UPDATE December 1st – The Flaming Lips are recording a new version of “Atlas Eets Christmas” with The Plastic Ono Band
(apparently for a collaborative Christmas EP – details here). Watch them in the studio here.
The two bands are also playing New Year Freak Out #5, December 31- January 1st (ticket links and info here).
Listen to The Flaming Lips ”Infinite Christmas Sounds” website - AtlasEetsChristmas.com - and tweet along with others using hashtag #LipsChristmas
Follow Flaming Lips updates, music news and holiday tunes at twitter/FutureHeartDay
Doing Atlas Eets Christmas!!! Hoping to get Yoko to sing it!!!!! moby.to/8yspci—
Wayne Coyne (@waynecoyne) November 29, 2011
Working on Atlas Xmas lyrix with @waynecoyne at @seanonolennon studio twitvid.com/RSOYV—
Steven Drozd (@stevendrozd) December 01, 2011
Original post:
Clearly Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne loves Christmas, but have you ever noticed that most of the band’s “Christmas” work revolves around Lips’ musical mastermind Steven Drozd? Sure, they referenced the holidays occasionally in their first decade, but it wasn’t until Steven joined that they lit their stage with Christmas lights and started releasing Christmas covers (like “The Little Drummer Boy” in 1994). Then came “Christmas at the Zoo” – chords and melody by, you guessed it, Drozd. The filming of Christmas on Mars was primarily Wayne’s obsession, but its soundtrack has “Drozd” written all over it. And in 2009 Steven – sans the rest of the Lips - recorded “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” with Jeff Richardson for (Oklahoma indie label) Nice People’s Christmas single.
All this brings us to Imagene Peise – allegedly an Iraqi jazz pianist, though little more is known about “her.” “Rumored to have committed suicide in 1978” she has managed to have a myspace nonetheless…
…which explains “most of what is known is shrouded in clouds of legend and smoke of myth.”
Well, hmm, isn’t it interesting that the name of this talented musician from Iraq sounds like “imagine peace” – as if John Lennon spelled it in his funny way wonsaponatime. And, what’s this… “she” has recorded the The Atlas Eets Christmas Collection! Now why does her playing sounds like that of Steven Drozd’s (if he were to have an instrumental side-project, perhaps as the soundtrack to a psychedelicized Charlie Brown Christmas sequel)? Why does the artwork for “her” Christmas album look like the work of Lips visual designer George Salisbury?? And why did “her” version of “Winter Wonderland” appear in The Flaming Lips’ “Silver Trembling Fetus” YouTube announcement??
What’s that you say?
“Atlas Eets Christmas” is the Flaming Lips’ secret 2007 Christmas album released in a very limited physical quantity under the pseudonym Imagene Peise (with a sticker that read “Love Is The Answer – Merry Christmas From The Flaming Lips 2007″).
Say the album title out loud and it sounds like ”At last, it’s Christmas!” When sung in the title track it can also sound like, ”At last year’s Christmas“… and the alias credits are similarly punning:
“Imagene Peise – Piano
Ominog Bangh – Laughing/Crying Glider Synthesizer
Shineyu Bhupal - Drones, Sitar, and Baritone Tambura”
They found a new Imagene Peise recording!! Merry Christmas To You! http://ow.ly/3tGZW—
The Flaming Lips (@theflaminglips) December 23, 2010
It’s no longer a secret really…
For Christmas 2009, “Frosteeeee” streamed at myspace/flaminglips and on December 23, 2010 an Imagene Peise YouTube channel was created and linked by @theflaminglips on twitter later that day (embedded above). “Imagene Peise” uploaded the entire album to YouTube plus newer recordings of “Silent Night,” “Have Your Self a Merry Little Christmas” and “Merry Christmas to You”.
This year Steven is apparently continuing his tradition of re-harmonizing Christmas standards in the psych-jazz style of Imagene Peise – he asked his twitter followers for suggestions last week (below, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” is the frontrunner). The Flaming Lips are also continuously streaming holiday chestnuts from their newest website atlaseetschristmas.com. Linked by Wayne on twitter yesterday, he described the site as ”infinite Christmas sounds…24 hours a day.”
Similar to their site flaminglipstwentyfourhoursong.com - which began playing their day-long song “7 Skies H3″ on Halloween at midnight – the Atlas Eets Christmas site plays a seemless mix of Flaming Lips and Imagene Peise recordings segued together. In addition to all of the Atlas Eets Christmas ”secret” holiday album the site derives its name and URL from, it also streams Lips’ Christmas classics - like Clouds Taste Metallic standout “Christmas at the Zoo,” “A Change at Christmas (Say It Isn’t So)” and their “White Christmas” demo for Tom Waits - and rarities (including original music from their film Christmas on Mars not on the album, and their arrangement of “Silent Night” with Spiritualized’s “Lord Can You Hear Me”). Listen to hear what new recording song Drozd will add to the mix in the coming weeks:
OK,Xmas music fans,the insanity has begun,much to the annoyance of my family!What song should I reharmonize this year?Tweet your thoughts—
Steven Drozd (@stevendrozd) November 21, 2011
@surfingelectrod I need to do a new one again this year. I'll keep ya posted. Thinking about doing "Santa Claus Is Coming…"—
Steven Drozd (@stevendrozd) November 28, 2011
Which is your favorite Christmas cut by this mystery “woman,” Imagene Peise??
Probably late to the party, but here are my guesses.
First song: Come on! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance! by Sufjan Stevens
Second song: Merry Christmas from Bjork by Bjork
Thanks!