Indie band has alley named in its honor

12/06/2006 3:06 PM, AP
Jake Coyle

The Oklahoma City Council has designated an alley in the city's Bricktown area in honor of The Flaming Lips.

The city council also voted Tuesday to name two streets in the burgeoning entertainment and restaurant district in honor of country singer Vince Gill and jazz great Charlie Christian, both Oklahoma City natives.

Lead singer Wayne Coyne said the honor means a lot to The Flaming Lips, who got their start in Oklahoma City in 1983.

"So many bands despise their hometowns," Coyne said. "I guess we're just lucky or it never felt that way to us. Oklahoma City never rejected us. It's always seemed to be a strange twist of fate that even though we want to play Los Angeles or London, we weren't doing it to say we don't like where we came from."

The psychedelic indie rock band's latest album, "At War With the Mystics," was released earlier this year.

Coyne said having an alley designated in their honor was somewhat appropriate, as The Flaming Lips have never been mainstream.

"It's not just a typical, `Give them a street, give them a statue, give them a handshake.' It's like some little secret special thing," he said.

"I could see people sneaking in during the middle of the night doing graffiti art," he said of the alley. "I can see all kinds of strange things going on there."

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