Back in 2011 the Flaming Lips did something crazy. (Hard to imagine, we know.) The Oklahoma psych-rock kingpins dropped a 24-hour song called “7 Skies H3,” which came inside of a real human skull for $5,000, and has otherwise been streamable on this site (note the weed leaf) ever since. But Lips fan hub The Future Heart points out that the band is now plotting an edited-down version for Record Store Day 2014.
Initially there was confusion over the length of the vinyl version. The group posted a test-pressing photo to Twitter on Monday, February 24, and a sticker on the plastic sheath read “35 PCS.” When speculation arose that the “7 Skies H3” release would be a 35-disc set, the Lips clarified: “The vinyl release is a single disk reduction by Dave, Wayne and Kliph.” That’d be producer Fridmann, frontman Coyne, and drummer Scurlock.
7 Skies H3 vinyl! Available on @recordstoreday! pic.twitter.com/5LA7N4axJs
— The Flaming Lips (@theflaminglips) February 25, 2014
Unsurprisingly, the number likely referred to the number of copies made of that single piece of vinyl. The fan-site says the new run-time will be 43 minutes and that the cover art will include a moiré pattern, though they don’t site their source. They also point out that, at one point, Coyne attempted to get the entire day-long song onto iTunes. “We’re working out a deal” he said in 2011. “You can see how insane we’ve gotten when we start thinking, ‘We’re gonna call iTunes and put a 24-hour song on their server.’ But they’ve since said, ‘This is insane, but let’s see if we can do it.'” They couldn’t do it.
