The Soft Bulletin

The Soft Bulletin is the ninth album by The Flaming Lips, released on May 17, 1999. It continued the departure from their previous work that was featured in Zaireeka, and was very critically acclaimed. It featured intricate arrangements that were different from the band's previous guitar heavy alternative rock. The album had a melancholy sound due to the band's hardships at the time; Steven Drozd was fighting heroin addiction, and bassist Michael Ivins nearly died in a car accident, and Wayne Coyne's father was diagnosed with cancer.

Although the album was lauded by critics, it did not receive nearly as warm of a commercial reception. However, the band would achieve commercial success with their next album, 2002's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.

Pitchfork.tv Documentary
In 2012, Pitchfork released a documentary about the creation of the album.



Critical Reception

 * Pitchfork - 10.0/10
 * Piero Scaruffi - 6/10

Track Listing
''Because of record company demands for more commercial music, the group ended up releasing the album with remixes and slightly different track listings that not only reordered the songs, but completely omitted some of them. The most widely accepted track listing is that of the vinyl release, which was the same across regions, and included all of the tracks. ''

Vinyl

 * 1) Race for the Prize - 4:18
 * 2) A Spoonful Weighs a Ton - 3:32
 * 3) The Spark That Bled - 5:55
 * 4) The Spiderbite Song - 4:02
 * 5) Buggin - 3:16
 * 6) What Is the Light? - 4:05
 * 7) The Observer - 4:10
 * 8) Waitin' for a Superman - 4:17
 * 9) Suddenly Everything Has Changed - 3:54
 * 10) The Gash - 4:02
 * 11) Slow Motion - 3:53
 * 12) Feeling Yourself Disintegrate - 5:17
 * 13) Sleeping on the Roof - 3:09

US Track Listing

 * 1) Race for the Prize (Mokran Remix)
 * 2) A Spoonful Weighs a Ton
 * 3) The Spark That Bled (The Softest Bullet Ever Shot)
 * 4) The Spiderbite Song
 * 5) Buggin (Mokran Remix)
 * 6) What Is the Light? (An Untested Hypothesis Suggesting That the Chemical [In Our Brains] by Which We Are Able to Experience the Sensation of Being in Love Is the Same Chemical That Caused the "Big Bang" That Was the Birth of the Accelerating Universe)
 * 7) The Observer
 * 8) Waitin' for a Superman (Is It Gettin' Heavy?)
 * 9) Suddenly Everything Has Changed (Death Anxiety Caused by Moments of Boredom)
 * 10) The Gash (Battle Hymn for the Wounded Mathematician)
 * 11) Feeling Yourself Disintegrate
 * 12) Sleeping on the Roof (excerpt from "Should We Keep the Severed Head Awake??")
 * 13) Race for the Prize (Sacrifice of the New Scientists)
 * 14) Waitin' for a Superman (Mokran Remix)

UK/Australian Track Listing

 * 1) Race for the Prize
 * 2) A Spoonful Weighs a Ton
 * 3) The Spark That Bled
 * 4) Slow Motion
 * 5) What Is the Light?
 * 6) The Observer
 * 7) Waitin' for a Superman
 * 8) Suddenly Everything Has Changed
 * 9) The Gash
 * 10) Feeling Yourself Disintegrate
 * 11) Sleeping on the Roof
 * 12) Race for the Prize (Mokran Remix)
 * 13) Waitin' for a Superman (Mokran Remix)
 * 14) Buggin (Mokran Remix)