The Flaming Lips - Race For The Prize

What this video is

Released June 14, 1999 on Warner Bros. Records as the lead single from The Soft Bulletin, 'Race for the Prize' represents a decisive turning point in The Flaming Lips' career and in late-1990s alternative rock broadly. The Soft Bulletin shocked a music world that primarily knew the band for their 1993 novelty hit 'She Don't Use Jelly,' presenting instead a lushly orchestrated, emotionally raw song cycle. The single…

Why it matters

A landmark of neo-psychedelia and psychedelic pop, 'Race for the Prize' signaled the commercial and critical viability of orchestral indie rock at the turn of the millennium. The Soft Bulletin's influence on subsequent artists — from Arcade Fire to Grandaddy — is well-documented. The video's…

The director

Wayne Michael Coyne (born January 13, 1961, Pittsburgh, PA) is the founder, lead vocalist, guitarist, and principal songwriter of The Flaming Lips, formed in Oklahoma City in 1983. A self-taught multi-hyphenate, Coyne has directed the majority of The Flaming…