Why the "Southern Rock" label for the band

[Zzzzzzzz]

What is southern Rock sounding about them??  I still see the label used for them. Even in Coachella reviews.  I never considered their early, more twangy stuff southern Rock either.  More like Southern folk.

The label annoys me.

[Angry Ewok]

The label is outdated, that's for sure. They haven't sounded "Southern Rock" in at least 5 years.

[thebugman]

boy im just sittin on a fence.....z was in no shape, form, or fashion southern rock but i guess if you look at a live show as a whole....they are from the south, they do rock so it kinda goes hand in hand.....lots of old tunes have the southern twang but nothing off of z or eu steers in that direction

[easy jim]

Rock.  Born of the South.

[The DARK]

Rock.  Born of the South.

But Louisville isn't south... :-/

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

ah, but is it?

Louisville is both Midwest and South - south as in south of the Mason-Dixon Line and midwest in that Indiana is viewable from Louisville.

This whole "southern rock" thing is a buzzword/adjective used by boring critics with a limited vocabulary.  It's so easy to dismiss MMJ as so-called "southern rock" as that's the easy thing to do - trying to categorize MMJ is like trying to nail Jello to a tree.

[searchinbig]

MMJ has been called just about everything.  :o

[The DARK]

ah, but is it?

Clearly not from my point of view (South Carolina)  ;)

trying to categorize MMJ is like trying to nail Jello to a tree.

[smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

ha ha, of course Louisville isn't south whenst compared to "South" Carolina... ;)

but it is whenst compared to...

North Dakota
London, UK
etc.

[The DARK]

ha ha, of course Louisville isn't south whenst compared to "South" Carolina... ;)

but it is whenst compared to...

North Dakota
London, UK
etc.

True, but since when has Wax Fang ever been considered southern rock?

[easy jim]

The pondering I am presently doing has led me to a thought: when I tell someone about MMJ (which is weekly, if not daily) and they ask, "What kind of music is it?" I never just say, "Rock" because it just doesn't suffice.  I just throw something out there like... "Face-melting Fury Rock" or just plain ol' "Fuckin' Awesome!"  

I'm glad I don't have to try to label them in five words or less for someone who hasn't heard of them...it's not a simple task.  But I think I could do better than Southern Rock and especially Jam Band.

[Dorothy_Mantooth]

An article about Jacket that mentions beards and "southern fried rock" is about as refreshing as an article about Mariah Carey's weight loss.

[buymycar]

I get the same feeling when I hear MMJ is "southern rock" that I do when I hear that they are "alternative country."  That feeling is that you can't really put a label on the band.

[ManNamedTruth]

I think It Still Moves has a bit of a southern rock vibe, but nothing else. I think its mainly a visual comparison, with the long hair and beards.

[ChronicHunger]

Lay low still sounds a little southern to me

[ManNamedTruth]

Lay low still sounds a little southern to me

yeah, that one too.

[The DARK]

MMJ encompases everything that is and ever was great about rock music.

Maybe the best rock was Southern.  ;)

[ChronicHunger]

They do indeed reign supreme

[Taterbug]

ha ha, of course Louisville isn't south whenst compared to "South" Carolina... ;)

but it is whenst compared to...

North Dakota
London, UK
etc.

I hear alot of southern influence.  Maybe it's Jim's southern dialect  :)  I am going totally off topic now.   Illinois is almost  as far south as Kentucky, I consider Ilinois a Midwestern State.  I have a lot of famliy in kentucky and they say I talk funny, Slow and I over annunciate everything, I talk like a god damn Yankee  :).   I love the way my southern relatives talk,  On vacation I pick it up like scabies, and it takes me  2-3 weeks to get rid of it.  :)

[Jaimoe]

I hear southern threads all through their albums, but not on every song. Originally, southern rock encompassed many styles (using the Allman Brothers model since they unintentionally invented the genre in the first place): Muscle Shoals soul and R&B, blues, rock, pop, country and jazz are all part of the Allman Brothers sound, however most bands that followed took other paths - e.g., Skynyrd was more into rock and Marshall Tucker focussed on country-folk rock.

In some ways, I think MMJ are more true to the model layed down by the ABB than the "perceived" generic southern rock label that most people lump them into. However, I hear some Marshall Tucker in their sound and Skynyrd (One Big Holiday, Lay Low), but I also hear Neil Young, The Band (yes, I know the latter two are Canadian, but they do or did American roots music better than almost anyone) and some lonesome back-porch folk and Beach Boys. In other words, My Morning Jacket are an American rock band, period.