Tufts Daily - Get Behind Me Hippies!

[LaurieBlue]

http://www.tuftsdaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/12/434c7b3494396

Published October 12, 2005
Get behind me, hippies!
by Gregory Connor
Daily Editorial Board

Forget what your high school health teacher told you - the most infectious disease on college campuses is more rampant than you could have ever imagined. It infests the basements of frats; the guy in the room next to you has got it, so has that cute girl down the hall, and the whole anthropology department is pretty much a lost cause. This gruesome epidemic is known only as hipster jam-band fandom. It starts out with only a few Dave Matthews discs, and before you know it, you wake up one morning after a night of listening to Phish bootlegs and wonder where your life has gone.

After My Morning Jacket's last release of new material, 2003's "It Still Moves," the Kentucky-based band walked the fine line between respectable and jam band. Though their appearance at the Bonnaroo Festival didn't help their cause, MMJ were able to distance themselves from the unwashed hippie masses through a distinct style of Southern rock liberally laced with reverb, and through their ability to make an extended solo actually rock out, in contrast to the 35 minute snooze-fest that constitutes a jam-band solo. However, with a run-time over 70 minutes and only one track under five minutes long, "It Still Moves" was still too long for its own good.

On their latest release, "Z," My Morning Jacket have drastically reduced their LP's running time. At just under 50 minutes, "Z" is a half hour shorter than "It Still Moves," but don't think you're getting cheated out of any music. As an album, "Z" is the most cohesive release in MMJ's history. Where the jamming of "It Still Moves" was only engaging for so long, "Z" is a neo-Southern rock juggernaut.

Opening track "Wordless Chorus" showcases My Morning Jacket's new sound right off the bat. As a steady, throbbing bass opens the album, you might doubt whether this is even the same band; it sounds like it's more at home on Mars than the Mississippi. Then lead singer Jim James and the rest of the band find the beat like a gold ring in the sand, and suddenly a song is formed. The song lives up to its title, as each chorus finds James' voice diving into layers of reverb.

The Prince-like title of "It Beats 4 U" might make you think you're in for some full-fledged funk, but this song is closer to older My Morning Jacket material. The song is a slow-burner, with ominous keyboards and echoing guitars that recall the famous Six Million Dollar Man sound effect. Though the song builds slowly, it avoids the jam-band trap by not stretching out for too long.

If any vestiges of their flirtation with hippiedom remain, they are quickly vanquished with the one-two punch of "What a Wonderful Man" and "Off the Record." "What a Wonderful Man," an up-beat tune, is reminiscent of the Phil Spector-produced girl groups of the early Sixties. "Off the Record" skews more towards the Elton John spectrum of classic rock. Opening with a riff on the Hawaii 5-0 theme, James launches into a song from another era, complete with penny arcades and juke boxes. The song makes a dramatic shift half way through, fading out in an ethereal, moody coda.

The album ends not with a bang, but with a whimper - and that's a good thing. Not every band can write their own "A Day in the Life" to close out an album, and when they try, they usually fall on their face. The second to last track, "Knot Come Loose," is a country-rock song in the tradition of Gram Parsons and The Byrds, complete with mournful slide guitar.

The closer, "Dondante," seems to barely exist. Held together by the heart-beat-like drums, James floats along the reverb with the rest of the band barely audible. Just when we think the beat's going to stop, the band makes its last stand, launching into one final barn-burner before fading out into the ether.

With "Z," MMJ has crafted their first record that has the unified feel of an album meant to be listened to straight through. By cutting down on the jamming and exploring different genres, MMJ have opened a whole new range of directions they can take their music. This is not an endpoint, as the title may suggest, but a whole new beginning. Maybe they should have taken a cue from The White Stripes' last album and titled it something a little more appropriate - "Get Behind Me Hippies."

[corey]

That's the best title for an article that I've ever seen. Ever.

The first thing that my wife asked me about the Nashville show was, "Did he wear shoes?".

[LaurieBlue]

That's the best title for an article that I've ever seen. Ever.

LOL!  I agree - esp. for MMJ.  That's why I had to include it in the Subject.  Someone's got a creative streak in them.

[Virgil_Cain]

A.  If this guys dogging Phish he has no idea what he's talking about.

B.  Off The Record skews toward Elton John?  Are you serious?  What album are you listening to?

C.  It Beats 4 You it anything but old MMJ.

Is this guy just trying to justify this album by dogging on hippies which, I'm anything but, and I love this album.

I think it's funny how some folks dog certain bands when I don't think they have any clue about them.  Granted the jamband scene could do without probably half of the generic crap is spews out, some bands i.e. Phish are/were incredible acts.  I'm a bit of a fan just trying to defend their honor here.

Carry on.