thanks for the comments and advice guys.
i use cool edit pro 2 and used a ppa r-one ribbon on the vox going through the sytek.. as for effects on vocals, there's just a touch of compression and then i tripple tracked them, not paying too much attention to exactly how 'on' they were. then i panned one left and one right 50% each and ran one up the middle.. as for the harmonies, they're panned a little wider and echoed a little with whatever cep2 has for echo. during the chorus i put some cep2 distortion on the harmonies to fry them up a bit.
i'm working on a mix that's not so glitched at the end..just delayed on the ones with no ring out on the end. after listening, i agree that the background vox are a bit loud and i edged them down a little as well. actually, it's done and i can put that up if you're interested.
flaming lips meet beach boys - i like that comparison. thanks.