Singing about unicorns and rainbows was fair game on Oczy Mlody, The Flaming Lips’ 14th studio record. "Previous to this record, we would have never on purpose sang a song like 'There Should Be Unicorns,'" says Wayne Coyne to Myspace about the dreamy song.

At age 56, Wayne Coyne isn’t so worried about what young people want to hear anymore. "For once [I felt] like I’m so out of touch with young people that maybe I’m singing about something that we all care about," says the frontman. While staying true to The Flaming Lips iconic sound, Oczy Mlody lets loose and dives further into the fantastical depths of psychedelia. Dive into Coyne’s world and learn about five influences that made Oczy Mlody possible.

Working with Miley Cyrus

Coyne calls Cyrus "one main guiding influence" for the album. Oczy Mlody came after a couple years of working with the singer: from their 2014 interpretation of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band called With a Little Help from My Fwends to her 2015 release Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz. On this record, she assisted most prominently on "Sunrise (Eyes of the Young)" and "We a Famly."

"[Miley Cyrus and I] both need these collaborators in our musical life,” says Coyne. "Otherwise, our music would just be horribly simple and be too much about us. So I think I want to work with her so I get this other coloring and this other flavor in my creative life… Being around someone who’s so energetic and optimistic and dynamic and creative and all that, it’s a boost. It’s just another angel of encouragement."