EU kind of disappointing

[evanskickedhead]

Gone is the magic surrounding the earlier albums.  Gone is the reverb-drenched vocals and the slow-burn of songs about heartache.  Gone are the cryptic lyrics that enveloped Jim's vision and created such an amazing and mystical atmosphere.  It's like the more popular they get, the more boring the songs are.  The lyrics on EU are kind of boring and so literal.  
Granted, i'm still a huge fan and will buy EU anyway when it comes out in June...but I seem to get more disappointed with each new album.  i realize they are striving to create new albums that don't repeat the previous one, and i applaud that.  but don't give up on certain signature elements that separate you from the pack (ie, reverb).  remember, jim once said A) reverb is the sixth member of the band and B) anything + reverb = better.  i agreed with that whole-heartedly.
i think you can still make new sounding albums that don't repeat but still retain a couple key components that gained your fan base from the beginning.  i guess i'm grateful for Band of Horses and Fleet Foxes for retaining those elements that sound so amazing.  and i think Cease to Begin blows EU out of the water on several levels...and i thought i'd never say that in all my life.

Okay, now you all can spew your hatred and cuss words for the fact that i caved and listened to a leak and then wrote about  my disappointment.  don't get me wrong, i really like two thirds of the songs...just find them boring compared to everything else they've done til now.
and BTW, there's not 14 songs.  the last track is a 4 second joke.  

[evilPaauwe]

BUT! keep in mind...............                the first time i ever listened to radiohead's In Rainbows.......... i disliked it more than i enjoyed it........ i       was really disapointed and angered........ YET.      I kept listening... and listening...         and now i can honestly say its one of my favorite records of all time. It almost even beats OK COMP in my book....

[sweatboard]

I for one have no hatred toward you whatsoever but I would like to open this up to an honest and open heartfelt discussion.

You seem very passionate in your post and I think that is refreshing.

"It's like the more popular they get, the more boring the songs are."

I think it's tough to be really emotionally attached to a band and then see them Explode on the "scene" with a sound that is removed from what you fell in love with.

I think I've come to the realization that this record is a "tweener".  Meaning it's going to alienate a bunch of longtime fans, and it's also going to catch a shit load of heat from people that are riding the sensational wave that has become MMJ's reputation, and are expecting to hear the best album of all time.

It's just a strange time.......I honestly don't think many people have sat down with this record and truly LISTENED to it.  Still Everyone seems to be so quick to have an opinion one way or the other.  What if this record is like a rollercoaster ride of bliss once you get past all of the bullshit and the last track isn't -a 4sec. joke-, but instead a pure jubilant celebration of the ride;   the ups and the downs....the two halves....the right leg and the left leg.......the evil urges and the good intentions....all right down here with us.

[Dillsnufus]

and maybe the sound of there souls being taken.

[sweatboard]

yeah, that could go two ways to.

[evanskickedhead]

First off, it's nice to read some maturity in those responses, but then again we haven't yet heard from some of the nastier members yet.
Anyway, I for one know that this album will grow on me, as It Still Moves did.  How i wasn't grabbed by Steam Engine until months later, i have no idea.  it's now my favorite song by them.  
And yes, In Rainbows has become my favorite R-head release now as well.
I would like to point out that by no means am I going to shelf EU or anything (the production quality is excellent).  in fact, i'm sure i'll listen to it over and over for the next week or more.  that's because i'm a diehard fan who will remain loyal.
I just hope some of the b-sides are better than Highly Suspicious (stupid song), as I thought Chills and How Could I Know were sadly omitted from Z.  Nevertheless, i have them now and have inserted them into the tracklisting as they were intended to be at one time.
Lastly, i was really hoping for another Bermuda Highway, Golden, or Knot Comes Loose.  Those dreamy ballads of Jim's remind me of what love and life is all about.  and though i like the sound of Librarian, it just doesn't come close to those others and the lyrics are kind of tacky.
I've said my piece and don't think I'll be responding to any future posts here any more...so for those who may or may not bash me for having a leaked album, know this: the songs were sung at SXSW already, so there's no secret anymore.  Especially since i and most of you have listened to them on NPR's website.  And, I've already purchased my ticket to the Riverside show in Louisville in Aug. and have also spent hundreds of dollars on other MMJ concert tickets, paraphernalia, and multiple copies of released material.  They're getting more and more rich from my (and all of your) money already, so I've justified my actions.
*steps off of soapbox*
8-)

[aMD]

thanks for your contribution, evan.  I agree it's nice to be able to discuss the music here without be bombarded and raked across the coals.  hopefully those peeps have calmed down and will allow us to have an open discussion.  or maybe they haven't logged in yet.   :-/

I also agree with some of your comments on the album.  i posted my impressions in the spoiler thread.  i hope it grows on me.  

And I hope you stick around, evan!  :)

[ycartrob]

Evanskickedhead is a huge fan with 2 posts? and 1 of them is to say how bad the leaked version of the new album is? And he wants to warn us about the responses from some of the nastier fans here? Huge fan who loves MMJ, and for all the years this forum has been active, decides to come tell us how bad the new album is?

not trying to step on toes, or defending MMJ and what not, but I don't get it. I am trying to see the bigger picture with threads like these from people with 2 posts, and I just don't get it. I guess this is what happens when the boys start making it.

It might be a little more difficult for some of the die hards here to lay off someone coming off the street to criticize the bands new album. But I may be wrong. Just seems like a bad move, IMO.

rock on

[BH]

I must say it is a bit strange that you decided to make your very first post a negative one.   I appriciate your opinion and all, but it's just not very credible.  I guess it's pretty typical though, people seem to go out of there way to make a complaint, but rarely take the time out to praise something.

Having said that, I do hope evan sticks around and makes a few posts about something positive!  Welcome. [smiley=beer.gif]

PS:  Where do the Z B-sides go?  I want to put mine on a copy too, but I didn't know there was a specific place for them.

[cmccubbin@work]

i have not listened to the leaked album yet, but i have heard the free "Evil Urges" and the live versions played at SXSW.

honestly, the first time i listened to the album version of "Evil Urges" i did not like it one bit, but the more i listened to it the more i liked it.  i have probably been listening to it 3-4 times a day.

Evan, i totally understand where you are coming from.  after Z i anticipated this album was going to be their masterpiece...their "Sgt. Peppers" or "White Album."  i think it has been tough for me to hear songs like "Highly Suspicious" when i was expecting another "One Big Holiday."  however, like a previous poster said it is only natural for Jim to grow as an artist and a musician.  

it is obvious Jim tried to get out of the southern-rock, alt-country, jam-band pigeonholes with these songs.  he even said in the Rolling Stone interview he is "tired of rock sounds."  i think we have to take this album as it is and embrace it for what it does and does not do.  it does not recreate early MMJ (did we really want it to?), but it does build on the sonic splendor that was Z (at least from what i've heard in the live versions).  it seems with this album Jim took a risk and probably said fu*k it...i'm gonna write the songs that i wanna write and i wanna write funk/gospel songs!  so..we accept it for what is and enjoy it (or don't) and move on.  the TN Fire, At Dawn, and ISM will always be there waiting for us to bring back memories of the "good ole days."

[Penny Lane]

BUT! keep in mind...............                the first time i ever listened to radiohead's In Rainbows.......... i disliked it more than i enjoyed it........ i       was really disapointed and angered........ YET.      I kept listening... and listening...         and now i can honestly say its one of my favorite records of all time. It almost even beats OK COMP in my book....

i agree--In Rainbows does grow on you---now I can't stop listening

even if EU doesn't sound like the old ballads-i think it's good to hear a band mix is up, try new things, succeed, fail, etc...i know a couple people that jumped off the MMJ bandwagon after Z and for the life of me, i can't figure out why? what are they hearing or not hearing ? I think it was great that Fleetwood Mac made Tusk after Rumors---for a band to be stuck in one place, in the place that made them popular is kind of sad to me...

[liverustdave]

I'm on about 20 listens and its unlike any sound my ears have heard.  I went from excitement -->questioning -->understanding --> slight disappointment-->acceptance --> holy sh!t these songs will be awesome live--> total bliss

love this album, impossible to categorize and I absolutely understand that it won't please  die hard fans of previous albums.  Isn't that typical of any band that keeps changing and pushing themselves musically?  Their time with Dylan was time well spent, since they are really trying to reach their upper limits and experimenting.  Long time Dylan fans know that he always pissed people off by constant change.

Stick with them, appreciate what they are trying to do and REALLY listen.  The disappointment will fade.  If not, I can respect that.....just keep the curiosity and see them live, see how these songs fit and try and get into what they are doing now.

I used to debate music more. Now I realize most musicians are making music they want to make with the hope that a few people out there, "get" them.  I am happy to feel like I "get" them and look forward to everything that MMJ has in store for us, no matter how strange or foreign it may be at first.  Love this band.

excerpts from new Rolling Stone article:

And if their music is increasingly hard to categorize, that's the point, according to frontman Jim James. "People looked at Radiohead when they started, and were like, 'Oh, Brit-pop rock band,'" says James. "Now they're just fucking awesome, awesome weirdos. You can't put a label on them, and that's what I hope has been happening with us. Whether you love us or hate us, we're not any one type of band."

"I've gotten tired of normal rock & roll sounds," says James. "My ultimate goal is to hopefully turn people on to different types of music."

[RoughGod]

Evanskickedhead is a huge fan with 2 posts? and 1 of them is to say how bad the leaked version of the new album is? And he wants to warn us about the responses from some of the nastier fans here? Huge fan who loves MMJ, and for all the years this forum has been active, decides to come tell us how bad the new album is?

not trying to step on toes, or defending MMJ and what not, but I don't get it. I am trying to see the bigger picture with threads like these from people with 2 posts, and I just don't get it. I guess this is what happens when the boys start making it.

It might be a little more difficult for some of the die hards here to lay off someone coming off the street to criticize the bands new album. But I may be wrong. Just seems like a bad move, IMO.

rock on

Seriously?  You really think that how much time one spends on an internet message board  and how many posts they have defines how big of a fan they are?  Or justifies there opinion on the band music.  If anything it shows how little of a life you have....Trust me, there are "die-hards " out there that have never even glanced at this forum.

[BH]

Evanskickedhead is a huge fan with 2 posts? and 1 of them is to say how bad the leaked version of the new album is? And he wants to warn us about the responses from some of the nastier fans here? Huge fan who loves MMJ, and for all the years this forum has been active, decides to come tell us how bad the new album is?

not trying to step on toes, or defending MMJ and what not, but I don't get it. I am trying to see the bigger picture with threads like these from people with 2 posts, and I just don't get it. I guess this is what happens when the boys start making it.

It might be a little more difficult for some of the die hards here to lay off someone coming off the street to criticize the bands new album. But I may be wrong. Just seems like a bad move, IMO.

rock on

Seriously?  You really think that how much time one spends on an internet message board  and how many posts they have defines how big of a fan they are?  Or justifies there opinion on the band music.  If anything it shows how little of a life you have....Trust me, there are "die-hards " out there that have never even glanced at this forum.

That is sooo very true.  And we need to remember that.  However, how many of those diehards, that have never come to the forum, just woke up one day and said, you know, I'm not a big fan of this album, that I just illegally downloaded, I think I'm going to visit the bands forum for the first time ever!!! and tell everyone how dissapointed I am.  

[InTheZone]

Gone is the magic surrounding the earlier albums.  Gone is the reverb-drenched vocals and the slow-burn of songs about heartache.  Gone are the cryptic lyrics that enveloped Jim's vision and created such an amazing and mystical atmosphere.  It's like the more popular they get, the more boring the songs are.  The lyrics on EU are kind of boring and so literal.  
Granted, i'm still a huge fan and will buy EU anyway when it comes out in June...but I seem to get more disappointed with each new album.  i realize they are striving to create new albums that don't repeat the previous one, and i applaud that.  but don't give up on certain signature elements that separate you from the pack (ie, reverb).  remember, jim once said A) reverb is the sixth member of the band and B) anything + reverb = better.  i agreed with that whole-heartedly.
i think you can still make new sounding albums that don't repeat but still retain a couple key components that gained your fan base from the beginning.  i guess i'm grateful for Band of Horses and Fleet Foxes for retaining those elements that sound so amazing.  and i think Cease to Begin blows EU out of the water on several levels...and i thought i'd never say that in all my life.

Okay, now you all can spew your hatred and cuss words for the fact that i caved and listened to a leak and then wrote about  my disappointment.  don't get me wrong, i really like two thirds of the songs...just find them boring compared to everything else they've done til now.
and BTW, there's not 14 songs.  the last track is a 4 second joke.  

i like both bands, but i dont think the Band of Horses and Fleet Foxes comparisons are fair -- i think Cease to Begin is just the 2nd LP from BOH and Fleet Foxes is the first full-length from Fleet Foxes.  so when talking about retaining elements from earlier albums, the valid comparison for MMJ would be At Dawn compared to TTF, not EU compared to all 4 previous albums...anyway i havent listened to any leaked EU yet so i dont know what it sounds like as an album but i know it will grow on me just like the rest of them did.  when Z came out i really started to appreciate the growth of MMJ, and that comes through a lot in the lyrics of Z as well as the 'space rock' sounds. the fact that i was pretty heavily immersed in their earlier stuff was what allowed me to appreciate that growth.  i'm sure a ton of people loved Z for itself, but die-hard fans got a lot more out of it because the die-hards know where they came from.

also wouldn't it be kind of depressing if MMJ made 5 albums in a row of heartache and cryptic lyrics enveloping jim's vision? i dont pretend to know what jim's vision is but it would be kind of depressing to me if that vision didn't change over 9 years...

[Kimbos_Evil_Bread]

I'm all for open discussions on whether we like this album or not but I do have to say I think it's really f-ed up there's citiques on it almost 2 months before it comes out.  If you don't like it that's fine but shouldn't we wait until after June 10th to give our opinions?  I think that's more than fair to the band.

[Cameron]

I got to hear 10 of the new tunes at 3 shows during SXSW.  for some reason they just clicked with me.  i usually don't like hearing songs live for the first time but these blew me over...to the point that they stayed with me longer than the old faves.  it surprises me that it has to grow on people but i've been there with other bands myself.

[Nikkogino]

I'm all for open discussions on whether we like this album or not but I do have to say I think it's really f-ed up there's citiques on it almost 2 months before it comes out.  If you don't like it that's fine but shouldn't we wait until after June 10th to give our opinions?  I think that's more than fair to the band.

I kinda agree...however, this "unfinished" version is pretty much finished.  It doesn't really matter though....the people who are not digging the new sound will come around soon enough.  I'm personally in love with the new album.  Even the songs that sounded out of place (pt. 1 and two halves) are growing on me.  

[ycartrob]

Evanskickedhead is a huge fan with 2 posts? and 1 of them is to say how bad the leaked version of the new album is? And he wants to warn us about the responses from some of the nastier fans here? Huge fan who loves MMJ, and for all the years this forum has been active, decides to come tell us how bad the new album is?

not trying to step on toes, or defending MMJ and what not, but I don't get it. I am trying to see the bigger picture with threads like these from people with 2 posts, and I just don't get it. I guess this is what happens when the boys start making it.

It might be a little more difficult for some of the die hards here to lay off someone coming off the street to criticize the bands new album. But I may be wrong. Just seems like a bad move, IMO.

rock on

Seriously?  You really think that how much time one spends on an internet message board  and how many posts they have defines how big of a fan they are?  Or justifies there opinion on the band music.  If anything it shows how little of a life you have....Trust me, there are "die-hards " out there that have never even glanced at this forum.

That is sooo very true.  And we need to remember that.  However, how many of those diehards, that have never come to the forum, just woke up one day and said, you know, I'm not a big fan of this album, that I just illegally downloaded, I think I'm going to visit the bands forum for the first time ever!!! and tell everyone how dissapointed I am.  

Thanks for considering and understanding my sentiments. I am trying to keep my comments above the belt and not say things like "get a life" (plus, by saying this, you insult all the other people here who have more posts than me, or close).

I am a huge WILCO fan and never went to their message board, so, I guess I still do have a life? And, I didn't really like Sky Blue Sky and I had enough courtesy not to go to a WILCO board and post how I didn't like it and then expect people to embrace me.

seems like an odd request

[bowl of soup]

First off, it's nice to read some maturity in those responses, but then again we haven't yet heard from some of the nastier members yet.

Who are the nastier members?  That's a great name for a punk band - The Nasty Members.  Miss Jackson if you're nasty.