Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

Music for vegans who vape

Another great surprise that expelled any/all preconceived notions I had upon seeing today's entry. Apparently (obviously) I know/knew absolutely nothing about The Flaming Lips, but this was/is immediately right in my wheelhouse. Maybe a concept album....sign me up. Dreamy - melodic - mysterious - gorgeous - electronic loops mixed with organic elements - just great music which is simultaneously accessible yet not predictable. How have I missed this album all these years? I'm looking forward to repeat listens of this in headphones. I wonder if at some point I end up viewing this as a five.....this is awesome. ...screw it. 5 stars for an album I'd never heard of 24 hrs ago 9/10 5 stars.

One of my favourite albums, by one of my favourite artists, of all time. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is brilliant and life affirming on many different levels. Individually, each track is excellent, but collectively they add up to a single piece that is even greater than its individual parts. It's accessible and catchy, yet a bit weird and experimental. It manages to combine being a sci-fi semi-concept album about pink robots and a vitamin-popping girl, with universal truths and philosophies that go straight to the heart of the uncertainty and unknowingness of life and our insignificance in the universe: "I don't know how a man decides what is right for his own life, it's all a mystery" (Fight Test), "The universe will have its way, too powerful to master" (In the Morning of the Magicians). At the end it helpfully provides the the answer of what to do about these overwhelming questions: "Instead of saying all of your goodbyes, let them know you realize that life goes fast, it's hard to make the good things last" (Do You Realize??). I.e. Sadness is inevitable, don't worry about the big things that we can't control. Be grateful for your life, enjoy it, and share it with others. That message, along with the journey to get there, is the main reason I love this very special album. Rating: 5/5 Playlist track: Do You Realize?? Date listened: 28/06/22

Yesssssss.... This is hands down one of my all-time favorites. A kitschy, fuzzy, psychedelic odyssey in the form of a sci-fi anime rock opera. Every song is cinematic, melodious, and fun. Covering topics like sentient robots and vitamin-eating Japanese schoolgirls.

Too slow and lifeless for me, literally brings my mood down. Better than Radiohead though.

Yoshimi is the sequel to The Soft Bulletin, except it's also a loosely organized allegorical concept album about the struggle of humanity to extricate itself from the technological disaster it's created, but lyricist Wayne Coyne concentrates on the human costs involved. I'm a sucker for these kinds of themes to begin with, but the Lips do something unique with it. Their lyrics are goofy, heartfelt, incisive, and utterly humane, which couldn't be more endearing. Musically, the Lips write fairly simple pop songs with pretty melodies, but they've come up with arrangements that complement and deepen their lyrical content beautifully. They adroitly mix warm analog guitars with digital drums, orchestral flourishes, blatantly artificial and sometimes silly synth patches, augmented with studio trickery and faux-documentary excerpts, all grounded by Wayne Coyne's tremulous, wistful voice. Numerous psychedelic touches reveal The Lips' devotion to Pink Floyd, but they sound nothing like them, really. Are there weak spots? Yes, but they are hard to find. I find Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Part II musically uninteresting and just plain silly. There is a preponderance of ballads. Nothing really rocks hard. But these are minor complaints. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is a very strong album and well worth your time. 4 stars out of 5.

There are definite highlights, but the lack of variation in the synths means the whole album washes together into 40 minutes of monotony.

20 years ago, I probably would have written the most hyperbolic review for this record, likely proclaiming it one of the greatest records ever released, a true milestone achievement in human history, etc, etc, ad nauseam. It was an easy 5 for me and if you were in central New Jersey for a week in the back half of 2002, you probably would’ve seen me wearing the tan Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots comic strip t-shirt that I got when I saw them the month after this record was released. Man, I fucking loved this band. Over the years I’ve soured on them for a number of reasons, but mostly it’s just because I’ve changed and this record in particular is one that I associate with a not-so-great time in my life. It’s funny how that happens, isn’t it? Music is very powerful in that it’ll make you think about things you haven’t thought of in decades, temporarily reopening old wounds or re-igniting old flames - occasionally, it does both simultaneously, which is an especially shitty feeling, for sure. So yeah, I don’t really come back to this one because of that. …but enough sentimentalism. The other reason I don’t come back to this record very often is that honestly, I don’t think it’s that great as a whole. Somewhere around or after “Are You a Hypnotist?”, I usually start checking out. …and, Jesus Christ, if I never hear “Do You Realize?” again, I’d be so cool with that. These are words that, in the early aughts, I never thought I’d type out. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy the Flaming Lips, but the three albums that precede this one, (Clouds Taste Metallic, Zaireeka and The Soft Bulletin) are the band’s high-water mark for me - I don’t think they topped those records before or since. The Flaming Lips were untouchable for those few years. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, just by virtue of following those classics, is mostly in the same league and shares some similarities with The Soft Bulletin, but it’s where the cracks begin to show, in my opinion. I guess what I’m getting at is, it’s not the Flaming Lips record with an orange cover I’d put on this list…Clouds Taste Metallic is the one you need to hear before you die. God, that album is amazing.

It started off ok, and it has a few songs in there that stand out a bit, but I don't really like his vocals, and plenty of the album just comes across as a bit soft and wanky.

Mostly fine apart from the plagiarism

Boring hipster music

This album is a masterwork of an end-to-end experience. Every song is meticuously layered and arranged, creating an expansive and enveloping sound. I think "Fight Test", "Are You a Hypnotist??" and "In the Morning of the Magicians" are good examples of this. But breaking up the album and considering it song by song, undermines the value of the ablum, which is at it's highest as a whole. Although the creators have insisted this is not a concept album, there is a unifying feel and an arch to that I continuously enjoy experiencing end-to-end.

A modern classic. The Flaming Lips take an unusual storyline (really only apparent in the first few songs) and explore themes of mortality and love. The music is dreamlike and uses both analog and digital instrumentation to create a lush backdrop.

I loved this album, although I knew about The Flaming Lips I've never listened to them. This album specifically has a lot of experimental electronic and progressive sounds but just enough to be a pleasant experience

The Flaming Lips play it safe, too safe. It feels like their Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is them outsourcing a record to a group of untalented and unmotivated born-again Christians. The Flaming Lips gave these Christians the assignment to create an uninspired piece of dream pop, without any edge, with the most dumbed-down cartoonish lyrics, and extremely awkwardly awful sounding vocal effects. I am happy to report that these Christians succeeded in creating one of the dumbest pieces of Rock/Dream-Pop that I have ever listened to. Their only mistake was the okayish Do You Realize, which is way too catchy for my taste. Well done, 1/5.

Great album, was already in my favourites list. Cohesive, tells a story without being too blatant, and I love the mix of folky warble with some electronics influence.

Amazing album, so rich and weird. The melodrama and soaring instrumentals are fantastic.

An incredibly unique and pleasurable listening experience.

It's super vibey, and I love it. The lyrics/voice are engaging and fit extremely well with the backing track. I especially liked the keyboard in the songs it was featured in, but each instrument had it's time in spotlight. In addition, no instrument overpowered another. This is an album that I could put in the background while I'm just thinking as it's pretty relaxing. Favorite track: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1

A weird experience, definitely. It mixes in stuff that sounds like early-2000s pop with some alternative music things that I can now see that have even affected some other more modern music that I've heard. The whole album works wonderfully together and it has a solid musical theme throughout, but no one specific song jumps out to me as outstanding. A good listen, which I'd recommend to _most_ people, though.

Blergh. Reading this list you conclude that the early 2000s were garbage for music. This overhyped undercooked recording won’t disabuse that. Boring and dull. 1 star.

I feel like this is what people listen to at Coachella

I really fell in live with this album when it was first released in 2002. I had previously considered the Flaming Lips a bit of a novelty act, especially based on "She Don't Use Jelly", which got a lot of radio play but I found super annoying. I never glommed on to any of their albums before or since, but somehow this album just clicked. There are some really great tunes and a "budget lush" aesthetic that appeals to me. I really like the lofi production and big orchestrations (using cheap detuned keyboards), and generally hippy vibe, lyrical material that veers between the humorous and the profound, an embrace of life while acknowledging the reality of sadness and despair. There are lots of reasons that I shouldn't like this album; concept album, sci-fi themes, self-conscious psychedelia, over-produced. But I really do. I think I was really primed for this. I had just become a father, which I found a wonderful and frightening experience, and had me thinking about what it means to be a man and mortality. I felt like this was one of the few albums that approached those themes with complexity and humanity and a lack of judgement. It was warm and reassuring, while simultaneously acknowledging that life can be confusing and scary. 'Fight Test' and 'Do you realize?' were the standout tracks for me, then and now, but I can happily listen to the whole record all the way through. I never liked any of their other records. They tended to be unfocussed and trying too hard to be... quirky or twee or cute or wacky something. Maybe when it came down to it, they only really had one great album in them. I really like this record, and it was a pleasure to revisit it like an old friend. 4.5 stars, rounding up.

I've listened to this album, and didn't quite understand it. So I did it again. And again. And again. And somewhere along the way, I've realized that I don't quite understand it still, but I've grown to like it. It's the right amount of experimental. Easy to listen to, a bit hazy, a bit sweet, a bit bitter. Maybe one day I'll understand this album better.

This album is one that holds an incredibly special place to me. It’s been one of my absolute favorites of all time for a while now, I’ve seen it performed in full live, and it was my introduction to the Flaming Lips, who are now one of my all time favorite bands and whose discography I could give you my full detailed thoughts on for hours on end. I very rarely consider any album to be perfect, but this is one of the few that I would say are practically on that level. Right now more than ever, a relisten to this album was what I needed. With how my mind and life has been lately, the message of this album, enjoying the present instead of fearing the future, is one that hit harder than ever. I will always love this album with all my heart.

killer album art. i loved this, it was fun in concept & catchy (even the instrumentals) & just the right amount of upbeat + melancholy

This is not a record, it's a state of mind. Perfect soundtrack for sunny Sunday mornings, it's the pinnacle where all what is the Lips -experimentation, melodies, sonic creativity- reaches its maximum height. Even better than 'The Soft Bulletin', they had never been that good, never were again

Fun!

This is the first album that I've been suggested that I'm intimately familiar with. There a several titanic songs on this album, including Fight Test, Yoshimi part 1, and Do You Realize. In between these songs is a psychedelic soundscape that guides you dreamily through the album. The instrumentals on this album are incredible. No two songs sound alike, and yet the album has a cohesive feel. 5/5

I loved Transmissions from the Satellite Heart when it came out, but it didn’t necessarily give me a full portrait of who Wayne Coyne was as a songwriter. When this album dropped it sort of blew my mind. I listened to this CD until I couldn’t play it anymore. And it was hard to reconcile it with who I thought The Flaming Lips were. This album showed that the group had great flexibility while remaining true to a vision of themselves. A really good album by a really important band.

Groovy.. liked the album

Strange and wonderful alternative music that is everything you would expect from the band. A lovely complementary piece to the Soft Bulletin.

Musical theatre like sometimes.

Do You Realize that this is a great album? I feel like I'm floating through space. It's a nice album to chill out and maybe bob your head here and there to the beat.

Funny, beautiful, and moving, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots finds the Flaming Lips continuing to grow and challenge themselves in not-so-obvious ways after delivering their obvious masterpiece.

I’m a sucker for a space adventure and this one was a pleasant one at that. Within seconds of hitting play we’re grabbed into the space aesthetic. I thought this was an early 2010’s album and I was shocked to find out this album is from 02. I’m not sure I really like any songs on their own. The whole album flows very well and does an exceptional job of painting the space atmosphere. It’s Summertime is very beatlesque but definitely not the highlight of the album. The best is not a single track found in the middle or the end of the album. Most of the fun is found in the first five songs and scattered in small parts in the back half of the album. I was looking forward to Yoshimi’s battle with cancer over the course of the album. The greatness of the album both lyrically and musically is mostly only present in the front half. The saying "it’s not about the destination it's about the journey" applies to all 47 minutes of this album. You will definitely find me playing this song on repeat from time to time.

Another band I had never heard of, but I thought they were ok. I could’ve done without the Star Wars noises in some of the songs, though. I won’t want to hear this one again, and give it a ho-hum 3 stars.

This is interesting enough but I would not say I like it all that much. 3 stars or C.

It was ok.

Funky. Fresh. Futuristic. But also nostalgic. I’d play this album for the aliens.

Enjoyed this...though did not attempt to complete the 100-song, 7+ hour "deluxe" version.

I’ve always loved Do You Realize, the rest is fine. Perfectly enjoyable in the background but I wouldn’t put it on deliberately.

A couple of WEIRD songs on this one. But I enjoyed it more than I expected - the tunes and singer were actually kind of soothing, wistful, and dreamy. And then there were space lasers (?) I wonder how the musical was. 3.4 stars.

This one is a hard one to rate. It feels ambitious, and lots of interesting stuff going on. I'm a fan of some of the later songs like "Do you realize", and overall I enjoyed the album. But I would also say it feels rough around the edges, and I think that comes from its age. I listened on youtube and maybe it would have been better listened to without the inherent compression. But anyways, I like it and I think I'll check out some of The Flaming Lips' other stuff.

Fine, average, doesn’t stand out over any other early-00s indie kind of stuff to me and I have no real knowledge of the band so don’t really know why it was included. The opening track is pretty cool, the rest sort of blended for me. (1.5 stars)

Ok

Decent background music but probably not one I'd seek out again.

The flaming shits.

I liked the first song — almost felt like cat stevens. The rest felt like someone did drugs and said “you know what would be cool….”

I have never understood the TFL hype, sloppy and ill recorded in an uncharming way.

I listened to this album before from a recommendation. Wasnt a fan then and still not really a fan. Sort of boring, I get what they were going for though.

Very meh

A trippy experience from start to finish. The album is coherent throughout and everything feels intentional. Every song feels unique and nothing feel’s overdone. Plenty of songs that I saved and will listen to in the future. 9/10

Just an absolutely fantastic album. I loved the bubbly beats with soft vocals, perfect for a late night listen. Only complaint is that one song on the album was not only bad but it hurt my soul to listen to.

Love it

Creative, catchy and cool.

A mystical, other worldly album, with little comparison. There are a couple of underwhelming numbers, even though embellished with the great, ethereal synth sounds consistent across the album. The underlying melodies are often fantastic - and it's easy to let the imagination run away and believe there is a narrative here. Elements of robots, space, Japanese manga combine to make it quite cinematic and quite unique.

Still the absolute best version of The Flaming Lips psychedelic sincerity. Beautiful, grand and weird in equal measure.

5/5

Loved it! Listened to it then and will continue to listen!

This shouldn’t work, but it did. Loved it.

One of my favorite albums ever.

Really good album and band. I’ve been listening to the flaming lips a lot lately, trying to decide what my favorite album of theirs is. This is a strong contender, with in my opinion some of their best songs. Yoshimi pts 1+2 and do you realize are really standout tracks. It’s an album I’ll never get tired of, although I do think it is maybe just slightly overhyped, at least to the extent that it seems to overshadow the rest of their discography. Not a pure 5, but probably like a 9.5/10

Smashing album. Had heard some of the songs before but not the full album in its entirety.

Mastered – Instant favourite, would own on vinyl. Love this album. My style for sure. Love the narrative, the sci-fi sound. This is entertaining.

A classic. My generations dark side of the moon.

Can’t say enough about the vision and execution of this album

Fantastic album, flows really well from beginning to end. Still sounds fresh. Probably as good as "The Soft Machine."

One of my all time favorites, it was a pleasure!

One of my all time favorites. Such a fun listen

Classic album. Saw them last year. Fight test is my favorite track

I don't even need to listen to this one as it is one of my favourites of all time. The highlights are of such high quality, especially Do You Realise which is one of the few songs I can really emotionally connect to. Fight Test stands on its own as a great song, even if Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) is making 75% of the royalties due to its similarity to Father and Son. And of course the titular song is always on my mind as i used to perform it often and still teach it in guitar lessons. Everything else carries an immaculate vibe that shows the power of when the musical chemistry and inspiration hit just right. Looking forward to seeing this performed live in full this coming May.

I was thinking about this being a 4 because of how often I just listen to the highlights but honestly if I put this on from Flight Test there is always a good chance I'm finishing the album. It's so good. The production of this whole album is just glorious. I love how many layers add so much to this. It's bright, poppy, fun and made with so much heart. This album really is maximalist. It uses drum machines well, while also having some excellent drumming. There are 1000 samples on every song and nothing ever comes through clean in the mix but it comes together to make something beautiful. No track is ever done as simply as it could have been. Which works amazingly with the themes of the album, it feels so close to nature and the world. I'd argue it presents large themes that are presented in a simple way for concepts that are usually overwhelming. Highlight: In the Morning of the Magicians (but usually it'd be Do You Realize)

I really liked this album. Will need to listen to more of them.

Unfortunately my millennial ass can't give this anything less than 5 stars. God dammit, this was such a moment. "Do you realize" is still a song that reminds you to be alive in the moment. This tour was an event. It feels a little out of time. Still love these songs. Damn.

I think this album is good becuase i love the background music and how it sounds. It sounds really nice and his voice goes well with it. I like how his voice sounds dream-like and its just really cool

Fantastic!

It's like a Radiohead album but better, more accessible, more likeable, less grumpy , more listenable, and with fewer dick head fans.

Amazing sounds... entirely enveloping start to finish. Catchy too!

Honestly should get more credit for their creativity than they already rightfully do.

Fav songs: Fight test, Yoshimi battles the pink robots pt1 5/5

Really liked this.

no notes one of my fave albums of all time

This is a really good album, and it surprised me. I listened to it, and The Soft Bulletin, back when they came out, may even own this on CD, but I have never had it on regular rotation. It’s an incredibly eclectic record - pop, psychedelia, prog, electronics - yet harnesses it all into a distinct soundscape. There are echoes of Pet Sounds, Sgt Pepper’s (which they covered in full), and Dark Side of the Moon. I feel I need to dive deeper.

This is perfection. Kick some butt, Yoshimi!

Easily one of my favourite albums ever, and in my top 3 comfort albums. So grateful to see this played in full live.

Hell yeah.

This is a VERY strange record. It’s a lot of relatively unrelated elements brought together. Things like weird electronic samples, soft pretty vocals, bright synths, funky basslines, and huge drums all combine into one cohesive record that, on paper, shouldn’t work. The incredible thing about it is just how well it all works together. I have absolutely no idea how to sort this album genre-wise, but I really enjoyed listening to it. It’s unlike anything else I’ve ever listened to, although I can hear elements that feel influential on a lot of the weirder modern music that I enjoy, like Jack Stauber and Bill Wurtz. This is truly a wonderful piece of art, and I’m glad I was exposed to it from this project. 5*

I dearly, dearly love this album. It's symphonic and beautiful and fun and contemplative and beautiful. No one but the Flaming Lips could've written it (well, except that Cat Stevens kind of wrote "Fight Test", but, y'know). That this was recorded 2000-2002 really puts into perspective how severely lacking in imagination some entries to this list are. Not every album has to be totally novel to be worth listening to of course... but I digress. This is an album that I have enjoyed listening to for at least 15 years. The lyrics offer more for me to mull over as I get older. Favorite tracks are the first four tracks and the last four. Middle three are good too. 10/10

Very good album. I actually enjoyed listening to it quite a lot.

This album is just so good. Don't get me wrong, it's super weird. It's got this robot concept thing going on (at least for the first few songs, the concept falls apart a bit after that), the robots are pink for some reason, there's some unconventional spacey sounds in the background. I can definitely see it being too much for some people. I don't care though, this thing is a masterpiece. First, the sound is just so deeply layered, it's just one of those things that you can like put on headphones and not listen to the vocals at all and it puts a smile on your face. It's really beautiful musically. Fortune called it a "lush and haunting electronic symphony," and you know what, it is. This would be a perfectly good album just on that alone, but somehow through the whole robot ridiculousness this thing is also super freaking gut wrenching lyrically. Like look at this: "Do you realize / That you have the most beautiful face? / Do you realize / We're floating in space? / Do you realize / That happiness makes you cry? / Do you realize / That everyone you know someday will die? / And instead of saying all of your goodbyes / Let them know you realize that life goes fast / It's hard to make the good things last / You realize the sun doesn't go down / It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round" Like, come on now. That's like a whole philosophy of life boiled down into a verse in a song on a goddamn album about pink robots. Like someone in their studio made an offhand comment about how some Japanese musician named Yoshimi sounded like she was battling monsters, and we got this beauty. Musicians never cease to amaze me, I could never do this. There's a few moments here and there that drag a tiny bit, but honestly who cares. They were cooking, I'd rather have more of this than less. There's also like three songs that all could easily be my favorite on here. "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1" was really the only song I was familiar with going into this, but "Fight Song" is a killer opener, and "Do You Realize??" is incredible too (lyrics above). This is just a killer album overall. This period of alt/indie rock might be my favorite genre, and I feel like this album is a bit underappreciated. Not by me though. Favorite song: Do You Realize?? Other: Fight Test, One More Robot / Sympathy 3000-21, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 2, In the Morning of the Magicians, Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell, Are You a Hypnotist?, It's Summertime, All We Have Is Now, Approaching Pavonis Mons By Balloon (Utopia Planitia) 2/3/25

5 for the memories, 5 for the jams

Flawless

The Lips’ previous album, The Soft Bulletin, is one of the greatest albums ever recorded Can they follow it? You bet they can More electronic, more whimsical but with no less heart or sonic adventure

This surprised me with how much I loved it. Fantastic album, and I plan on listening to the rest of their catalogue.

Remarkable album. Always one of my favorites.

One of my favorite albums.

Classic

The best of the Flaming Lips.

One of my favorites, extremely well-produced, lot's of textures, introspective lyrics