Wayne Coyne reponds to Oklahoma House rejection of his song and Gov. Henry’s intervention

Posted by brandy

on April 24, 2009M at 8:48 pm

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Wayne Coyne, center, celebrates the passage of Senate Joint Resolution 24 that names “Do You Realize??” by the Flaming Lips as the Official Oklahoma Rock song in March. (Photo by Steve Gooch/The Oklahoman)

Our own Gene Triplett, entertainment editor for The Oklahoman/NewsOK, talked today to Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne about Thursday’s rejection and subsequent reinstatement of the band’s song “Do You Realize??” as the official state rock song.

On Thursday, the Oklahoma House rejected the resolution to name “Do You Realize??” the state rock song because one of the band members wore a T-shirt bearing a symbol associated with the Communist Party at the state Capitol on March 2 when the Senate passed the resolution. Rep. Corey Holland, R-Marlow, said argued against the bill because he was offended that Michael Ivins wore a red T-shirt with a yellow hammer and sickle emblem at the Capitol.

Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, also opposed the resolution because of Coyne’s use of the “F-word” during a 2007 ceremony christening Flaming Lips Alley in Bricktown.

“Do You Realize??” was the people’s favorite: It won by more than a 2-1 margin in an online contest to determine the state’s official rock song. Gov. Brad Henry issued a statement after Thursday’s vote that he will sign an executive order Tuesday making “Do You Realize??” the state rock song.

Here’s what Coyne had to say:

“These nay-sayers who want to talk about me saying (profanities) and Michael wearing this T-shirt, everybody can see through how silly this stuff is,” Coyne said. “I figured that no matter what happened, people would come to our rescue. People would have a reason to really fight for us and say, no, this isn’t what Oklahoma is all about. … And I think the governor is very cool, how he’s come to our rescue.”

Coyne said his main concern is how people outside of Oklahoma view the state in light of Thursday’s events.

“I don’t want people to go back and say Oklahoma’s just the backwards place we always figured it was, because it’s not,” Coyne said. “And I don’t want people to think that my idea of being from Oklahoma and my pride, has diminished one bit.”

Read more about what Coyne had to say by clicking here.

-BAM

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