Wayne Coyne is like that wacky kid in high school — the one who wears pants made of duct tape or carries one of those stiff novelty leashes that make it look like he’s walking an invisible dog. Except Coyne, an adult best known for fronting the Flaming Lips, has a huge audience — one that allows him to crowdsurf over it while ensconced in a big clear ball. “She Don’t Use Jelly,” the band’s 1994 hit, should’ve been a blip, but they massaged their alt quirk into an indie-fied version of art rock while maintaining something of a “weird” image, and slowly built an audience inside dorm rooms and outdoors at festivals. They are, collectively, that wacky kid after he went to art school, got a job at an edgy nonprofit, and only increased in popularity among his friends who enjoy home-brewed beer and trace feelings of being a little bit different.
The plans for their next album suggest that the Lips are looking for a whole lot of “little bit different.” They’re assembling a potpourri of collaborators for the disc, which may be out as soon as April. According to Rolling Stone, they’ve recorded with Nick Cave, Neon Indian, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros; are expecting a couple tracks any moment now from Bon Iver; and are in hot pursuit of Ke$ha, Erykah Badu, and Lykke Li. (Women may not be their strong suit, although it is said that Ke$ha is an admirer.) What would a disc convening all of these talented musicians sound like, other than a big fucking mess? Go ask Alice.
But there is a bright spot in this smear: Plastic Ono Band. Sure, many people think of Yoko the musician as a caterwauling nutjob. But in the last few years, she has become a force in electronic dance music. (And, it should be said, has always been pretty awesome.) There’s also evidence that the pairing makes sense: Specifically, the shadowy, noisy, and undeniably immediate “Do It,” a song Ono and the Lips recorded in December for a limited-edition vinyl EP, which was sold at the New Year’s Eve concerts in which Plastic Ono Band opened for the Flaming Lips. You can hear all four tracks here, although the ones that aren’t “Do It” are kind of lousy. Or maybe just lazy. In any case, there’s something to be said for weirdos who aren’t afraid to get strange for art’s sake, and sometimes even succeed.