Jimmy Eat World Goes For A Double Dip, and Actually Succeeds (Mostly)

So I have no idea why the font went all crazy in the last post; for some reason Blogger decides to screw things up whenever I try to use blockquotes. Anywho.

I tend to have mixed feelings about the whole notion of deluxe re-issues of albums. When I'm a casual fan of an artist or I don't have a particular album, they're a great way for me to get lots of new material from the band and help decide if it's worth buying more stuff (Such is how I found myself to be a fan of The Who). But when I already have the album, it's frustrating to see a whole bunch of potentially exciting new material available for an outrageous price. Then there are the times when I see a "Deluxe Edition" for an album that really doesn't need it; in my mind this new wave of 2-Disc sets should be reserved for classic albums (Tommy, Legend, and the like) that have achieved some kind of significance. Sorry, but 3 Doors Down have not reached a point where a 2-Disc edition of The Better Life is warranted. Nor have the Gin Blossoms deserved a re-up of New Miserable Experience.

With that in mind, you can understand my ambivalence toward the re-issue of Jimmy Eat World's 2001 hit album Bleed American (re-named Jimmy Eat World after 9/11, it's now being billed by its creative title for the re-up). The album's not even a decade old, the band has an album with a slew of singles that they're just letting die (not sure that's all their fault though; I suspect foul play on the part of the label wanting another "The Middle" caliber hit), and I already have the original album (albeit a digital rip on my computer from my brother, a big JEW fan who bought the CD on its original release). At the same time, the 21 bonus tracks on the new version are, just by looking at the listing, are well worth it. Furthermore, Jimmy Eat World did what other bands aren't doing and releasing the bouns tracks a la carte and not them "Album Only" tracks (though the volume of tracks compared to the price make it cheaper to just buy the whole thing). Thanks to a little help from some friends online, I managed to get the bonus tracks through illicit means, bypassing the "buy what you already have" quandary.

I wasn't in love with Bleed American the first time I heard it, most likely because I was taken aback by something so intelligent from the same band that scored a hit off "The Middle" and the ensuing video. But after a number of listens I found a love for it. Jimmy Eat World broke the stereotype of pop-punk bands being juvenile and thoughtless with this album. For every "The Middle" and "Bleed American" there is on the album, there's a beautiful, well crafted tune like "Cautioners" or the tearjerking "Hear You Me" to balance it out. On top of that, single-worthy album cuts like "The Authority Song" and "Your House" make the album a fun listen from front to back. Even when things slow down near the end, that's all it does. Boring moments in the core 11 songs are few and far between on Bleed American.

The bonus tracks tell a similar tale. The 3 B-sides on the first disc fit in seamlessly, particularly "Splash, Turn and Twist" and "No Sensitivity", tracks that easily fit in among the best of the band's canon. The demos are especially interesting, for no other reason than hearing the original draft of lyrics for certain songs ("The Authority Song" demo leaps to mind). The live tracks, on the other hand, are a mixed bag; when JEW plays acoustic or in a small setting, they sound great, exactly how I'd want to hear them in concert. But on some of the bigger, full-band tracks, they falter, especially in Jim Adkins' voice (the live version of "Bleed American" is a tough listen, and the live "Sweetness" is saved by the stellar instrumentals). To put the bonus disc over the top, the band added some fan favorite B-Sides previously hard-to-find in America, like the cover of Prodigy's "Firestarter" and "Last Christmas".

Overall the re-release of Bleed American is excellent, and everything I'd want in a deluxe edition. This would have been a perfect release were it to come out 10 years from now, when we're all looking back on the albums that mattered in the early 00's. The thing is, Jimmy Eat World still have plenty of steam left in them, and I feel like doing a deluxe edition in lieu of a potential monster hit of a third single past Chase This Light (I still think that releasing either the title track or "Dizzy" would give them the biggest hit of their career) is a huge momentum killer.
So while I'm glad I heard these tracks, and will probably shell out 20 bucks to buy the CDs, I can't help but ask, why?

Ruling on the Field: 8.5/10
Highlight Reel: The Authority Song (Demo), Splash, Turn and Twist [iTunes]


==TJ==

A Week's Worth of Stuff in 3 Paragraphs

Hey everyone. Sorry for the weeklong absence. Real life/College life can get in the way like that sometimes. Let's get started with all the stuff that I've been meaning to post for the last week.

A combination of my joining the Activist club on campus plus and doing community service work on MLK Day led me to pick up a whole bunch of Rage Against the Machine music. I iTunes'd their self-titled album and bought The Battle of Los Angeles via Amazon and the latter arrived today and I love it. Look for a second spin column on them in the near future.

Rage Against the Machine - Testify [iTunes]
Rage Against the Machine - Sleep Now in the Fire [iTunes]*

*Easily the best RatM song, and perhaps one of my new favorite songs from my lifetime

In the last week Chris Daughtry has once again trashed American Idol, been verbally spanked by someone tied to the show, and consequently backpedaled from said comments. Daughtry told Rolling Stone that AI has lost a lot of credibility since he's been on the show, citing the poor ratings from last season as well as the failed records by Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee and Reuben Studdard. Randy Jackson then proceeded to say something to the effect of "Without American Idol there is no Chris Daughtry". Daughtry then backpedaled on his website, agreeing with Jackson's statements. The problem is, both sides are right. American Idol did create Chris Daughtry, and ironically getting kicked off the show was the best career move Daughtry could have made. Also, Taylor Hicks sucks. End of story. It's science. "Tattoo" is a great song and Jordin Sparks has talent, but Kelly Clarkson she ain't. Blake Lewis could potentially be a hit, but his record label doesn't seem interested in promoting him, so its a safe bet he'll be seen working at a coffee shop within two years. I don't know what it'll take to make AmIdol relevant again, but if Chris Daughtry has any ideas, they'd do right to listen.

This next bit isn't exactly music related, but the theatre guy in me won't let this go unnoticed on this blog. Heath Ledger's death earlier this week was just crushing. I was shocked when I first got word, and talking to people on campus I haven't heard a single person express any level of apathy. Everyone I've talked to is shocked and saddened beyond words. I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain or Casanova (what are believed to be his best performances), but A Knight's Tale has always been a favorite of mine and is probably one of the most depressingly underappreciated movies ever. There was so much future ahead for him, and as Alex said, there is one less star on Earth tonight.

RIP Heath Ledger...you will be missed

Yellowcard - View From Heaven (Live) [iTunes]
Jimmy Eat World - Hear You Me [iTunes]

Back soon.

==TJ==

Countdown to 5,000 Songs

My Last.fm page says that I have played 4,990 songs since joining. In celebration of the pending song 5000, I am going to play the next 10 songs right now, and depending on how I feel, say a bit about them and/or post an MP3 of them. For the record, I have my iTunes set to shuffle my entire library, and I will not skip any song, no matter how embarrassing it may be. So here we go, this should be fun!

Song 4,991: The Monkees - Daydream Believer [iTunes]
...and I can see we're off to a good start *rolls eyes*. One of those songs that's been played about three bazillion times on your local oldies radio station (see also: "Brown Eyed Girl", "Magic Carpet Ride"). And how can you not love the multiple key changes at the end? Ah...

Song 4,992: Foo Fighters - Never Talking to You Again (Husker Du cover) [Foo on iTunes]
Got this as a B-Side when The Good, The Bad and the Unknown released a bunch of unreleased Foo songs. Always loved acoustic Foo Fighters, and this one sounds just as good as a Foo song as it does anyone else.

Song 4,993: The Beatles - Let it Be (Naked Version) [buy the CD on Amazon]
Almost certainly on my list of the 10 best Beatles songs ever. Don't know if I like the original or the Let it Be...Naked version better, and there are times when I'm not sure I can tell the difference (just as I finished typing that I got to the guitar solo and lo, I could hear a much more stripped down, raw guitar. Advantage: Naked version (for now)). My high school chorus would do this once or twice in class when we had nothing better to do. The last verse seals the deal every time:

And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me
Shine on til tomorrow, Let it be
I wake up to the sounds of music, mother Mary calls to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be...

Love it. Love it. Love it.

Song 4,994: Jimmy Eat World - Night Drive [iTunes]
One of the better songs off of Futures, an album that I could never really appreciate, especially now that Chase this Light is on constant rotation on my computer. One of Jim Adkins' best lyrical moments on the whole albums, and one of the few instances where the slower, softer Jimmy actually works out well. I think if I ever do the cliche "take a girl up to a hill overlooking a city" bit, I'd want this song playing. Has the right atmosphere, even when it kicks back into full band at the last 90 seconds or so. Its about as good as the most average songs on the new album, which is still pretty damned good.

Song 4,995: Secondhand Serenade - End [iTunes]
This works out rather nicely, since I got a MySpace bulletin from them encouraging to tell one person about them. Since I'm writing a blog that I assume more than one person reads, I think that mission is accomplished. I did a more thorough write up on Secondhand Serenade last week, go check it out.

This brings up one more thing; if you read this thing, leave a comment at some point just to say what's up. It'd be nice to hear some feedback, even if it's a "you're taste in music sucks". Which I doubt it would be since you're reading this and its a blog dedicated to music. As long as I'm on a tangent here, let the record show that I've been typing live, so if there are any screw ups or if some bits seem shorter than others, that's why. The Foo Fighters song was only 2 minutes long, hence it's shortness. This song is nearly 3 minutes of the line "Don't Let Me Down", among others, so its easy to run out of stuff to say. Awesome harmonies though. So yeah check these guys out.

Song 4,996: Creed - My Sacrifice [iTunes]
There was no way I was getting through 10 songs without something potentially embarrassing coming up. But at any rate, be a man and admit it; you liked Creed back when they were popular too, and jumped ship like everyone else when things got sour. The only difference is I still admit to having all three CDs and listening to them once in awhile. The music wasn't terrible (not compared with some of the other garbage that was making money in 2001), people just hate Scott Stapp. And to some degree with reason.

In a related story, Human Clay was apparently #7 on the list of 10 best-selling albums of the SoundScan era. At #1? Shania Twain's Come On Over. Seriously? Shania Twain is at #1, and people are gonna bitch about Creed? There's something wrong with this picture.

Song 4,997: Staind - Outside [iTunes]
The second, less-appreciated single from what was Staind's first widely popular album. Sadly this isn't the live version where Fred Durst kinda mumbles along and then shouts at the crowd during the guitar break.

This is another band that gets a bad rap for being on the radio in the early '00s. Look; if you found out you could write songs, and one or both of your parents treated you like crap, don't you think you would try to get some getback? Cut Aaron Lewis a break. It's not his fault that a bunch of other bands tried to ride his coattails.

(This is getting increasingly difficult as my dad tries to make his new phone work. Missed the last 30 secs of "Outside" and the first minute of the next song. Pausing now to catch up.)

Song 4,998: Eve 6 - Tongue Tied [iTunes]
And we're back on track. Found out two weeks ago that Eve 6 is among the laundry list of bands that chose to reunite. Normally these guys would qualify on the list of bands that didn't deserve a reunion, but Horrorscope (the second album) was one of my favorite CDs in middle school, so I'm gonna let this one slide. Cool song from the first album, the only one I don't have.

Song 4,999: The Animals - House of the Rising Sun [iTunes]
Another frequenter of the oldies radio stations. Every time it comes on my dad feels the need to point out that there's an organ solo, so yeah...there's an organ solo somewhere in this song. The first verse was also the intro to the U2/Green Day song after Hurricane Katrina "The Saints Are Coming". I wanna say its been used in something else worth noting, some movie or something, but I'm blanking. A thousand points to whoever comes up with what I'm thinking of. Not a terrible song, despite being on oldies radio station (sorry folks, after hearing oldies every time I'm in a car with my father, I have a special place in my heart for such things).

And now...here it comes...I want you to know I'm drumrolling in my head right now...




Song 5,000: Maroon 5 - Not Falling Apart [iTunes]
...
...
...
Wow. That was anticlimactic. I think I've only listened to this song maybe once. One of the misses on the hit-and-miss last album. Of all the good songs on the CD, I had to get this pedestrian one? iTunes has failed me. Listening to it now anyway...it's not so terrible that my ears are bleeding, but there's nothing particularly fun about it. It sounds like an average Maroon 5 song. I don't understand why Rolling Stone gave so much love to this CD when Linkin Park and the Foo Fighters put out so much better work this year. It probably has something to do with the fact that Adam Levine looks like equal parts Justin Timberlake and Bruce Banner. Maybe they were afraid of him going Incredible Hulk or something.

So there you have it. 5,000 songs since November 27, 2006. Below I'm posting songs 1,000 and 2,000, just 'cause I have them listed. I'll be back later.

Song 1,000: Eminem - Lose Yourself [iTunes]
Song 2,000: The Killers - Sam's Town [iTunes]


==TJ==

PS: I did this piece as I heard each song, so you basically got 10 Currently Listening's today, so I'll skip a separate one today.

Jimmy Eat World's New Album a Ray of Sunshine

Following up my last entry; I just put in my order for the download of Radiohead's In Rainbows. I ended up paying 2.95 pounds, which is about 6 bucks. The download becomes available on Wednesday, and I'll try to have an update on it by week's end.

As promised, I played through Jimmy Eat World's Chase This Light over the past few days. Each of the last two full length Jimmy albums have taken several spins before I truly appreciate them. On both Jimmy Eat World (also known to most fans as Bleed American) and Futures, I'd hear some tracks that caught my ear and made me bounce around as I heard them, but then other tracks that sounded too tired and mellow and didn't really fit. As for Chase This Light, I've only played through it twice and I'm already on my way to loving it.

Jim Adkins and company open fire with the fast-paced, anthemic first single "Big Casino". From there it's 10 more trakcs showcasing what Jimmy Eat World has done best for nearly 10 years. There's the bouncy punk rock of "Electable (Give it Up)", the smoother, acoustic musings on the standout title track, and the upbeat head-bobbers of "Feeling Lucky" and the memorable closer "Dizzy". The slightly pretentious attempts at being long-winded and moody are gone on this album, and in its place is a rapid-fire, enjoyable 40 minutes of that grey area where punk, rock, and alternative converge.

I've always felt that the term 'emo' was misused when describing Jimmy Eat World. There's nothing overly brooding or self-loathing on Chase This Light. Quite the opposite; from "Big Casino"'s stellar leadoff the album is a celebration of friends, love, and everything life has to offer. And in a time when alt. rock is riddled with moody, power-chord driven lunkheads (See: Three Days Grace, Seether), Chase This Light is a breath of fresh air, and at the risk of typing a horrendous pun, a Vegas-sized neon light worth getting your hands on.
Ruling on the Field: 8.5/10
Highlight Reel: Big Casino, Chase This Light

In a slightly less wordy review, I downloaded the soundtrack to the musical Spring Awakening. If you haven't heard of it, it's written by Duncan Sheik, the guy who did that song "Barely Breathing" many years ago. It's got some definite Broadway-esque leanings to it, moreso than Rent but it's more pop-oriented than Wicked and a hell of a lot of fun. Even if you aren't a huge musical fan, give this one a shot before the inevitable movie comes out.
Ruling on the Field: 8/10

That's it. Remember to tune into radio.arcadia.edu tomorrow at 4 for the premiere of the Viva La Mainstream radio broadcast (bear in mind that due to some technical difficulties, you will only hear music from one speaker).

==TJ==

Radiohead Sticks it to "The Man"; "The Man" Remains Clueless

In what might be the most shocking announcement to the record industry all year, Radiohead announced earlier this week that their seventh studio album, entitled In Rainbows, will be released in a DRM-free digital format on October 10th (yes, of this year. Yes. that means next Wednesday), with a special edition containing bonus vinyls and a hardcover book available for a staggering $80. But that's not the coolest part.

Radiohead is allowing fans to name their own price for the digital version of the album. Save for a nominal administration charge (just under a dollar), fans could choose to pay nothing, or the full price for a normal album. Here's hoping the rest of the music world is taking notes. Not that I think that every piece of music from here on out should be released on a "donations welcome" basis, but I think allowing fans to decide how much they want the music is a brilliant move.

Which leads me to a dilemma; being at best a casual Radiohead fan, how much do I want to pay for the album? To completely blow this off seems wrong and would discourage future artists to listen to what their fans say regarding the future of the industry. But at the same time, Radiohead has always struck me as being kind of trippy and out in left field...not exactly my ideal type of music. So what's a fair price for 15 mp3s of a band I'm not a huge fan of? 5 bucks? 8? 10? Any thoughts you have on this one are appreciated.

No official release date for a traditional CD has been revealed for In Rainbows; word of a Dec. 3 release date were denied by band reps earlier today.

That's enough for now. I'll be back later this week with other stuff, including a review of the leaked Jimmy Eat World album.

Radiohead official website
HMV Errs on Radiohead release date, label [Billboard.biz]

==TJ==

New Singles from Jimmy Eat World, Springsteen, and AvA

OK, lots of cool stuff coming this entry, but first some clarifications;

-If you comment, please be kind enough to sign your post. Gina, I know you reminded me about the Backstreet Boys album dropping in October as well, but please do sign your comments so I can separate the legit from the spam.

-2 entries back I listed James Blunt's All The Lost Souls on the list of albums coming out in October, thus implying you should be excited about the release of said album. Such was a miscommunication; I do not expect you to wait with bated breath for the return of James Blunt, especially if "1973" is any indication.

-If you hadn't noticed, I added my CD Tracker to the list on the left; it keeps a mostly up-to-date list of what CDs I own. Go check it out.

And with that, onto the goods:

-Angels & Airwaves has announced October 23rd as the release date for their sophomore album I-Empire. A clip of the first single "Everything's Magic" is streaming on their MySpace. As of today it had not been released to iTunes.

-However, both Jimmy Eat World and Bruce Springsteen released their first singles "Big Casino" and "Radio Nowhere", respectively, to iTunes today. Springsteen's track is decent, though his voice is starting to show some wear and the message of the song is a bit curmudgeonly, while Jimmy Eat World delivers another great hit. If you hadn't gotten the message, I'm excited for these two albums

Jimmy Eat World - Big Casino
Bruce Springsteen - Radio Nowhere

-More information has come out about Exile on Mainstream, the forthcoming release from Matchbox 20. It will be a 2-disc set, the first disc containing six new tracks including "How Far We've Come", while the second disc is a best-of containing 11 songs even the most casual fans already have. Meanwhile "How Far We've Come" has yet to make it to iTunes. So, in conclusion you will most likely be paying 20 bucks for six songs. Smooth, guys, reeeaaal smooth.

That's all. I'll be back later this week with some more goodies.

Does Jack Bauer care if you buy your music or not? I don't know. But do you REALLY wanna find out if he does?

Jimmy Eat World on iTunes
Bruce Springsteen on iTunes

==TJ==

First Peek at New Jimmy Eat World

Because my brother is a huge Jimmy Eat World fan, and I alluded to this sometime last week, I present the following: a video of an acoustic performance of "Chase The Light", the title track from Jimmy Eat World's forthcoming album, due out October 16th.

Jimmy Eat World - Chase The Light (Live Acoustic) [Quicktime]

No mp3 of it because I'm holding out for an official single release.

Artists releasing albums in October:
Matchbox 20
Bruce Springsteen
Dashboard Confessional
Jimmy Eat World
James Blunt

You may get excited...now.

==TJ==

VLM Makes A Triumphant Return!!

OK everybody, I'm back! The month off was pretty awesome, but let's just dive in to the music!

-The Foo is back! The Foo Fighters have set September 25th as the release date for their new album, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. A tentative tracklisting is on their myspace page, and early last week the first single "The Pretender" leaked onto the internet. The song isn't quite as good as "The Best of You", but as a sign of what's to come on the new album, I'll take it. In addition, the Foo Fighters have released a 10th anniversary edition of The Colour and the Shape with new bonus tracks. Normally this would suck and reek of corporate underpinnings, but since the bonus tracks are decent and they don't jack the price of the album up, it marks another classy move by the always awesome Dave Grohl.

Ruling on the Field: 6.5/10

Foo Fighters - The Pretender [via sendspace]

-Joining in on the fun is Jimmy Eat World, who slated October 16th as the release for Chase This Light, and also re-released Clarity and Static Prevails in anticipation. No single out yet, but look for one in the next few weeks.

Ruling on the Field: I want a single, dammit!

-A very large (and probably long overdue) "F--k you!" goes out to Chad Kroeger and the guys from Nickelback. The commercially angsty Canucks just reissued their 2005 smash All the Right Reasons with three pointless live tracks and a DVD of music videos. Since I'm pretty sure everyone who's going to buy All the Right Reasons already did so, this move just marks a cheap marketing ploy to scrounge another 30 bucks out of Nickelback's "hardcore" fans. Real smooth, guys...real smooth.

Ruling on the Field: Fuck you, Nickelback!!

-I Ruckused Sum 41's controversial new album Underclass Hero shortly after coming home, and damn it if it isn't a throwback to what punk rock is SUPPOSED to sound like! The title track is a ballbuster of the highest caliber, and nothing on the album is inherently bad, it just tends to lean into territory already walked by the likes of Blink 182. Regardless, Sum 41 comes through again with what might be the most underrated punk album of the year.

Ruling on the field: 7.5/10
Highlight Reel: "Underclass Hero", "Speak of the Devil", "March of the Dogs"

-My list of CDs I need to hear has expanded, now including Who We Are from Lifehouse (tentative ruling based on what I have heard: 8.5/10), Smashing Pumpkins' new album Zeitgeist, and the new one from Velvet Revolver. More on those when I sit down and hear them in full.

-Linkin Park released the video for their second single off Minutes to Midnight, "Bleed it Out". Love the camera work and the song's awesome, but didn't Coldplay already trademark the whole everything-in-reverse idea?



OK that's all. Back later

==TJ==