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.
:)