Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.
Over the last twenty years, My Morning Jacket created a world of sounds that I intentionally avoided at first. This was a band that came highly recommended to me in the early 2000s. But the band name didn’t sound like a band name — and it even sounded a little corny. For me, it’s a lesson learned. Never, ever judge a book by its cover. My Morning Jacket is one of the steadiest, most prolific rock bands of the 2000s — and “Off the Record” is a fun, memorable chapter in their existence.
The album Z was a bit of a turning point for the band. New things were happening here, like more synth experiments and genre explorations. “Off the Record” sounds like My Morning Jacket on a holiday to Jamaica. The first three minutes is one part reggae, one part rock and in the spirit of other upbeat rock outfits like Spoon and Modest Mouse. Then the last two and a half minutes go into space rock mode with quiet and quirky synth jams — like the antithesis to Wilco’s cacophony interludes. Brilliant, but far from serious.
“Sorry bout the things that I had to say. And I'll make it up to you right now at the penny arcade.”