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Get in the Bubble With The Flaming Lips Frontman Wayne Coyne The wildly inventive, sometimes weird and always magical musician discusses the joyful power of creativity and collaboration.

By Dan Bova

Youtube | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

You ever listen to a band since high school and then get the opportunity to interview the frontman and worry, "If this person is a jerk, it is going to ruin 30 years of my favorite music?"

Me too! But this week, my worries were for naught. Turns out, Wayne Coyne is not just the wildly creative force of nature behind the incredible Flaming Lips, he is also an exceptionally lovely, thoughtful and funny human being.

Photo credit: Rick Kern | Getty Images

The Flaming Lips (who you might remember from their offbeat hit "She Don't Use Jelly") have won multiple Grammys and just released their 21st studio album, AMERICAN HEAD. I'm not going to try to put on a rock critic hat, so I'll spare you from descriptions like "ethereal" and "beautiful," but the album is all of that and more. (Check out their video for "My Religion Is You" for evidence.) Wayne and I discussed the creative process he has with his bandmates, what it is like to perform in a literal bubble, how the band has gotten so big but yet maintained such a loyal fanbase, and whether or not he lives in a giant ball of tinfoil as I've long suspected.

Thanks to Wayne and to you, as always, for listening! Check out more Get a Real Job episodes here.

Dan Bova

Entrepreneur Staff

VP of Special Projects

Dan Bova is the VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com. He previously worked at Jimmy Kimmel Live, Maxim, and Spy magazine. His latest books for kids include This Day in History, Car and Driver's Trivia ZoneRoad & Track Crew's Big & Fast Cars, The Big Little Book of Awesome Stuff, and Wendell the Werewolf

Read his humor column This Should Be Fun if you want to feel better about yourself.

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