Jim O' Rourke
 

Ive just started delving into the world of Jim O' Rourke, ive bought the latest Loose Fur record, listened to random songs like 'halfway to a threeway' (probably the most beautiful song ive ever heard). His discography is huge and its tricky to decide what to buy next. Any 'must hear' songs/albums to recommend?

I'd recommend listening to the lyrics of halfway to a threeway before you decide it's 'beautiful'.

Insignificance and Eureka are good places to start I reckon.

I came across the same problem when I listened to it. I love how he makes a successful effort at making a sad acoustic song and the lyrics don't entirely match the mood of the song. I still need to get Insignificance and Eureka sometime.

I was listening to it for about 6 months before I actually heard the lyrics. It is a wonderful song. I don't want to ruin the run for jimbrim though, but I reckon it's a good idea to listen to the lyrics. I'll say no more.

I'm not sure I know of anyone who hasn't had this experience with this song. However, regardless of the dubious lyrics, it is a beautiful melody and thanks to O Rourke's thoughtful mumbling it is entirely possible to know full well what the lyrics are and still let the melody take you off into revelries of more romantic lyrics. He's a cunning bugger.

I have listenened to the lyrics and i know what they are about, i was talking about the melodies and his voice rather than the lyrical content. Nevertheless i still think the whole track is a 'beautiful' listen.

Songs like Halfway to a threeway and Doctors Orders really interest me with how shocking some of the lyrics are. Shock value is fine I think as long as they're not doing it just to try and impress people with the lyrics. A few years ago I heard this godawful "Limp Bizkit" song where they say "fuck" like, over 60 times in 3 minutes. And he counts them every once in a while too.

Happy Days is amazing.

New Jim O'Rourke out May 19.

http://www.dragcity.com/products/simple-songs

Really love this trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyEbxVZNXK4

Thats the best news ive had in fucking ages

NPR is streaming the whole thing.

http://www.npr.org/2015/05/10/404723...e-simple-songs

Really good. Like a relaxed Insignificance.

wow, fantastic!

This is amazzzzzziiinggggg!!!!!

Indeed, can't stop listening to it. P. S. I love how the album cover corresponds with The Visitor artwork. Oh, Jim!

This guy just kills it everytime! But really IMO Eureka is his landmark piece... The dude has a composition degree from DuPaul University yet is still cutting edge and is hardly a bore while pulling from so many influences all at once.

Simple Songs is my odds on favorite album of the year so far, irrespective of genre. It's gorgeous. The arrangements are excellent. It's less emotionally heavy than Eureka or Insignificance, but it certainly sucks the listener in. It's exactly what I was hoping to hear.

Damn, definitely gonna pick this up. You know I never even got round to buying the Visitor somehow so looking forward to getting both!

this is really not grabbing me at all, which is really disappointing considering that if I assess it on a really basic level o'rourke is likely my favourite artist of all time. the record seems a bit overcooked and content to plod along on tangents which while resolving themselves really intelligently don't necessarily deserve it. a few of the tracks have really stuck with me (that weekend is fucking marvellous) but on the whole it seems a bit too far in the dad rock direction; not having the kotche/barnes/tweedy set-up really strips it of its physicality, despite how bombastic the whole thing is. essentially there's no sense of danger to it I find, right down to o'rourke's voice and lyrics coming across as a bit perfunctory -- he's there but only as an ephemeral presence, being so beholden to these genres for which he evidently cares so much that he fails to stamp on the record the idiosyncrasy that kept eureka and insignificance from tipping over the edge. also a bit unsure as to why this record really needs to exist when the visitor does?? I saw the visitor as a compendium of pop, drawing upon stylistic/historical threads and stringing them all together into a beautifully cohesive work? but then I suppose a pretty fitting interpretation of this record is to see it as an application of the visitor's sound/ideas to approachable songwriting, re-tooling its instrumentation (and more literally the artwork/typography on the packaging etc) so as to befit pure, undeniable pop. still, it's as if he reached the end of that quest for pop reconstruction on the visitor and has moved backwards from there.

also THE MIXING IS FUCKED. I've read so much about how it's pure genius, but it's mastered painfully quietly, to the point where it can only be listened to at punishing volume which doesn't necessarily work when you live in a CIVILISED SOCIETY. totally bassless at any volume too and the vox are way too quiet. his mixing is usually marvellous as has been well documented, but this record's mastering is fucking absurd. it's literally weightless when the volume is low which I can understand, no compression so it doesn't fall apart at high volume, but kevin shields mastered the last mbv record so that while it was very quiet it still managed to hold together at low volumes, ie you wouldn't lose anything if you weren't able to listen to it all the way up.

:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

I'm sure it'll grow on me and if not I always have long night.

I agree. To me this album reminds Yes and I rather listen Yes than this. It´s not sounding bad to me, but I don´t understand any reason why should I listen this, because there are many other better Records in a same style?

Anyway I haven´t get ever into any O´Rourke solo stuff. One reason is that I don´t like his vocals at all. I listened this only because the music that was back in that trailer of the album sounds interesting. And that was the only interesting piece.