NEW ALBUM IS IN MASTERING PROCESS + WAS PRODUCED BY BRENDAN O'BRIEN

[RobRoy286]

It's getting to the point where I could write an MMJ song.  Instead of making songs with generic "let's all get together and love" messages that are just vehicles for live jam sessions, I want some songs that actually make me feel something...not tell me to feel something.  Self titled had a few great tunes, but if this is indicative of what album 10 will be, I'm worried.

The more you give, the more you get...

[Nikkogino]

It's getting to the point where I could write an MMJ song.  Instead of making songs with generic "let's all get together and love" messages that are just vehicles for live jam sessions, I want some songs that actually make me feel something...not tell me to feel something.  Self titled had a few great tunes, but if this is indicative of what album 10 will be, I'm worried.

The more you give, the more you get...

Haha, I feel so bad and my message above came across as super mean.  In the age of Trump I do love songs with a positive message, but songs like Love x 3, In Color, and this just don't do it for me.  I feel like Eternally Even had the same subject matter but did it in a more interesting way.  Looks like it is confirmed as a stand-alone single, so I'll relax, but I just am ready to love an MMJ release again.

[RobRoy286]

It's getting to the point where I could write an MMJ song.  Instead of making songs with generic "let's all get together and love" messages that are just vehicles for live jam sessions, I want some songs that actually make me feel something...not tell me to feel something.  Self titled had a few great tunes, but if this is indicative of what album 10 will be, I'm worried.

The more you give, the more you get...

Haha, I feel so bad and my message above came across as super mean.  In the age of Trump I do love songs with a positive message, but songs like Love x 3, In Color, and this just don't do it for me.  I feel like Eternally Even had the same subject matter but did it in a more interesting way.  Looks like it is confirmed as a stand-alone single, so I'll relax, but I just am ready to love an MMJ release again.

Hahah nah I totally agreed with you! Although I do love In Color. This new one does nothin for me.

[walterfredo]

beach boys-y sound/vibe with a classic Jim message. But yes I agree with what's been said above.

[mdgsolo]

This reminds me of a combination of Brian Wilson's "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" and something that the students from Young Authors Greenhouse would write. I think that Jim's Goethe-inspired reference to music being the architecture of the universe, and the thoughts that followed, were much more eloquent.

Personally, I think that maybe Jim is somewhere between Bob Marley and Alice Coltrane in his path right now...and what I mean by that is that he is somewhere between trying to convey a complex message in a simple way, and trying to transcend words altogether. Rick Rubin and Andre 3000 talk a lot about this in the creative process. In the past, I think Jim used his probative nature to mine the abstractions, so songs were mysterious and open to interpretation. That isn't necessarily who he is now/where he is at/what he is interested in/the message he feels is important. He (and Bo) are trying to move into more literal spaces.
Just because it isn't there yet, doesn't mean it won't get there. That is the artistic process we are all witnessing. Sometimes it feels cheesy and contrived to push in to new territories. Fake it til you make it.

Maybe... this is because a truly political message must be beyond politics to feel authentic...it has to strike at the heart of the human experience, not lofty ambition. The dreamer needs a plan. The poet needs to connect to the heartbeat of the streets. Alice was from Detroit. Bob grew up in Kingston.

But this is simply the opinion of a person who will never vote for one of the two major parties, and who lives in the middle-of-nowhere America.

So great to know your mind!  Very thoughtful and well written.  Artistically, this was not presented as a single from the new album and more of a one off, at least that's the hope.  I love it and the message but you are not wrong.  If it wasn't for the weight of at least one of the impending and current potential choices before us being maybe the single most divisive force this country has seen since the civil war, I would say a vote by not voting might count.  Unfortunately, I don't think that is a luxury we have.  A vote erring on a side leaning unity is a vote for love no matter the minutiae that we could easily get tangled up in.  To right this ship we need a left turn from the politics of division, inmho.  And that's also coming from someone that lives in the middle-of-nowhere America.  Love to all

[Nikkogino]

Dude the "Healing Appalachia" version of "Aren't We One" that was posted this morning is IT!!!!! Yes yes yes! Big reggae drums. Carl on Pedal (I
might be making this up?). Big harmonies at the end.

Sitting with Mr. White having breakfast yesterday morning, we listened to the new Stevie Wonder song, "Can We Fix Our Nation's Broken Heart?", which sounds like it is straight from his classic period, and has such a profoundly similar message. It got me thinking that we as humans are so mired in complexity that simplicity sounds foreign, and by comparison, basic. But it just isn't so. Just like sitting still in silence is harder than running around. It is hard to ask a question over and over again in a search for truth.
Stevie's New Song:

They played "Aren't We One?" again tonight at Bourbon and Beyond, and I think it is starting to change some and sounds a bit more fully developed. I like it. The people to my left and right weren't familiar with MMJ, and they seemed to enjoy it. The audience singing along part should help it to become more meaningful.

I think Jim focusing his lyrics on the state humanity is in at present is VITAL. We have enough spacy songs. We have enough romantic love songs. We have enough party songs. We have enough failed relationships songs. We have enough bullshit songs about nothing. We HAVE to have songs, art, poetry, movies, documentaries, street art, protest art, writing, etc. that address the destress the planet is in and how close we are to wiping ourselves off of it right now.

I'm tired and need time to digest this all and think deeply on it. I need to rest, and then I'll post more thoughts on this.

P.S.
I think I love Stevie Wonder's new song. He is leading us, and so is Jim. Stevie has a larger reach, but Jim is in his prime and can collaborate with anyone and can and has changed the lives of many, including myself. I trust him.

I don't think any of the people (or most of us on here anyway) take issue with his lyrics focusing on the state of humanity and the need to do better as people.  I loved Eternally Even.  I think it's more about how "simple" the song is.  It just feels hollow to me, to the point that it just feels like window dressing. 

[Lonndown27]

Love this discussion, honesty not found or tolerated on the Facebook group.

I've been saying this for a long time.
Eternally Even was great.
His WHATS GOIN ON.
But now, The whole thing is becoming a fuckin parody.
Love Love Love is terrible.
Jim doing Michael Jackson isms vocally.
In color seemed a banger at first but all this stuff about I WISH WE WOULD ALL AGREE. Why? It's disturbing that humanity should all be some communist state of everything fair and equal and exact and inclusive when there's some people who are too toxic to include, some stuff that's too bonkers or over the line to accept, or how much money is anyone willing to give up and fork over for the better good of humanity?
It's all stuff that is an easy out for songwriting as someone said earlier, and some of the ways people put forth their views on these political songs was spot on.
I'll follow the band wherever they go, but I'm a little disturbed by the fact they're telling us how to vote.
I wonder how Jim would feel about Trump supporting fans of his...
I really desperately hope they avoid politics completely and really bring it back home.
Jim used to tell weird, scrambled poetic stories that barely made much sense but felt like an inside joke or secret you couldn't quite get in on, and that has been lost...replaced by Lennon-esque platitudes & preaching.
Whatever they do, just bring the songs. I'm so saddened by the current state of rock and roll bands....there's just been nothing.
The Black Crowes did a damn good reunion record Happiness Bastards, but you knew what you'd get.
MMJ in the studio may be defunct if they can't make it happen with Brendan.
I'm very hopeful this record is a banger masterpiece, but a grower as well. Like I'm open to anything, Jim. We all are. That's why we're Jacket fans.
But just deliver the goods.
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, that one from Jim's solo stuff proves he can still bring it...but even that was 6 years ago.
Wondering if the mistake here is that they're not recording the new album LIVE on a stage somewhere with or without fans, but like that.
Otherwise, it'll always be this "live energy" and it sounds anything but.
Z doesn't sound live really, neither does EVIL URGES and it's okay theyre some of the greatesr albums of all time (tho the live versions improved upon the songs).
 ISM definitely does cause they did that in a kitchen live.

[iLikeBeer]

So Lonn, are you one of those Trump supporters wondering how Jim would feel about you?  IMO, if you are, why do you care how Jim would feel about you?  Honestly, I'm sure he would be disappointed to say the least which you probably know and is why you are questioning it to begin with!  I guess if you are just fans of the music and are not really getting into trying to decipher the true meaning of Jim's or the band's lyrics I can see how you could be a fan of both the band and Trump.  But if you truly dive into the lyrics and the message that Jim tries to convey about hope for this world, it pretty much is 100% at odds with the message of division, hate and bigotry that Trump spreads to all of his believers.  You don't like that bands like MMJ and musicians like Jim James express their political views, maybe stick with those 'musicians' that align more with the values of the MAGA cult like Kid Rock and Ted Nugent.

To be honest, the more I think about it, the more it makes me understand why the last show I saw in Cleveland over the weekend reminded me more of a Trump rally than an MMJ sho which was really disappointing but would explain the whole frat party vibe from many of the people in attendance.  People seemed to be more worried about how drunk they could get while constantly talking over the band than actually paying attention to the music?!?!?  It was not even close to the same vibe I got from a half filled show at the Masonic Temple in Detroit earlier in the summer where the numbers may have been small but everyone was pulling in the same direction.  And I feel like the band could feel the energy from that small crowd in Detroit more than the frat party scene in Cleveland.

Sorry, don't like to get political but when it comes to supporters of a person like Trump who is in it only for themselves, I lose all respect.  My 21 year old daughter dated a MAGA turd for nearly 2 years (what she saw in that ass I will never know). But what finally lifted the veil that was blinding her from seeing the true loser he is was when he called her 'Fucked in the head' because she wouldn't succumb to the MAGA cult.  She's fucked in the head???  Losers like him need to look in the mirror!!!   Silver lining is at least this was the straw that finally broke her to break up with his sorry Trumpy ass!!!  This was all from a supposed 'God fearing christian'.  The hypocrisy that comes out of the MAGA cult is more than I can take...

[MMJTX]

 

Take a deep breath Beer

[Lucius]

I don't think the message is wanting us all to think and act the same, more to try and get along better despite any political differences.

I don't believe in left/right/woke, all I see is masses being divided. I'm definitely someone who could be described as left/woke/whatever but I have friends & family all over the political spectrum. I love them despite our differences, I find common ground with them still. I think that's what Jim writes about, but maybe I'm wrong. 

All things considered - the song is just okay. Hopefully it's just a stand alone thing and doesn't represent the overall sound of the album. Musically speaking it just doesn't sound like a jacket song. Sorry guys!

And for the record - Love Love Love is a great song that SLAPS live! The breakdown during the Albany performance last year is top tier Jacket! Thank god this band continuously tries to break new ground instead of trying to recapture what they were doing 20 years ago. Shake it up, Boyz!