The Flaming Lips, Oklahoma City's Only Other Reason For Being, Rewrite 1999 Track to Celebrate Thunder

While the Thunder ponder what might have been in San Antonio last night if they hadn't committed four offensive fouls in the fourth quarter, or if they'd defended Manu Ginobili with something sturdier than hard glares, they can regroup to the flattering sounds of OKC's favorite local psychedelic rockers, the Flaming Lips. The band stripped the "wives and children" lyrics out of "Race for the Prize (Sacrifice of the New Scientists)" and replaced them with something Wayne Coyne apparently penned between a trip to the Circle K and shooting videos of rolly pollies. Behold:

Oklahoma City was once in a decline Home of the workin' man But he was losing

But heard off in the distance Came a roar out of the sky Thunder came thunderin' So determined

Theirs is to win We win with them They'll keep fighting For Oklahoma

And then a bunch of "Thunder up!" chants, which would totally work as arena fluffer during a TV timeout. There may be a Lips-friendly venue out in America already, where "The W.A.N.D." shakes the pillars and "She Don't Use Jelly" quakes the floors, but the assumption here is that they're still largely underused as a jock-jam band. Perhaps the Thunder will take the hint and change that. Because as loud as the earnest, lumpy, lower-bowl Okies at your typical Thunder game get, they have nothing on the army of delirious furries and dehydrated art school dropouts that caterwaul for the likes of "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" and one of the most enrapturing "Bohemian Rhapsody" covers this side of an Albertan drunk tank. Do the right thing when this series comes back home, Oklahoma. Thunder Up.

[ Pitchfork]