Video: The Flaming Lips – “Assassins of Youth”

Directed by Wayne Coyne and Blake Studdard. From American Head, out now.

2020 is so weird. One day, maybe in a couple decades or so, people are going to look back at videos like this and wonder wtf was going on. Sort of like how we feel when we see photos of tuberculosis sanitariums from around the turn of the previous century.

But good for the Lips. Leave it to Wayne Coyne and his compatriots to figure out a way to host a real live rock concert in the middle of an infectious pandemic. Put everybody in their own individual space bubble. And why not? It looks fun. Might get a little stanky in there after a while, but it’s probably worth it. How bad do you miss live music?

Coyne says, “The job of the Flaming Lips is to get you in a room, get you excited, get you to forget about the world’s problems and entertain you for an hour. But if we do that without this pretty radical protection, then we’re going to kill you.”

Killing your fans is not a good business model for bands. But neither is patiently waiting for Congress to pass along some financial help to people who have been put out of work by this virus. Bands are getting creative, hosting livestreams and trying to stay connected with their audience online, upping their merch game, etc. But how much longer will they be able to pay their bills without touring? It’s a bad situation and it’s not getting better anytime soon.

I was young yesterday
But everything is changed after today
And I don’t know what to do
Oh my younger self, oh I miss you.

So maybe we should all buy ourselves a space bubble. It looks like you can buy them at Walmart for $159.99, which isn’t so bad. Product description is a little scary: “A sealed water ball has enough breathable air for an average sized person to stay inside for 15-20 minutes without refilling. YOU MUST CHANGE THE AIR AT LEAST EVERY 30 MINUTES FOR YOUR SAFETY.” So there are definitely some logistical issues to work out. We’d need to find a way to pump new covid-free air into the balls. Clubs might have to widen their doors a little so we can fit through. So I don’t know…

The more you learn about space bubbles, the more impressive it is that the Lips were able to pull this off with an audience of 100 fans!