On the Black Lips' fifth studio album, 2009's 200 Million Thousand, not much has changed on the surface. Maybe they are a little more together, more focused and tight, but they still have enough ramshackle swagger and loose-as-a-goose sleaze to go around and have enough for seconds. They still pick the bones of garage rock clean, sounding like they should be leading off side two of a Back from the Grave comp or at the very least a highlight of a Pebbles volume. They still sing about the insane life they appear to lead at all times (check their travails in India at the beginning of 2009) and do a convincing job of sounding completely debauched and bromantic ("I'll Be with You" is an amazing ode to a buddy) without coming off as foolish. While nothing on 200 Million is quite as catchy as Good Bad Not Evil's "Veni Vidi Vici," there are plenty of songs that rate with their best, including the rollicking "Drugs," the cover of Iggy Pop's "Again & Again" (a song from his days playing with the Iguanas in the '60s), the storming rocker "Take My Heart," and best of all, the folk-rock jangler "Starting Over," which features charmingly sloppy lead and background vocals and surprisingly sober lyrics which talk of re-forming their wanton ways. On these songs their formula of raw sound and hooky melodies works perfectly, the album only flags a little when the band tries to get spooky and "deep" and when they cut the tempos to a crawl. Songs like "Trapped in a Basement" and "The Drop I Hold" are decent enough but don't play to the band's strengths, and the sound collage/spoken word "I Saw God," which ends the album with a big fat slap of weirdness, is too arty for its own good. These more serious songs that dot the album's track list (and threaten to sink the album near the end) bring up an important point about the Black Lips. It seems kind of unfair to say it, but if they ever mature, they will almost instantly cease to be any good. You come to them looking for cheap thrills and easy kicks, looking for a band to soundtrack the times in your life when you don't give a damn and want to break a beer bottle over your head. 200 Million Thousand provides a fair share of these moments, and because of that you can say the album succeeds. It just could use a little more teenage head and a little less brains.
Having been declared by the New York Times as, “The hardest working band,” front-runners of the Athens, GA scene, the Black Lips, have received their fair share of hungry press ogling these past few years. Now, with universal acclaim (minus India) and immense pressure for their new full-length 200 Million Thousand, the world seems to [...]
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Atlanta's Black Lips have torn up the indie scene over the past couple of years. The band has built a loyal following with their ramshackle DIY sound.200 Million Thousand is the new studio album from the quartet, it's fifth.While lo-fi production values like tinny guitars and washed out vocals permeate every song throughout the album, it's remarkable just how diverse the band can sound within
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With the amount of albums that are released each year, timelessness is a quality that is rarely found in much of today's music. If in fact you're lucky enough to stumble across such a record? Well, it's generally a wonderful thing. Which is what makes the Black Lips' latest album, 200 Million Thousand (Vice Records), so refreshing. Timeless, it seems, is something these boys had time to fo...
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Vice has released the first song from the Black Lips' forthcoming 200 Million Thousand, Starting Over. In order to obtain said track you "need" to join their mailing list, or so says this page says. The page also says that the song will be sent via email, but I've waited approximately fifteen minutes and no [...]
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NAME : Black Lips PROGRESS REPORT : Mastering their fifth studio LP, 200 Million Thousand , recorded at their new studio in Decatur, Georgia.Black Lips have been on the grind, going to their office eight hours a day and finishing their new record under inspirational messages ("When the going gets tough, the tough get going." "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.") they've hung on the wall...
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Yes, you read the title correctly. GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan collaborated with the Black Lips for a secret show at a venue called The Compound during SXSW this past Friday. It’s kinda hard to explain this incredulous collaboration, which in theory sounds incredible, but in practice kind of falls flat. I think the following [...]
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Moral of the story:If you're a kid, and you're on drugs, be careful with the cookie jar.Black Lips are back in Austin on 10/09 at the Mohawk.myspace.com/theblacklips
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Review by Tim Sendra (Allmusic.com) On the Black Lips fifth studio album, 2009's 200 Million Thousand not much has changed on the surface. Maybe they are a little more together, more focused and tight, but they still have enough ramshackle swagger and loose as a goose sleaze to go around and have enough for seconds. They still pick the bones of garage rock clean, sounding like they should be le...
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The note below was posted by The Black Lips this weekend to their Myspace blog. The band unveiled a new track today, which you can stream and download here. Black Lips - Short Fuse [MP3]
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Didn't know these guys knew eachother like that, but apparently the Black Lips have been talking about doing a track with the Wu member for a while, and he's made a few cameos at the Lips' live sets. Well, here it is; a sloppy, dark, hazy, and a little bit trippy version of "The Drop I Hold" featuring a verse from GZA. It's kind of cool, but I think it would have been better if RZA had somethin...
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Here's a new one from 200 Million Thousand, out at the end of the month. I really liked Good, Bad, Not Evil, but I haven't been too into any of their new stuff. "Short Fuse" is probably my favorite of the leaks, but if these tracks are indicative of the rest of the album, it's gonna be a disappointment. More people are probably interested in hearing their crazy tour stories than their music.Bla...
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As mentioned previously on this blog, The Black Lips have a new album, 200 Thousand Million, coming out on February 24th. In anticipation of the release, the band are holding a contest. And in all seriousness, who doesn't love a contest? They are asking fans to make a video for the single "Starting Over" (which Library Girl pointed out seems destined to be in demand for use in commercials). Fans
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Atlanta's Black Lips have torn up the indie scene over the past couple of years. The band has built a loyal following with their ramshackle DIY sound.200 Million Thousand is the new studio album from the quartet, it's fifth.While lo-fi production values like tinny guitars and washed out vocals permeate every song throughout the album, it's remarkable just how diverse the band can sound within
More >
Having been declared by the New York Times as, “The hardest working band,” front-runners of the Athens, GA scene, the Black Lips, have received their fair share of hungry press ogling these past few years. Now, with universal acclaim (minus India) and immense pressure for their new full-length 200 Million Thousand, the world seems to [...]
More >
I feel like crap today but I was checking my emails and low and behold the Black Lips have a new video. I am surprised Wavves doesn't have a new video also. That would confirm my sneaking suspicion that the whole "fight" thing was a big publicity stunt. In the TMZ world we now living in if there is no video or at least photos it didn't happen. Even if there are videos or pictures it was probabl...
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After seeing the youtube clips from SXSW it’s great to see this collaboration between Black Lips and GZA ~ “Drop I Hold”. The song is off Black Lips‘ album 200 Million Thousand, but this version includes GZA dropping rhymes.“Drop I Hold”(mp3)Black Lips are playing the El Rey on Friday.Here’s the sxsw clips:“Shimmy Shimmy Ya““Duel of [...]
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Who else but Black Lips! The kings of flower-punk are back on February 24th with their third LP for Vice Records, a little gem called 200 Million Thousand. The ruffian foursome continue their domination of the fading messy garage rock genre with more freakbeat anthems, more drug references, more damaged guitar solos, and more good old fashioned rock'n'roll. Is the pulsing bass effect driving ...
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what a great interpretation of one of my favourites off 200 Million Thousand.
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Take My Heart |
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| 2 Drugs |
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| 3 Starting Over |
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| 4 Let It Grow |
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| 5 Trapped in a Basement |
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| 6 Short Fuse |
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| 7 I'll Be with You |
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| 8 Big Black Baby Jesus of Today |
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| 9 Again & Again |
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| 10 Old Man |
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| 11 The Drop I Hold |
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| 12 Body Combat |
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| 13 Elijah |
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| 14 I Saw God |
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| 15 [Untitled] |
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Click to purchase…
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 "200 Million Thousand")
