Zaireeka reflected

I have one word to succinctly describe this experience: cacophony, but I'd like to have none of the negative connotations associated with it. Never having really listened to the Flaming Lips, this was my first extended introduction and it was amazing. Right away, I started to feel those familiar physical symptoms of liking something. A ball in the pit of my stomach, the feeling of my eyes becoming unfocused, a weight on my chest and the belated knowledge that I wasn’t breathing all signaled that there was some good stuff going on here. I knew more than ever that I should have accompanied my friend Lauren to the Flaming Lips show in high school. Experiencing Zaireeka was like being at a concert, but being inside the music. The surround sound effect was interesting, having the ability to fill the room with barking dogs, plunge one into the center of an orchestra, or make one feel like they were sitting with just a friend and an acoustic guitar. Not only that, but it’s refreshing to encounter a group who knows how to have fun with their music. One thing that really sealed the deal for me was the very Beatles-esque feel to the whole thing. The very best part of the whole experience was the knowledge that this was something completely ephemeral that could never be exactly duplicated. It was that lack of synch when CD 4, like Seabiscuit, pulled ahead of the rest that made this particular listen special. Furthermore, each of us has a similar, but ultimately distinct feeling about the experience. I know that what I heard is completely different from what the people across the room heard. What reminded me of Sgt. Pepper probably reminded someone else of a wholly different album. It was a personal and, at the same time, collective experience.