Article Contributed by Big Hassle Media
Published on 2026-10-04
The Flaming Lips today announce the release of a Deluxe 20th Anniversary Edition of their classic album At War With The Mystics, arriving November 13 via Rhino / Warner Records, and available to pre-order now (HERE).
Originally released in 2006, At War With The Mystics found The Flaming Lips at one of the most creatively expansive points in their remarkable career. Following the extraordinary success of Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, the album saw the band continuing to push their music in unexpected directions, combining psychedelic experimentation, electronic textures, orchestral color and huge pop melodies with the surreal, emotionally charged songwriting that had become their hallmark. Songs including “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song”, “Free Radicals”, “It Overtakes Me” and “The W.A.N.D.” captured a band simultaneously embracing the possibilities of the studio and questioning the world around them. At War With The Mystics was adventurous, playful, and deliberately strange, but beneath its kaleidoscopic production was an album deeply engaged with love, fear, politics, mortality, and the bewildering experience of being alive. Two decades on, the record remains a distinctive chapter in The Flaming Lips’ ever-evolving story.
The upcoming Deluxe Edition substantially expands At War With The Mystics, bringing together a remarkable collection of previously unreleased recordings, rarities and material from the wider world surrounding the album, spread across six discs of music. At its heart is a wealth of previously unheard demos, offering a fascinating glimpse into the writing and recording process behind the album. These are joined by non-album tracks, B-sides and alternate versions, alongside music created by The Flaming Lips for film, television, documentaries and other projects, as well as recordings featured on soundtracks, compilations and special releases. Further highlights include radio sessions and other live performances, a selection of covers and additional rarities, while discs 5 and 6 feature two legendary Flaming Lips concerts: U.F.O.s At The Zoo and Live At The Hollywood Bowl, both recorded in 2006.
Taken together, the bonus material paints a much broader picture of the creative world surrounding At War With The Mystics, revealing just how prolific and restless the band was during this era.
LISTEN TO THE PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED "THE SOUND OF FAILURE (2 DEMOS)"
As with the previous Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots anniversary box, the CD and vinyl editions have been configured differently, allowing the releases to remain as accessible as possible. The complete collection of material featured on the CD edition will subsequently be made available across vinyl releases, following the approach taken with the Yoshimi box set.
For The Flaming Lips, whose career has consistently been defined by reinvention rather than repetition, the anniversary provides an opportunity not simply to look back, but to rediscover a record that was already looking in several directions at once. Twenty years after its original release, At War With The Mystics still sounds like a record made by a band unwilling to stand still.
At War With The Mystics 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition 6CD, 6LP and Digital formats arrives November 13 via Rhino / Warner Records. Pre-order now HERE.
TRACKLISTINGS
At War With The Mystics: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition [6CD / Digital]
Six-CD and Digital Tracklist
CD 1: Original Album Remastered and Non-LP Tracks
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power) [4:51]
Free Radicals (A Hallucination Of The Christmas Skeleton Pleading With A Suicide Bomber) [3:42]
The Sound Of Failure/It’s Dark… Is It Always This Dark? [7:19]
My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion (The Inner Life As Blazing Shield Of Defiance And Optimism As Celestial Spear Of Action) [4:51]
Vein Of Stars [4:15]
The Wizard Turns On… The Giant Silver Flashlight And Puts On His Werewolf Moccasins [3:41]
It Overtakes Me/The Stars Are So Big... I Am So Small... Do I Stand A Chance? [6:50]
Mr. Ambulance Driver [4:22]
Haven’t Got A Clue [3:26]
The W.A.N.D. (The Will Always Negates Defeat) [3:43]
Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung [4:22]
Goin’ On [3:40]
Why Does It End? [4:39]
You Gotta Hold On [4:52]
Your Face Can Tell The Future [5:21]
The Gold In The Mountain Of Our Madness [4:48]
Time Travel… Yes!! [3:22]
CD 2: Demos and Alternate Versions
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power) [2 Demos] [3:10] — Previously unreleased
Free Radicals (A Hallucination Of The Christmas Skeleton Pleading With A Suicide Bomber) [2 Early Demos] [1:43] — Previously unreleased
Free Radicals (A Hallucination Of The Christmas Skeleton Pleading With A Suicide Bomber) [4-Track Demo] [4:18] — Previously unreleased
The Sound Of Failure [2 Demos] [3:42] — Previously unreleased
It’s Dark… Is It Always This Dark? [Demo] [0:30] — Previously unreleased
My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion (The Inner Life As Blazing Shield Of Defiance And Optimism As Celestial Spear Of Action) [Ta! Da! Demo] [2:02] — Previously unreleased
Vein Of Stars [Cruel World – 2 Demos] [1:29] — Previously unreleased
Vein Of Stars [4-Track Demo] [2:19] — Previously unreleased
It Overtakes Me [Demo] [1:17] — Previously unreleased
The Stars Are So Big... I Am So Small... Do I Stand A Chance? [Demo] [1:21] — Previously unreleased
Mr. Ambulance Driver [4 Demos] [2:51] — Previously unreleased
Haven’t Got A Clue [Vocal Demo] [1:27] — Previously unreleased
The W.A.N.D. (The Will Always Negates Defeat) [2 Instrumental Demos] [2:06] — Previously unreleased
The W.A.N.D. (The Will Always Negates Defeat) [Early Demo] [1:29] — Previously unreleased
Why Does It End? [Demo] [1:21] — Previously unreleased
You Gotta Hold On [2 Demos] [2:57] — Previously unreleased
Your Face Can Tell The Future [Demo] [0:33] — Previously unreleased
The Gold In The Mountain Of Our Madness [Demo] [3:21] — Previously unreleased
Enthusiasm For Life Defeats Existential Fear… [Demo] [3:46] — Previously unreleased
A Confession [0:22] — Previously unreleased
The Unknown [0:51] — Previously unreleased
It’s Dark… Is It Always This Dark? [2:06]
The Stars Are So Big... I Am So Small... Do I Stand A Chance? [4:03]
Time Travel… Yes!! (Steve Burns Version) [3:50]
Mr. Ambulance Driver (Alternate Mix) [3:59] — Previously unreleased
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (Instrumental) [4:52] — Previously unreleased
The W.A.N.D. (Instrumental) [3:44] — Previously unreleased
CD 3: Rarities, Soundtracks and Remixes
I Was Zapped By The Lucky Super Rainbow [3:33]
Don’t Be Shy [3:15] — Previously unreleased
Love The World You Find [2:32]
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium [3:57] — Previously unreleased
The Tale Of The Horny Frog [3:51]
Maybe I’m Not The One [4:13]
What Does It Mean? [5:10]
The Supreme Being Teaches Spider-Man How To Be In Love [3:24]
Spider-Man Theme [2:22] — Previously unreleased
Puri Kura Theme Version 1 [3:35] — Previously unreleased
Puri Kura Theme Version 2 [0:49] — Previously unreleased
If I Only Had A Brain [2:17]
Free Radicals (Simlish Version) [3:40]
Enthusiasm For Life Defeats Existential Fear… [5:05]
Smokin’ A J With The Fearless Freaks [2:18] — Previously unreleased
Death In Picher [3:18] — Previously unreleased
Jesus And A Spider [1:56] — Previously unreleased
The W.A.N.D. Supernaturalistic (Goldfrapp Remix) [3:19]
It Overtakes Me (Single Version) [3:15]
I’m Afraid Of Dying… Aren’t You? [4:09]
Free Radicals (The Bird And The Bee Mix) [5:14]
Time Travel… Yes!! (With Steven Michael Burns) [3:15]
CD 4: Sessions, Covers and Additional Rarities
Free Radicals (iTunes Originals) [3:39]
Do You Realize?? (iTunes Originals) [3:25]
Why Does It End? (iTunes Originals) [3:33]
Cow Jam! (iTunes Originals) [2:28]
Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung (iTunes Originals) [3:12]
War Pigs (iTunes Originals) [4:01]
My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion (Radio Session) [4:37]
Goin’ On (Radio Session) [3:42]
Unmade Bed (Radio Session) [2:56]
No Quarter (Radio Session) [3:58]
The Sound Of Failure (Radio Session) [4:02]
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (Chicken Fried Hoedown Protest Rally) [4:43]
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (In Anatropous Reflex) [4:19]
Vein Of Stars (Operatic Spook) [4:13]
Vein Of Stars (Radio Session) [4:49]
Bohemian Rhapsody [6:37]
(Just Like) Starting Over [3:35]
Gates Of Steel [4:59] — Previously unreleased
Silent Night/Lord Can You Hear Me [4:33]
CD 5: U.F.O.s At The Zoo – The Legendary Concert In Oklahoma City
U.F.O. Intro [1:14]
Ta! Da! [2:18]
Race For The Prize [5:41]
Free Radicals [3:49]
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt. 1 [8:25]
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt. 2 [3:17]
Vein Of Stars [7:20]
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song [9:25]
The Spark That Bled [6:27]
The W.A.N.D. [4:17]
My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion [5:07]
She Don’t Use Jelly [6:24]
Do You Realize?? [3:58]
A Spoonful Weighs A Ton [4:34]
Love Yer Brain [5:52]
U.F.O. Outro [0:45]
CD 6: Live At The Hollywood Bowl — All tracks previously unreleased
Hollywood Bowl Intro [1:53]
Ta! Da! [3:13]
Race For The Prize [6:00]
Free Radicals [5:00]
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt. 1 [9:06]
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt. 2 [3:38]
Vein Of Stars [4:56]
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song [9:39]
The W.A.N.D. [4:52]
My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion [5:34]
Do You Realize?? [4:52]
War Pigs [4:29]
