For The Flaming Lips‘ first foray into film, the epic Christmas on Mars doesn’t stands as proof positive that the weirdo rockers are creative giants capable of conquering anything they may tackle. But in the follow up to their first feature, the band has decided to go for modesty in the creative scope and something much larger in terms of talent, a man who is a celestial body in and of himself: Justin Timberlake.
In an interview with Billboard (via Pitchfork), frontman Wayne Coyne said Mars, which took the band seven years to finish, is going to involve less of a sweeping and interstellar approach; not out of their limitless creativity and absurdity, but in terms of feasibility. What a rational decision.
“My only goal was that I didn’t have to build space station-looking sets every time I wanted to have someone say something,” Coyne said, “only because I built those sets myself every time we shot something for Christmas on Mars over the seven years we took to make it. This one is set in someone’s house and in a back yard and in a slaughterhouse; all those are available to me right here, so I don’t have to build everything this time.”
And while it may seem odd to go for Timberlake, the two acts have worked together in the past (but more on that later). What Coyne and company will rely on is sheer force of will and determination to get the former N’Sync member aboard.
“I’m gonna try to get real actors, too,” Coyne said, noting he will again shoot in Oklahoma City with friends and family. “(And) celebrities to show up and have fun with us for a couple of nights. I’m in the process of begging Justin Timberlake to be part of it; if I’m lucky I’ll be able to wear him down in another year.”
Coyne also added that regardless of whether it takes forever or six weeks, “…because I get to do it with people I love and it’s my art, I don’t care how long it takes.”
Check out the band’s freaky Top of the Pops performance with Timberlake below. Also, enjoy the band’s tour dates. And if you’re hoping to hear the band take a crack at their Dark Side.. release in full, you’ll have your chance if you frequent the festivals.
“We’re viewing Bonnaroo as the exclusive Dark Side… show in America for the summer,” Coyne said. “We may do another one somewhere else in the world, maybe, as the summer ends. It’s a nerve-wracking thing to do when you don’t get to play it over and over in front of an audience. Usually you have the luxury of getting to play a regular set and honing it as weeks go by, but when you only get to play this piece of music twice a year or something in front of people, it’s nerve-wracking. But it keeps us on our toes, and we like that.”
The Flaming Lips 2010 Tour Dates:
03/12 – Austin, TX @ Austin Music Hall
03/13 – Denton, TX @ NX35 Music Confette
04/15 – Charlottesville, VA @ Charlottesville Pavilion
04/17 – Poughkeepsie, NY @ Mid Hudson Civic Center
04/18 – Ithaca, NY @ Barton Hall (Cornell University)
04/19 – Montclair, NJ @ Wellmont Theatre
04/21 – Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theatre
04/23 – Kansas City, KS @ Sandstone Amphitheatre
06/06 – Houston, TX @ Eleanor Tinsley Park
06/11 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival
07/03 – Oxford, ME @ Nateva Music Festival
07/26 – New York, NY @ Central Park SummerStage
