The Perfect Life
by Moby

Album: Innocents (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song features the voice of Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne. Moby told The Guardian: "To me it sounded like a Flaming Lips song. So I thought, why not see if Wayne [Coyne] will sing on it?"
  • The song's music visual features S&M gimp gymnasts and obese bearded bikers in red Speedos. Moby explained to The Guardian: "My idea for the video was to be absurd nonsense, so we thought, why not gather up a whole bunch of random absurd people and see what happens? We put on authentic mariachi costumes and spent the day downtown [in LA]."
  • Wayne Coyne and Moby sing the choruses together, and then go back and forth on the verses. Moby told Rolling Stone: "Wayne and I first met in 1995, when the Flaming Lips and I were both opening up for a Red Hot Chili Peppers' European tour. We became friends, shared a dressing room and the same bad craft services, and watched the Chili Peppers from the side of the stage. I thought of Wayne for this song because the Flaming Lips have evolved in this very open, celebratory band when they play live, and that was the perfect vibe for what I was imagining for 'The Perfect Life.' I texted Wayne and said, 'Hey, I have a song – want to sing on it?' Thirty seconds later, he texted me back: 'Yes, send it to me, it will be great.'"
  • This was used in the 2014 movie Let's Be Cops, starring Damon Wayans Jr. and Jake Johnson.
  • The album, Moby's 11th studio release, was produced by Mark "Spike" Stent, who's worked with artists like Madonna, Beyonce, Coldplay, Lady Gaga, and Florence + The Machine, among others.
  • Moby recorded the album in his Los Angeles apartment. The New Yorker moved to the West Coast in 2010 and says the change of scenery influenced his music - including the Innocents album. He told Rolling Stone: "The album I just made is a very domestic record. It's made at home, for home. It's a record for making breakfast, for listening to in the living room at 11 p.m. before going to bed. It's quieter and more intimate. It's not a big, bombastic, dynamic urban record. Maybe if I were 24 and living in Highland Park I would make that, but I'm 48 and living in the country, in Hollywood."

Comments: 1

  • E. Martin from Virginia"The Perfect Life" has really depressing lyrics, describing drug addiction. But the upbeat tune somehow makes it feel okay.
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