"What Is the Light?" (The Flaming Lips)

The first time I heard The Soft Bulletin (1999), it felt strangely familiar.  I couldn't quite put my finger on it.  The album's lush, dramatic psychedelia didn't really sound like anything else going on in rock at the time.  But by the second spin, I was humming along to the songs with a feeling of childlike wonder; it was as if I'd known the record my entire life.
Eventually, it hit me: every song feels like it could have been written by Paul Williams for the Muppets.  (And I mean that in the most loving, sincere way.)  Strip away the synths, drum machines, and atmospherics from any of the songs on The Soft Bulletin, and what you have are rich, memorable compositions about life and loss that feel like companions to "Rainbow Connection."  I actually can't listen to the album anymore without picturing Kermit the Frog strumming his banjo in the middle of a swamp.
"What Is the Light?" also has that joyous yet bittersweet feel.  (If we're still talking Muppets, it's a little more Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem than Kermit, though.)  The track begins in an almost embryonic state with a heartbeat-like thump and then builds to a crescendo of anthemic proportions, complete with a fanfare of synth brass and distorted church organ.  It's nearly impossible not to sing along with Wayne Coyne as he intones Looking into space, it surrounds you / Love is the place that you're drawn to. It is one of the best hooks that the Lips have ever written.