It’s been said that Black Sabbath’s landmark Paranoid album spawned the genre of heavy metal, and if you watch this awesome video from Eagle Rock Entertainment, you can see why.  The four members of Black Sabbath – Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward -created music their own way, and it was a powerful sound that appealed to stoners and those craving stuff equal to or heavier than Led Zeppelin.  The band also appealed to the masses who were protesting the Vietnam War in 1970, because making music that went against the grain was something these folks could relate to.  But this DVD is just outstanding in that every member of Black Sabbath is interviewed, as well as folks like sound engineer Tom Allom and long-time fan and recording artist Henry Rollins.  There is awesome archived footage of the band playing live, and detailed descriptions of how each song on Paranoid was written or how it began.  Fans of Black Sabbath, or anyone who is too young to remember them but curious, should all grab this DVD, because not only is it a history lesson, it’s a lesson on how music should be made – with the artist driving the proverbial bus.  (Eagle Vision 2010)

Given that the Flaming Lips just released a new album (Embryonic) a few months ago, you’d think they’d either be taking it easy or, at best, prepping to tour behind that album. Leave it to them, however, to take a left turn and do something different….like, say, release another new album.

Well, sort of, anyway.

Prepare yourself for the Lips’ take on Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, which was made available today as an iTunes exclusive. It’s a strange little release (like you’d expect anything less), with some tracks credited to the Lips, some listed as collaborations with Norman, Oklahoma’s pride and joy, Stardeath and White Dwarfs, and a couple credited solely to those guys without the Lips. What’s arguably most interesting about the album, however, is that it also features vocal contributions from Peaches and Henry Rollins.

Rollins? Really…?!?

Yes, really…and I know this because I checked in with him to ask him about it. My questions were simple and so were his answers, but at least it’s straight from the horse’s mouth:

How did you come to team up with the Flaming Lips for this project?

They asked me.

What’s your Pink Floyd background?

Not a fan.

What was your favorite track on the record to tackle?

The general laughing, it was difficult to make it feel real.

If pressed, are there any other albums you’d be interesting in revisiting like that? Not necessarily classic rock, of course…

No. I don’t think about things like that. Seems like too much work when you could be moving forward on something new. You could say that about the Lips, but they have a new album out, so it’s not like they’re sleeping on the job.

True enough, Mr. Rollins. True enough.