History Trivia / TheSoftBulletin

* ExecutiveMeddling: Upon its release on CD, several remixes of songs aimed at radio play were added to the album. This decision was part of a compromise between the Lips and their label Warner Bros., whose relationship began to be tested after the explicitly non-commercial (and costly to make) ''Zaireeka''. The album as the band originally intended wouldn't be released properly until 2006, and only on Vinyl and the 5.1 Stereo Mix on [=DVD=] mix.

* The Orchestral Sounds in "Race For the Prize" came from Steve Drozd messing with one of the tapes a ton so they became completely distorted. To this day the band has never been able to recreate the sound; so when they play the album live, they tend to just play with an orchestra to achieve the same effect.

* SeriesFauxnale: The band really thought ''The Soft Bulletin'' would end up being their final album, which is why they pulled out all the stops musically compared to previous works. Luckily, the album's success gave them enough strength tp carry on.

* CreatorBreakdown: Nearly everyone involved with the record was going through hardships regarding this album. Steven Drozd was in the midst of battling an addiction to heroin which nearly caused his arm to be amputated, Michael Ivins nearly died in a car crash (both accounts would be recalled on "The Spiderbite Song"), Wayne Coyne's father was dying of cancer, and on top of it all, Warner Bros was seriously considering dropping the Lips from their label after nonstop disappointing sales and a damaged relationship regarding ''Zaireeka'' (which was so expensive that Warner Bros had to build a new studio just to be able to record the thing), so the band recorded the album as if it were their final record. Luckily a compromise was made (see ExecutiveMeddling) and the critical acclaim alone was able to convince Warner Bros to let the band stay.

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: Downplayed. Despite the problems encountered above, in 2019 the band was forced to get rid of the Warner Bros. Logo after Warner Records license to use the Warner Bros logo expired in 2019. [[note]] Warner Bros and Warner Records haven't been related to each other at all since 2004 [[/note]] The band created a unique logo to replace the WB shield for reissues made after 2019.
* ToughActToFollow: This album came straight after ''Zaireeka'', which was intended to be heard on four CD players simultaneously! Judging by all the acclaim and success that followed, the band pulled it off pretty well.

* CreatorBreakdown: Nearly everyone involved with the record was going through hardships regarding this album. Steven Drozd was in the midst of battling an addiction to heroin which nearly caused his arm to be amputated, Michael Ivins nearly died in a car crash (both accounts would be recalled on "The Spiderbite Song"), Wayne Coyne's father was dying of cancer, and on top of it all, Warner Bros was seriously considering dropping the Lips from their label after nonstop disappointing sales and a damaged relationship regarding ''Zaireeka'' (which was so expensive that Warner Bros had to build a new studio just to be able to record the thing), so they band recorded the album as if it were their final record. Luckily a compromise was made (see ExecutiveMeddling) and the critical acclaim alone was able to convince Warner Bros to let the band stay.

* CreatorBreakdown: Nearly everyone involved with the record was going through hardships regarding this album. Steven Drozd was in the midst of battling an addiction to heroin which nearly caused his arm to be amputated, Michael Ivins nearly died in a car crash (both accounts would be recalled on "The Spiderbite Song"), Wayne Coyne's father was dying of cancer, and on top of it all, Warner Bros was seriously considering dropping the Lips from their label after nonstop disappointing sales and a damaged relationship regarding ''Zaireeka'' (which was so expensive that Warner Bros had to build a new studio just to be able to record the thing). Luckily a compromise was made (see ExecutiveMeddling) and the critical acclaim alone was able to convince Warner Bros to let the band stay.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Upon its release on CD, several remixes of songs aimed at radio play were added to the album. This decision was part of a compromise between the Lips and their label Warner Bros., whose relationship began to be tested after the explicitly non-commercial (and costly to make) ''Zaireeka''.

* BigNameFan: Steve Burns (of WesternAnimation/BluesClues fame, yes really) named this his all time favorite album, and was the main reason why he chose to tour and record music with The Flaming Lips after he left the show.

* CreatorBreakdown: Nearly everyone involved with the record was going through hardships regarding this album. Steven Drozd was in the midst of battling an addiction to heroin which nearly caused his arm to be amputated, Michael Ivins nearly died in a car crash (both accounts would be recalled on The Spiderbite Song), Wayne Coyne's father was dying of cancer, and on top of it all, Warner Bros was seriously considering dropping The Lips from their label after nonstop disappointing sales and a damaged relationship regarding Zaireeka (which was so expensive that Warner Bros had to build a new studio just to be able to record the thing). Luckily a compromise was made (see ExecutiveMeddling) and the critical acclaim alone was able to convince Warner Bros to let the band stay.

* CreatorBreakdown: Nearly everyone involved with the record was going through hardships regarding this album. Steve Drozd nearly had his arm amputated, Michael Ivins nearly died in a car crash (both accounts would be recalled on The Spiderbite Song), Wayne Coyne's father was dying of cancer, and on top of it all, Warner Bros was seriously considering dropping The Lips from their label after nonstop disappointing sales and a damaged relationship regarding Zaireeka (which was so expensive that Warner Bros had to build a new studio just to be able to record the thing). Luckily a compromise was made (see ExecutiveMeddling) and the critical acclaim alone was able to convince Warner Bros to let the band stay.

** "Race For The Prize" could have been on ''Zaireeka''. This is why the David Fridmann mix includes two drum tracks - each drum track would have been on a different disc of ''Zaireeka''

* CreatorBreakdown: Nearly everyone involved with the record was going through hardships regarding this album. Steve Drozd nearly had his arm amputated, Michael Ivins nearly died in a car crash (both accounts would be recalled on The Spiderbite Song), Wayne Coyne's father was dying of cancer, and on top of it all, Warner Bros was seriously considering dropping The Lips from their label after nonstop disappointing sales and a damaged relationship regarding Zaireeka (which was so expensive that Warner Bros had to build a new studio just to be able to record the thing). Luckily a compromise was made (see ExecutiveMeddling) and the critical acclaim alone was enough for Warner Bros to let the band stay on their record.

* NoExportForYou: Certain songs are removed off of international versions of the album. The Spiderbite Song is only on North American copies of the album, while Slow Motion is only on international prints for the album; the only version getting all songs as normally intended are on the 5.1 CD Stereo Mix (which didn't come out until 2006) and the vinyl pressings, which are available worldwide. The reason being as explained above, the compromise for making Zaireeka. And the worldwide Digital Version is just the U.S. version but with the Race for The Prize versions switched around.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Sleeping on the Roof was originally supposed to be an entire EP worth of music, hence why the full title of the song is called "Excerpt from Should We Keep The Severed Heads Awake??"

** "Race For The Prize" could have been on ''Zaireeka'' instead. This is why the David Fridmann mix includes two drum tracks - each drum track would have been on a different disc of ''Zaireeka''

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Sleeping on the Roof was originally supposed to be an entire EP worth of music, hence why the full title of the song is called "Excerpt from Should We Keep The Severed Heads Awake??"

* ToughActToFollow: This album came straight after ''Zaireeka'', which was intended to be heard on four CD players simultaneously! Judging by all the acclaim and success that followed, the band pulled it off pretty well.

* NoExportForYou: Certain songs are removed off of international versions of the album. The Spiderbite Song is only on North American copies of the album, while Slow Motion is only on international prints for the album; the only version getting all songs as normally intended are on the 5.1 CD Stereo Mix (which didn't come out until 2006) and the vinyl pressings, which are available worldwide. The reason being as explained above, the compromise for making Zaireeka.

* BigNameFan: Steve Burns (of Blues Clues fame, yes really) named this his all time favorite album, and was the main reason why he chose to tour and record music with The Flaming Lips after he left the show.

* NoExportForYou: Certain songs are removed off of international versions of the album. The Spiderbite Song is only on North American copies of the album, while Slow Motion is only on international prints for the album, with the only version getting all songs as normally intended are on the 5.1 Stereo Mix and the vinyl pressings, which are available worldwide. The reason being as explained above, the compromise for making Zaireeka.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Upon its release on CD, several remixes of songs aimed at radio play were added to the album. This decision was part of a compromise between the Lips and their label Warner Bros., whose relationship began to strain after the explicitly non-commercial (and costly to make) ''Zaireeka''.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Upon its release, several remixes of songs aimed at radio play were added to the album's original tracklist. According to the band, the deal was part of a compromise between their label Warner Bros., who had considered dropping them from their roster after the experimental (and expensive to distribute) ''Zaireeka''.
* ToughActToFollow: This album came straight after ''Zaireeka'', a largely abstract and freeform record which was intended to be heard on four CD players simultaneously! Judging by all the acclaim and success that followed, the band pulled it off pretty well.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Upon its release, several radio-friendly remixes were added to the album's original tracklist. According to the band, the deal was part of a compromise between their label Warner Bros. in exchange for releasing the experimental ''Zaireeka''.