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Jack Johnson Sleep Through the Static
Hello, John Q. Fraternity Boy. The West Campus house is in your sights, but you're still living in the dorms. I notice you are having some problems transcending to the upper echelon of social standing. It's that neighbor listening to ambient music, REALLY LOUD. It's monotonous and repetitive - I know you hate that. What's a musically uneducated accounting major to do?
I present the ticket to get that ambient mess out of your hallway and out of your life. It is Jack Johnson's new album, Sleep Through the Static.
Johnson is in prime form here - mellow, quasi-soulful and oh-so-introspective. His voice is still soothing and nondescript. He doesn't innovate on the guitar because he doesn't have to. After all, how many Eddie Van Halens does a kegger need or want? Johnson still retains his sense of economy. Some may argue his songs are too long, but that could not be further from the truth. Johnson has a gift of keeping things trim. The songs do what they need to do - insult people with taste.
As always, Johnson knows good lyrics. He may not be John Keats, but he can speak to his generation. Take "If I Had Eyes," for example. He forlorns that if he had eyes in the back of his head, he "would have told you look good as I walk away." Haven't we all wanted to say that to the honey whose North Face jacket was just the right shade of black? Johnson doesn't always wallow in pity, though. One particularly inspiring song is "What You Thought You Need." Johnson shows that the way to happiness is to drink "the cheapest bottle of wine we could find, talk about the road behind" and realize "getting lost is not a waste of time." Not as thrilling as a Tour de Franzia, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. There are many more lyrical gems - too many to mention in this review.
If you dug Johnson's previous works, you will wear this one out. It's also great if you need to validate that you listen to "EVERYTHING," according to your Facebook profile.
- Andy O'Connor
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