What Jim James is Listening To

[LaurieBlue]

http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2006-05-04/music_celebspins.php

Jim James
Songwriter and guitarist for Kentucky's rockin' beardos My Morning Jacket, who open for Pearl Jam Tuesday and Wednesday (May 9 and 10) at the Air Canada Centre.

Bobby Bare Jr. - The Longest Meow
"I got lucky enough to be invited up to the recording session for this record. There is only one Bobby Bare Jr. – and this is him at his finest. It doesn't come out for another coupla months – but hey, I'm listening now."

Sly and the Family Stone - There's A Riot Goin' On
"Good sweet Jesus, what a dark and dirty and delicious album. I can taste the carpet and the drugs and the dirt on the walls and the feeling of the time period this was recorded in. Family Affair is one of the greatest songs ever committed to tape."

The Velvet Underground - Loaded

"I used to hate the Velvet Underground when I was a kid. I was a stupid kid. There are times on this record when the harmonies remind me of the Grateful Dead or the Band, and it just made me realize how great it is to grow up. In other words, it blew my mind."

NOW | MAY 4 - 10, 2006 | VOL. 25 NO. 36

[BH]

Damn LaurieBlue you are on fire!

I am going to go see Bobby Bare Jr. on the 25th for next to nothing in small smokey bar.  I'd love to hear some thoughts on anyone's BBJ live experiences.  I know he opened for MMJ several times.  What did you think?

[kellilou3]

I saw him when Bare Jr. was together, and he really puts on a good show.  He's very funny and really gets into it.  You'll get your money's worth, that's for sure.  :)

[EC]

I used to hate the Velvet Underground when I was a kid. I was a stupid kid.

heh.  

yay NOW magazine!!  (that's a toronto one, by the way, folks)

[ChiefOKONO]

verycool. i love stuff like this, thanks for posting!!!

[dragonboy]

verycool. i love stuff like this, thanks for posting!!!

Me too. I'd love to know what all the guys are listening to + their fav bands & albums etc.

[wholovesthesun]

hell yesss he likes loaded!!!

[banjohead]

Velvet Underground fuckin' rocks. Good to know, I can hear their influence on MMJ's music! Especially on "It Still Moves"

[MMJ_fanatic]

Loaded=classic slam dunk!

[Mr. T.]

"There's a riot..."

Dark, dirty and delicious,

rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrright  8)

[vtchiller]

I wonder what Jim thinks of Phish tearing the fucking shit out of that album in '98.  
I'd love to hear MMJ do New Age.

[ratsprayer]

i just listened to white light / white heat today, and i think that one is better, but you really cant go wrong with VU.
 :D

[Dee.]

From the new Harp...this looks like a good place for it:


Live and Kicking: Four live classics currently rocking My Morning Jacket's Jim James' world

At their best, live albums capture the giddy intoxication of the moment, bottling the ephemeral.  My Morning Jacket's Okonokos finds it playing at the very top of its game.  Recorded over two evenings at San Francisco's Fillmore, Okonokos provides ample proof that MMJ is one of the finest homegrown outfits of the last decade.  Frontman Jim James took a minute to share his thoughts on some of the live classics he loves.

THIN LIZZY
Live and Dangerous (VERTIGO)

A masterpiece.  This is one of the only albums that I keep in my car ALL THE FUCKING TIME!  If I'm on a long drive or just a short meander around town, nothing will do like the opening blast of "Jailbreak."  I always like to pretend I was lucky enough to be at this concert.  These guys were fucking animals.

BOB DYLAN
Live 1966, The Royal Albert Hall Concert (SONY)

The acoustic disc makes me cry every time.  It's simple and so fucked all at once. His lyrics go on and on into oblivion, and every time you listen he hits a different part of your soul.  And every time you listen it means something new.  The harmonica is like a baby seal or a dolphin or an armadillo being squeezed.  It's a living thing, a small and helpless character.  I think people will respond to singers like Bob Dylan and Nina Simone until the end of time.  They're ruthless, or at least it sounds like it.  Disc two is fucking raw, primal and bloody in all the right ways, all bottled up and then shot out like it is New Year's Eve.

NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS
Live Seeds (MUTE)

Nick gets awarded the "brutality bonus" for this shit. It is hardcore serious.  Nick Cave taught me that you can be elegant, sophisticated and brutal all at once.  I need to work on the sophisticated part.

WEEN
Live in Chicago (SANCTUARY)

These guys are fucking hilarious.  So funny it's sad, and so sad it's funny.  I don't think there is another band that can make a song so simultaneously beautiful and moving.  I knew they could do it on record, but who would have thought that these recordings could translate into some of the most fun live material going?  I am so glad that Ween exists.  The world is a much safer place with this documented.

~Dennis Cook

[dragonboy]

"Nick Cave taught me that you can be elegant, sophisticated and brutal all at once.  
I need to work on the sophisticated part."  ;D

I don't have the Ween disc but I have the other 3.
Live & Dangerous is indeed a masterpiece.

Thanks 4 posting D!  :)

[EAZYE]

Nice find D!  Thanks for posting  :)

[Ghosts_on_TV]

"Nick Cave taught me that you can be elegant, sophisticated and brutal all at once.  
I need to work on the sophisticated part."  ;D

I don't have the Ween disc but I have the other 3.
Live & Dangerous is indeed a masterpiece.

Thanks 4 posting D!  :)

Ween~Live in Chicago is fucking awesome. Buy it. Soon.
 ;)

[dragonboy]

The only Ween album I have is The Mollusk.
I shall have to dig deeper...

[ali]

is the mollusk worth a look?

[dragonboy]

I like it. It's strange, funny, quirky...
Because it's the only Ween album I own, I have nothing to compare it to.

Maybe go with Jim's recommendation?  ;)

[ali]

i'm now quite broke from the noel tix (plus flight/boat trip home at christmas) but i'll go browse the ween section when i get some cash... with your & mr. james' recommendations in mind!  ;)