"One Big Circle": MMJ feature on Grantland

oistheone · Apr 07, 2015, 11:51 AM

Pretty solid writeup!

http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/one-big-circle-how-my-morning-jacket-rebounded-with-its-best-album-in-a-decade/

parkervb · Apr 07, 2015, 01:02 PM

Jim seemed much more candid in this interview than most. Hyden makes a great point in his 2nd to last paragraph about the separation of the dual aspects of Jacket - the live behemoth and what is put down on record.

I think it's a common theme we're seeing with feedback on this album..."I'm not sure about track XYZ but I think it's going to be good live". Or how big this album will sound live. I think we should give the band a lot of credit for trying to make a BIG sounding album that can match their on-stage versatility.

Nikkogino · Apr 07, 2015, 01:46 PM

I think the article is spot on. The album is definitely their best since Z. So glad MMJ have put together something so great.

dub82 · Apr 07, 2015, 03:21 PM

Great write up. It's been a long ride for most of us with this band, all of it for me has been awesome. I finally got a band I truly stumbled onto in 2001, and got to grow with them. I really like all of their albums, of course some more than others.

I am jacked to hear what the waterfall will be like. Each album and it's absorption and replay years later has been perfect in its own way.

Ready to fucking rock with these guys again this summer!

goldenyim · Apr 07, 2015, 04:04 PM

Wow, this was an awesome article. Writer's syntax was spectacular. It was really "refreshing(?)" or heartening in a way to hear Jim speak about his pain in a cyclical sense, both physical and emotional. We don't know what he's gone through but, for me as a listener, it's something that resounds in a deeply personal way there aren't words for. I think that connection is what brings us fans together, too. We all feel that magic, that tugging at our soul strings, a sort of homecoming or "reset button" for whatever life is happening presently. Too often I feel like I live in a world of caricatures, these cartoons of human beings I have to work with, coexist with, try to form relationships with and I want to scream, "where are my people?!" ... I realized in Mexico this year, you guys are my people, MMJ are our people. They help reconnect us to the most human side of ourselves where our outside skin sort of fades away and you're left with joy and love... the past is there, the hurt is there, but it's becoming of your human soul to bear it with one another.
Sorry for the wall of text, this article just made me want to try and express that "thing" we all feel and admire in Jim and the guys. It's just so rare and even the non "diehard" fans could probably still agree there's a soul stirring, angel kissed magic when a Jim howl escapes the pit of his being.

that being said, I'm SO READY FOR THE TOUR.

walterfredo · Apr 07, 2015, 04:08 PM

Great read...and my good buddy took that first pic of Jim.

spacewolf · Apr 07, 2015, 04:46 PM

Quote from: goldenyim on Apr 07, 2015, 04:04 PM
Wow, this was an awesome article. Writer's syntax was spectacular. It was really "refreshing(?)" or heartening in a way to hear Jim speak about his pain in a cyclical sense, both physical and emotional. We don't know what he's gone through but, for me as a listener, it's something that resounds in a deeply personal way there aren't words for. I think that connection is what brings us fans together, too. We all feel that magic, that tugging at our soul strings, a sort of homecoming or "reset button" for whatever life is happening presently. Too often I feel like I live in a world of caricatures, these cartoons of human beings I have to work with, coexist with, try to form relationships with and I want to scream, "where are my people?!" ... I realized in Mexico this year, you guys are my people, MMJ are our people. They help reconnect us to the most human side of ourselves where our outside skin sort of fades away and you're left with joy and love... the past is there, the hurt is there, but it's becoming of your human soul to bear it with one another.
Sorry for the wall of text, this article just made me want to try and express that "thing" we all feel and admire in Jim and the guys. It's just so rare and even the non "diehard" fans could probably still agree there's a soul stirring, angel kissed magic when a Jim howl escapes the pit of his being.

that being said, I'm SO READY FOR THE TOUR.

Perfect. Well said.

parkervb · Apr 07, 2015, 05:09 PM

Hyden is one of the better music writers these days. I don't always agree with his premises or positions but that's a good thing IMO. The American Band Championship Belt piece is one of the most entertaining things I read in 2014

http://grantland.com/features/the-american-band-championship-belt/

CHIMMJFAN · Apr 07, 2015, 07:23 PM

Definitely a really good article. It's funny I just got off the phone with a fellow MMJ fan and we were talking about the difference between the albums and hearing them live. I know for me when I first listen to new MMJ I always pick which songs I can see being staples and really just exploding live.

I find something great in everything MMJ does which is probably why they are my favorite band. I love that they recognize the connection that is there between the band and the fans when it comes to the live shows. I've met so many great people at shows.

I'm even more excited now to hear The Waterfall!

CHIMMJFAN

MMJ_fanatic · Apr 07, 2015, 08:37 PM

Excellent, revealing article OP--nice work!

ffghtrs · Apr 07, 2015, 10:10 PM

so am I that guy that was mentioned in the article that thinks Evil Urges is great and deserves more credit then it gets. I love every track on that album, wait i love every track on each MMJ album. fuck I"m easily amused. anywho i feel as though that sentence about 4 out of 5 mmj fans would say Evil Urges is the worst and and then there is the fifth guy there. that's me. damn.

Let's just say this Tennesee Fire, At Dawn were early works but man they kick ass, IT STILL MOVES was a huge step forward and Z took it even further Evil Urges was the dense album that needs ten listens to, to truly get it and then you realize that it was a step forward but on an angle...MMJ refuses to conform to the masses, they just rock it their own fucking way and that's the way it should be.... and Circuital, well thats just a fun album. Holding on To Black metal got radio play and everytime i heard it in my friend's car i made them crank it and a new MMJ fan was born every time. kinda like a bell and angel fucking wings or something like that

davymac · Apr 08, 2015, 12:25 PM

Great article, thanks for sharing. Can't wait to spin this new album on May 4!

MOWJO8185 · Apr 08, 2015, 01:13 PM

Quote from: ffghtrs on Apr 07, 2015, 10:10 PM
so am I that guy that was mentioned in the article that thinks Evil Urges is great and deserves more credit then it gets. I love every track on that album, wait i love every track on each MMJ album. fuck I"m easily amused. anywho i feel as though that sentence about 4 out of 5 mmj fans would say Evil Urges is the worst and and then there is the fifth guy there. that's me. damn.

Let's just say this Tennesee Fire, At Dawn were early works but man they kick ass, IT STILL MOVES was a huge step forward and Z took it even further Evil Urges was the dense album that needs ten listens to, to truly get it and then you realize that it was a step forward but on an angle...MMJ refuses to conform to the masses, they just rock it their own fucking way and that's the way it should be.... and Circuital, well thats just a fun album. Holding on To Black metal got radio play and everytime i heard it in my friend's car i made them crank it and a new MMJ fan was born every time. kinda like a bell and angel fucking wings or something like that

I thought he made a good point in the article about how Jim still explores different genres pretty heavily in the Waterfall, he just does it in the context of still maintaining an MMJ sound. I think Evil Urges feels more like a pure exercise in tackling different genres head-on. They are good tunes - but they feel like straight takes on soft rock, funk, soul, what-have-you. I like the Waterfall in that tunes like Compound Fracture and Thin Line also explore new genres to the band, but they still feel very much like MMJ tunes.

LBSUNFLWR · Apr 08, 2015, 01:16 PM

Thanks for that, great article!

itrainmonkeys · Apr 09, 2015, 12:13 PM

Great, great article. Both this and the Relix cover article from this past issue are boasting big claims for the album. Some lines like "best since Z" and "award-worthy" which are both exciting and I think I'm starting to agree. I'm on listen #3 of the album and I'm really, really digging it. A handful of songs are definitely strong for me and I can't wait to see how they stretch them out live.