What madonna said really helps" part sounds a lot like how Wayne phrases his lines sometimes.

But that's about it.

[cmasters]

I would love to hear those guys cover Slow Nerve Action. Hoooooly crap that would be beautiful.

ditto

[Dee.]

They don't sound alike, but they're similar in spirit.  They both have a lot of heart.  How about they tour together, hm?  That would be a blast.

[ratsprayer]

ive only seen the lips live once, and it was back in the summer of 99 when they did a tour collaboration with robyn hitchcock, sonic boom, and sebadoh.  man, that was a fun show.  fake blood, confetti, asshole chicago crowd.  

good times.   :)

[thebigbang]

Of course they don't sound like the Lips.

After the reviews came in, everyone knew MMJ sounded like:
//[http://www.mercuryrev.com/news/news.htm

Or:
http://www.grange85.co.uk/galaxie500box/

Or:
http://neilyoung.com/

But they don't sound like the Flaming Lips.

[Oz]

Well, I don't think The Flaming Lips really sound like 'Slow nerve action' anymore either.

A friend of mine is a big fan of 'The Soft Bulletin' and 'Yoshimi Battles the What's That Title Again?' and he has none of their early albums. One day I played him 'Z' and he said 'Whoa, they sound like The Flaming Lips now!' (he knows the early MMJ stuff) Another time I played him some of 'Transmissions from the Satellite Haert' (the Flaming Lips album that has 'Slow nerve action' on it) and he said: 'Are that The Flaming Lips? Really?!'

Now I agree on you all that they're not as alike as they say in the press, but I do hear the similarities in voice and in the Muppets-like dreamy kind of sound. And well, I never know how to describe MMJ either. I often say something like 'a mix between Neil Young, the Beach Boys and the Flaming Lips, but totally different.'

[Oz]

Of course they don't sound like the Lips.

After the reviews came in, everyone knew MMJ sounded like:
//[http://www.mercuryrev.com/news/news.htm

I think Mercury Rev sounds a bit like The Flaming Lips.

[loper]

I think Mercury Rev sounds a bit like The Flaming Lips.


I agree. They sound very similar. Where the comparisons with MMJ come from I haven't a clue. ???

Likewise, Radiohead. ???

Now Neil Young, that is a comparison I can take 8). MMJ definitely sound like a later rung on the Buffalo Springfield family tree.