Pitchfork

Ghouls! Goblins! A bushy-haired weirdo singing through a nun puppet! Something tells me the Flaming Lips do Halloween about as right as any non-cannibalistic, non-Scandinavian black metal band out there. But not without a little help from the costumed and confetti-soaked masses. This is where you come in.

If you're mobile, bored, of age, and free the weekend of October 26-27, you're in luck: the Flaming Lips have been asked by hometown rag the Oklahoma Gazette to participate in their annual Halloween parade. So the band is gathering up 1,000 of the most fearless freaks they can find for the March of a Thousand Flaming Skeletons, a "spectacle celebrating the mysterious, the supernatural and the otherworldly."

Oh, there's more, too: "The March of a Thousand Flaming Skeletons is a symbolic procession glorifying the beauty of death and the boundless flame of love and life." To say nothing of Sweet Tarts!

Obviously, you've gotta be in Oklahoma City October 27 to march, and the day before to pick up your costume. There's a $25 fee to participate, but in exchange for paying up front, you'll get to take your costume (and, uh, torch?) home, and snag a t-shirt unique to the event as well.

Also, tough break, kiddies, but you've gotta be 18 to ride this ride. Interested parties are advised to e-mail deathmarchreservation@hellfireltd.com ASAP to secure a spot in the parade. (I thought that was Danzig's email address?)

Of course, this isn't the only holiday-themed Flaming Lips goodness on the way. The band's delay-plagued Christmas on Mars film will (should?) see the light of day in March. The band are on live holiday at the moment, with on exception: they're set to play the Echo Project in Fairburn, Georgia this Friday evening.