Monday, June 25, 2018

The Flaming Lips - 7 Skies H3 (100-minute edit)


The Flaming Lips – 7 Skies H3

(100-Minute Edit by soniclovenoize)


Disc One:
1. I Can’t Shut Off My Head
2. Meepy Morp (Calliope Trance with Major and Minor Celestial Sections)
3. Radiation Wind
4. Battling Voices From Beyond
5. Electronic Toy Factory
6. In A Dream
7. Metamorphosis

Disc Two:
8. Requiem
9. An Outpouring of Immaculate Light From The Heavens Consumes Your Body
10. Meepy Morp (Reprise)
11. Riot In My Brain!!
12. 7 Skies H3 (Main Theme)
13. Can’t Let It Go


This is my own unique edit of The Flaming Lips’ epic 24-hour song, “7 Skies H3”, edited to the length of a 100-minute double-album.  Each of the song’s fourteen movements were extracted from the 24-hour piece to represent a “song” on the “album”; each song was then edited down to an appropriate length for that particular song in the context of a double-album.  In effect, some tracks act as mere transitions to others, while some tracks remained epic in scope (in the context of a double-album anyways).  While similar to the band’s own official 50-minute edit released on limited edition vinyl for Record Store Day in 2014, my 100-minute edit is twice that length and much more inclusive; not only allowing specific songs a more epic breath that they deserved but including music that was completely removed from the RSD release altogether.  All track segues are intact and this album plays as a continuous 100-minute piece--although one could separate tracks 1-7 as Disc One (49 minutes) and tracks 8-13 as Disc Two (51 minutes).  All official song titles are used except for the unnamed movements, which will default to the long-held fan-chosen titles.    

By the 2010s, The Flaming Lips have reached a mid-life crisis.  They had already made their cherished acid-punk indie releases in the 1980s; they already had their breakthrough noise-pop hit in 1993 with “She Don’t Use Jelly”; they already made their self-serving experimental four-disc 1997 album, Zaireeka; they had already made their critically acclaimed symphonic-pop masterpiece The Soft Bulletin in 1999; they had already managed the trick of gaining mainstream success while still retaining their core audience with Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots in 2002; they had already made a complete musical about-face into dark, hypnotic Krautrock for Embryonic in 2009.  If they refuse to break-up, what does a band who has already done everything do next?  The answer: whatever the fuck they want.

This of course meant a series of bizarre EP releases throughout 2011 which included: a song meant to be played on 12 different cell phones simultaneously; recordings released on flash drives encased in marijuana-flavored gummy skulls; and a six-hour song released inside a strobe light toy.  While one could perceive this as pure gimmick, this observer saw it as a result of the combined boredom with the typical rock-band archetype and the realization of ultimate artistic freedom, something earned after 30 years of making music.  But it was that six-hour song, “I Found A Star On The Ground”, that set a new bar for the band searching for something interesting to fill their time in 2011: how does one top a six-hour song?  With a 24-hour song, of course!

“7 Skies H3” tells the story of a protagonist whose love commits suicide, and the listener embarks on a psychedelic journey through his grief process as well as a musical representation of her afterlife.  The song—becoming an insane challenge for Flaming Lips fans to even listen to it in its entirety—was released to a limited edition of 13 copies on Halloween 2011, encased in an actual human skull.  It was also broadcast as a live webstream, which continually (and to this day) plays the song indefinitely.  While detractors found even more gimmick to condemn, there was one thing they could not argue: “7 Skies H3”contained some of the best music The Flaming Lips ever produced. 

Unfortunately, much of that great music was lost to it's own daunting massiveness.  Does one really have the time, energy and will-power to sift through a literal day of music to appreciate the highlights?  Some fans did... notably StrangePets who made both a 90-minute and 213-minute cut of "7 Skies H3" (which urged me to do the same!).  The Flaming Lips probably took notice, and issued their own condensed 50-minute version as an exclusive Record Store Day release in 2014.  Their "distillation" RSD cut showcased some of the most interesting music they'd made in their 30 year career as a standalone album, rather than a 24-hour endeavor.  Unfortunately not all of the magical moments from the full endeavor made the cut, notably the atmospheric interlude of "Radiation Wind", the quaint chaos of "Electronic Toy Factory", the ending jam of "Requiem" and it's following "The Other Side", and the driving ecstatic jam of “An Outpouring of Immaculate Light From the Heavens Consumes Your Body” and it's singular rainstorm breakdown.  And criminally, the centerpiece of 7 Skies H3--the seven-hour emotionally-catastrophic sound-experiment "Metamorphosis"--was reduced to a trite five minutes and lacked any of the nuances that made it one of The Flaming Lips' masterworks.  Is it possible to make a concise 7 Skies H3 as a typical album that could not only be enjoyed in one sitting, but also retain the aforementioned epic attributes?  I have found a run-time that precisely doubles the RSD release is the perfect length, assembled as a double LP--discs timing 49 and 51 minutes respectively--while still edited for continuous play just as the original 24-hour song. 

Disc One
1.  “I Can’t Shut Off My Head” [7:45]
My 100-minte edit of 7 Skies H3 begins with one of the four lyric-based compositions that explains the concept of the album itself.  While the original full-length version of “I Can’t Shut Off My Head” contained eight verses and ran 25:39, the Record Store Day edit cut it down to three verses and running at 8:23 (as well as adding superfluous echo onto Wayne’s vocals).  My edit is structured similarly as the RSD edit, as I chose to include what I felt were the three best verses (1, 2 & 4) as well as an instrumental introduction.  Additionally, each verse was edited down from seven to five lines, omitting the two weakest lines of lyric for each verse.  The instrumental passages were then edited to match the length of each verse.  Because of this, my edit is a bit more concise than the official RSD edit, clocking in at 7:45.
2.  “Meepy Morp (Calliope Trance with Major and Minor Celestial Sections)” [3:15]
Following is what fans called “Calliope Trance with Major and Minor Celestial Sections” but was officially titled “Meepy Morp” on the RSD record.  Originally an hour in length, I have reduced it down to just over three minutes to keep the album moving, featuring three different sections of the piece to give a feeling of variation as the instrumental progresses. 
3.  “Radiation Wind” [2:36]
An officially unnamed track “Radiation Wind”, originally running 37 minutes and not appearing on the RSD version at all, is reduced to a two-minute interlude before the battle begins. 
4.  “Battling Voices From Beyond” [4:02]
The epic “Battling Voices From Beyond” was a grueling two hours and 37 minutes on the original 24-hour "7 Skies H3".   While it was edited down to 3:05 on the RSD vinyl, my edit is a paced 4:02, which showcases several of the interesting sounds that dance around the pounding main vocal riff. 
5.  “Electronic Toy Factory” [2:27]
Another track that was completely omitted from the 50-minte RSD edit, the 10-minute and unnamed “Electronic Toy Factory” (featuring the experimental duo Pitchwafuzz), is edited down to a reasonable 2:27, acting as simply a linking track between two main selections.   
6.  “In A Dream” [6:28]
The original version of the second of four lyrical songs ran an hour and 4 minutes, which was edited down to a feasible 4:51 on the RSD release and included additional vocal overdubs to smooth of the mix.  Here I present a more hypnotic 6:28 mix, organized into two verses. 
7.  “Metamorphosis” [22:27]
The massive centerpiece of 7 Skies H3 is “Metamorphosis”, which originally ran seven hours in length!  It was reduced to an anticlimactic five minutes on the RSD edit, fading out at the end of side A.  With a theoretical double-album format, we can allow “Metamorphosis” to retain its true epic proportions.  My edit spans a reasonable 22:27 and features my favorite elements of the original seven-hour piece.  It is meant to be the conclusion of the first disc of this theoretical double album. 

Disc Two
8.  “Requiem” [5:15]
The second disc begins with the third of four lyric-based compositions on the album, which is also coincidentally the mid-point of the 24-hour "7 Skies H3".  Originally spanning 23:20—essentially a 3-minute song with a 20-minute jam—the RSD release unfortunately exorcised the ending 20 minutes completely.  Here I have restored the ending jam, although only keeping about two minutes of it for the sake of emotional finality for the song. 
9.  “An Outpouring of Immaculate Light From the Heavens Consumes Your Body” [25:58]
The series of musical movements which follow are mostly absent from the RSD edit, what Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne describes as “the other side of this long journey through death”, and seems to musically depict the significant other's journey in the afterlife. It starts with the unnamed but aptly fan-titled “The Other Side”; originally clocking in at over an hour, an edit of the serene piece eventually found a way onto 2013's The Terror as the outro to "You Lust".  Because of this, I have excluded “The Other Side” from my edit of 7 Skies H3 in the name of redundancy. Next is the unnamed yet fan-titled “An Outpouring of Immaculate Light From the Heavens Consumes Your Body” (but described by Wayne as a “Bb chord with varying accompaniment”, which would also suffice as a title, I suppose), originally spanning three and a half hours and also completely missing from the RSD release.  In reality, the movement is a loop of the same 26-minute no-wave jam in Bb with different sets of embellishments upon each repeat (with one even being played backwards!).   For my mix, the piece is introduced by one of the greatest moments of the original 24-hour edit: a between-rotation breakdown of a rainstorm, ticking stopwatch and chiming keyboards.  I then have included a complete rotation of the full 26-minute jam. 
10. “Meepy Morp (Reprise)” [2:42]
“Meepy Morp (Reprise)”—also known as the fan-titled “Movement of Celestial Bodies”—was originally two hours and 15 minutes in length, although it is simply a loop of the same eleven-minute piece.  On the RSD edit, “Meepy Morp” is paired down to a short, two-minute interlude.  I have made a similar edit, but allowed the piece to continue for another 40 seconds to create a logical outro to the instrumental. 
11.  “Riot In My Brain!!!” [4:32]
The destructive noise jam “Riot In My Brain!!!” originally totals an exhausting hour and a half, but was trimmed down to a digestible 4:28 on the RSD release; I have made a similar edit. 
12.  “7 Skies H3 (Main Theme)” [6:26]
The gorgeous main theme to 7 Skies H3 (fan-titled “Forever Floating”) drifts on for two hours and 12 minutes and includes three movements; the RSD release condenses it down to 6:26.  I have made a similar edit, giving each of the three movements about two minutes of time.  Coincidentally, my edit runs the same length of the RSD release! 
13.  “Can’t Let It Go” [6:08]
The closing song—the fourth lyric-based composition—originally ran eight minutes in length, with the RSD release not bothering to edit it at all.  Here I have trimmed it down to 6:08, with numerous edits in the ending outro.  In effect, the build-up is no longer gradual, but immediately apparent and the track is perceived as more bombastic to end this amazing 100 minutes of music.    


 
Flac/shn --> wav --> mixing & editing in SONAR & Goldwave --> flac encoding via TLH lv8

*md5, artwork and tracknotes included

52 comments:

  1. Fantastic work, Sonic!
    As many others have already requested, your take on 1862 by the Small Faces would be really appreciated, as well as your 2017 SMiLE mix. And if you're not really bothered to do the write-up on 1862, just give us the tracklist! Ahahahah.

    A request I've also been considering making for a while has been a Wings album after Back to the Egg – based on the 1980 Pugin Hall rehearsals and the early recording sessions for Tug of War with Denny Laine. Would be interesting to see your take on it!

    Thanks a lot

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Still working on the SMiLE upgrade, because I plan to have a bonus disc of rarities + a 20-page essay included.

      Delete
  2. This looks fascinating. I'm going to try it on for size.
    One question though - what made you decide to actually edit out lines from the vocal verses in the opening song rather than follow the example of the RSD LP edit? Especially as your other edits are longer than the ones presented on that LP.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess I sort of glazed over my thought process in how I edited this stuff down, but what I did is:
      1) accept each of the 14 "movements" of the song to be song on this theoretical album.
      2) then assess for each of the 14 parts, if this *was* a song on a 2LP, how should it sound like and how long should it be?

      Thus, yes, some things turned out longer than the RSD release, while others were shorter. In the case "I Can't Shut Off My head", I thought, structurally, it should have been edited down to what I have it, to 16 bars. That way the song keeps moving and doesn't drag.

      Delete
    2. Well, I did dive in, and I've now become so obsessed that I want to do my own edit!

      This is a landmark piece of music. It's utterly incredible. Thanks, Sonic, for turning me on to it.

      Delete
  3. I remember this being up a long time ago, and disappearing not long after. Was there objections? Also, is this one different?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, very astute observation! Not sure many peopel caught that!

      I had originally posted it, and then deleted it the following day for 2 reasons:
      1) I didn't think it fit the theme of this blog
      2) I was honestly still tinkering with it, and thought I could do better.

      As you can see, I had a change of heart with #1, and I think this is a better edit than I had previously.

      Delete
    2. I think it's great that you're doing something a bit outside the theme. More music, more info and more exposure to bands I don't know.

      Delete
  4. I've got your original of this, looking forwards to the upgrade. As always, I love your work and thanks

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    Replies
    1. Wow, nice! This is my final say on my cut of 7 Skies H3, hence it's being posted. I think this is the best of the previous ones.

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    2. Funny as I was thinking, wait -- didn't he already do this one a few years ago? And if he didn't, then where did I get the version I have? LOL

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. Awesome! Thanks, sonic!

    I've been meaning to ask... I've got the Zaireeka vinyl box mastered at Bernie Grundman, and I enjoy ripping LPs and cleaning them up. Do you have any interest in using clean rips of the 4 LPs to do another Zaireeka mix for the site?

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  6. I can't tell you how much this one means to me and how excited I am that you tackled this. I love everything you do but this one is really special to me. I was obsessed with 7 Skies when they released (still have it on my bucket list to actually own one of the skulls)and planned for a long time to listen to it all. It took some time and doing but it's become an annual or more than annual ritual in my house. We take three days off work, plan a ton of housebound activities, plan a starting time and then launch into it, staying awake and listening and working on projects and ourselves for the entire song. The last time we did it it ended and we looked at each other and were like, oh no, it's over, should we just start it up again? And we did, two full runs of 24 hours back to back. Anyway, the point is I don't think this song/release gets enough ink or recognition for the massive and beautiful and life changing piece it is and I'm always so grateful to find other people that get it and love it and offer permutations and experiences with it. Thank you!

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  7. Hey sonic, something I've been wondering about:

    As you did the "Eat the Document" OST, how about doing the same thing to another unreleased movie, "Cocksucker Blues"?

    Or even the "unreleased 1972 live album", they were working on after the STP tour. It was mostly based on the 7/20/72 Philadelphia show, as far as I know. Info on both should be pretty easy to find.

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  8. Thanks. Maybe I'll finally check out this band I keep hearing about. :)
    Just so you know, Zippy now allows files up to 500 mb in size, so no need to keep file archives below the 200 mb limit unless, of course, it's all up to preference anyway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I didn't know! Thanks for the tip!

      Also, this is not a very good entry-album for The Flaming Lips! I would instead recommend Clouds Taste Metallic, which is my 2nd favorite album of all time

      Delete
    2. You say "this is not a very good entry-album for The Flaming Lips", but it's worked for me!

      Delete
    3. @soniclovenoize: Your welcome. Zippy announced the change last year I believe, and it's true. :)
      Out of curiosity, what is your favorite album of all time?
      Thanks again.

      Delete
    4. Ah, yes. Good choice. :) Thanks for answering.

      Delete
  9. Yowsa! Thank you for your hard work.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Checksum doesn't work for me on Windows 10 & using Traders Little Helper. Sure it's OK though otherwise it would have errored on unzipping.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I probably changed a track title after encoding, which would make the checksum not work.

      Delete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. Sonic, any chance of a link to your 5-disc mixdown of Zaireeka?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe someday.

      Or maybe a new one that's a mix of the proper 4 discs, not using the dumb bonus disc.

      Delete
    2. So what's dumb about the bonus disc?

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    3. Oh, OK.
      I follow your YouTube channel btw. Maybe you could put your existing mix of Zaireeka up there in the meantime? Hint, beg, plead. ;-)

      Delete
  13. Great to see a new post,thank you very much

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  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  16. How about a Zwan double album mixed together with the Djali Zwan Spun Soundtrack, and even throw in James Iha's Never Ever for good measure? Zwan's album has good songs but most of them have the same tempo and dynamics. Mix in the Spun songs and we have a great balance of loud and quiet, a bit a darkness to balance out the shiny pop.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Well this is interesting. But is there supposed to be SO MUCH DISTORTION in the bass and on the loud tracks?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh ok so it's not just my ears/system/download/thing then

      Delete
    2. No, unfortunately modern Flaming Lips are very poorly mastered. It is also very possible the tracks were clipping when they originally recorded it as well.

      Delete
  18. This is really nice. Your work is fantastic. The focus on the detail, both in terms of the music and research is what all record labels should strive for. I am curious if you were able to create a cue for the 24 hour version that is on the web? I tried, but it never cooperated. It would be nice to be able to jump to tracks. Four listens for the 24 hour version so far! It is an experience. Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't. My source of this is a wav file of the entire 24-hour piece, that was split into 24 one-hour segments. I then re-assembled them back together into 25 segments based on the "movements", with the longer movements further split into pieces.

      Delete
    2. Is there any way to get the wav file of the full 24h song? And from the original skulls, not from a stream recording?

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    3. Anything is possible if you use your imagination.

      Delete
  19. empty3
    https://mega.nz/file/Lg4xVA6T#dwTMzTEs0u98JgAGcgWGfxfIcdWH0KCoL8rd9Cc1jGE

    listless
    https://mega.nz/file/SkhBCQoZ#deAgF40fnY6hfKTRhQW4DyxVOyv8qpLsiCJ-8tGw6AE

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hello, I am once again kindly asking for your support for re-upped links...

    ReplyDelete
  21. HI, please reupload ;-) Thanks JJ

    ReplyDelete
  22. REM GENRE Rock
    REM DATE Halloween 2011
    REM COMMENT 24-44.1 Download
    PERFORMER "Flaming Lips"
    TITLE "7 SKIES H3 24HR"
    FILE "01 7 Skies H3.flac" WAVE
    TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE "7 Skies H3 - Can't Shut Off My Head [[[[[VOCAL - ORIGINAL MIX]]]]]"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
    TRACK 02 AUDIO
    TITLE "Meepy Morp - Calliope Trance With Major And Minor Celestial Sections"
    INDEX 01 25:39:61
    TRACK 03 AUDIO
    TITLE "Radiation Wind {{{{{NOT ON CD}}}}}"
    INDEX 01 78:53:23
    TRACK 04 AUDIO
    TITLE "Battling Voices From Beyond"
    INDEX 01 116:40:19
    TRACK 05 AUDIO
    TITLE "Electronic Toy Factory {{{{{NOT ON CD}}}}}"
    INDEX 01 274:13:28
    TRACK 06 AUDIO
    TITLE "In A Dream [[[[[VOCAL - ORIGINAL MIX]]]]]"
    INDEX 01 284:39:61
    TRACK 07 AUDIO
    TITLE "Metamorphosis Pt1"
    INDEX 01 349:07:17
    TRACK 08 AUDIO
    TITLE "Metamorphosis Pt2"
    INDEX 01 560:52:48
    TRACK 09 AUDIO
    TITLE "Requiem [[[[[VOCAL]]]]]"
    INDEX 01 770:14:72
    TRACK 10 AUDIO
    TITLE "The Other Side {{{{{NOT ON CD}}}}}"
    INDEX 01 794:10:49
    TRACK 11 AUDIO
    TITLE "An Outpouring Of Immaculate Light From The Heavens Consumes Your Body {{{{{NOT ON CD}}}}}"
    INDEX 01 857:16:48
    TRACK 12 AUDIO
    TITLE "Meepy Morp - Movement Of Celestial Bodies"
    INDEX 01 1071:59:00
    TRACK 13 AUDIO
    TITLE "Riot In My Brain!"
    INDEX 01 1207:26:46
    TRACK 14 AUDIO
    TITLE "7 Skies H3 - Forever Floating"
    INDEX 01 1298:26:00
    TRACK 15 AUDIO
    TITLE "7 Skies H3 - Can't Let Go [[[[[VOCAL]]]]]"
    INDEX 01 1431:24:41

    ReplyDelete
  23. Copy the text above into a notepad doc and save as a CUE file. Lines with "TRACK" have a two space indent and "TITLE" and "INDEX" have a four space indent. Feel free to take out notes with [ ] or { }.

    ReplyDelete