We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. Part II

Jason Mraz.

Forgive me, for I must:
Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

Okay.

I already gave a bit of a preliminary impression of the album here but really didn't say too much about it. Now, after at least a hundred times listening through the entire album, I have to come back because I need to say

I LOVE THIS ALBUM.

I fell in love with Jason what was years ago now, but still long after most of his hardcore fans had already discovered him. No matter, because I obsessed with the best of them. I read his blog on his website (all the way back to the beginning), I took full advantage of the free downloads of his older EPs while they were still available, I memorized EVERY word on Waiting for My Rocket to Come. When I got the Life At the Eagles Ballroom cd/dvd, I fell even further in love. It was Rocket, but live, with more energy, less industry, and so much beautiful eye candy.

Mr. A-Z came along and I pre-ordered the special edition and everything else I could have possibly done short of buying myself a Jason Mraz Wardrobe (I believe a person should not wear artist gear unless said person has seen said artist live. Silly, maybe, but I just don't do it). And when I got it, I was honestly a bit disappointed. Sure, Mr. A-Z has it's high points- the more than fitting guitar "ticking" in "Clockwatching," "Geek in the Pink" in it's entirety, the last minute:30 of "Song for a Friend," the the ever intriguing tagline, "crazy is the forecast all week." But as an album, it didn't live up to what I expected to hear. That's not always a bad thing, but he really wasn't kidding when he said, "The Sophomore Slump is an uphill battle," in "Wordplay."

So I didn't run out to get WSWDWST. In fact, the one song on the album I knew, "I'm Yours," I already had in a few different forms- free downloads from this promotion or that, and as one of the bonus tracks for the pre-order of Mr. A-Z. So... I'm not really sure what inspired me to buy the CD actually. I just saw it on the shelves one day and thought maybe I'd take one more chance. After all, one slumpy sophomore album does not a bad musician make.

I listened through it once and wasn't sure what I thought. Better? Worse? Different? I kept listening, because I believe one cannot make a fair judgment on a set of music until one has listened over a number of times, acclimated to the style, comprehended lyrics and musical choices. The more I listened, the more I craved more.

And so, I have to say that this album is more like Rocket that I originally thought it was, and less like Mr. A-Z than I thought. Rather than go into comparisons of lyrics arrangements and attitudes and overall flow, though, I'm just going to tell you what I really think of We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.

This album reflects a JM who is much more grown up. More aware of his surroundings. Less concerned with himself. It's spiritual in a way that feels completely universal. It has a completely "Seize the Day" attitude. It's reflective, it's therapeutic, and still manages to be fun and sexy-- and the sexy has a little less (though is not completely void) of that raunchiness we've come to expect from songs like "I'll Do Anything," "Dream Life of Rand McNally," and "O. Lover."

There was a time when that little bit of teenager who still lived in me (at 19) wanted more than anything to meet Mraz and fall in love. Somewhere along the line- after Mr. A-Z happened and his journals got preachy and space-case-ish- I not only got over the crush, but became repulsed by the idea I'd ever wanted that for myself. Now, a few years later, a little more perspective, and some real Mrazish music again, I'm thinking that while it's not what I want more than anything in the world, he has again tied himself with the likes of Milo Ventimiglia and Adam Brody (yes, I have a thing for actors as well...).

So that's something.

I highly recommend We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. It's lovely.
And it's packaged in an environmentally friendly way.
Yes, I think about stuff like that now.
:)

Inside Joke

Sometimes you fall in love with a band, listen to the album over and over and over again, and therefore end up memorizing every note. The things that surprised your ears and fed the lyric geek in you don't perk you up anymore--you know they're coming. You know that those weird notes and that great tag line are waiting patiently for their turn. You never really forget that you love the music, but the element of surprise, the need to sit and listen and analyze this new, funky stuff we're still calling Bluegrass, it goes away. You put the album away, save it for a rainy day, and move on with your musical life.

But then, new music arrives.

It's more beautiful, more surprising, more witty than you remember. It makes you THIRST for the day you can hear the whole album, maybe get to see the band live, hear the musicians themselves talk about these songs and the reasons they play the way they do. You realize, again, exactly why you fell in love with this band in the first place.



And friends, Cadillac Sky is releasing a new album in August, and I've just heard a track from the album. The album is called Gravity's Our Enemy, the song is called "Inside Joke," and the music is Skaggs meets Thile. Bluegrass with attitude, with MAJOR musicianship, and so many outside influences, it's incredible. Check this song out.

Also, the lyrics are written about a dream mandolinist Bryan Simpson had-- Chris Thile sang a song written about a dream as well, though written by North Dakota native Tom Brousseau, called "How to Grow a Woman From the Ground." One time, I wrote a song about a dream too. They're the best, because they're basically already written for you, you just have to put them into permanent form. And apparently, Bluegrassers love them too. I'll have to remember that.