Jim James' Top 10

[LaurieBlue]

http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2896.html

Filter's Top 10 of 2005, Day Twenty Three: My Morning Jacket
by Staff & Jim James | 01.03.2006

Which album has made more 2005 top 10 lists than any other (including our own list)? If you answered My Morning Jacket's stellar release called Z, well then you answered correctly. So pay attention now, cause fellows such as My Morning Jacketer Jim James knows what good music sounds like.

Jim James of My Morning Jacket

1. Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise (Asthmatic Kitty)
2. Common – Be (Geffen)
3. M. Ward – Transistor Radio (Merge)
4. Bright Eyes – I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (Saddle Creek)
5. Kanye West – Late Registration (Roc-a-Fella)
6. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings – Naturally (Daptone)
7. Devendra Banhart – Cripple Crow (XL/Beggars)
8. Andrew Bird – Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs (Righteous Babe)
9. Silver Jews – Tanglewood Numbers (Drag City)
10. Bobby Bare Sr. – The Moon was Blue (Dualtone)

[EC]

Oh suuuuuuuure, he throws on a couple o' ones that he sang on.  ;)

That's a good, well-rounded list.  

[Jellyfish]

5. Kanye West – Late Registration (Roc-a-Fella)  

Puleeze!   :o

[wellfleet]

Common had the misfortune of releasing a freaking stellar album the same year that Kanye released Late Reg. Common's album is by far superior... His rapping is tighter, his lyrics just as relevant, the hooks are good... Kanye get a lot of hype and he's got a fresh mouth on him but Common is the real deal. I heart Jim!

[bo dereks tits]

imo, both Kanye and Common are the real deal.  It good to have guys like that reaching mainstream America.  
Kanye is incredibly talented and makes thought provoking music and rhymes.  

He also produced BOTH "Be" and his own "Late Registration".  

[ratsprayer]

kanye is the shit, he knows it, and i think his talent backs up his cockiness.  i think jon brion had a big influence on late registration, though.  jon brion is a genius musician / producer.  his verison of fiona's album is loads better than the actual released version.

[Jellyfish]

Kayne West couldn't play a radio if you strapped to his back...his only talent is running his mouth about things he knows nothing about.

[ratsprayer]

Kayne West couldn't play a radio if you strapped to his back...his only talent is running his mouth about things he knows nothing about.

what things does he know nothing about?  if youre talking about the infamous bush comment, kudos to kanye.  in this fucking fascist country of america now, its practially illegal to say anything bad about the government in a public forum.  you can see this obvious attempt to squash negative comments with the quick cutting away once he said it.  hes black, he has an opinion, but the opinion happens to be fact.  hip hop or rap or whatever the fuck you want to call it is in a sad state of affairs, and kanye is one of only a few whos keeping it worthwhile, IMO.

just curious to find out what you have against him?

[realdeal]

Kayne West couldn't play a radio if you strapped to his back...his only talent is running his mouth about things he knows nothing about.

I agree.....even though i am a very liberal democrat, there's some things you just don't say in front of a camera. that made me dislike him even more so.

[ratsprayer]

I agree.....even though i am a very liberal democrat, there's some things you just don't say in front of a camera. that made me dislike him even more so.

the truth hurts some times.  im not one who thinks being too honest is a bad thing, but to each his or her own...

[ycartrob]

It's OK for West to denigrate women in a video, lowering them down to the lowest common deniminators: eye candy and sexual prey for men.

But it's not OK for the media to draw the same stereotypes between blacks and whites in news coverage.

OK

Until West recognizes that he uses his power to oppress others (women) then he will not come to terms with how real change in Amerca can occur.

Real change happens when those in power (black, white, male , female) stop using their power to belittle and oppress those without power.

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

he's not using his "power" for anything other than making a quick buck, period.  if it were profitable to show chainsaws running through knit wool sweaters on videos, they would do so.

the very same media companies you speak of are responsible for the videos you're railing against.  

[ycartrob]

he's not using his "power" for anything other than making a quick buck, period.  if it were profitable to show chainsaws running through knit wool sweaters on videos, they would do so.

the very same media companies you speak of are responsible for the videos you're railing against.  

Not sure if this is directed to me or not.

Male rappers use scantily clad women in their videos to convey a lifestyle. A lifestyle that is perpetuated throughout all American media; the continuation of the patriarichal mindset that women are on the earth to please men. PERIOD.

That's power.

[ycartrob]

BUSH IS KILLING MY PEOPLE!!

hey look at dem titties!

BUSH SAYS IT'S OK TO SHOOT ME!

back dat ass up bitch!

BUSH IS A RACIST!

shake it ho!

(talk about your double speak)

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

Not sure if this is directed to me or not.

Male rappers use scantily clad women in their videos to convey a lifestyle. A lifestyle that is perpetuated throughout all American media; the continuation of the patriarichal mindset that women are on the earth to please men. PERIOD.

That's power.

You're missing it-"power" isn't at play here for West.  The media companies that produce, promote, and sell him have power.  He's got shit other than a paycheck.

I agree that the mindset you speak of is prevalent, but what's more powerful:  billionaire moguls who favor this shite or the actual delivery system?  water is far more powerful than the pipes that bring it to ya.

[ycartrob]

I see your point.

But water doesn't get delivered without pipes...

West does have power; the rich folks ALWAYS have the power. The real power lies within the women in these videos and the public who eats this shit up.

How you get these people to understand and utilize their power is another thing.

I use the word power a lot b/c I have come to the realization that most people relate happiness and well being to power (I have been a family and individual therapist for about 5 years now). I see it all the time in families and young people. Power is a drug (to some).

My power lies in the freedom of not having to be wealthy in order to be happy.

It's a big, huge, mind blowing topic, and very important to explore.

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

Warning:  very long post, and offensive to some.

I guess a definition is in order then:  real power in this world of ours lies with the folks who have accumulated, through inheiritence, theft, blackmail, or birth right the wealth necessary to control media, government, military, or judicial systems.  West doesn't control the media, so by my definition, he has no power other than to be exposed as a delivery system for the real powers that be that think his "brand" of exploitation will sell enough Cd's to make them money.  Likewise, he doesn't control the gov't, military, or judicial systems, so he's power-less by my definition.  

Cynical as it might be, I have sadly accepted "the man" aka the powers that be do in fact have all the power now.  It has been consolidated into the fewest (and therefore most controllable) hands, with the least resistance to the agenda that dictates only greed and the accumulation of wealth (IE the "bottom line") is all that's important-bullocks to anyone who would disagree.

Let's look at this current administration, for instance:  certainly anyone with a pulse can see that we are currently under the heel of the most wealthy (and therefore most powerful) idgits ever to put on a shirt and tie.  Shall we review the facts?

1.  Bush is an oilman.  Iraq has the cheapest, easiest to get at oil reserve that isn't (currently) being controlled by a nonsecular, Arab gov't.  Ergo our current fiasco there-the sloganeering of our ass casserole of a President aside about the war on "terrah", it's always been about petroleum.  As this "war" (which is really an occupation) is always presented to us as the #1 priority in the history of the universe, I can only assume that the unholy kahunas it takes to attempt to disguise the odor of the biggest corn-laden-Taco Bell-dirrarhea-whiskey-shat of all time as "urgent" and a "just cause" tells me that greed is the number one priority for our currently selected officials.

2.  As the leader of the free world, this spitoon brained ashtray has access to the largest, most powerful military on the planet, and can therefore exercise his control over it to be the means to carry out fact number one, no matter what it costs in human lives and money.

3.  Next, since our judicial system is basically full of shit due to the complacency exhibited when this hemorrhoid of a human being vomits all over judicial review (a cornerstone of the Constitution, BTW), I can only assume that it is not serving it's primary function as watchdog for executive power abuse.  Witness the wiretapping and listening and spying ON AMERICANS without a warrant.  This is illegal under the Constitution which requires judicial review of the Executive Branch.  To argue that any circumstances warrant this anal rape of our freedoms is total and utter madness to me.

4.  With the never ending sewer that is the media extolling the so called "virtues" of all of this Hitler-esque behavior, I can only assume that the media has been roped in to their mindset as well.  Fox News, anyone?  The idea that journalism, which is supposed to be unbiased, still exists here in America is horseshit.  They cram what they want us to hear down our throats 24/7/365, NOT what we need to hear, or even the mildest of uncomfortable truths about what is actually happening right now.

As you can see, I'm very passionate about this.  As the old saying goes....

Power corrupts
but Absolute Power corrupts Absolutely

The people at the top must not have ever read one shard of history.  Otherwise, they would know better.....

[ycartrob]

your language about our president (whom I did not vote for) is ridicuolus.

Once you bring Hitler into the equation, I stopped reading. Liberals who are so far to the left that they have to equate Bush to Hitler are one reason Kerry lost. This far left, hate Bush mantra pushed all the middle of the roaders towards Bush (ie, Americans relate more to Hannity than Michael Moore). IMO, your hatred for Bush and the right is no better than all the things you say Bush stands for. You're then part of the problem, not the solution.

You really think Al Gore or John Kerry are much different than Bush? You're not that naive or brainwashed, are you?
Shoot, I'd get pulled over if I drove my 89 Chevy Blazer through Gore's neighborhood here in Nashville.

And not holding rappers and such for dinegrating women and promoting drug use is also a left mind set I cannot grasp.

West and his likes have a ton of power. And the billionaires who "control" the rappers are laughing all the way to the bank while these 21st century minstrals dance for the man.

Time to step up and take responsibility for how we are all at fault folks, not just George Bush.

I'm not one to dig on the victim mentality.

[wellfleet]

As a woman, and having worked in both the music/film industry and in journalism, I can't say that I believe that Kanye West denigrates women. I have listened to both his records dozens of times and he doesn't fall into the same category as Lil' Jon or the Ying Yang Twins. His raps on Golddigger are a parody. If you really listen to his lyrics, there's a lot of clever wordplay and let's face it, he's a mama's boy. And are you kidding about drug use? Many artists that we admire produced their best work while completely high. They said the drugs expanded their minds. Right or wrong, to pin drugs on rappers is just incorrect.

I do agree that the second you compare anyone to Hitler you lose credibility. The right uses that comparison as much as the left and it has no merit. It's inflammatory and that's about it. There's some evil shit going on in the US, but Hitler was Hitler and nobody else was or is.

But Kanye West was right on to say that this administration doesn't give a damn about black people. The people in St. Bernard's projects, in the 9th Ward, that's not Bush's tax base. Black people in New Orleans and in Mississippi who can barely afford food and shelter are inconsequential to this government. They are a burden, through public assistance, etc. There's no reason to hurry up and help them. Man... you think if this hurricane had hit Greenwich, Ct. or Providence, R.I. that those white people would be herded like cattle into civic centres and forced to live like animals for days? How come the National Guard is in Florida before it even starts to DRIZZLE and New Orleans is left to rot?

Kanye West only has as much power as we, the consumers, give him. If nobody consumes, he's inconsequential. Look at how much "power" NSYNC and Britney Spears and the Spice Girls had in the heyday of bubblegum pop. The market went away and so did they. Contrary to your belief, not even the rich people are in control, we are. They're nothing without buyers. A crack dealer goes out of business without junkies hanging around.

Personally, I respect Kanye for having the balls to say what everyone is thinking but no one was mouthing. Instead of ridiculous platitudes about "thanks to all the gov't bodies for their cooperation" and gladhanding and kissing ass, he just said it.

Freakin A!

[ycartrob]

Please wellfleet, enjoy some of these uplifting lyrics, courtesy of Kanye West:

"Tuck your tummy tight and do your crunches like this
Give head, stop breathe, get up, check your weave
Don't drop the blunt and disrespect the weed"

"It's a party tonight and ooh she's so excited
Tell me who's invited: you, your friends and my dick
What's scary to me is Henny makes girls look like Halle Berry to me
So excuse me miss, I forgot your name
Thank you, God bless you, good night I came..
I came...
I came.."

Yep, now he's the guy I want speaking about the government's response to a hurricane!
I could go on...

As far as West saying the administration doesn't give a damn about blacks, he also said, "they're giving them permission to go down and shoot us".  Whatever. That's right up there with equating Bush with Hitler. And this disaster was going to open up the discussion about race and class in America, right? It's bullshit. It's been forgotten already.

I was born in New Orleans and raised in Mississippi, so I know a little about how the poor are treated by all administrations, Democratic or Republican. NEITHER give a damn about poor folks, that's why the poverty rate in Amercia has hovered around 9% for 40 years.

I also know that they knew for decades how a hurricane could devestate New Orleans, DECADES! And nothing was done, nothing at all. This just gave the Bush haters more excuses to hate Bush, when it's the federal, state and local's problem for DECADES.

Kanye West did not say "what everyone was thinking". Sorry, but that's a lie and that's posturing. The LEFT wants you to think Bush is a racist and the RIGHT wants these ridicuolus statements to get out.

Think for yourselves people.