NPR: First Listen: Jim James, 'Regions Of Light And Sound Of God'

[sweatboard]

Just had my first listen.   Wow that felt good.  I can't wait to try it again in a new position.

Bonggy Style 

[sweatboard]

I love how "know till now" is a tour through Jim James land.  Obviously no accident, he's learned a lot from his journey with the band.  I really like how the horns at the end are part PHJHB and part the opening scene of Okonokos.  I also really felt a connection tonight.....you can't really truly feel things the way you would like until you've been through feelings you hate....ya know.  It's a process?

[sweatboard]

Kind of like how the power goes out in the first song.....then you hear wires fry into Know till now...pretty fucking brilliant. 

[sweatboard]

The banjo line on "Gods Love..." is haunting and beautiful at the same time. 

direct connection


ahhhhhhh.....ahhhhhhhhh....ohhhhhhhh..ohhhh


Gods Love To Deliver....ahhhhhhhhhh

direct connection

[tdb810]

I love how "know till now" is a tour through Jim James land.  Obviously no accident, he's learned a lot from his journey with the band.  I really like how the horns at the end are part PHJHB and part the opening scene of Okonokos.  I also really felt a connection tonight.....you can't really truly feel things the way you would like until you've been through feelings you hate....ya know.  It's a process?

I just love the visual that "Jim James land" conjures up.  Ahhhhhh, I would like to book a one-way ticket there.

At the beginning of All is Forgiven I get all disoriented, and think I'm waiting for a show to start. 

I like Actress a lot, and also digging AEIOU.  A lot of stuff reminds me of other stuff.  No time to go into more detail, but you know what I'm saying. 

[Penny Lane]

find myself walking around my office going "A, E, I, O, U"

-i was doing that, too (but in my very air everyone can hear me cubicle, though)

[EverythingChanges]

The power is going out bit at the end of State of the Art is one of my favorite highlights of the album so far.

[manonthemoon]

I do like State of the Art, but I'm really feeling Dear One the most. 

[EverythingChanges]

THE POWER IS GOING OUT   

[iLikeBeer]

find myself walking around my office going "A, E, I, O, U"

-i was doing that, too (but in my very air everyone can hear me cubicle, though)

We were listening to the stream last night and my kids were doing homework and one of my twins stopped to listen to that song and whispered to her sisters, he's singing the vowels.  Then she proceeded to keep singing A E I O U along with Jim... 

[itrainmonkeys]

THE POWER IS GOING OUT   

I REALLY MEAN IT

THE POWER'S GOING OUT!

[dapguitar]

Finally starting to get in to it. Though it was previously released, I'm a really big fan of New Life. I was trying to wait until the album came in the mail, but the temptation was too strong to resist playing the stream.

Once again, I find that one of the biggest talents Jim James has as a songwriter is the multiple layers he adds to his music, and (in my opinion) it takes multiple listens to discover what is actual going on. Not including some of the most commercially accessible MMJ tunes (Off The Record, OBH, Anytime, Golden, HOTBM, etc), I've found that it takes few listens for me to really start understanding and relating to his songs, but that after listening to each song several times I fall in love with them and they become my favorites and there is something new to discover each time i listen to it. The first time I listened to Bermuda Highway, I didn't "get" it...it sounded nice, but I wasn't moved. Now that I've heard the song hundreds of times, each time I listen to the song, I am almost moved to tears. Like the finest wines that require aging to be truly appreciated, I find Jim's music to be the same. For me, that's why after listening to the same MMJ tunes hundreds of times, I never get tired of them - there's always something new to interpret. Just as a classical musician might listen to the same fugues Bach wrote over an over again, but each time listen to a different voicing - the tenor, alto, soprano or bass - and discover a different melody or motif, Jim's music has a very similar effect on me. Just like when you meet your closest friends, you might not realize how special of a person they are the first time you meet them, but as the years go by you realize how much you depend on them and how much they have shaped your life in a positive way. Each one of Jim's songs is really like a lifelong friend - though he may not write them with that intent, I think that's one of his most special talents.

This is going to be a very special album.

Greedily, I'm already getting curious about the next MMJ album they'll record this summer of the new Monsters of Folk Stuff.

"You want this now, you want that, can't have it all you should enjoy what you have"