Find me a finer song than One Big Holidy ....

[The Lawn Wranglers]

... and I will punch you in the neck.

Not very hard though. But just hard enough to send a message.

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

hmmm...mahgheeta?

rollin' back?

steam engine??

there's just one thing??

i will sing you songs??

aren't they all along the same quality lines?  all equally as good? ;D

oh, if you punched me in the neck, I'd have to buy you two beers instead of one ;)

[The Lawn Wranglers]

Oi! John - they are all excellent songs.  Mahgeeta crunches my ribs every time I hear that intro.  It's just that for my money, One Big Holiday is the apex of the MMJ cannon (for the moment).  Operative phrase being "...for the moment"; I remember feeling the same way about Bermuda Highway and the way Phone Went West comes off in concert.

Nice one, mate.

.... on the run from Johnny Law ain't no trip to Cleveland.

[Oz]

I´d say it´s definitely a highlight, but not THE highlight. Apart from that, if they´ve recorded it, I bet they had a hell of a job making it as explosive as the live version, for that´s the one we all know and love.

[lfish]

It's a nice song with a lot of power, but I think one of their masterpieces is Strangulation. The title says it all. Such a wall of noise fading into silence when jim's crooning voice starts to sing, accompanied by his acoustic guitar, and at the end of the song exploding in an ordeal of crazyness. Beautifull.  It's a song where you can easiy swell up the volume to 20 on your stereo.

But, hey, they only have good songs.

[Oz]

Well, ehm, lfish, I know I´m not gonna gain lots of respect with this confession, but I have to admit that I think `The Dark´ is a pretty weak song, and they have other songs that I like, but not love, and that I find weaker than masterpieces like `I will be there when you die´, `Phone went west´, `O is the one that is real´, `Strangulation´, oh, the list is endless. But they´re not ALL that great.

´One Big Holiday´ is that great, by the way. I listened to it yesterday, on the bootleg of the Denton show in 2002, I believe. It would be great if `It still moves´ had that one as an opening song, including the slow build-up with that weird low noise at the beginning. Then again, At Dawn opens like that as well. Anyways, a great song indeed...  :)

[lfish]

Well, O, I agree with you that the dark isn't one of their masterpieces. But in everything these guys do, they're so honest and the result is that every song is definitely worth listening at.  And I also agree on the fact that they don't have one masterpiece but a whole set of masterpieces. I agree with the songs you mentioned. But the reason why I find strangulation so beautiful is very simple. For the moment I'm trying to tab that song and I have to listen to it several times. And after several times listening, you still can hear things which you never heard before. These guys just give me the creeps and that's beautifull.  There aren't many bands left nowadays who still are able to do that.

[otter]

I was listening to One Big Holiday just before I logged in...and nearly envisioned what the video for that might be like. It's a strong enough song. It's a song I can see a new generation of kids throughout small towns and big ones alike..diggin' like we did to Whole Lotta Love or the best of the AC/DC stuff.

What are your thoughts on whether or not the band will or won't make them?

Personally, I think they should run with it..you only get to have a musical career once. Fame and success may have its' complexities, but it isn't inherently evil. I think they'll navigate through it nicely, and soon enough they'll be playing two and three night runs in each of our hometowns_fingers crossed_.