The Oklahoma House rejected a resolution today to name a song by The Flaming Lips as the state’s official rock song because one of the band members wore a T-shirt bearing a symbol associated with the Communist Party while at the state Capitol last month.
Rep. Corey Holland, R-Marlow, debated against the resolution, saying he was bothered one of the band members wore a red T-shirt with a yellow sickle and hammer on it when The Flaming Lips came last month to the Capitol when results of an online voting contest showed their song to be the clear-cut winner.
Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, also spoke against the measure, saying the band has a reputation for using obscene language, recalling band members used offensive language several years ago when the city of Oklahoma City named an alley after the band.
“Their lips ought to be on fire,” Reynolds said.
When I first heard this news, I thought it was joke. But then I realized that I live in Oklahoma, and am represented by a right-wing nutjob group called the Oklahoma Legislature where arcane and illogical thought is encouraged and embraced. Fortunately, though, we have a normal Governor who balances out this crazy group, and came to the rescue just a few hours after the resolution failed:
Gov. Brad Henry will sign an executive order Tuesday, April 28, naming the Flaming Lips song, “Do You Realize??,” as the official rock song of Oklahoma.
In a statewide Internet vote held late last year, that song was the choice of 51 percent of more than 21,000 votes cast. Senate Joint Resolution 24 sought to codify that vote, but was narrowly defeated.
“For more than 20 years ago, Oklahoma’s own Flaming Lips have produced creative, fun and provocative rock music,” Gov. Henry said.
“The music of the Flaming Lips has earned Grammys, glowing critical acclaim and fans all over the world. A truly iconic rock ‘n’ roll band, they are proud ambassadors of their home state.
“They were clearly the people’s choice, and I intend to honor that vote.”
The signing of the executive order will held at 2 p.m. April 28 at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City.
I’ll tell you what, next year when all these magazines and newspapers get together to name their “Oklahoman of the Year,” it better be Governor Henry. Besides giving The Flaming Lips their proper due, he’s:
• vetoed a bill guaranteeing corporate immunity to insurance companies and huge corporations.
• vetoed a bill making it a criminal offense to research potential cures for debilitating and deadly diseases.
• vetoed a unconstitutional bill that would have kept injured Oklahomans out of the political process
• vetoed an unnecessary bill that would have limited the voting rights of the poor and minorities.
• came to work before 10am at least 17 times.
Notice how the first four bullets all begin with the word “Vetoed?” Thank God we have Governor Henry in office. Can you imagine what life would be like for us if Steve Largent won the election in 2002? We’d probably live in a state where there’s a mandatory 10pm curfew, Mardel stores double as libraries and all college freshmen have to wear promise rings.
Anyway, hopefully his legislative session will hurry up end before Brad Henry has to veto another bill intended to set us back a few years. Also, hopefully Mary Fallin will say “shit” to Andrew Speno sometime this year. That may get us all the way to 2018.
It’s a wonder that the governor has time to do anything other than veto what comes out of the OK Legislature. Sheesh.
LO well done, nice to see you trying to keep Oklahoma off the bottom of the lists. Guess you guys are donating to Brogdon, let us hope he runs as an Independent!
Great post! Although I’m not sure about the statistic that he has made it to work at least 17 times. Other than that he is doing a great job! Keep it up TLO.
I meant aren’t donating to Brogdon.
Fucking a! Now I’m on fire too!
i’m not a fan of theirs, so it doesn’t bother me that bad. but better them than Hansen…
unfortunately nutjobs like holland and reynolds were the people’s choice as well
It really seems, as indicated by the chain of events, that the House Republicans got angry after their stem cell research bill’s veto was upheld by the Senate and said:
‘Alright you leftists baby killing communists, take away our weird worship of the unborn and you can’t have your druggie rock song’
“Their lips ought to be on fire,” Reynolds said.
Heeyo! Somebody get Mike Reynolds a rimshot.
I knew it wouldn’t take long for this to be posted…
Holy Fucking Shit. Seriously now…Ivins can wear whatever the hell he wants IMO.
Here I was thinking those idiots couldn’t do anything to make my mouth drop open more than it did with their stem cell bill, then this!
Thank goodness for the gov and his veto pen and you, LO for helping to demonstrate that not all of us in the state are “right-wing nutjobs!”
I normally don’t like Democrats or Republicans, but in this state, at least the Democrats are sane. Rock on, Brad Henry.
I’m just glad he didn’t wear a Nazi swastika, as the conundrum created would make some heads explode. Never mind that communists, and specifically the Soviet Union killed way, WAY more people than the Nazi regime ever thought about killing.
The party against big government and socialism has spoken.
Corey Holland – The irony is that in Communist Russia he would have never been allowed to wear that t-shirt. But in the USA he is persecuted for it. Toby Keith is not happy.
Mike Reynolds – They are called the Flaming Lips implying that their lips are burning. I know you are confused right now because enough people rose up with common sense to shoot down your little stem cell bill – but c’mon.
Way to go HORs, you took a symbolic gesture and turned it into an embarrassment.
I think that Ivin’s Bart Simpson shirt was in the dirty clothes.
It amazes me that people are so indifferent to his wearing a hammer & sickle t-shirt. Then again, people think wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt is cool as well. Hopefully he will wear a swastika next time in public, to equally show other signs of hate.
Oklahoma was steeped in Communists and socialists at it’s inception. No, don’t laugh I’m serious. Oklahoma was once one of the most ferociously progressive states in the country. At one point it was rumored Oklahoma would become a “negro-state” colony for African Americans to congregate and exercise self determination.
Woody Guthrie was a communist/anti-fascist, and the first Oklahoma Flag was Red (rumored to be presented my a communist Oklahoman.
Mike Ivins was just showing some Oklahoma historical value when he went to capital building.
http://www.kancoll.org/khq/1974/74_3_dann.htm
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/C/CO040.html
A reply from the band:
As many people around the world know, the Flaming Lips are proud to be from Oklahoma. We want everyone to understand that only a minority of the representatives voted against this law. The facts are that “Do You Realize” won over 50% of the popular vote in the original poll, passed unanimously in the Senate, and won over a majority of the Representatives in the House (48 were for the law passing, 39 against – 14 were absent from the vote – you need 51 to pass the law).
Regardless of what the minority in the House of Representatives wish, the Flaming Lips remain proud ambassadors of the state. We are honored
that the majority of the people who voted, hoped to have “Do You Realize” be the Oklahoma State Rock Song. Perhaps there is still a way it can be.
- The Flaming Lips
Woodie Guthrie refused to join the communist party because he would not renounce his belief in a deity. Would be interesting for the band to address his wearing a hammer & sickle shirt and see to what extent he has support and/or sympathies with Communism, and what flavor. Whether as first written by Marx, or a Stalinist “blend”. Also might be interesting to see what their thoughts are on John Locke’s social contract theory.
Hopefully everyone will be just as non caring if Toby Keith were to accept some award in a white hood & robe. I’m not saying he’s racist, just making a comparison.
Let me get this straight, wearing a shirt with an emblem of a defunct nation makes Ivins a communist? If there was a pyramid on his shirt would that make him an Egyptian? I need to know, because I want to be a ninja, so if I can do that simply by picking the right wardrobe, that would save a lot of training.
Who the #$&* is afraid of communists anymore? I think they should refuse to take any taxes or revenue from the Lips concerts/albums/income on principle. Dirty communist money.
It might be harder for younger Americans to appreciate, with the Berlin Wall coming down in 1989, but a lot of American service men died fighting communism in Korea, Vietnam, and other places around the world. For a lot of people, the hammer and sickle is more than the symbol of a defunct country. It’s a symbol of evil and of hate. That’s no different than the swastika. Wearing the t-shirt didn’t make him a communist – it made him an idiot. I think the song should still be the state rock song (b/c I like to imagine the crowd at OU football games singing it), but The Lips showed horrible judgment/insensitivity. And I haven’t heard anything remotely apologetic (or at least explanatory) from their side yet.
Dusty, more American’s died fighting each other in the civil war than died fighting communism, so do you think the republican’s would have voted against the song had he been wearing a confederate flag?
NO.
In fact, I’d bet my left nut that most of the people that voted against the resolution were wearing clothes made in communist China. So does the fact that he has a communist logo on the front of his shirt make it worse than having a communist country make the actual clothing?
The repubs were upset because the House over-rode the gov’s veto on HB1327, but the Senate sustained it… so they figured they could just go around the gov’s office with this piece of wholly symbolic legislation, and once again he had to put them in check.
He vetoed Voter ID… the repubs decided to put it on the ballot. They knew their English Only bill wouldn’t make it out of the gov’s office… so they decided to put it on the ballot. You’re next ballot is going to take you two hours to fill out. Enjoy it because the next time you vote you’ll be waiting in line for the TSA people to make you take your shoes off and run everything through an x-ray machine… but hey, it’s a great way to keep the minorities from voting, without the hassle of hanging confederate flags everywhere!
Spinlenox – By your logic (the GOP was looking for an excuse to go after The Lips because they were mad at Brad Henry for putting a veto on other legislation?), yes, I think they would have voted against the song, if Ives had been wearing a Confederate Flag shirt. After all, they were looking for an excuse, right? And based on the intrepid reporting of this blog, it looks like at least three of those house members are hypocrites, at best. Or didn’t notice his shirt until a couple of their colleagues pointed it out later. Who knows. Either way, that doesn’t make the choice to wear it any less ignorant and/or insensitive. Just like he would have been with a swastika arm band or a confederate flag painted onto the hood of his car. (How would you have reacted to Toby Keith showing up to the capitol wearing a confederate flag t-shirt? I can guess.) I love The Flaming Lips’ music, I don’t have a problem with them having Oklahoma’s official rock song, but we shouldn’t act like being angry over a t-shirt is wholly unjustified. A lot of Oklahomans, who didn’t know about an online vote, and are probably too old to know who The Flaming Lips are, have fought and have had loved ones die fighting communism (particularly, the Soviet variety), a lot more recently than the Civil War.
And nothing like a little fear-mongering, eh? Democrats locally act like Republicans do nationally.
Dusty, the Cold War was a war of ideologies, not moral absolutes. The hammer and sickle is no more a “symbol of hate” than the stars and stripes. It was a symbol of the enemy, an enemy we defeated.
I can understand the outrage if the Cold War were still active or if we’d lost. But we beat them. Who the hell cares? The hammer and sickle represents a flawed political ideology and an empire that crumbled because of it. It is not in any way comparable to a swastika or even the confederate stars and bars. Those symbols are linked with racism, not merely political ideology.
Rockers are, by nature, anti-establishment. If you want a band who isn’t going to offend, name a state gospel song.