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Ok, just a thought here for today. You know, keeping my indie cred through the years has allowed me the ability to train myself to appreciate music that isn't overtly awesome. You all know what I mean. You read a few reviews telling you how great and amazing something is and you listen to it and you think "what am I missing?" Overtime you learn to appreciate the nuances, but still the experiences leaves you a little cold and trying to hard. My example would be the last Grizzly Bear album (yellow room?) I heard countless reviews that discussed the brilliance of the record and then Jeff Tweedy told me how awesome it was. I thought I couldn't go wrong. I couldn't "get it" no matter how hard I tried. Back to MMJ Evil Urges. Bottom line, I've always enjoyed MMJ (never outright loved them) and I was exited about this record. Then I starting reading people's opinions on here and reviews online and then I saw that god forsaken album cover and first impression was "this is not good." But once I got past the external influence and my trite issue with the album cover, I find myself with opposite dilemna from what I mentioned above. I find myself trying to not love it and I can't help but love it. Is Evil Urges an unfocused mess? Yes. Is is freaking awesome? Yes. I'm just saying. Just let yourself love it, it isn't so hard!!!! :dancing

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I like it a lot!

 

I don't think it's up to the same standard as Z and some of their others, but they're so different that it may not be fair to compare them at all.

 

The bottom line is that I like seeing bands experiment. Even if you're not 100% thrilled with the result, it's better than seeing a band go stale and spit out the same album over, and over, and over.

 

Not to mention the fact that Evil Urges (the song) is a lot of fun to see performed live...

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I got on board with It Still Moves and in many ways I think that is a truely awesome artistic statement in a natural way for MMJ. I really bought into the Z hype and I love it, but with time, I think it misses a little bit. Evil Urges is a scattershot of everything MMJ is and can be and unfocused, but the songs are great. Of course, there are some lyrically weak areas (which I have always thought was their weak spot as a band), but this is strong stuff.

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Overall, this album didn't grab me right away, probably because it's all over the place, but there are some really great tracks. And the uncohesiveness doesn't really matter when you see them live, and the tracks are way better live anyway. Great songs, good album.

 

 

And in case anyone hasn't seen this, this is pure awesomeness:

http://www.blackcabsessions.com/sessions.php?

id=1212166715

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I think that you're right nodep, Evil Urges is a complete mess but also really great. It seems like a really incredible band stretching out and trying out a bunch of styles that they have always wanted to play. They are just having fun making music and I could never fault someone for that.

 

 

 

And in case anyone hasn't seen this, this is pure awesomeness:

http://www.blackcabsessions.com/sessions.php?

id=1212166715

 

just wanted to add that this is in fact one of the coolest things ever and they just nail this song

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I haven't listened to this album in a long time.

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while i do love a good chunk of Evil Urges... it's my least fave album of theirs by a decent margin. but it's nowhere as bad as many of the reviews it got.

 

i think it would have faired much better if they'd just left off Highly Suspicious honestly...

 

the band's studio albums have been on a slow decline since At Dawn for me, so i really hope they pick back up on the next record, as I'd hate for them to slide off my radar. live show however, they're still one of the best bands around.

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I just recently pulled this one back out and am liking it much more the second time around. I think it had to do with their ACL appearance, which I had Tivo'd but just got around to watching. Seeing some of the material performed live made me reconsider my opinion on this one...and I'm glad I did. Digging "Librarian" alot these days, fwiw.

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ACL was really strong and also got me to rethink this record. And no they shouldn't have left off Highly Suspicious because then my two year old son wouldn't rock out as much as he does. It is the album cover that needs to go. I want to get past it, but that is soooooooo awful. I can't think of an album cover in recent memory that comes close. Oh, yes I can, Son Volt The Search. That is funny stuff.

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Guest Jules
Can someone please explain to me what is so wrong with "Highly Suspicious"?

 

Because if loving it is wrong, then I don't wanna be right.

it's a great live tune

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Can someone please explain to me what is so wrong with "Highly Suspicious"?

 

Because if loving it is wrong, then I don't wanna be right.

 

it's just a big dumb rock song with retarded lyrics. wouldn't sound out of place on a Ween record (hey i like Ween)

 

it's placement doesn't exactly help it's cause for me either.

 

musically it's fun, esp live

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it's just a big dumb rock song with retarded lyrics. wouldn't sound out of place on a Ween record (hey i like Ween)

 

it's placement doesn't exactly help it's cause for me either.

 

musically it's fun, esp live

 

 

I guess the same argument is sometimes made about "I'm a Wheel." Another song I like. How can there not be a place for something like that?

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I guess the same argument is sometimes made about "I'm a Wheel." Another song I like. How can there not be a place for something like that?

 

oh there is.

 

that's what b-sides are made for imo :pirate

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the band's studio albums have been on a slow decline since At Dawn for me, so i really hope they pick back up on the next record, as I'd hate for them to slide off my radar. live show however, they're still one of the best bands around.

 

+1

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I was hooked on Evil Urges, Touch Me Parts 1 and 2, and I'm Amazed right from the start. A group of great songs up to any MMJ standard. However, the rest of the album is sorely lacking in a way no other MMJ album has. Honestly, outside of occasionally playing the cuts listed above, I have not come back to this album since it leaked a few weeks prior to the album being released. I have no desire to hear it. It is completely unfocused: songs like Highly Suspicious and Librarian make me cringe every time I hear them. As previously mentioned, a steady decline for the past several records. I'm scared of the next one.

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what exactly is so offensive about this album cover that you keep ranting about it?

 

my-morning-jacket-evil-urges.jpg

 

it's pretty awful, but there were certainly worse covers last year

 

and not like MMJ's artwork has ever been great

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Been a fan of the band for a long time, and I will admit, I REALLY didn't like the album at first. But as an excuse to take a vacation with my wife, we travelled to Seattle in September, with some friends that are super MMJ fans, to check out the city and catch the MMJ show at the FANTASTIC opera house there by the Space Needle (can't remember the name). It was a very Evil Urges heavy show...and after seeing "Highly Suspicious" live (which I previously hated as many do) and LOVING IT!!! It is a GREAT live song. I changed my entire tune on that album. Is it a mess as previously said...absolutely. The only thing I think it suffers from is an over-zealousness to branch out and experiment...maybe too much all at once. Otherwise, I'm finding myself liking it quite a bit more than Z, which I personally thought was a great change-of-pace for the band.

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what exactly is so offensive about this album cover that you keep ranting about it?

 

my-morning-jacket-evil-urges.jpg

 

 

Why are we staring at the back of a big fat bald guy? In a theatre? I don't know, it was a gut level initial reaction of what the hell is this?

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