Oklahoma’s Governor Realizes
Do You Realize?? – that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize?? – we’re floating in space
Do You Realize?? – that happiness makes you cry
Do You Realize?? – that everyone you know someday will die
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes – let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It’s hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun don’-go down
It’s just an illusion caused by the world spinning round
Beautiful, right? The people of Oklahoma sure thought so, when they named “Do You Realize??” by the Flaming Lips (native Oklahomans) as the official Oklahoma Rock Song last year, beating out nine others (including Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” and The Call’s “Oklahoma”, among others).
Leave it to the politicians to screw this one up, though. After the Oklahoma State Senate approved the resolution to confirm the popular vote 46-0, the Oklahoma House decided to make an issue out of it by discussing the band’s choice of T-shirts and “offensive language”.
The resolution did win a majority of votes in the House, 48-39, but failed to get the minimum 51 – requiring Governor Brad Henry to sign an executive order next Tuesday honoring the Flaming Lips.
Henry says, “The music of the Flaming Lips has earned Grammys, glowing critical acclaim and fans all over the world. A truly iconic rock n’ roll band, they are proud ambassadors of their home state. They were clearly the people’s choice, and I intend to honor that vote.”
The Flaming Lips
Personally, I don’t understand why this would require any debate beyond a quick, token vote and a rubber stamp approval of the people’s choice anyway. Ed Kelley, editor of The Oklahoman agrees, providing this perspective on what he calls the Oklahoma House’s attempt to “demonize” some of Oklahoma’s “greatest ambassadors”.
Ironically, next Tuesday’s signing of the executive order (with the Flaming Lips in attendance) is now likely to attract worldwide media attention, thereby negating any attempt by the most vocal House opponents to advance their agendas.
Judge the merits of the song for yourself by viewing this live performance on the BBC. And feel free to judge the intentions of the idiots attempting to politicize something as benign as an official state rock song. That ain’t just Oklahoma’s issue, obviously.
[...] a recap, the weird rockers – triumphantly returning to the scene after their “controversial” involvement in the furor over the official state song of their native Oklahoma – released their new album [...]
The Weird and Wonderful World of The Flaming Lips « acme eclectic said this on October 16, 2009 at 1:56 pm