"Listen to What Circuital IS, not what Circuital ISN'T"

[billybuckner]

Done deal folks. And here's my take on just what "Circuital" IS! It's another letdown. Not quite of the magnitude of Evil Urges but a close second, As in it's the 2nd least attractive Jacket album. Circuital is an album that starts with such promise then hits a run of four to five consecutive songs were all Jim James musters up is singing the title words over and over and over and over and over again. Just listen to "First Light" one time and you'll get the idea. Circuital IS uninspiring, and flat out un-creative. The highlights-yes there are a few...The driven and powerful "Victory Dance". The title track, and the slow burning "Slow Slow Tune". Aside from that this album is ho-hum at best. I am ready for the MMJ message board clonies to launch a beray of verbal assaults my way....claim I want the guys to write "One Big Holiday" over and over, never progress, blah blah blah. This doesn't even sound remotely like the band I fell in love with. This sounds like FLaming Lips or something far less serious. It's hard to imagine this is the same band that wrote songs such as "At Dawn", "Dondante", "I Think I'm Going To Hell", and "Steam Engine". Sorry Folks but this is nowhere near the epic sounds of MMJ. From "Z" backwards is masterpiece after epic masterpiece. Evil Urges to Circuital is experimental let's be genre-bending pooh!

[billybuckner]

I would bet money that if message boards existed back in the 80's when Neil Young was making crappy music as a fuck you to Geffen records the folks on his forum's would be praising those records! Not at all saying that's the deal here. I'm just saying most die-hard fans refuse to let themselves be critical of their favs. I'll say it again......The moment Rolling Stone Magazine labeled these guys America's radiohead is the moment it went to jim's head! Now he'll forever be chasing that ghost of being groundbreaking genre-bending like thom yorke.

[vespachick]

We get it.  Thanks for checking in.

[walterfredo]

Learn how to field a grounder dude. My 10 year old son would have made that play.

[patrickbateman]

Not that I've been here that long, but it just seems disrespectful to preface your whole argument with how "MMJ clonies" on this message board are going to "barrage" you for your opinion.

Regardless of your opinion, you should be respectful and express it in a way that isn't aggressive to stand-offish. I've only been posting in this forum a couple months and the people I've encountered here are friendly, thoughtful, and have an array of different opinions, so it seems a little childish to make your whole argument based on your pre-conceived notions of people who post here (which are very wrong).

You can find the album to be a disappointment, but you should express your opinions in the thoughtful and friendly manner in which 99% of the people here, especially the forum regulars, do. But that's just my two cents.  ;D

[Tracy 2112]

Learn how to field a grounder dude. My 10 year old son would have made that play.

Man, I remember that. The thing is though, even though that play lost the game, so much BS happened the previous 4-5 batters that it was just the icing on the cake. I feel bad for Buckner that he was the exclamtion point of all that bad karma.

[Tracy 2112]

I am ready for the MMJ message board clonies to launch a beray of verbal assaults my way

Are you sure you mean "beray"? I looked that word up (never heard of it) and it really doesn't fit.

Did you mean barrage? Or maybe bevy?

Let me know so I can make sure I launch the correct thing your way     ;)

[el_chode]

"Flaming Lips" is like the biggest burn you can give to a band.

[Penny Lane]

I agree that it's the way you presented your argument. You weren't inviting any kind of discussion. There are a lot of die hard fans and frequent posters who share all or some of your opinion. Unfortunately, when you throw daggers right out of the gate..

[Ruckus]

I agree that it's the way you presented your argument. You weren't inviting any kind of discussion. There are a lot of die hard fans and frequent posters who share all or some of your opinion. Unfortunately, when you throw daggers right out of the gate..

+3 Schiraldi of Death gets you every time

[adl6690]

Sorry, but fuck you to the person who started this thread.

[blucas]

..not to mention 2 consecutive long paragraphs and sarcastic title...

[My Morning Tube top]

Done deal folks. And here's my take on just what "Circuital" IS! It's another letdown. Not quite of the magnitude of Evil Urges but a close second, As in it's the 2nd least attractive Jacket album. Circuital is an album that starts with such promise then hits a run of four to five consecutive songs were all Jim James musters up is singing the title words over and over and over and over and over again. Just listen to "First Light" one time and you'll get the idea. Circuital IS uninspiring, and flat out un-creative. The highlights-yes there are a few...The driven and powerful "Victory Dance". The title track, and the slow burning "Slow Slow Tune". Aside from that this album is ho-hum at best. I am ready for the MMJ message board clonies to launch a beray of verbal assaults my way....claim I want the guys to write "One Big Holiday" over and over, never progress, blah blah blah. This doesn't even sound remotely like the band I fell in love with. This sounds like FLaming Lips or something far less serious. It's hard to imagine this is the same band that wrote songs such as "At Dawn", "Dondante", "I Think I'm Going To Hell", and "Steam Engine". Sorry Folks but this is nowhere near the epic sounds of MMJ. From "Z" backwards is masterpiece after epic masterpiece. Evil Urges to Circuital is experimental let's be genre-bending pooh!

Defending my Boston roots and Circuital.

Poor Bill Buckner, even here he lives in disgrace  :( GO SOX! GO Jacket!

[MarkW]

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you billybuckner:

First ever post, back in 2008

Evil Urges a curveball? Actually not at all, the record is a perfect offspring of "Z" the thing is "Z" is where the band "sold out" so to speak. Not commercially but criticly, around the time MMJ started to get pub from major music zines like rolling stone and such they decided to please the ever hungry critics whom love unique if not downright maverickesque music and there's no problem with that direction they in fact pulled it off rather well with "Z" but then came the "americas radiohead" label and in my opinion that caused the band to reallly shoot for the moon with the whole "we're gonna sound like no other band" theme.

...and then:

was all due to the "reverb" Jim James is a mediocre singer at best without the reverb. Also folks keep asking why people join this forum to bash Evil Urges - my intentions were for 2 results 1. hear others opinions 2. hopefully the band themselves get word that this album was a miss.

...and on to 2011, with an new album out:

Hear me out. MMJ is in my top 5 of favorite bands to collect, see live, and support. With that being said, I am again utterly disappointed with the latest album "Circuital".

Finally:

Done deal folks. And here's my take on just what "Circuital" IS! It's another letdown. Not quite of the magnitude of Evil Urges but a close second, As in it's the 2nd least attractive Jacket album.

Oh, and Tracy; I think he's somehow conflated two words in his mind.  It's either a barrage of verbal assaults he's forecasting, or else he's expecting to be berated.

And beray, for anyone interested:

Beray
Be`ray´    (bė`rā´)
v. t.   1.   To make foul; to soil; to defile.

[adl6690]

billybuckner, are you the asshat who wrote the sputnik music review? Wouldn't be surprised. Why don't you do us all a favor and go listen to the new Coldplay single.

"I TURN THE MUSIC UP, I GOT MY RECORDS ON
FROM UNDERNEATH THE RUBBLE SING A REBEL SONG
DON'T WANT TO SEE ANOTHER GENERATION DROP
I'D RATHER BE A COMMA THAN A FULL STOP"

[AlwxanderD10]

Done deal folks. And here's my take on just what "Circuital" IS! It's another letdown. Not quite of the magnitude of Evil Urges but a close second, As in it's the 2nd least attractive Jacket album. Circuital is an album that starts with such promise then hits a run of four to five consecutive songs were all Jim James musters up is singing the title words over and over and over and over and over again. Just listen to "First Light" one time and you'll get the idea. Circuital IS uninspiring, and flat out un-creative. The highlights-yes there are a few...The driven and powerful "Victory Dance". The title track, and the slow burning "Slow Slow Tune". Aside from that this album is ho-hum at best. I am ready for the MMJ message board clonies to launch a beray of verbal assaults my way....claim I want the guys to write "One Big Holiday" over and over, never progress, blah blah blah. This doesn't even sound remotely like the band I fell in love with. This sounds like FLaming Lips or something far less serious. It's hard to imagine this is the same band that wrote songs such as "At Dawn", "Dondante", "I Think I'm Going To Hell", and "Steam Engine". Sorry Folks but this is nowhere near the epic sounds of MMJ. From "Z" backwards is masterpiece after epic masterpiece. Evil Urges to Circuital is experimental let's be genre-bending pooh!

If you dont like wonderful the way i feel, then you probably dont like music in general. (and have no soul)

[Jon T.]

Done deal folks. And here's my take on just what "Circuital" IS! It's another letdown. Not quite of the magnitude of Evil Urges but a close second, As in it's the 2nd least attractive Jacket album. Circuital is an album that starts with such promise then hits a run of four to five consecutive songs were all Jim James musters up is singing the title words over and over and over and over and over again. Just listen to "First Light" one time and you'll get the idea. Circuital IS uninspiring, and flat out un-creative. The highlights-yes there are a few...The driven and powerful "Victory Dance". The title track, and the slow burning "Slow Slow Tune". Aside from that this album is ho-hum at best. I am ready for the MMJ message board clonies to launch a beray of verbal assaults my way....claim I want the guys to write "One Big Holiday" over and over, never progress, blah blah blah. This doesn't even sound remotely like the band I fell in love with. This sounds like FLaming Lips or something far less serious. It's hard to imagine this is the same band that wrote songs such as "At Dawn", "Dondante", "I Think I'm Going To Hell", and "Steam Engine". Sorry Folks but this is nowhere near the epic sounds of MMJ. From "Z" backwards is masterpiece after epic masterpiece. Evil Urges to Circuital is experimental let's be genre-bending pooh!

If you dont like wonderful the way i feel, then you probably dont like music in general. (and have no soul)

he's probably even mean to old people, too.

[halesdd]

What an ass clown is all I can say to this fool.  I think I have literally listened to this album all the way through just about every day since it leaked (and yes, I bought the hard copy too).  Shows how unmusically inclined some people can truly be.  D-Bag!

[fleabag]

Done deal folks. And here's my take on just what "Circuital" IS! It's another letdown. Not quite of the magnitude of Evil Urges but a close second, As in it's the 2nd least attractive Jacket album. Circuital is an album that starts with such promise then hits a run of four to five consecutive songs were all Jim James musters up is singing the title words over and over and over and over and over again. Just listen to "First Light" one time and you'll get the idea. Circuital IS uninspiring, and flat out un-creative. The highlights-yes there are a few...The driven and powerful "Victory Dance". The title track, and the slow burning "Slow Slow Tune". Aside from that this album is ho-hum at best. I am ready for the MMJ message board clonies to launch a beray of verbal assaults my way....claim I want the guys to write "One Big Holiday" over and over, never progress, blah blah blah. This doesn't even sound remotely like the band I fell in love with. This sounds like FLaming Lips or something far less serious. It's hard to imagine this is the same band that wrote songs such as "At Dawn", "Dondante", "I Think I'm Going To Hell", and "Steam Engine". Sorry Folks but this is nowhere near the epic sounds of MMJ. From "Z" backwards is masterpiece after epic masterpiece. Evil Urges to Circuital is experimental let's be genre-bending pooh!

If you dont like wonderful the way i feel, then you probably dont like music in general. (and have no soul)

So true about Wonderful...I first heard it as a recording from the Newport Folk Festival a few years back.  As such, I assumed it was a Guthrie cover or something.  Turns out it isn't.

It's perfect and timeless. 

[1978SGJ]

"Flaming Lips" is like the biggest burn you can give to a band.

hahaha i agree.