I Can Be a Frog

Album: Embryonic (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • On this song, Flaming Lips Wayne Coyne reels off a list of wild beasts while Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs adds animalistic shrieks: Coyne told The Daily MailSeptember 18, 2009: "It's our Sonny and Cher back-and-forth love song."
  • In a 2009 Flavorwire interview, Coyne said this grew out "Watching the Planets," another Embryonic track featuring Karen O. "We were doing a vocal session for that, and she started to make all these crazy noises. She made them throughout these 45 minutes that we were doing this thing. Toward the end of it she said, 'You know, why don't I do a take of this song where I just completely freak out. Would you like that?' And I said, 'Well, yeah! I think that would be great.' When Karen O says something like that, you just brace yourself, like, 'Oh, well this is probably going to be pretty extraordinary.' So she started to do this thing, and the song goes on for about five minutes, so as she was doing it, in my mind I thought, 'You know, I'm just going to make another song out of this.' So I didn't even have the song 'I Can Be a Frog.' It was mostly inspired and brought on by her performance."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Emmylou Harris

Emmylou HarrisSongwriter Interviews

She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.

Neal Smith - "I'm Eighteen"

Neal Smith - "I'm Eighteen"They're Playing My Song

With the band in danger of being dropped from their label, Alice Cooper drummer Neal Smith co-wrote the song that started their trek from horror show curiosity to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Punk Photography of Chris Stein

The Punk Photography of Chris SteinSong Writing

Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Ian Astbury of The Cult

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.