uwmryan Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Using their past MMJ reviews as a benchmark (Tennessee Fire fared best with an 8.0), all of their albums hover in the low 7.0's. That somewhat puts their numerical ranking in order I guess. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 yeah, they've underrated them throughout their career for the most part, so who really cares wtf they think Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lynch Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 I don't even read reviews anymore. I listen to the album, and if I like it, great, if not I move on. Most reviews are full of shit anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 personally i'd probably give it a 7.8, with Z being a 8.1, At Dawn a 9.1, It Still Moves an 8.5, and TN Fire a 7.6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lynch Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 I am not sure what I would give it. Z took a long time to grow on me, to the point where I love it dearly, so I will give this one a fair amount of time for taking it all in. But I am liking it more and more. I cannot get Evil Urges out of my head right now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 other than At Dawn, their albums have all had at least 1-2 tracks that i don't really enjoy, and EU is no different Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marino13 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Coincidentally, 4.7 is the exact score they gave the new Weezer album. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Coincidentally, 4.7 is the exact score they gave the new Weezer album. ouch  thing is, i enjoy the Red Album boatloads more than the last 2 Weezer records (which were both quite awful). maybe even like it more on the whole than the Green Album, but both are a far cry from their first 2 albums. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DrNo Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 i mean it's not their best record by ANY means, but 4.7? come the eff on I think they're right on in this case. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 I think they're right on in this case. more room for me at shows  there's 2-3 songs alone on the record that make it worth a 4.7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mfwahl Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 The reviewer seemed to be focused on the lyrics, which isn't that important to me when it comes to MMJ. (Usually I can't even tell what he's saying). I really like the record. Not as good as Z but pretty damn good and they rocked SNL more than Wilco did. Â Also, I was watching Californication and MMJ's Rocketman was in it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 yeah, MMJ has always had very questionable to poor lyrics imo. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Synthesizer Patel Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 now; i have to say i've never actually checked any of their lyrics on this album or their others, but i always thought they were pretty political (in a sense) and were in fact very religious. am i miles off the mark here? in that review when he talks about james singing "such a fine citizen" or whatever it was - i thought he was talking about jesus, like i thought he was on "what a wonderful man". i've never actually heard anyone else talk about the lyrics being religious, so i wanted to check if anyone can shed some light on this. Â i really like their lyrics; but, as i said, they might actually be my own lyrics that i am making up, which only sound like their lyrics. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
myboyblue Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 now; i have to say i've never actually checked any of their lyrics on this album or their others, but i always thought they were pretty political (in a sense) and were in fact very religious. am i miles off the mark here? in that review when he talks about james singing "such a fine citizen" or whatever it was - i thought he was talking about jesus, like i thought he was on "what a wonderful man". i've never actually heard anyone else talk about the lyrics being religious, so i wanted to check if anyone can shed some light on this. Â i really like their lyrics; but, as i said, they might actually be my own lyrics that i am making up, which only sound like their lyrics. Â I never thought of MMJ being a religous band and I certainly never thought of "What a Wonderful Man" being about Jesus. Maybe I was misintrepeting though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Synthesizer Patel Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 I never thought of MMJ being a religous band and I certainly never thought of "What a Wonderful Man" being about Jesus. Maybe I was misintrepeting though. or god. ok, what do you, or any others, think it's about then? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
myboyblue Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 or god. ok, what do you, or any others, think it's about then? I guess I hadn't thought much about it but I figured it was about a singer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chisoxjtrain Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 or god. ok, what do you, or any others, think it's about then? It is about a friend of Jim James that committed suicide. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tangara Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 The reviewer seemed to be focused on the lyrics, which isn't that important to me when it comes to MMJ. (Usually I can't even tell what he's saying). I really like the record. Not as good as Z but pretty damn good and they rocked SNL more than Wilco did.  Also, I was watching Californication and MMJ's Rocketman was in it.  Yes, it was! I was so excited to hear that. I love their version of that tune. I was reading an interview in Spin (I think), and Jim James said that a lot of these songs were written when he was starting a new relationship and was all happy in love. Apparently the relationship has since ended, and he said the songs sound kind of desperate and sad to him now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wilco LP #7 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Pitchfork reviews are often parodies of themselves. Especially with established bands like MMJ. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
quarter23cd Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Pitchfork reviews are often parodies of themselves. Especially with established bands like MMJ.True. Although this is one of those rare Pfork reviews that sounds a lot like something I might have written, myself. I'm listening again right now with fresh ears after a couple weeks off. Still not feeling it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 i can see people not feeling it, but no way in hell does it deserve that low of a rating. like i said, it's probably my 2nd least favorite record, but there's still plenty to love on the record... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lamradio Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 There's a couple songs on the record that are probably some of my favorite all time MMJ tunes, but there are also alot of of clunkers... I didn't get into this record as much as I thought I would. I loved it at first, but it just never took off for me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 much like Marah, MMJ's albums have never really lived up to their amazing live show anyway... but i will say that MMJ have made 3 very good to great records, whereas Marah only 1, maybe 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheMaker Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Still my favourite album of the year by a ridiculous margin. The Pitchfork review is a fucking joke. It's condescending, reductivist, short-sighted and ultimately just plain wrong-headed. The douche who wrote it is certainly allowed to like or dislike whatever he pleases, but his argument here is just some thin stew, in my opinion. "It sounds like a very well-produced Dan Fogelberg song, until James drops 'interweb' on us like a sack of dirty socks." And? It's cute. Nobody seems to complain about "Jebus," a Simpsons reference, in what many (most?) fans consider the best song the band has ever put to tape. Also, the writer commits the cardinal sin of damning the band simply for stretching its wings creatively (quite nimbly, as always, in my opinion), with comments like "On record, several times over, from a singer more accustomed to disguising his elliptical, oft-nonsensical lyrics with grain-silos full of reverb, it's incongruous and awkward." Increasingly, I find myself fed up with Pitchfork's lazy, unengaged reviewers and the site's constant trumpeting of the next big thing (which, at least to my ears, typically sounds more indebted to the last great thing with each passing trend). I deleted my P-fork bookmark a year or two ago, and now I'm fairly certain I won't even bother following links to the site's reviews any more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rareair Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 i like this album. a lot.  i also agree that their live show is what makes them special. the 12am-3am show on friday should be a lot of fun. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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