My Morning Jacket - "Friends Again"

Dear My Morning Jacket:

Let's be friends again. You're one of my favorite bands of all time. You're one of the—if not thee—best live bands in the world. Remember in 2003 when I saw you for the first time? Or in 2009 at Bonnaroo, when you put on the best (and longest) show I've ever seen? But I need to be honest, Circuital wasn't a perfect record. In fact, it was kind of boring. I've seen you play countless times, own your every release, and have a poster of Z on my apartment wall, but Circuital was the first time I was disappointed rather than inspired while listening to your music. You know what was missing? The two songs on your new "Friends Again" 7", available only in local record stores around the country. I've been playing "Friends Again" on a regular basis since that 2010 bootleg from the Municipal Auditorium leaked online, and it simply might be one of the best songs you've ever written. It's no "Golden" nor "One Big Holiday," but it continues that fun Allen Toussaint-inspired southern R&B sound you were going for on Evil Urges' tracks like "Sec Walkin" and  "Thank You" in the most fun and carefree of ways. "Friends Again" is the type of song crowds can't wait to hear, dance, and sing-along to—so why did you ever leave it off the record? And the B-side, you're haggard old-timey grandpa-sung version of "Outta My System"—dubbed the "Alternate Universe Take"—is an absolute blast. That could have been Circuital's "Highly Suspicious"—a brilliant goofball change of pace moment. I hear both songs were recorded for a Muppets and Electric Mayhem project, and I am sincerely sorry that didn't work out, because this 7" is a fantastic release: both in terms of its individual quality and its desire to stimulate interest in local record shops. So please, stay goofy and weird. Next time, just don't wait so long to remind us how odd, original, and fun you are—because really, there's no one else like you.

All the best,

Everybody Taste

My Morning Jacket - "Friends Again" (2010 Municipal Auditorium)

My Morning Jacket - "Circuital"

This morning My Morning Jacket released the title-track from their forthcoming sixth studio album together, Circuital, out on May 31st. The song does its best to capture the live presence of the band, building off a muted guitar riff into a giant and celebratory arrangement with Jim James howling his way through the waves of sound. We also get our first look at the album cover, which looks like the sort of backdrop one might see on stage at an MMJ concert: a bizarre and possibly drug-fueled combination of a green eye, spaceship, and a Secret of The Ooze lathered piece of vinyl. You can now pre-order the album in various formats here. Download the track after the jump for the price of an email.

My Morning Jacket: A Game Changer

My Morning Jacket is that rare contemporary band that's built their reputation and immense following without one hit single. A band with a unique sound that—instead of being pigeonholed—is accepted and lauded by a wide range of fans: metal heads, folkies, Dead Heads, Southern rock enthusiasts, the alternative and indie crowds, and even a few soul fans. The Net Generation may have missed out on the stadium-sized rock shows of the 1970s, but thankfully, we have a more than capable substitute in Yim Yames and company. In celebration of the band's sixth studio album together, Circuital, I thought I'd share two live cuts that helped shape my adoration for the band.

Jim James of My Morning Jacket Launches Record Label

Jim "Yim Yames" James and his cousin Johnny Quaid have launched a new online record label, Removador Recordings and Solutions. The site will be a platform "to shine a light on some of the musicians that [James] admires and would like to share with the world," says the press release. So far, the label's artists include Cortney Tidwell, The Ravenna Colt, Follow The Train, Mont De Sundua, as well as Yames himself and My Morning Jacket.

The press release also contains this humorous nugget, with James clearly at the helm: "Coming this fall, Removador will also debut our much talked about new 3-D printer technology, enabling consumers to purchase food and auto parts online, and simply print them out in the comfort of their own home with our new carbon and silicone based 3-D printer. Imagine ordering a few sprigs of broccoli, or needing a new carburetor, and being able to print them out in edible 3-D- all in the comfort of your own home!" Read more at Removador.

Cortney Tidwell - "Horses" (from Boys)

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Digging For Covers: My Morning Jacket Get Blue For Love

In honor of Yim Yames's upcoming Valentines Day appearance to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Louisville Is For Lovers compilation, here's an oldie but goodie the Yames gang covered for the series a few years back.

My Morning Jacket -"Blue Moon" (from Louisville Is For Lovers Vol. 5)

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First Monsters of Folk track: "Say Please"

The Monsters of Folk—the all-star, Traveling Wilbury's-style affair featuring Jim Jams, M. Ward, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis I reported on last month—shuffle along on the spirited verse-trading rocker "Say Please," the first track from their self-titled debut due out September 22nd. My only question is, who decides who gets to do the soloing? I'm hoping James and Ward duel it out on a track: giant anthemic rock riffs against John Fahey-esque finger-picked licks.

Monsters of Folk - "Say Please" (from Monsters of Folk)

My Morning Jacket: A Retrospective

Niche markets dominate today’s music. In the current iTunes climate, everything is heavily categorized so that consumers can be identified and connected with genre-specific advertisements. Occasionally these sub-categorizations can be informative for the listener (Italo-disco), but most of the time they read like belabored nonsense (post-punk-new-wave) that can polarize and limit a band and its audience. Reaching and appealing to a mass audience has never been harder. But there's one thing that helps: defying categorization.

Metal heads, hipsters, hippies, classic rock aficionados and a host of other music fans have been drawn to Louisville, Ky.’s My Morning Jacket for one reason: it is genre-blending, all-encompassing rock and roll. The no-frills type you can fill a small room with or a giant outdoor arena.

From their early longhaired days playing basements and small clubs to recent tours headlining festivals, My Morning Jacket has delivered a constant mash of hair-raising guitar solos, unworldly vocals from Jim James’s reverb-drenched falsetto, and some of the best songwriting and musicianship of the past decade. Here's how ten years add up.

Evil Urges (2008) — “I’m Amazed”

The band's most successful release is also it's most bizarre. While it contains the accessible and anthemic rock of "I'm Amazed," it also features moments of hilarious drug-infused paranoia ("Highly Suspicious") and the Prince-meets-Grateful Dead funk of "Evil Urges." The band proves one thing: great art doesn't have to be serious.

Z (2005) — "Anytime" (Okonokos live version)

The breakthrough record. The band reaches new heights of success after experimenting on its signature sound and adding two new band members. On "Off The Record" guitar chords never sounded so big; "Wordless Chorus" is a soulful R&B jam; "Gideon" takes listeners to a ethereal daydreaming haze; and "Anytime" quotes Madonna to a head-banging beat.

It Still Moves (2003) — “One Big Holiday” (Okonokos live version)

The band's best and most complete album. From the haunting acoustic masterpiece "Golden" to the beautifully textured "Mahgeetah," epic guitar rock of "Run Thru," and the signature live barn-burner "One Big Holiday," the record's as dense as it expansive: a soulful rock lullaby that won't be easily put to sleep.

At Dawn (2001) — “Phone Went West” (Celebración live version)

The reverb record. Jim James and company's signature sound comes to full fruition with the reverb dial on ten. "The Way That He Sings" and "Bermuda Highway" sound like nothing else in music: they're original, experimental, and catchy. But it's the epic seven-minute reggae-infused "Phone Went West" that becomes a staple for the band and its live shows.

The Tennessee Fire (1999) — "I Will Be There When You Die"

The beginning. The textures and instrumentation aren't yet fully developed, but the songwriting is already there. "I Will Be There When You Die" is James's first perfect song. Written for his girlfriend at the time, it's full of heartbreaking melodies and an unforgettable lyrical narrative that could work just as well as poetry or a short piece of prose. "Evelyn Is Not Real" and "War Begun" aren't far behind.

Buy more from the Official MMJ Store

Tribute: Jim James of My Morning Jacket covers George Harrison

Jim James of My Morning Jacket, who likes to go by the moniker Yim Yames for his solo recording, will release a collection of George Harrison covers on July 7th. James recorded the songs after the quiet Beatle passed in 2001 on an eight-track reel-to-reel in Shelbyville, Ky. Here's James's explanation:

He always seemed to be a beacon of good light unto the world, accomplishing the rare task of using his massive fortune and fame to promote peace - both within and around the World. I will always look up to and see him as a prime example of the healing power of music and how, in tune with it, all is possible.

Tribute To will include six songs from All Things Must Pass, including "Long Long Long," "Love You To," "My Sweet Lord," "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)," "All Things Must Pass," and the beautiful "Behind That Locked Door" available below.

Yim Yames - "Behind That Locked Door" (from Tribute To)

Buy it from YimYames.com on July 7th.

Monsters of Folk: the Traveling Wilburys of the 00's

Back in 2004, indie folk/rock troubadours M. Ward, Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket caught lightning in a bottle when they shared a stage for the aptly-dubbed "Monsters of Folk" tour. The tour led to a series of collaborations. James, with his unworldly falsetto, provided backup vocals for Ward on Transistor Radio's "Fuel For Fire" and Post-War's "Magic Trick" and on Oberst's "At The Bottom of Everything"—the pinnacle of the Bright Eyes masterpiece I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning. Ward and Oberst then sung together on the Traveling Wilbury's cover "Handle With Care" orchestrated by Jenny Lewis in 2006.

Now, after a five-year hiatus, the trio are reprising the Monsters of Folk name to release their self-titled debut album September 22nd. The band will be joined by multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis, who has produced records in the past for Oberst, Ward, and Ward's She & Him. The Monsters of Folk aren't quite the Traveling Wilburys—who at one point were comprised of Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison, and Jeff Lynne—but in terms of today's young class of singer/songwriters, they're pretty damn close.

Here's the track list:
1. Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.)
2. Say Please
3. Whole Lotta Losin’
4. Temazcal
5. The Right Place
6. Baby Boomer
7. Man Named Truth
8. Goodway
9. Ahead of the Curve
10. Slow Down Jo
11. Losin Yo Head
12. Magic Marker
13. Map Of The World
14. The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me
15. His Master’s Voice

Conor Oberst, Jim James & M. Ward – "Girl From The North Country" (live Bob Dylan cover)

M. Ward Ft. Jim James - "Magic Trick" (from Post-War)