We a Famly

Album: Oczy Mlody (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The Flaming Lips teamed up with frequent collaborator Miley Cyrus for this dreamy track. The "Wrecking Ball" hitmaker features on the chant-along chorus, before taking over from Wayne Coyne to sing the second verse.
  • The Flaming Lips first presented this song to Cyrus back in 2014, when she was on the South American leg of her Bangerz World Tour. "It sounded a little different, a lot slower. It didn't have the little hook that's on it now," Lips frontman Wayne Coyne recalled to Billboard magazine. "She sang a little demo of it. A good bit of the vocal you hear on the track is from that very first take she did the very first time she heard it. Through the marvels of technology now you can speed up and slow down and change things without really damaging the quality of the recording that she'd done."

    "It took us a few times before we knew we were going with it," he added. "We finally took it to (co-producer) Dave Fridmann; He said, 'No wonder nobody likes it. It's too f---ng slow!' so we spend it up and there you go."
  • Cyrus first hooked up with the band when she provided guest vocals on "With A Little Help From My Friends," which was part of the Flaming Lips' track-for-track tribute to the Sgt. Pepper album. In 2015, she teamed up with Wayne Coyne and co for her 23 track album that was released under the name Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz.
  • This song is the closing track of Oczy Mlody and it ends the album on an optimistic note.

    "It's just dorky enough and just simple enough that you can walk away liking it and not worry about the depths of its meaning too much, and that to me is a great triumph," Coyne told ABC Radio. "Sometimes I think music and songs do that, where they wanna tell you something that's so important, eh, you just don't care that much. And sometimes music is not trying to be important at all and it just resonates with you, and you can sing along all day."
  • The song title is not a typo, nor is Wayne Coyne's keyboard missing a few letters. The misspelling is intentional.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"They're Playing My Song

Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.

Subversive Songs Used To Sell

Subversive Songs Used To SellSong Writing

Songs about drugs, revolution and greed that have been used in commercials for sneakers, jeans, fast food, cruises and cars.

Chris Squire of Yes

Chris Squire of YesSongwriter Interviews

One of the most dynamic bass player/songwriters of his time, Chris is the only member of Yes who has been with the band since they formed in 1968.

Janis Ian

Janis IanSongwriter Interviews

One of the first successful female singer-songwriters, Janis had her first hit in 1967 at age 15.

Billy Joe Shaver

Billy Joe ShaverSongwriter Interviews

The outlaw country icon talks about the spiritual element of his songwriting and his Bob Dylan mention.

Christmas Songs

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.