Do You Realize??

"Do You Realize??" is a song by The Flaming Lips, released as the first single from their 2002 album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. It is widely considered to be one of the group's most accessible and popular songs. It reached #32 in the UK Singles Chart and was adopted as the Official Rock Song of Oklahoma from 2009 to April 2013. The song was ranked #31 on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of the 2000s. It is also the band's most popular live song,[1] and has rarely been excluded from setlists since its inception into their live shows in 2002. Wayne Coyne also considers it to be the best song they've ever written.

This article is about the song by The Flaming Lips. For the Delorentos EP, see Do You Realise.

"Do You Realize??"
Single by The Flaming Lips
from the album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Released19 August 2002 (2002-08-19)
RecordedJune 2000 – April 2002
Genre
Length3:32
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd, Michael Ivins and Dave Fridmann
Producer(s)The Flaming Lips, Dave Fridmann, Scott Booker
The Flaming Lips singles chronology
"Waitin' for a Superman"
(1999)		 "Do You Realize??"
(2002)		 "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1"
(2003)

Structure and recording

In an interview with Mojo, Coyne revealed that during the recording of Yoshimi..., band member Steven Drozd was trying to kick a heroin addiction. When they took breaks from playing, Drozd would have a really tough time with his withdrawal. Listening to him cry, and with the death of his father in mind, Coyne wrote: "Do You Realize??".

Wayne Coyne, commenting on "Do You Realize??" said, "Whenever I analyze the scientific realities of what it means to be living here on Earth – in this galaxy – spinning around the sun – flying through space – a terror shock seizes me!!! I'm reminded once again of how precarious our whole existence is..."[2]

UK track listing
  • 7"
  1. "Do You Realize??"
  2. "Up Above the Daily Hum"
  • CD1
  1. "Do You Realize??"
  2. "If I Go Mad/Funeral in My Head"
  3. "Syrtis Major"
  • CD2
  1. "Do You Realize??"
  2. "Up Above the Daily Hum"
  3. "Xanthe Terra"
  • DVD single
  1. "Do You Realize??" (video)
  2. "Do You Realize??" (audio)
  3. "The Southern Oklahoma Trigger Contest"
  4. "Noodling Theme (Epic Sunset Mix #5)"

"Syrtis Major" and "Xanthe Terra" are instrumental pieces intended to be taken from the forthcoming Christmas on Mars soundtrack.

Video

The music video was recorded on Fremont Street in Las Vegas and features Wayne Coyne, people dressed as bunnies and pigs, four female dancers in negligee and a live elephant. No other members of the band are seen.

Oklahoma state song

In March 2009 "Do You Realize??" was announced as the official state rock song of Oklahoma, after winning an online vote among ten finalists as authorized by the Oklahoma state legislature: out of 21,000 votes cast, nearly 51% were for "Do You Realize??"[3] The Oklahoma Senate approved this choice unanimously. However, on 23 April 2009, a vote in the Oklahoma House of Representatives fell three votes short of the 51 votes necessary to ratify the resolution: one Republican state legislator attacked the band for its use of offensive language, while another said he opposed the song because band member Michael Ivins had worn a red T-shirt with a yellow sickle and hammer during a previous appearance by the band. Democratic Governor Brad Henry subsequently announced that he would issue an executive order in lieu of the resolution rejected by the Oklahoma House.[4][5] However, it was revealed in 2013 that Republican Governor Mary Fallin removed the song's designation as the Official Rock Song of Oklahoma by not renewing Brad Henry's executive order upon taking office in 2011.[6]

Commercial appearances

Hewlett-Packard featured the band alongside Penn and Teller in its 2002 commercial for its HP Media Center PC, which included a clip of the music video. In a review of the ad, music journalist Jim DeRogatis said, "It was a commercial for the Flaming Lips," as much as it was for HP's computer.[7]

In 2003, VH1 featured the song in spot that promoted its network. In 2004, Mitsubishi used the song in a television ad for one of its cars, as did Land Rover in 2007 with voice-over by Charles Shaughnessy.

A cover version was used in the teaser trailer of Transformers: The Last Knight in late 2016.

Covers

The song was covered by The Reign of Kindo on their eponymous debut album. It was also covered in 2012 by Ball Park Music for Australian radio station Triple J's Like a Version.

Father John Misty, American folk singer-songwriter and former member of indie rock bands Saxon Shore and Fleet Foxes, performed a version of the song in July 2012 for The A.V. Club's A.V. Undercover series.[8]

American Jewish rock band Blue Fringe covered the song on their 2007 album The Whole World Lit Up.

In 2015, the song was covered by British singer/composer Ursine Vulpine (aka Frederick Lloyd). This version was used for the first theatrical trailer of Transformers: The Last Knight as well as the trailer for the third season of the television series Penny Dreadful) In 2016, Sharon Van Etten covered the song for Amazon's Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street soundtrack.[9]

Chart positions
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[10] 27
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[11] 32
gollark: It's an elegant, general and flexible representation.
gollark: Yes.
gollark: Our timestamps are just a list of everything which happened before the time they represent.
gollark: Of course not. You clearly explained why.
gollark: But GTech™ plans call for operation for at least 10^44 years.

References
  1. setlist.fm; The Flaming Lips Album Statistics
  2. Coyne, Wayne. "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots:Wayne's Notes". FlamingLips.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
  3. Barbara Hoberock, ""Flaming Lips' 'Do You Realize??' named state rock song", Tulsa World, 2 March 2009.
  4. Michael McNutt, "Oklahoma House votes down Flaming Lips' state rock song 'Do You Realize??'", The Oklahoman, 23 April 2009.
  5. Jennifer Chancellor and Barbara Hoberock, "Henry steps in after House blisters Lips", Tulsa World, 24 April 2009.
  6. Sean Murphy, "Flaming Lips tune pulled as Oklahoma's rock song", Associated Press, April 12, 2013.
  7. DeRogatis, Jim. "Show 506: Television and Music". Sound Opinions. WBEZ. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  8. "Father John Misty covers The Flaming Lips". Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  9. Do You Realize?? - Sharon Van Etten, retrieved 15 July 2016
  10. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 July, 2019.
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