Opening act for Beck

In 2002, they performed as the opening act, as well as the backup band, for singer Beck on his Sea Change tour. In the summer of 2004, it was announced that the Flaming Lips would appear among the headliners on the 2004 Lollapalooza tour, alongside such artists as Sonic Youth and Morrissey ; however, the tour was canceled because of lack of revenue. Also in 2004, the band recorded the song “SpongeBob and Patrick Confront the Psychic Wall of Energy” for the soundtrack of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie . Following the concerts’ cancellation, the band entered Tarbox Road Studio with producer Dave Fridmann and began work on their eleventh album, the more organic-sounding At War with the Mystics . The record, aimed to be a more guitar-based and heavier effort than recent albums, featured more politically conscious lyrics than any of their previous releases, and was released in April 2006 to a mixed yet mostly positive reception.