The Flaming Lips - placebo headwound, 1995

"I was not really familiar with The Flaming Lips until all the hullabaloo surrounding 1999’s The Soft Bulletin and that moment I listened, speechless, to ‘Race For The Prize’. But signs of greatness were there before. Quickly catching up with their back catalogue, as you do, it was evident the album had built on the inspirational psychedelia of Clouds Taste Metallic. The opening track ‘The Abandoned Hospital Ship’ would not sound out of place on The Soft Bulletin. But, as so often is the case on a long player, the real highlight is track 3, ‘Placebo Headwound’. The acoustic guitar, the full bass, the chaotic backdrop and Wayne Coyne’s evident fascination with noggin trauma."