Oklahoma is so Much Cooler Than Your Shitty State

While whatever state you’re currently living in is singing some dorky song to commemorate its population’s collective, stupid pride, Oklahoma is blowing all of our freaking minds.

That’s right. While you keep on humming along to “Here We Have Idaho,” Idahoans, and while you Rhode Islanders are tapping your toe to “Rhode Island (It’s For Me),” Oklahoma has gone all late-night dorm room this week. In a special ceremony tomorrow afternoon, the Flaming Lips are poised to take  accolades as the trippy musicians’ “Do You Realize” becomes the National Rock N’ Roll Song of Oklahoma.

Things must be slow in the Sooner State, as the Senate appointed an “Official Oklahoma Rock Song Advisory Panel” in 2007, which last month put the Lips in the books as a part of Senate Joint Resolution 24. Done and done, right?

Not so fast. The Oklahoma House of Representatives, for the past two months, has been seeking to overrule the Senate’s decision after Lips bassist Michael Ivins showed up at the capital wearing a t-shirt bearing the hammer and sickle, a roundly recognized symbol of communism. It failed, and tomorrow Okie Governor Brad Henry will sign the executive order to uphold the Senate’s decision. Then, as we can all assume, the entire legislature will don skintight metallic jumpsuits and get totally baked.

For those of you unfamiliar with the perennial Lips hit, here’s a taste:

Do You Realize – that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize – we’re floating in space 
Do You Realize – that happiness makes you cry
Do You Realize – that everyone you know someday will die

Yep, that sounds like Oklahoma to me. Quit bogarting, Kansas.

Flaming Lips’ Coyne  Talks State Song Flap, Singing About Orgasms for Madonna Cover (Rolling Stone)