My Morning Jacket Are The New Radiohead
Six MP3s from yesterday's My Morning Jacket performance at KCRW are up on My Old Kentucky Blog.
In the new Rolling Stone, there's a good feature in which Associate Editor Brian Hiatt (my college newspaper editor) struggles to get the Kentucky space rockers to do a proper sit-down. Good journalist that he is, Brian ultimately gets some eye contact from Jim James and concludes that MMJ are America's answer to Radiohead (Z is their Kid A). I find this amusing because Brian's response to the first piece I ever submitted to him was, "Um ... are you really comparing Shannon Hoon to John Lennon?" (I've since realized the error of my ways. Though Blind Melon is way underrated.)
Z threw me for a loop and is a likely candidate for Stereogum's Top 10 of '05. Plus, MMJ probably had the best stage show at Bonnaroo. Check out the puppety oddballs:
But is Jim James America's answer to Thom Yorke? Or is that Jeff Tweedy?
PREVIOUSLY: MMJ Love "Trapped In The Closet."
ELSEWHERE: Jeff Tweedy Is Touring.
Posted at 10:21 AM
Tags: My Morning Jacket
Shannon Hoon and John Lennon: Larf!
Score = 0
Wow, I didn't know you wrote for the Sun, Scott. What years were you there?
Score = 0
Has nayone else noticed how the entire audience of MMJ has changed?? Saw them on Tuesday and it was like being at a frat party.
I blame jambase.com and Boneroo.
Score = 0
shannon hoon is/was way under rated as a song writer
I had the same feeling about hoon&lennon song writing.
Score = 0
But is Jim James America's answer to Thom Yorke?
That depends - Did Thom Yorke throw pieces of white bread to audience members during Kid A-era shows? If so, yes, Jim James is the Thom Yorke of the U.S.A.
Score = 0
Blind Melon is not underrated. They are correctly considered a joke.
Score = 0
I agree. MMJ has been a great band, and they're just now hitting their stride. Too bad Sony has completely fucked-up their CD with spyware.
I was going to buy "Z," but Sony will not get a penny from me. I suppose I could just send the band some cash.
P.S. Howard Davis, you are CORRECT, sir!
Score = 0
I just don't get why people love Z so much. To me it's an album filled with MMJ leftovers with reggae downbeats. In my opinion that's not moving a band forward, that's just trying on a different pair of shoes.
Calling it an answer to Kid A is just plain ridiculous. Jim James is talented, but he works from a proven mold. Thom Yorke is a visionary, and probably the most forward-thinking mainstream rock star since... well, John Lennon.
Score = 0
Z's a'ight. I just don't see how they'll ever be able to top It Still Moves. I think they shoulda stuck with that sound a little longer before going reggae.
kcrw has been jisming all over MMJ all week.
Score = 0
gideon feels a little like letdown from okay computer. but they're no radiohead.
Score = 0
There's one song on Z, "Off the Record," (maybe two if you count the slight bounce on the opening track) that has a reggae influence and even that's mostly confined to the guitar. The vocal delivery doesn't sound reggae. The drums don't sound reggae. The lead guitar riff actually sounds more surf-influenced. It's not like they're suddently the Wailers. Plus, it's a great pop tune, maybe one of the best of the year.
It's a nicely varied set. Aside from that MASSIVE reggae influence, there's a great Replacements-meets-the Who-style rocker, a fun raveup that sounds like a heavier version of the Sweet, and some nice moments that echo 80s-era U2, Elton John, and Mercury Rev. I'm liking it tons more than It Still Moves and At Dawn.
Score = 0
Who cares if the audience changes?? They have been making great music on every album. This fits well under the Grateful Dead bashing...hipster kids can't handle improv or bands trying something new. If they can't label it and reference it with some type of music already played out (ie. new wave) they will trash it.
Score = 0
WTF? The new MMJ CD is encoded with copy protection that prevents you from transferring the tunes to your iPod or computer, even though you've legally purchased the cd. This is really a step backwards and only encourages naughty things. I will no longer support MMJ or any other bands that treat their paying fans as criminals.
Score = 0
If Howard Davis thinks so, it MUST be true!
Score = 0
"I will no longer support MMJ or any other bands that treat their paying fans as criminals."
Little known fact: MMJ actually sat down with SONY execs and helped them figure out ways to install the software and fuck their fans. They then personally encoded every single disc with the software, right before they put the CDs into their jewelboxes, and sealed them.
MMJ also programmed the software themselves, while evilly remarking about how badly they wanted to stick it to the people who buy the album.
Seriously, most bands don't know when this sort of thing is going on. I thought this was common knowledge.
Score = 0
Z is a good listen but comparing them to Radiohead is a joke... But like anything you have to consider the source. Last time I bought a Rolling Stone mag there were two articles to read after I got thru the advertisments...The real scary part of it all is there are some people out there who will believe a comparison like Hiatt did..
Score = 0
MMJ tore the roof of the Fonda in Hollywood last night. My head is still ringin'. And the above commenters nailed it on A) KCRW's jisming (great word for it) over them out here and B) the sad increased frat boy tool contingent of the crowd.
Score = 0
I bought Z ($7.99 was hard to pass up)and thought it was good but haven't listened to it much because of my dependance on Ipod. I tried some work arounds but to no luck.
I can't put a CD in my top 10 if I can't listen to it. Wolf Parade, you're my only friend.
Score = 0
Any band with balls would NOT allow the recent copy protection schemes on their releases. These "Copy-Protection enhanced" CD's actually hinder/prevent legitimate listening from paying consumers. Shame on any band that says it's not aware that their disc is encoded with this shit. Sorry, there is just no way to justify punishing legitimate buyers.
Although I must admit I got a laugh after reading the new Neil Diamond CD (and many Sony/BMG discs) inserts spyware into any computer it's played on. Way to go!!
I saw MMJ last night and must agree the band was tight, but the audience has sure changed since I saw them last year. Loud frat boys everywhere. Icky.
Score = 0
gotta say I read that article and it never says that mmj are the new radiohead. it only says this which isnt as crazy:
"With interplanetary keyboards, Brit-pop choruses, spliffed-out grooves and arena-shaking crescendos, it's My Morning Jacket's Achtung Baby or their Kid A, simultaneously building on and breaking from their past."
Score = 0
Here's a very important link regarding the "copy-protection" spyware that is encoded on Sony/BMG discs:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9991596
Score = 0
Blind Melon would be like REM circa 2000 - in career status if Hoon had not died. They were a tight outfit about ready to explode from post-grunge darling to all-out phenoms. As fro MMJ and frat boys, i dont blame jambase or Bonnaroo (where they are treated like the 3rd rate band they are) i blame their label or them - werent they just highly featured in the movie ELizabethtown LOL!- now that is Trixie and Chad stylin all the way.
Score = 0
In response to those (Hi TR!)who were at MMJ this past Tuesday...they played in San Diego, and San Diego audiences, for the most part, are pretty much ADD and notorious for being a BAD, CRAPPY, TALK ALL THE EFFING TIME, audience.
I complain about this all the time to the band members themselves, my friends, to others that are attending the same gigs, on my blog, & on other blogs. I just do not get it. I do not understand how people pay to see a band (and an absolutely wonderful one at that) that is playing FOR THEM to listen to, and continues to chat away during the live performance. It's rude, it's immature, and it sucks!!!
I am certainly not part of any Frat Party crowd, but for the most part it seems as though S.D. is turning into a collegiate-y town. Some of those collegeates are well-versed musical appreciatives. Some are there for the pure socialization not realizing that these venues are "Musical Venues", not the beach; not the park, not an open space for lecture.
Sorry for ranting on your blog, Stereogum, but I felt the need to say something and commiserate on this subject of rudeness during a band's performance.
I, personally, had to listen to "Z" about five times before it just started to sink in and completely settle inside. I love it. I had a great time at MMJ and I'm a total newbie fan and have nothing to compare this album with as I delve into their previous material. I think Jim James is an extremely talented musician and so are the other four guys who make up My Morning Jacket. I'm a fan for life now.
Score = 0
love them to death, but radiohead? i dunno...
Score = 0
There's a free download of "Off the Record" from Z at Amazon.com if you want to check the band out but don't want to install a rootkit in your computer: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BG1PSY/qid%3D1131856058/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/103-3510232-6608603.
But I'm not getting the album--most of the time I listen to music from my computer, and I don't feel like buying anything from the iTunes Music Store right now.
And yes I hear the Radiohead influences (post-Pablo Honey), but My Morning Jacket cannot be the new Radiohead. My distrust of Rolling Stone is another story that I'll save to myself.
Score = 0
If by "Radiohead" you mean "bravely pushing the boundaries of the framework they're given while still keeping true to their sonic roots" then...
My Morning Jacket hold down the Radiohead tip for the South (NORTHERN FLORIDA, REPRESENT!) and Wilco holds the boundary-pushing rock down for the Midwest.
Both of these are regions of the country that most New Yorkers seem to think exclusively produce Toby Keith and other shit like that. Yet many northeast/NYC liberal elists are from these areas themselves.
It's also worthy to note that Slint, The Gossip, Merge and IRS Records, Iron and Wine, Outkast, R.E.M., The Residents, Spoon, The Flaming Lips, Oxes, Explosions in the Sky and many more great artists are ALL from Southern red states. Look it up if you don't believe me.
Recognize the Souf, nigga.
Score = 0
I really don't care for band comparisons. They're all different, and MMJ really nailed this album. It should easily end up on any decent top 5 list for 2005. It certainly will be on mine.
The band and even the label are very unhappy about what has happened. They've been pretty vocal about it and have made quite a bit of news, actually. Read here:
http://www.atorecords.com/index.php?title=news+and+press&kind=news&mdid=532
So this is the only "copy-protected" CD I own, and probably the only one I'll ever own. I have autoplay disabled so it never kicks in anyway. There are ways to get rid of it, too - search for "removing mediamax".
This is not the invasive XCP scheme Bill W incorrectly mentions above. The EFF has a list of affected CDs, "Z" is specifically noted as NOT having that: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004144.php
Score = 0
re: previous post; the label is unhappy about the copy-protection, not about the comparison with Radiohead. :)
Score = 0
Re:BB...so the band is unhappy with the DRM on their CD? Think how I felt after paying for the CD, then finding out (after the fact) that it won't allow (legal) copying to my iPod. I can't support bands that incorporate these anti-consumer copy protection schemes on their cd's. BTW, I'm a long-time fan of MMJ.
Score = 0
Comparing My Morning Jacket to Radiohead is like comparing Dan Brown to Shakespeare.
Score = 0
I know Z is supposed to be copy protected and all, but I just popped it in and imported it into iTunes, no problem. It's on my iPod. Did I get a defective (and therefore, working) copy?
Score = 0
I sure wish MMJ would make their way up to Calgary. I've heard their live show is something to see.
Score = 0
I think that calling mmj the new radiohead is like saying creed are the new doors which is plain insane and not well though out either. I just hope thom and company can pull it together to put out this 7 album it is taking forever. May I say listen to Elliott Smith if you have not yet!
Score = 0
You are right in many cases. One thing you forgot to mention is that there are law firms that practice ebt settlement as well. So whats the difference for one a law firm can keep the collection agencies off of your back, two they are alot more reputable than your standard Уdebt settlement companyФ they must compy with the bar association of their state. However you are right there is no such thing as clumping all of these debts together this is just not the case. But the creditors do speak much differently to a professional negotiator than they do with the average consumer and can usually get a very nice settlement
debt law office settlement
Score = 0