Zaireeka

[Sneak]

So, I'm thinking about getting Zaireeka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaireeka), but I'd like to get some opinions on it before I do. Has anyone here tried it? Is it just an interesting concept, or does it work well in reality? It seems a bit pretentious, but I'm also intrigued by it. I don't want to rely on opinions that I can find from online reviews—most of them seem to either be "OMG THIS IS AN AMAZING MAGICAL JOURNEY THAT WILL TAKE YOU TO ANOTHER WORLD AND INTRODUCE YOU TO GANDHI" or, in the case of Pitchfork's review, "Stupid pretentious blechhh."

Anyone?

[Monney Dhoo]

I have it, I must say it is one of the weirdest albums I own. I don't think I have actually listened to it fully with all 4 CDs at once, but I have done 2 or 3.

It must be the only album I have seen that comes with warnings that the frequencies used make some people feel sick.

In my opinion if you like the Flaming Lips stuff before it you will probably enjoy it (at the very least one of the CDs is a conventional (ish) album with the songs done quite normally) though to be fair I do agree with the pitchfork comment that it is pretentious, though pretentious stuff can still be worth listening to.

[Susil]

I'm a big Lips fan, but I've never been able to justify to myself shelling out how much more than a regular album that thing costs, so I've never heard it... Maybe I should have a hunt on ebay.

If you do go for it let us know what its like, pretentious BS or otherwise!

[Sneak]

I have it, I must say it is one of the weirdest albums I own. I don't think I have actually listened to it fully with all 4 CDs at once, but I have done 2 or 3.

It must be the only album I have seen that comes with warnings that the frequencies used make some people feel sick.

In my opinion if you like the Flaming Lips stuff before it you will probably enjoy it (at the very least one of the CDs is a conventional (ish) album with the songs done quite normally) though to be fair I do agree with the pitchfork comment that it is pretentious, though pretentious stuff can still be worth listening to.

Yeah. IIRC, CDs 1 and 3 are more "normal" while 2 and 4 are the ones that add in the weird. But hey, the Lips wouldn't be the Lips without the weird, right? :smalltongue:

Anyway, I like most Lips. I prefer Soft Bulletin and later Lips to most earlier stuff, but there are some exceptions (I like Clouds Taste Metallic, and some of Transmissions). So I figure I should like Zaireeka, seeing as it's in between Clouds and The Soft Bulletin. And, as I stated earlier, the concept just intrigues me. I'm just surprised they got a major record label to support them. :smalltongue:

And yes, the comment about pretentiousness does have some merit, but the Pitchfork review as a whole just didn't sit well with me. The reviewer even stated that he didn't even listen to the album—he just couldn't be bothered with finding four CD players (the majority of the review was a rant on how idiotic it was of the Lips to expect people to shell out money for four CD players just to listen to the album). Now, that's fine. I agree, it's a little bit insane. BUT, if you're reviewing an album, you should at least listen to it. It's your job, after all. The reviewer just decided to slap a 0.0 score on it and call it a day without even listening to a single note.

Anyway, I think the album is actually a lot more accessible now than it was then, though. Now, everyone has a laptop, so it's pretty easy to just get together with some friends or family and listen to it. I've got four computers in the house right now (only one is mine), so I figure I'm already set for playing it if I do get it.


I'm a big Lips fan, but I've never been able to justify to myself shelling out how much more than a regular album that thing costs, so I've never heard it... Maybe I should have a hunt on ebay.

Well, looking on Amazon it costs $20, which is generally the price of two albums. So yes, it's expensive, but it's not really too outrageous.


If you do go for it let us know what its like, pretentious BS or otherwise!

Oh, I most definitely will. :smallsmile:

[Sneak]

Sorry for the double post, but I felt that I should give an update in case anyone cares to see how the album turns out.

I haven't played it "correctly" yet, but I did acquire a copy of Zaireeka. Well, four copies, I guess. :smalltongue: I've tried listening to them by playing each of the four different tracks that make up one song on four different music players on my computer. BUT, I will reserve my final judgement on the album until I've listened to it properly, so to speak, with different speakers, etc.

Check back if you're interested. :smallsmile: