And the Hello and welcome to episode 256 of Soda Jaker Songwriting. I'm Simon here as always

with Brian and joining us today is an American singer, songwriter and musician best

known as founder and frontman of the band he originally formed four decades ago the

flaming lips as well as his highly inventive and prodigious output with the

lips over the years he's collaborated with the likes of Chemical Brothers

Moby, Myly Cyrus, Danger Mouse, Casey Musgraves and Keshia.

To mark its 20th anniversary, the Flaming Lip's Classic Album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

was recently reissued in a mammoth CD boxet with over a hundred tracks of B-side, demos and other rarities,

which is now also available in a lavish LP format too.

With that in mind, their leader joined us from the Warner Offices in London to offer his perspective

on the album two decades on and of course discuss his approach to songwriting.

We're hugely excited to welcome the fantastic Wayne Coyne to the while still a baby and grew up in Oklahoma City. A boyhood Beatles fanatic and a highly

creative kid, the young Wayne would often be found drawing and painting and during his

teens writing lyrics. His first attempts at songwriting were hugely influenced by punk rock,

first of the English variety, then the US equivalent,

drawing particular inspiration from bands like Sonic Youth, Minutemen, black flag and the replacements.

With Brother Mark initially on lead vocals, Wayne formed The Flaming Lips in 1983,

while at the same time working as a fry cook in a local fast food restaurant called Long John

Silver's.

After starting to indie label Restless Records they issued their

first long player, Here It Is in 1986. After a string of rather more psychedelic leaning albums,

the band made a considerable creative leap forward with 1990s in a priest-driven ambulance.

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