Musician Erykah Badu is certainly no stranger to controversy, and the psychedelic rock quartert The Flaming Lips are certainly no strangers to being, well, strange. So perhaps it’s not surprising that the mixture of the two would make for an entirely unwholesome blend of the odd and gratuitous.
That’s perhaps the best way to describe the Lips’ video for their latest single, "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" from their compilation album of collaborations entitled The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends. The track is appropriately Lips-like and enjoyable – with some great vocals courtesy of Badu – but it’s her sister, Nayrok Badu, that steals the show from both parties. Though it’s not for her vocal prowess, as in this completely NSFW clip, the Badu sibling is seen being bathed in glitter, blood, and HAND SOAP (we hope it’s hand soap, not semen as the video seems to insinuate).
Directed by regular Lips collaborator George Salisbury, the video is slow-motion euphoria that makes Badu’s previous bout with nudity in her video for “Window Seat” back in 2010 look like child’s play. The Heady Fwends album from which this hails was a record store day exclusive, but will be receiving a release on June 26th. For the time being, enjoy some Lips madness below. [Pitchfork/Shadow & Act]
