Hey everyone- I used to post on here quite a bit back around 08, and now can't remember what my old account was, so just created this new one. I did one of Stereogum's Counting Down features for the band, ranking their albums from worst to best, and thought the community here might be interested, given we all have our very personal attachments to each of their albums. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy:
http://stereogum.com/1329741/my-morning-jacket-albums-from-worst-to-best-2/top-stories/lead-story/ (http://stereogum.com/1329741/my-morning-jacket-albums-from-worst-to-best-2/top-stories/lead-story/)
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 26, 2013, 05:00 PM
Hey everyone- I used to post on here quite a bit back around 08, and now can't remember what my old account was, so just created this new one. I did one of Stereogum's Counting Down features for the band, ranking their albums from worst to best, and thought the community here might be interested, given we all have our very personal attachments to each of their albums. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy:
http://stereogum.com/1329741/my-morning-jacket-albums-from-worst-to-best-2/top-stories/lead-story/ (http://stereogum.com/1329741/my-morning-jacket-albums-from-worst-to-best-2/top-stories/lead-story/)
Thanks for the article. I definitely don't agree with Circuital being above EU and TTF. The guy didn't even mention smokin from shootin on the EU piece.
Quote from: EverythingChanges on Apr 26, 2013, 07:30 PM
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 26, 2013, 05:00 PM
Hey everyone- I used to post on here quite a bit back around 08, and now can't remember what my old account was, so just created this new one. I did one of Stereogum's Counting Down features for the band, ranking their albums from worst to best, and thought the community here might be interested, given we all have our very personal attachments to each of their albums. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy:
http://stereogum.com/1329741/my-morning-jacket-albums-from-worst-to-best-2/top-stories/lead-story/ (http://stereogum.com/1329741/my-morning-jacket-albums-from-worst-to-best-2/top-stories/lead-story/)
Thanks for the article. I definitely don't agree with Circuital being above EU and TTF. The guy didn't even mention smokin from shootin on the EU piece.
For some reason there is a strong disliking to EU I just don't agree with. I absolutely love that album. I initially couldn't get behind the album (much like Circuital), but the more I see the songs performed live, the more I just get it. For me, what ultimately sold me was seeing "Look at You" performed accoustic. Since that fateful evening, I have been trying to assemble the entire EU album with accoustic versions. Kind of a mini project for me as I have found every song on that album sounds awesome as an accoustic (especially Thank You Too)
I am also one of the rare people on this forum that like both "Sec Walkin" and "Two Halves".
pretty much agree with this ranking probably have it still moves as number 1 though..
Quote from: justbcuzido on Apr 28, 2013, 01:22 PM
Quote from: EverythingChanges on Apr 26, 2013, 07:30 PM
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 26, 2013, 05:00 PM
Hey everyone- I used to post on here quite a bit back around 08, and now can't remember what my old account was, so just created this new one. I did one of Stereogum's Counting Down features for the band, ranking their albums from worst to best, and thought the community here might be interested, given we all have our very personal attachments to each of their albums. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy:
http://stereogum.com/1329741/my-morning-jacket-albums-from-worst-to-best-2/top-stories/lead-story/ (http://stereogum.com/1329741/my-morning-jacket-albums-from-worst-to-best-2/top-stories/lead-story/)
Thanks for the article. I definitely don't agree with Circuital being above EU and TTF. The guy didn't even mention smokin from shootin on the EU piece.
For some reason there is a strong disliking to EU I just don't agree with. I absolutely love that album. I initially couldn't get behind the album (much like Circuital), but the more I see the songs performed live, the more I just get it. For me, what ultimately sold me was seeing "Look at You" performed accoustic. Since that fateful evening, I have been trying to assemble the entire EU album with accoustic versions. Kind of a mini project for me as I have found every song on that album sounds awesome as an accoustic (especially Thank You Too)
I am also one of the rare people on this forum that like both "Sec Walkin" and "Two Halves".
I don't think MMJ has a bad song in their catalogue, but Two Halves is by no means close to the top. However, Sec Walkin is awesome!
Evil Urges, Touch Me 1, Touch Me 2, Smokin', Thank You Too, I'm Amazed, and Look at You are freaking amazing tunes.
And where have they ever played touch, evil urges, I'm Amazed etc. as acoustic?
Quote from: EverythingChanges on Apr 28, 2013, 06:15 PM
Quote from: justbcuzido on Apr 28, 2013, 01:22 PM
Quote from: EverythingChanges on Apr 26, 2013, 07:30 PM
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 26, 2013, 05:00 PM
Hey everyone- I used to post on here quite a bit back around 08, and now can't remember what my old account was, so just created this new one. I did one of Stereogum's Counting Down features for the band, ranking their albums from worst to best, and thought the community here might be interested, given we all have our very personal attachments to each of their albums. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy:
http://stereogum.com/1329741/my-morning-jacket-albums-from-worst-to-best-2/top-stories/lead-story/ (http://stereogum.com/1329741/my-morning-jacket-albums-from-worst-to-best-2/top-stories/lead-story/)
Thanks for the article. I definitely don't agree with Circuital being above EU and TTF. The guy didn't even mention smokin from shootin on the EU piece.
For some reason there is a strong disliking to EU I just don't agree with. I absolutely love that album. I initially couldn't get behind the album (much like Circuital), but the more I see the songs performed live, the more I just get it. For me, what ultimately sold me was seeing "Look at You" performed accoustic. Since that fateful evening, I have been trying to assemble the entire EU album with accoustic versions. Kind of a mini project for me as I have found every song on that album sounds awesome as an accoustic (especially Thank You Too)
I am also one of the rare people on this forum that like both "Sec Walkin" and "Two Halves".
I don't think MMJ has a bad song in their catalogue, but Two Halves is by no means close to the top. However, Sec Walkin is awesome!
Evil Urges, Touch Me 1, Touch Me 2, Smokin', Thank You Too, I'm Amazed, and Look at You are freaking amazing tunes.
And where have they ever played touch, evil urges, I'm Amazed etc. as acoustic?
Quote from: EverythingChanges on Apr 28, 2013, 06:15 PM
Quote from: justbcuzido on Apr 28, 2013, 01:22 PM
Quote from: EverythingChanges on Apr 26, 2013, 07:30 PM
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 26, 2013, 05:00 PM
Hey everyone- I used to post on here quite a bit back around 08, and now can't remember what my old account was, so just created this new one. I did one of Stereogum's Counting Down features for the band, ranking their albums from worst to best, and thought the community here might be interested, given we all have our very personal attachments to each of their albums. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy:
http://stereogum.com/1329741/my-morning-jacket-albums-from-worst-to-best-2/top-stories/lead-story/ (http://stereogum.com/1329741/my-morning-jacket-albums-from-worst-to-best-2/top-stories/lead-story/)
Thanks for the article. I definitely don't agree with Circuital being above EU and TTF. The guy didn't even mention smokin from shootin on the EU piece.
For some reason there is a strong disliking to EU I just don't agree with. I absolutely love that album. I initially couldn't get behind the album (much like Circuital), but the more I see the songs performed live, the more I just get it. For me, what ultimately sold me was seeing "Look at You" performed accoustic. Since that fateful evening, I have been trying to assemble the entire EU album with accoustic versions. Kind of a mini project for me as I have found every song on that album sounds awesome as an accoustic (especially Thank You Too)
I am also one of the rare people on this forum that like both "Sec Walkin" and "Two Halves".
I don't think MMJ has a bad song in their catalogue, but Two Halves is by no means close to the top. However, Sec Walkin is awesome!
Evil Urges, Touch Me 1, Touch Me 2, Smokin', Thank You Too, I'm Amazed, and Look at You are freaking amazing tunes.
And where have they ever played touch, evil urges, I'm Amazed etc. as acoustic?
So far I got Look at You, Smokin From Shootin, Thank You Too and TMP2. As I said, it's a work in progress. TMP2 I got from the Black Cab Sessions. If you got any others, let me know.
The Black Cab Sessions. Chapter Forty-three: My Morning Jack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKCraa-tdD4#ws)
Oh yeah, I forgot about the cab session video. And I will keep an eye out, but speaking of acoustic rarities...
Jim James of My Morning Jacket - Live at Space 101 - September 1, 2001 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRG2A4vfeqs#)
Circuital over TTF is bananas to me.
This list got me thinking about the "narrative" MMJ leaves behind as their sound changes and grows. I think it will be really interesting to hear where they go on the next album because EU was clearly their weirdest, farthest reaching record and Circuital went for a much more direct, hooky thing in my opinion.
Quote from: MMPJ6306 on Apr 29, 2013, 01:06 AM
Circuital over TTF is bananas to me.
I couldn't take the rest of the article seriously after that.
Dumbest fucking list of all time?
I don't agree with the author's order, but he seems to have given it a lot of thought and I respect that. It's hardly the work of a hack. I discovered MMJ one month before EU, but agree with some of the holier-than-thou lifers that its not their best work. To most who discovered MMJ with Z, TTF will seem a bit lo-fi and amateurish, because it is! I love it, but I understand why someone might put Circuital above it.
My order (for today, at least):
1. It Still Moves
2. At Dawn
3. Z
4. The Tennessee Fire
5. Evil Urges
6. Circuital
Quote from: johnnYYac on Apr 29, 2013, 07:01 PM
I discovered MMJ one month before EU, but agree with some of the holier-than-thou lifers
Who might you be referring to, John? :D
Quote from: Fully on Apr 29, 2013, 07:50 PM
Quote from: johnnYYac on Apr 29, 2013, 07:01 PM
I discovered MMJ one month before EU, but agree with some of the holier-than-thou lifers
Who might you be referring to, John? :D
:huh:
This is always hard for me as it really depend on how you look at albums in general. I think most can agree Circuital is at the bottom being very mediocre followed by EU which has admittedly grown on me, but still contains the worst two songs of the entire catalogue IMO then TTF which has two of the greatest songs with The Bear and War Begun but then a few I could do without. But then the next few are hard to distinguish, at least for me. I personnally love At Dawn for its high points (ie top 5 tracks) it is my fav, but then ISM to me has probably the best overall lineup with only a couple of tracks that don't do it for me. Then Z is the one album I love every single song on, no skips on it for me, just 10 great tracks. So depending on how you look at it I could see any of those three being at the top. :beer:
Quote from: johnnYYac on Apr 29, 2013, 07:01 PM
I love it, but I understand why someone might put Circuital above it.
I will never be able to comprehend this.
I demand Ulysses give us
one song off of Circuital that beats a song off of TTF then I can
MAYBE take it seriously. :cool: :wink: TTF is a low-fi work of wonder, it's a transcendent piece of recorded in a barn roadmap to life. It epitomizes great songwriting to me. What say you...?
Quote from: manonthemoon on Apr 29, 2013, 09:53 PM
This is always hard for me as it really depend on how you look at albums in general. I think most can agree Circuital is at the bottom being very mediocre followed by EU which has admittedly grown on me, but still contains the worst two songs of the entire catalogue IMO then TTF which has two of the greatest songs with The Bear and War Begun but then a few I could do without. But then the next few are hard to distinguish, at least for me. I personnally love At Dawn for its high points (ie top 5 tracks) it is my fav, but then ISM to me has probably the best overall lineup with only a couple of tracks that don't do it for me. Then Z is the one album I love every single song on, no skips on it for me, just 10 great tracks. So depending on how you look at it I could see any of those three being at the top. :beer:
jeez---are you inside my head?! Yep...agree.
1- At Dawn
2- Tennessee Fire
3- It Still Moves
4- Z
5- Evil Urges
Quote from: Penny Lane on Apr 30, 2013, 06:02 PM
Quote from: johnnYYac on Apr 29, 2013, 07:01 PM
I love it, but I understand why someone might put Circuital above it.
I will never be able to comprehend this.
I demand Ulysses give us one song off of Circuital that beats a song off of TTF then I can MAYBE take it seriously. :cool: :wink: TTF is a low-fi work of wonder, it's a transcendent piece of recorded in a barn roadmap to life. It epitomizes great songwriting to me. What say you...?
When I say I understand why someone might put Circuital above TTF, I'm recognizing the whole of humanity. Not me, just "someone". Just as I can say I understand why "someone" might think the Grateful Dead were subpar, or that Neil Young can't sing. These are opinions I do not hold, but I understand why some might hold them.
It goes along with the fact that my oldest, dearest high school and college chums, who accompanied me to many a Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, ABB show can't stand MMJ. Some people don't feel what we feel, lack the part of their soul that recognizes true beauty. Sad, but more for us!
Quote from: Penny Lane on Apr 30, 2013, 06:02 PM
Quote from: johnnYYac on Apr 29, 2013, 07:01 PM
I love it, but I understand why someone might put Circuital above it.
I will never be able to comprehend this.
I demand Ulysses give us one song off of Circuital that beats a song off of TTF then I can MAYBE take it seriously. :cool: :wink: TTF is a low-fi work of wonder, it's a transcendent piece of recorded in a barn roadmap to life. It epitomizes great songwriting to me. What say you...?
I'm actually surprised how much hate Circuital seems to earn from the die-hards here—I thought it was a marked improvement on Evil Urges, and most of the songs seem to get as fervent a reaction at a show as anything else. Like I said, I think it falters in the 2nd half, but those first six songs are a hell of a run in my opinion, particularly "Victory Dance" and "Outta My System," the former of which I'd argue ranks as one of their best.
I think the reason I ranked it above Tennessee Fire was an effort to balance my own biases against a more objective critical metric. TTF is an amazing album, and I like it more than Circuital personally. But I didn't want this list to be a die-hard fan giving preference to earlier material that perhaps has less of a bearing on the band today. I've seen a lot of TTF live recently, but that seems to have occurred primarily in the wake of the Terminal 5 shows bringing some of the older material back into rotation. This was somewhat outside the point of the article, but TTF material is, I would argue, much much stronger live. Again, I love that album and love those scrappy lo-fi recordings—but "It's About Twilight Now" is an absolute monster live, "The Bear" even more epic, "I Think I'm Going to Hell" more emotive, "War Begun" and "The Dark" just straight up more fleshed out. I like it as a sketchy snapshot of their early days, and I love it the world it evokes. But some of its songs have grown up after being played live over the years, and that makes it seem, as an album, less finished.
Circuital, while not my personal favorite, is a generally strong collection of songs, and very well made as an album. It's diverse, but more so in the way Z is, not in the unfocused way of EU. It works well as a LP, had more relevance with them as a mainstream band than the early works did, and I think that's worth considering in a list like this. It doesn't create a world the same way TTF or At Dawn or ISM or Z do, but three of those albums did get ranked above it. I wouldn't want them to make another album exactly like it, but I like it as a direction away from whatever was happening with EU (which, I should say, since I've sort of been trashing it, also has excellent material obviously. I just think it's scattershot and I never listen to it the whole way through anymore). I may have given it a bit of a bump as like, a +1 for setting things up to keep going well.
All that being said, I had different versions of this list that looked a lot different, that definitely gave absolute precedence to the earlier material. I had At Dawn at #1 at one point, but stand by my logic in moving it to #3 based on what I wrote about ISM and Z, even though some days AD is my personal favorite. I read Stereogum for years before I wound up contributing this article, and now that I know the difference between reading and writing one of these lists I guess I'd say that it's not always just what the writer likes most or an order based on the fanbase's preferences or an order dependent on when a band was more popular or successful or whatever. I guess, in theory, it should incorporate all of those things, and that's what I was trying to do here. I think and hope I did a fair job of that. There are critics out there who are less familiar with MMJ than me who might've written off all those first three as incubation time until MMJ's pop-indie phase, because that's when they entered more people's radars. There are fans and readers that think that, too—some people in the comments really took me to task for ranking EU below At Dawn and TTF.
Lastly, I'll just say that if a band warrants a list like this, they're usually damn good and have an impressive body of work worth ranking and spending the time on. These articles may involve criticism against certain albums, but I conceive of them as really a celebration of legacies still in motion. MMJ's one of my favorite bands, and I've spent a lot of time at their shows and listening to their records since I got into them in '05. Just because TTF is ranked at #5 on this list doesn't mean I think it's a bad album; in fact, I said straight up that it's a testament to how great MMJ is that such a strong album appears so soon in the list. Any of these LPs are better than a lot of what's out there by a bunch of artists who will never warrant lists like this. I just felt that while TTF is important to me, it had to be ranked below albums I felt represented more in the overall narrative of their career.
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 30, 2013, 08:43 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Apr 30, 2013, 06:02 PM
Quote from: johnnYYac on Apr 29, 2013, 07:01 PM
I love it, but I understand why someone might put Circuital above it.
I will never be able to comprehend this.
I demand Ulysses give us one song off of Circuital that beats a song off of TTF then I can MAYBE take it seriously. :cool: :wink: TTF is a low-fi work of wonder, it's a transcendent piece of recorded in a barn roadmap to life. It epitomizes great songwriting to me. What say you...?
I'm actually surprised how much hate Circuital seems to earn from the die-hards here—I thought it was a marked improvement on Evil Urges
I was lukewarm on EU, but still initially liked it. Circuital never did anything for me, ever; if anything it made me like EU more better. EU is light years past Circuital. I am an old school ZZ Top fan. You take their early albums (1st, Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres) and they are raw and amazing, but 3 times a shoelace will argue into the dirt that Eliminator is their best album and there ain't nothing anyone going to say to changer their mind. ZZ Top died after Deguello; that's when they got soft and gimmicky. I just hope Circuital isn't the death nail for MMJ. For the love of Show Luo Mayday I hope the days of covering Taiwanese pop songs is over. I understand it was in the vain of the Stones and Zep covering country music, but dance with who brung ya. Highly Suspicious, cute, gimmicky, rocking! got it!
Holdin' on to Black Metal?
(http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me3xp70AbV1qltqg1.gif)
Sherbet brain freeze, as bad as Radiohead's King of Limbs was/is/am/are/were, at least it was there's and wasn't contrived or gimmicky.
God, i hope it's not too late
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 30, 2013, 08:43 PM
TTF is an amazing album, and I like it more than Circuital personally.
Thank you. Then you should re-number your list accordingly. :thumbsup:
You're a terrific writer and I applaud your efforts, but speak from your heart. Stand each album alone in infinity against nothing. Eliminate context because in the end, all that matters is what you hear not where the band was at in the narrative or where they had to come from. (For what it's worth, EU is a complicated construction of music with some really amazing songs mixed in with some 'let's try and see' songs, but it didn't lower expectations so low that Circuital had nowhere had to go but up. I see what you're saying, to take the songs as an album and not on the merit of each song, but that's really hard and doesn't do justice to the songs on TTF, which are timeless, whereas after next year, no one will be listening to Circuital. There is no hate for Circuital, the songs are incredible live as is most things MMJ do, but album wise, it doesn't compare with the albums that precede it.)
Quote from: johnnYYac on Apr 30, 2013, 08:17 PM
These are opinions I do not hold, but I understand why some might hold them.
Sad, but more for us!
Yes! ...and Yes!
(lol--I DO NOT KNOW WHY I AM SHOUTING LIKE TEO!)
Quote from: Penny Lane on Apr 30, 2013, 10:20 PM
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 30, 2013, 08:43 PM
TTF is an amazing album, and I like it more than Circuital personally.
Thank you. Then you should re-number your list accordingly. :thumbsup:
You're a terrific writer and I applaud your efforts, but speak from your heart. Stand each album alone in infinity against nothing. Eliminate context because in the end, all that matters is what you hear not where the band was at in the narrative or where they had to come from. (For what it's worth, EU is a complicated construction of music with some really amazing songs mixed in with some 'let's try and see' songs, but it didn't lower expectations so low that Circuital had nowhere had to go but up. I see what you're saying, to take the songs as an album and not on the merit of each song, but that's really hard and doesn't do justice to the songs on TTF, which are timeless, whereas after next year, no one will be listening to Circuital. There is no hate for Circuital, the songs are incredible live as is most things MMJ do, but album wise, it doesn't compare with the albums that precede it.)
Thanks, I'm glad you liked the writing! The idea of how much to weigh context is something I still debate. I do still think it's relevant, and to a certain degree inevitable—even if you try to view these things in a vacuum, that is impossible because you carry the knowledge of their circumstance with you. In addition, while the idea of objective criticism is faulty and these things are always going to be dependent on subjective taste, I do think that the difference between listing your personal favorites here on the forums or on your own blog and writing one for a professional music blog is that you do have to bring in the concerns of larger narrative, context, importance, etc. All that being said, you make a fair point that TTF may wind up being more timeless than Circuital, even if I feel like it's harsh to say people won't be listening to it by next year (that said, I already confessed I don't listen to EU the whole way through, so you may have a point there as well).
I'll admit though that the timelessness argument strikes a chord with me enough that yeah, were I going to do this again TTF maybe would've crept up...
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 30, 2013, 10:58 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Apr 30, 2013, 10:20 PM
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 30, 2013, 08:43 PM
TTF is an amazing album, and I like it more than Circuital personally.
Thank you. Then you should re-number your list accordingly. :thumbsup:
You're a terrific writer and I applaud your efforts, but speak from your heart. Stand each album alone in infinity against nothing. Eliminate context because in the end, all that matters is what you hear not where the band was at in the narrative or where they had to come from. (For what it's worth, EU is a complicated construction of music with some really amazing songs mixed in with some 'let's try and see' songs, but it didn't lower expectations so low that Circuital had nowhere had to go but up. I see what you're saying, to take the songs as an album and not on the merit of each song, but that's really hard and doesn't do justice to the songs on TTF, which are timeless, whereas after next year, no one will be listening to Circuital. There is no hate for Circuital, the songs are incredible live as is most things MMJ do, but album wise, it doesn't compare with the albums that precede it.)
Thanks, I'm glad you liked the writing! The idea of how much to weigh context is something I still debate. I do still think it's relevant, and to a certain degree inevitable—even if you try to view these things in a vacuum, that is impossible because you carry the knowledge of their circumstance with you. In addition, while the idea of objective criticism is faulty and these things are always going to be dependent on subjective taste, I do think that the difference between listing your personal favorites here on the forums or on your own blog and writing one for a professional music blog is that you do have to bring in the concerns of larger narrative, context, importance, etc. All that being said, you make a fair point that TTF may wind up being more timeless than Circuital, even if I feel like it's harsh to say people won't be listening to it by next year (that said, I already confessed I don't listen to EU the whole way through, so you may have a point there as well).
I'll admit though that the timelessness argument strikes a chord with me enough that yeah, were I going to do this again TTF maybe would've crept up...
That's why I could never write professionally in music. I'll leave it up to you objective people and your music metric system. :cool:
Oh and welcome back!
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 30, 2013, 10:58 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Apr 30, 2013, 10:20 PM
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 30, 2013, 08:43 PM
TTF is an amazing album, and I like it more than Circuital personally.
Thank you. Then you should re-number your list accordingly. :thumbsup:
You're a terrific writer and I applaud your efforts, but speak from your heart. Stand each album alone in infinity against nothing. Eliminate context because in the end, all that matters is what you hear not where the band was at in the narrative or where they had to come from. (For what it's worth, EU is a complicated construction of music with some really amazing songs mixed in with some 'let's try and see' songs, but it didn't lower expectations so low that Circuital had nowhere had to go but up. I see what you're saying, to take the songs as an album and not on the merit of each song, but that's really hard and doesn't do justice to the songs on TTF, which are timeless, whereas after next year, no one will be listening to Circuital. There is no hate for Circuital, the songs are incredible live as is most things MMJ do, but album wise, it doesn't compare with the albums that precede it.)
Thanks, I'm glad you liked the writing! The idea of how much to weigh context is something I still debate. I do still think it's relevant, and to a certain degree inevitable—even if you try to view these things in a vacuum, that is impossible because you carry the knowledge of their circumstance with you. In addition, while the idea of objective criticism is faulty and these things are always going to be dependent on subjective taste, I do think that the difference between listing your personal favorites here on the forums or on your own blog and writing one for a professional music blog is that you do have to bring in the concerns of larger narrative, context, importance, etc. All that being said, you make a fair point that TTF may wind up being more timeless than Circuital, even if I feel like it's harsh to say people won't be listening to it by next year (that said, I already confessed I don't listen to EU the whole way through, so you may have a point there as well).
I'll admit though that the timelessness argument strikes a chord with me enough that yeah, were I going to do this again TTF maybe would've crept up...
Ulysses, your article was interesting. I always love reading the top countdown style lists, so thank you. But I agree with Penny on this. Go with your gut and your heart. If you personally like TTF more than Circuital, then place it higher.
I tried to make a list, but I couldn't decide which album should be higher between EU and TTF, and At Dawn and Z. EU introduced me to the band and has very dark Floydish style songs that I dig, and it has a great overall theme. TTF has an overall better song lineup that translates so well live. At Dawn and Z would definitely tie for second place in my book. However, perhaps Z has the fuller sound. It Still Moves would probably take the crown in my book. Or maybe Steam Engine takes it for itself :P.
I really don't think it matters where the album fits ever. All that matters is which one you like better deep in your heart. I don't care where an album fits in a band's narrative when I'm thinking about how much I like an album compared to others. I do think context is essential background information that's nice to provide to your readers, but I can't ever imagine using it to help me rank an album. Yes, I love Victory Dance, but on the whole Circuital is the band's weakest, most watered down release. Maybe in order to get larger crowds, you have to put out things like this, but I believe that if you give a challenging, interesting album to the world, the world will respond accordingly. Some of these songs have improved live, but that still doesn't mean I ever listen to the album. In fact, I don't even judge TTF by the fact that the songs are now monsters in the band's live shows. If I judge an album, then I judge it based on it's own merits, not what comes after it's release. TTF is a far superior album to Circuital. If any context should be used to judge it, it is the state of music when it was released. And when it came out, it was earth shattering to me. There wasn't anything out there like it. And it fucking blew me away. In fact, I was disgusted with most music that I found during that time period, but TTF made me give modern music another chance. I can't say that about the last two albums, but At Dawn I can. And I can say that ISM, and Z are very strong members of the catalogue, even though I don't hate EU like some do, I just think of it as a collection of songs more than I do a complete work in and of itself.
Quote from: EverythingChanges on May 01, 2013, 01:07 AM
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 30, 2013, 10:58 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Apr 30, 2013, 10:20 PM
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 30, 2013, 08:43 PM
TTF is an amazing album, and I like it more than Circuital personally.
Thank you. Then you should re-number your list accordingly. :thumbsup:
You're a terrific writer and I applaud your efforts, but speak from your heart. Stand each album alone in infinity against nothing. Eliminate context because in the end, all that matters is what you hear not where the band was at in the narrative or where they had to come from. (For what it's worth, EU is a complicated construction of music with some really amazing songs mixed in with some 'let's try and see' songs, but it didn't lower expectations so low that Circuital had nowhere had to go but up. I see what you're saying, to take the songs as an album and not on the merit of each song, but that's really hard and doesn't do justice to the songs on TTF, which are timeless, whereas after next year, no one will be listening to Circuital. There is no hate for Circuital, the songs are incredible live as is most things MMJ do, but album wise, it doesn't compare with the albums that precede it.)
Thanks, I'm glad you liked the writing! The idea of how much to weigh context is something I still debate. I do still think it's relevant, and to a certain degree inevitable—even if you try to view these things in a vacuum, that is impossible because you carry the knowledge of their circumstance with you. In addition, while the idea of objective criticism is faulty and these things are always going to be dependent on subjective taste, I do think that the difference between listing your personal favorites here on the forums or on your own blog and writing one for a professional music blog is that you do have to bring in the concerns of larger narrative, context, importance, etc. All that being said, you make a fair point that TTF may wind up being more timeless than Circuital, even if I feel like it's harsh to say people won't be listening to it by next year (that said, I already confessed I don't listen to EU the whole way through, so you may have a point there as well).
I'll admit though that the timelessness argument strikes a chord with me enough that yeah, were I going to do this again TTF maybe would've crept up...
Or maybe Steam Engine takes it for itself :P.
If I ever wind up doing Stereogum's other feature—Top Ten Songs—for MMJ...well, first of all, that's making me anxious just thinking about how difficult it'd be, but I think "Steam Engine" would be a contender for the top spot in my opinion.
Quote from: ulysses on May 01, 2013, 10:03 AM
Quote from: EverythingChanges on May 01, 2013, 01:07 AM
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 30, 2013, 10:58 PM
Quote from: Penny Lane on Apr 30, 2013, 10:20 PM
Quote from: ulysses on Apr 30, 2013, 08:43 PM
TTF is an amazing album, and I like it more than Circuital personally.
Thank you. Then you should re-number your list accordingly. :thumbsup:
You're a terrific writer and I applaud your efforts, but speak from your heart. Stand each album alone in infinity against nothing. Eliminate context because in the end, all that matters is what you hear not where the band was at in the narrative or where they had to come from. (For what it's worth, EU is a complicated construction of music with some really amazing songs mixed in with some 'let's try and see' songs, but it didn't lower expectations so low that Circuital had nowhere had to go but up. I see what you're saying, to take the songs as an album and not on the merit of each song, but that's really hard and doesn't do justice to the songs on TTF, which are timeless, whereas after next year, no one will be listening to Circuital. There is no hate for Circuital, the songs are incredible live as is most things MMJ do, but album wise, it doesn't compare with the albums that precede it.)
Thanks, I'm glad you liked the writing! The idea of how much to weigh context is something I still debate. I do still think it's relevant, and to a certain degree inevitable—even if you try to view these things in a vacuum, that is impossible because you carry the knowledge of their circumstance with you. In addition, while the idea of objective criticism is faulty and these things are always going to be dependent on subjective taste, I do think that the difference between listing your personal favorites here on the forums or on your own blog and writing one for a professional music blog is that you do have to bring in the concerns of larger narrative, context, importance, etc. All that being said, you make a fair point that TTF may wind up being more timeless than Circuital, even if I feel like it's harsh to say people won't be listening to it by next year (that said, I already confessed I don't listen to EU the whole way through, so you may have a point there as well).
I'll admit though that the timelessness argument strikes a chord with me enough that yeah, were I going to do this again TTF maybe would've crept up...
Or maybe Steam Engine takes it for itself :P.
If I ever wind up doing Stereogum's other feature—Top Ten Songs—for MMJ...well, first of all, that's making me anxious just thinking about how difficult it'd be, but I think "Steam Engine" would be a contender for the top spot in my opinion.
If you want to know what we think about it, here's the breakdown of our favorite songs although some lost early due to unfair brackets
http://forum.mymorningjacket.com/index.php/topic,16660.0.html (http://forum.mymorningjacket.com/index.php/topic,16660.0.html)
And here's our collective album rankings from another thread:
http://forum.mymorningjacket.com/index.php/topic,17309.0.html (http://forum.mymorningjacket.com/index.php/topic,17309.0.html)
At Dawn
It Still Moves
Z
The Tennessee Fire
Evil Urges
Circuital
Will I get kicked off this forum if I agree with his list completely? I would say that ISM and Z are interchangeable IMHO, depending on which MMJ I'm looking for.
I love TTF but its hard to overlook its sketchbook feel; and as a lo-fi work I can find it to be a bit too sprawling for its own good as I feel it struggles to keep me entertained through its 4th quarter a bit, on top of the fact it contains an early non-studio tested version of the band. Of course these are my feelings. Be that as it may its a huge showcase for Jim's voice and songwriting and I generally be the most excited to hear these songs live as I feel they are the most rarely played.
I myself am also surprised with the hate for Circuital. I feel like ending on 2 softer songs was a misfire but as an album whole its great. 1st light, YWFO and the title track are a bit rock-by-numbers but they are still fun. I also agree with Ulysses that the first run of songs on that album is very strong.
Of course this is all about personal preference and that changes for some, like me, sometimes frequently. I can honestly say my tastes when it comes to MMJ studio falls in line with this writer and the reasons he has spoken to in his exceptional article.
Yes. Have a nice life. Of course by nice I mean terrible.
This was a great article that was written for a very popular indie music site, and the author did a good job, imo, of writing an article for the Stereogum audience, not to mention some of the standards set for their countdown articles.
While I might toggle an album or two from his list, my list probably changes from month to month and year to year. So the "follow your heart" logic.... well that just isn't that logical when the premise is to create a somewhat objective list that stands up to a diverse audience of readers. The author is clearly a major MMJ fan and isn't being a snob with any of his opinions or analysis. So kudos to him for the hard work and bringing some very positive attention and analysis to MMJ on Stereogum. Thanks for getting me to think about my favorite band a little more.
Quote from: wolof7 on May 05, 2013, 07:53 AM
Will I get kicked off this forum if I agree with his list completely? I would say that ISM and Z are interchangeable IMHO, depending on which MMJ I'm looking for.
I love TTF but its hard to overlook its sketchbook feel; and as a lo-fi work I can find it to be a bit too sprawling for its own good as I feel it struggles to keep me entertained through its 4th quarter a bit, on top of the fact it contains an early non-studio tested version of the band. Of course these are my feelings. Be that as it may its a huge showcase for Jim's voice and songwriting and I generally be the most excited to hear these songs live as I feel they are the most rarely played.
I myself am also surprised with the hate for Circuital. I feel like ending on 2 softer songs was a misfire but as an album whole its great. 1st light, YWFO and the title track are a bit rock-by-numbers but they are still fun. I also agree with Ulysses that the first run of songs on that album is very strong.
Of course this is all about personal preference and that changes for some, like me, sometimes frequently. I can honestly say my tastes when it comes to MMJ studio falls in line with this writer and the reasons he has spoken to in his exceptional article.
I'll back you up Wolof, I'm also one of the few that agrees with this list. Z was my intro and I will probably always have it in my top spot.
1. Z
2. TIE - It Still Moves, At Dawn
3. Circuital
4. The Tennessee Fire
5. Evil Urges