MMJ moods?

[BERT]

Hi.
This is my first message actually and it might sound a little weird to all you MMJ adepts, but here goes.

I just remembered this rumour I heard years ago about MMJ. That is to say, I think it is a rumour.
An old friend of mine introduced me to MMJ back in the day, when they only had their first album out. I believe they had done an interview on a Belgian radio show called Duyster back then, where they mentioned that the TN Fire was a 'night album' and that their next album (the at that time yet to appear At Dawn) was going to be a 'morning album'. Supposedly a daytime and a dusk album were to follow. At least I think he heard it on that show.

Now, the Tennessee Fire definitely has a night feel to it, while At Dawn perfectly captures the dawn mood (I remember riding my bicycle to school in the morning with At Dawn echoing through my brain), but I wondered if anything about this rumour is true. Was this actually the great masterplan of MMJ? Was it really said? Was it followed through? Are ISM and Z really daytime and dusk albums? And even if this is not true, does anyone feel certain moods in the four albums?

So many questions!

[dragonboy]

Hey BERT, what a great first post!
I have no idea if what you say is true or not but would love to find out. Maybe Mr. Baxter can help?

At Dawn will always be a night Album for me.
When I bought it the girl I was seeing at the time used to work nights so I listened to a lot more music in the evenings by myself then with only Mary Jane for company.
I have very fond memories of At Dawn entering my soundscape & becoming an essential part of my life crashed out on the couch looking at Xmas tree lights through 3D glasses.
Those were the days...

[CC]

yeah, i remember that. don't know if it was a real laid out plan, maybe more of a loose idea at the time. i guess it's up to yourself to decide if the 'masterplan' worked out or not ;)

[October]

makes sense to me, each has its own mood.

personally though, i think so far they work out better as seasonal representations.

Tenn. Fire - Wintertime

At Dawn - Springtime

It Still Moves - Autumn, with its 'golden' tones

Z- Summer, off the record, wordless, just light airy summertime tunes, with dondante being a nice drift through a summer evening

[tomEisenbraun]

for me, at dawn is a snow album. i got it last january, and it started snowing like a mother on us here in chicago. i remember driving down this one road and snow just pouring on me with At Dawn (the song) playing in my Jeep. I don't know, there's something about the reverb and the feel of that album that screams winter for me, and i guess the initial memory. it can be a good waaaayyy late night album any time of the year, but the only time i ever get a "yearning" to put it on during the day is during winter in the snow. sometimes it comes during the rain, too, but mostly snow.

i think i still haven't really connected with the TN Fire, being as long as it is, and a bit disjointed. hmmm...i need to delve back into that one. that'd be a winter album too. i got everything but it still moves, chocolate and ice, and Z somewhere between last january and march, so it's all winter/early spring music for me.

[Jellyfish]

The Tennessee Fire is my fav MMJ album...just fits my mood all the time...I am a night person.Thats not to say I don't like the other albums a lot.

October...I agree with your seasons comparison.

[dragonboy]

October...I agree with your seasons comparison.

Me too, I like that a lot.

I guess it depands a lot upon your personal life. For example, if you're a party person who likes to get pumped up before you go out then I guess Z would be a evening or night album, what with it's upbeat rock tracks like Wonderful Man, Off The Record & Anytime. It's definately the most upbeat of their albums.

But then again some people might listen to it in their car on the way to work because it gives them then push they need to start the day, which would make it a morning album...

[wellfleet]

october.... really dig the seasons comparisons. it fits!

my hubby and i were getting all romantic the other night ans he suggested we put on tennessee fire and i was shocked. worked out well though. sade, prince and mmj!

[October]

october.... really dig the seasons comparisons. it fits!

my hubby and i were getting all romantic the other night ans he suggested we put on tennessee fire and i was shocked. worked out well though. sade, prince and mmj!

thanks!  back when Z came out it just felt to me like such a summertime album.  it was actually one of my first thoughts about the new songs.  wordless, gideon, off the record, and anytime were clean and fresh and exciting you know and the whole album just  seemed like it would work well with the car windows rolled down in the middle of july on the way to the beach or at a fourth of july backyard bbq.

as their fourth album, it got me to thinking that each of the others could have its own season as well...

Tennessee Fire had always been sort of a winter type album to me.  songs sung alone, solitary, out in the woods with snow all around the cabin.  I Will Be There When You Die, Nashville to Kent., They Ran.  it just fit with the silence of winter time as it was such a sparse album

At Dawn - the imagery and the color of this one fit Spring really well.  the songs were fresh, a little more polished after the Tenn. Fire.  (spring after winter)  at dawn = sun rising, flowers blooming, etc. songs like x-mas curtain and phone went and the way that he sings fit the season for me, and i remember first listening to the album in april

It Still Moves - Golden itself says it all, the leaves are changing again, the tones seemed a little mellower, warmer, maybe this one is the least off, but it works for me

[Dee.]

Good stuff there, October.  I would probably switch At Dawn and It Still Moves around though.  ISM really screams springtime for me.

[fluffybear]

Yeah, definitely a good first post.  I read in an interview with Jim when ISM was waiting to be released and he was talking about TF.  He was saying that ISM was a "morning" album.  So maybe Z is a dusk album.  Oddly enough, I rarely listen to Z in the daytime.  ISM makes most of my day.  I hope they think up more times-of-day so we can have more awe-inspiring goodness.  Maybe a "brunch" inspired album in the works? ;D