2015 Album Releases

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Zip City
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Zip City »

Duke Silver wrote:
Tequila Cowboy wrote:MMJ haven't made a record I've liked since Z and even that was a let down from their early magnificence. I'm not hopeful this will reverse the trend.


Yep. Biggest fall from grace of any band I've ever loved. For 6-7 years they could do no wrong, now I just roll my eyes every time Yimmy shows up to do his calculated weirdo routine. Circuital sounded like children's music written by an adult with cognitive disabilities. Maybe this will be better.


Holy shit, wow! Did you ever hear any of the Circuital songs live? Because they were amazing. Not sure how anyone who loved the first 4 MMJ albums could hate so hard on a song like "Wonderful" or "Circuital", two songs that could fit easily into the "Z" era of songwriting.

"Evil Urges" is wildly uneven, but I enjoy it on the level of it being a run of genre exercises (not unlike several Ryan Adams records, Evil Urges sees the band emulating other bands they love). The title track and Touch Me Pt. 1 are heavily influenced by Flaming Lips, for example (at least to my ears), while the middle section tips several caps to 70's singer/songwriters.
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linkous
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

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MMJ are the most overrated US band of this millenium. Turgid and dreadful eunuch sounding vocalist not withstanding.

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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by cortez the killer »

Duke Silver wrote:I just roll my eyes every time Yimmy shows up to do his calculated weirdo routine. Circuital sounded like children's music written by an adult with cognitive disabilities.

I think you just defined Zip's wheelhouse.
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Zip City
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Zip City »

linkous wrote:MMJ are the most overrated US band of this millenium. Turgid and dreadful eunuch sounding vocalist not withstanding.


You hate the Beatles, though, so....
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linkous
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

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I don't "hate" any band.

MMJ and The Beatles are a strange comparison though...........

Zip City
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Zip City »

linkous wrote:I don't "hate" any band.

MMJ and The Beatles are a strange comparison though...........


I'm not comparing the bands. I'm saying that your opinions come with a huge grain of salt since you generally hate everything most people like
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Duke Silver
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Duke Silver »

Zip City wrote:
Duke Silver wrote:
Tequila Cowboy wrote:MMJ haven't made a record I've liked since Z and even that was a let down from their early magnificence. I'm not hopeful this will reverse the trend.


Yep. Biggest fall from grace of any band I've ever loved. For 6-7 years they could do no wrong, now I just roll my eyes every time Yimmy shows up to do his calculated weirdo routine. Circuital sounded like children's music written by an adult with cognitive disabilities. Maybe this will be better.


Holy shit, wow! Did you ever hear any of the Circuital songs live? Because they were amazing. Not sure how anyone who loved the first 4 MMJ albums could hate so hard on a song like "Wonderful" or "Circuital", two songs that could fit easily into the "Z" era of songwriting.

"Evil Urges" is wildly uneven, but I enjoy it on the level of it being a run of genre exercises (not unlike several Ryan Adams records, Evil Urges sees the band emulating other bands they love). The title track and Touch Me Pt. 1 are heavily influenced by Flaming Lips, for example (at least to my ears), while the middle section tips several caps to 70's singer/songwriters.


Well, they're still a great live band and probably always will be, as long as Patrick is their drummer and their sets lean heavy on the first four albums. Some of the Circuital songs seem like they were written specifically to fit the live MMJ template (The Moody Opener, The Epic Jam, The Ballad), but that doesn't make them good songs. The only song that holds up on that turd is Holding On to Black Metal, and that's basically a cover.

Where's Penny Lane to weigh in on this?
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

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Zip City wrote:
linkous wrote:I don't "hate" any band.

MMJ and The Beatles are a strange comparison though...........


I'm not comparing the bands. I'm saying that your opinions come with a huge grain of salt since you generally hate everything most people like


Aw diddums, a nasty big boy did it and ran away. Grow up man!!

Justify your ludicrous statement with some examples then. should take you a while, given I "hate" (that word again) everything that people on here like.
Last edited by linkous on Tue Mar 03, 2015 2:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Zip City
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

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Justify which statement?
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linkous
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

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Zip City wrote:Justify which statement?


" I'm saying that your opinions come with a huge grain of salt since you generally hate everything most people like"

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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Erdlivz »

Well, they're still a great live band and probably always will be, as long as Patrick is their drummer and their sets lean heavy on the first four albums. Some of the Circuital songs seem like they were written specifically to fit the live MMJ template (The Moody Opener, The Epic Jam, The Ballad), but that doesn't make them good songs. The only song that holds up on that turd is Holding On to Black Metal, and that's basically a cover.


The last couple albums were pretty weak. I see exactly what you're saying. They definitely do a great job of transferring songs to the live show. Not all. I was underwhelmed the last time seeing MMJ. They're too predictable now and lost a lot of what drew me to them.

Touch Me is about it on Evil Urges. I'm Amazed is ok.

Victory Dance -> Circuital and Black Metal transferred good to the live show. Circuital was front loaded for an ok album. I lose complete interest in it immediately though. The latter songs after Black Metal are epic turds.

I'll grab the albums as they come out. I'm not expecting much.

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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Penny Lane »

I don't have much new to weigh in, I can see why everyone thinks what they do. Nothing can beat the first four albums and like Duke said, some really great songs since then (although Wonderful--I consider this an earlier song since they've been playing it live since 2008 and I think it was written well before that- and Circuital is awesome even though it's pop). I haven't liked much of anything since and I don't have great expectations for this new album. I think their best stuff is WAY behind them but they can still put on incredible live shows.

I don't think Jim's stage act was contrived back in the day but I'm sure it's mostly now---although from what I know of him, he's a cross between a very nice grounded Midwestern guy and a bona fide cosmic weirdo-no idea how much is authentic--and as long as they're making good music, I guess it never mattered. (And from what I've heard speculated, his back problems might give him some problems on this tour..)

Agree with Zip about Evil Urges---very uneven but the stuff that was good was GOOD and the stuff that wasn't...wow...

What do you think of the new single? I didn't think much. I guess Jim had a writing partner on some of the songs, which I think was a first.

And the overrated part I only get in the sense that the ratio of songwriting to how popular they've gotten is inversely proportionate. I don't get how they've gotten as big as they have since 2010 or so based on the albums, my guess is it's based on the live shows. (But isn't most of what's popular inversely proportionate? maybe..)
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Penny Lane
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Penny Lane »

Duke Silver wrote: Circuital sounded like children's music written by an adult with cognitive disabilities. Maybe this will be better.


But didn't he redeem himself with the whole A-E-I-O-U understanding of the vowel concept?!

Yes agree---can't listen to Outta My System but oh the glorious memories of seeing it live..so different
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Tequila Cowboy »

Zip City wrote:
Duke Silver wrote:
Tequila Cowboy wrote:MMJ haven't made a record I've liked since Z and even that was a let down from their early magnificence. I'm not hopeful this will reverse the trend.


Yep. Biggest fall from grace of any band I've ever loved. For 6-7 years they could do no wrong, now I just roll my eyes every time Yimmy shows up to do his calculated weirdo routine. Circuital sounded like children's music written by an adult with cognitive disabilities. Maybe this will be better.


Holy shit, wow! Did you ever hear any of the Circuital songs live? Because they were amazing. Not sure how anyone who loved the first 4 MMJ albums could hate so hard on a song like "Wonderful" or "Circuital", two songs that could fit easily into the "Z" era of songwriting.

"Evil Urges" is wildly uneven, but I enjoy it on the level of it being a run of genre exercises (not unlike several Ryan Adams records, Evil Urges sees the band emulating other bands they love). The title track and Touch Me Pt. 1 are heavily influenced by Flaming Lips, for example (at least to my ears), while the middle section tips several caps to 70's singer/songwriters.


It Still Moves is a near perfect record. I like it nearly as much as my favorite DBT, Slobberbone or Centro-Matic (my three favorite bands of the new millennium) records. Z was a bit of a let down but hey, it happens and what was good was very good. Evil Urges is strange. Odd production techniques and pretzel like chord changes that seem to be hiding huge songwriting flaws but even I'll admit there's a song in that mess somewhere. Circuital is unlistenable. I realize we all have our own tastes and I can accept that which is why I said that they were making music that wasn't for me. My favorite album of last year, Lydia Loveless Somewhere Else, you don't like at all. I get the different strokes thing, but you do tend to make other's lack of interest or distaste in something into something akin to a character flaw. I'll make a couple of statements and stand by it, the first three MMJ records were as good an opening 3 record salvo as any band I can think of and Okonokos is one of the great live albums of all time. To top that off the "thunderdome" show at Bonnaroo in 2004 was very close to the best live performance I've ever seen, certainly the best on that type of a "stadium" type scale. So the bottom line here is that I was a huge fan. I've still bought every record they've put out on multiple formats. I've supported them and seen them live. I refuse to be characterized as not approaching what they do with an open mind. Sometimes you realize that what a band is doing is not for you and you move on. I'm guessing you're not saving your money for the next Lydia Loveless album either.

PS. I love me some Penny Lane opinions. :D Glad to see you around.
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Iowan »

Duke Silver wrote:
Tequila Cowboy wrote:MMJ haven't made a record I've liked since Z and even that was a let down from their early magnificence. I'm not hopeful this will reverse the trend.


Yep. Biggest fall from grace of any band I've ever loved. For 6-7 years they could do no wrong, now I just roll my eyes every time Yimmy shows up to do his calculated weirdo routine. Circuital sounded like children's music written by an adult with cognitive disabilities. Maybe this will be better.


I couldn't have said it better. Spot fucking on.

I still listen to Okonokos (and everything through Z has it's moments), but Y/Jim (or whatever the fuck he calls himself these days) just grinds my fucking gears. I saw a clip of their live act on a SXSW DVD back in like 2005(?) and was blown away. They've just gotten fucking awful. It probably doesn't help that Yimmy's a shit lyricist, so once the music lost it's fire, there was just nothing left.

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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Duke Silver »

Penny Lane wrote:I don't think Jim's stage act was contrived back in the day but I'm sure it's mostly now---although from what I know of him, he's a cross between a very nice grounded Midwestern guy and a bona fide cosmic weirdo-no idea how much is authentic--and as long as they're making good music, I guess it never mattered. (And from what I've heard speculated, his back problems might give him some problems on this tour..)


My perception based on nothing more than interviews I've read and documentaries like the New Basement Tapes thing on Showtime is that he's a regular guy who tries WAY too hard to play the "cosmic weirdo," and mostly gets away with it because of a) the reputation he earned based on everything he did up until Evil Urges, and b) it's all relative -- i.e. it's not hard to be the weirdest guy in the room when you're hanging out with Marcus Mumford and Jay Farrar.

Perfect example would be this interview he gave for the New Basement Tapes. They asked him if he was a Dylan fan and he said yes, but not the early stuff, because "the harmonica distorted my brain." WTF is that? You're an adult, dude. Just say you like his electric stuff better. GAH.
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Penny Lane »

Iowan wrote:
I still listen to Okonokos (and everything through Z has it's moments), but Y/Jim (or whatever the fuck he calls himself these days) just grinds my fucking gears. I saw a clip of their live act on a SXSW DVD back in like 2005(?) and was blown away. They've just gotten fucking awful. It probably doesn't help that Yimmy's a shit lyricist, so once the music lost it's fire, there was just nothing left.


The first 4 albums were so good musically that they could get away without lyrical substance---but once the music wasn't there anymore..wonder if that's why he got a co-writer this time..

A lot of my interest was sustained over the years with Jim's collaborations/covers/side projects. He always shined on those (aside from this last basement tapes stuff--I'm not sure what anyone was doing on that..)

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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Zip City »

I wouldn't say that not liking a band is a character flaw. I would say, however, that insulting the music and the people who made it in juvenile ways is. You're right, I never really got the LL love, but I never insulted the woman either

We all like what we like, but this board grows tiresome when you're made to feel stupid or inferior for liking what you like
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

Zip City wrote:We all like what we like, but this board grows tiresome when you're made to feel stupid or inferior for liking what you like


I've been on this board (and 9 Bullets before that) and still haven't burned all my Jimmy Buffett records.

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Re: 2015 Album Releases

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Zip City wrote:I wouldn't say that not liking a band is a character flaw. I would say, however, that insulting the music and the people who made it in juvenile ways is. You're right, I never really got the LL love, but I never insulted the woman either

We all like what we like, but this board grows tiresome when you're made to feel stupid or inferior for liking what you like


Are you serious man? You made me feel "stupid and inferior" to use your words for not being excited about the MMJ release. I also don't recall saying anything insulting about anyone. I laid out my case for not digging latter day MMJ and said that they just weren't making music for me but since they continue to be wildly popular they were making it for someone. In fact I not sure I've ever criticized your taste ever, disagreed absolutely but that's not an insult.
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Zip City
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Zip City »

Tequila Cowboy wrote:
Zip City wrote:I wouldn't say that not liking a band is a character flaw. I would say, however, that insulting the music and the people who made it in juvenile ways is. You're right, I never really got the LL love, but I never insulted the woman either

We all like what we like, but this board grows tiresome when you're made to feel stupid or inferior for liking what you like


Are you serious man? You made me feel "stupid and inferior" to use your words for not being excited about the MMJ release. I also don't recall saying anything insulting about anyone. I laid out my case for not digging latter day MMJ and said that they just weren't making music for me but since they continue to be wildly popular they were making it for someone. In fact I not sure I've ever criticized your taste ever, disagreed absolutely but that's not an insult.


My comment wasn't directed at you specifically.
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Iowan »

Penny Lane wrote:
Iowan wrote:
I still listen to Okonokos (and everything through Z has it's moments), but Y/Jim (or whatever the fuck he calls himself these days) just grinds my fucking gears. I saw a clip of their live act on a SXSW DVD back in like 2005(?) and was blown away. They've just gotten fucking awful. It probably doesn't help that Yimmy's a shit lyricist, so once the music lost it's fire, there was just nothing left.


The first 4 albums were so good musically that they could get away without lyrical substance---but once the music wasn't there anymore..wonder if that's why he got a co-writer this time..

A lot of my interest was sustained over the years with Jim's collaborations/covers/side projects. He always shined on those (aside from this last basement tapes stuff--I'm not sure what anyone was doing on that..)

Hey TC!


To be fair, I've never spent much time with the side projects either, as they've featured artists I absolutely loathe (Connor Oberst) and don't really care for at all (Marcus Mumford).

It just seemed like there was a time when they really had it musically (One Big Holiday on Okonokos), but I just don't care for what they've turned into at all.

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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by linkous »

Looks like it's not going to be a great Spring for new album releases. I know it's not all encompassing but the Metacritic schedule of upcoming releases between now and the end of May is pretty depressing. Only album I could find any real enthusiasm for is the new one by Hot Chip, and that's not out till May 18.

http://www.metacritic.com/browse/albums ... -soon/date

Meanwhile I have to devise a strategy of how to avoid having my ears assaulted by the upcoming "efforts" by Mumford & Sons and Alabama Shakes.

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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Zip City »

Houndmouth is the only one I'm really looking forward to
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

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I hated it when it first came out, but Circuital grew on me. "Wonderful" is one of my top 5 MMJ tunes.
Lyrically they've always been brain dead or pretty close, and being a lyric guy they're one of the few bands I like in spite of that. Personally I prefer Circuital to Z or Evil Urges.
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

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Zip City wrote:Houndmouth is the only one I'm really looking forward to

for the whole year?

Zip City
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Zip City »

tinnitus photography wrote:
Zip City wrote:Houndmouth is the only one I'm really looking forward to

for the whole year?


no, I was referencing the "nothing much good coming out between now and May" post
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Tequila Cowboy »

Porter- This Red Mountain is out next week, Great Peacock Making Ghosts is out 5/12. Probably the two I'm looking forward to the most. I'm interested in hearing The Alabama Shakes an a few others. Could be a lean spring but a lot of new artists coming soon.
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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

I'm looking forward to the new Courtney Barnett most at present. Her latest, Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit is due to drop on March 23rd. This is the first single.



Van Halen is due to release their first live album with Dave, Tokyo Dome Live in Concert, which comes out March 31st. It was recorded in 2013 on the tour in support of A Different Kind of Truth. Their first album and 1984 are also being remastered (from the original analog tapes). Those drop on the same day as the new live record.


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Re: 2015 Album Releases

Post by Zip City »

Dawes fourth album (as yet untitled) to be released June 2nd. It was recorded in Nashville and produced by Dave Rawlings

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/featu ... 318?page=2
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