Elixir Sue Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 I hate turning a Shins thread into a MMJ thread but to me, MMJ is a band that flat out Rocks, they know how to put on a great show, and one or two of their tunes rank as some of my favorite tunes of all time. However, they leave a lot to desire lyrically, the overall songwriting seems a little lazy at times, and their latest album was very weak in my opinion. So they fall into this catagory, at least for me.QFT. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 I love Chutes Too Narrow.Me too. I didn't hear anything off their last album that appealed to me in the least. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bsr8j Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 My wife and I are going to see them tomorrow night so I guess I'll have to dig out Wincing the Night Away and give it a listen. I'm not sure I could name one song off that album, but I imagine they'll sound familiar when they play them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m_to_the_c Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 MMJ and The Shins used the same producer on their latest albums, Joe Chiccarelli. Both are "controversial" with fans, as they have flavors that weren't had in such doses before. Every single time I have brought up "Evil Urges" the standard response is "dude, but have you seen it live?" A response which I think is faulty, as in 25 years the performance will not be the same, and all we will have are these substandard recorded versions that pale in comparison to the visceral, ephemeral performances. That voice Jim James has, though! This is the same reason why I think "Chutes Too Narrow" stands up better: it's tight and not overwrought. The band was hungry to one-up "Oh, Inverted World" since they had toured it twice, thanks to Zack Braff. That being said, it took a good year to get into "Wincing The Night Away," even after hearing it played live and stripped of the studio artifice. Where "Chutes Too Narrow" is a full color photograph of a band, "Wincing The Night Away" is an impressionistic painting of emotional concepts and shapes. Put side by side, one just makes the other better. And I don't buy the Shins as not having "substance," James Mercer turns a phrase with melody better than most anyone these days. I will gladly go out of fashion with him and his band (we'll see what this new line up is like! I'm sort of a purist in band line-ups, Marty made a good foil for James' staid-ness on stage; not to mention him being the only other one in the band who was a major contributor to WTNA) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 live it's no contest... the Shins are an average live band (still i've somehow seen them 5-6x over the years), and MMJ are one of the best live bands in America. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OOO Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Ex-Shins Drummer to Open Taco Cart The way James Mercer explains the lineup shift it sounds like Jeff replacing Ken Coomer with Glenn. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tangara Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Every single time I have brought up "Evil Urges" the standard response is "dude, but have you seen it live?" A response which I think is faulty, as in 25 years the performance will not be the same, and all we will have are these substandard recorded versions that pale in comparison to the visceral, ephemeral performances. That voice Jim James has, though! Thus Okonokos and the countless MMJ bootlegs in circulation. I'd consider myself a pretty serious MMJ fan and I hardly ever listen to their studio albums. I wonder how many people bootleg Shins shows I think there are certain bands, like the Grateful Dead, for example, where that something that makes them so great just can't be captured in the studio. Whereas other bands (and I'd put the Shins in this group) shine in a more controlled setting, like the studio. That said, I'm really looking forward to seeing what Mercer does with this next record, though I might skip the tour if it comes through town. Anyway, Shins vs. MMJ seems like a bizarre comparison to make in the first place. Apples and oranges. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m_to_the_c Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Anyway, Shins vs. MMJ seems like a bizarre comparison to make in the first place. Apples and oranges. No doubt MMJ is the better live band. There are some Shins recordings floating around, but their performances aren't as divergent as MMJ's. The comparison was brought up as an academic point, noting shared producer. I found it odd that one would come up in the others' thread, too. One is mostly head, the other is mostly heart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
random painted highway Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 As album, I remember "Chutes" more than I do "Wincing" As songs, I remember "Sleeping Lessons" and "Phantom Limb" more than I do the best songs on Chutes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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