Governor Brad Henry Signs Executive Order Honoring the Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize??”
With over 300 citizens gathered at the Oklahoma History Center to witness the event, Governor Brad Henry signed an executive order Tuesday afternoon proclaiming the Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize??” the official rock song of Oklahoma.
“The Flaming Lips are great ambassadors for the state of Oklahoma, all over the world, and they are fiercely loyal to the great state of Oklahoma,” Henry said prior to signing the order.
Henry announced the executive order Thursday after a House resolution codifying the official state rock song failed by three votes. The resolution was a response to an online vote held late last year by the Oklahoma History Center and the Oklahoma Film and Music Office, in which “Do You Realize??” drew 51 percent of more than 21,000 cast votes.
Lips singer Wayne Coyne, who joined Henry at the signing along with bandmates Michael Ivins, Steven Drozd and Kliph Scurlock, thanked Henry for signing the order “despite the silliness that happened at the end of last week.” Members of the House objected to a shirt emblazoned with a Soviet hammer and sickle Ivins wore during the vote on the Senate version of the resolution, as well as Coyne’s use of profanity during the 2007 “Flaming Lips Alley” dedication ceremony in Bricktown.
For the signing ceremony, Ivins wore a not-so-controversial “Ghostbusters” T-shirt under a tweed blazer, and Coyne, admittedly under pressure, avoided any use of profanity.
“I promised Scott (Booker), our manager, and everybody involved today that, despite my genuine excitement and enthusiasm, I would not use the ‘f-word,’” Coyne said after the signing. “I haven’t yet, have I? Sometimes it just jumps out.”
Booker, who is also executive director of the University of Central Oklahoma’s Academy of Contemporary Music, said that Tuesday’s executive order was the best possible outcome after the previous week’s events.
“I think it went great — it couldn’t have gone better, actually,” Booker said. “To allow this to still happen, even though there were some people that were upset, is a wonderful thing. But the bottom line is, and this is what we were saying all along, is that the majority of the people wanted it to be ‘Do You Realize??’ It’s still the will of the people, and that’s a wonderful thing.”
Coyne, who frequently waved to the crowd and shook his fist in celebration during opening words, described the honor as a “bonus” for all the positive things that have happened in the band’s 26-year career.
“I said it when we were given the alley down in Bricktown … I’ve said this all along: we never needed a street; we never needed these types of official things,” Coyne said. “We’ve always felt … loved and we always felt that people believed in us. These things have all just been extra wonderful bonuses to what was already a wonderful life.”
The state rock song vote was held in conjunction with “Another Hot Oklahoma Night: A Rock & Roll Exhibit.” The exhibit opens Saturday at the Oklahoma History Center, honoring the state’s rock ‘n’ roll legacy.
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Comments
Is that a “Ghostbuster’s” T-shirt on Ivins?! I am really offended by that! His views on paranormal investigations are clearly not in line with mine.
These gentlemen absolutely deserve every little thing that has come to them over the years. The street, the official rock song everything. Really, they do. I mean…in my opinion, I think “Flaming Lips Alley” has more of a ring to it than something like, say, “Hinder Alley” Thanks Governor Henry.
[...] Read more about the big event over at George’s Staticblog by clicking here. [...]