If Andrew McMahon is the Ben Folds of Something Corporate, then his side project Jack's Mannequin is his Fear of Pop, his opportunity to step out of the group and try something different. Except in McMahon's case, it isn't so much fear of pop as much as an embrace of pop, since he sheds the loud guitars and punky overtones of his main band for a sunny, unabashedly tuneful Californian pop on Jack's Mannequin's debut album, Everything in Transit. In truth, it's not all that far removed from his contributions to Something Corporate, which were also tightly written and tuneful, but it sounds truer to his artistic inclinations than either of SC's studio albums, since underneath its guise as a loose concept album about a year of turbulent relationships on Venice Beach, it's a full-blown singer/songwriter piano-pop album. More than ever, on Everything in Transit McMahon sounds like the heir to Ben Folds' wise-ass interpretation of Joe Jackson, but McMahon isn't as cynical or goofy as Folds. His humor is sardonic and low-key, plus he's more concerned with affairs of the heart. Although he relies a little bit too heavily on first-person narratives, he has a keener eye for character and behavior than his emo peers, and he's a better tunesmith, too, not just content to write hooks, but taking the time to let the music build and breathe. With producer Jim Wirt, McMahon has given Everything in Transit an appropriately colorful, even cinematic, scope and, thanks to drums provided by Tommy Lee (who proves here that he's a more versatile drummer than he ever did in Mötley Crüe), it also has strong backbone. So the album has momentum, but it's as sweetly melancholy as a fading summer, yet not nearly as transient as that, either. It really shouldn't work -- it's a conceptual power pop album, delivered by an emo songwriter, backed by an aging metalhead, and co-produced by a guy who gave Hoobastank hits -- but the result is one of the more pleasant surprises of 2005. It's good enough that it makes you hope that McMahon makes Jack's Mannequin his full-time band.
2005. This was probably the strangest year for me in the past four, due mostly to the fact that most of the albums that have ended up on the list three years after the fact weren't there to begin with. In fact, a few of these albums I didn't even hear until this year. Anyway, here we go. 1. Jack's Mannequin - Everything In Transit This is without a doubt one of the most well written records of...
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Being the obsessive Andrew McMahon fan that I am, I ordered pre-sale tickets to see Jack's Mannequin the second they went on sale. I couldn't help it. I was totally freaking out. Anyway, I just got an email saying that because I ordered pre-sale tickets I get a special wristband that allows me to enter the venue before the doors open to non-presale buyers!!! YAAAAAY! That means I can get way up...
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The result of listening to my ipod in shuffle mode - surprise! So I'm sharing my shuffle. Jack's Mannequin is a piano rock band from Orange County, California. A side project of Andrew McMahon, originally from Something Corporate, the band was formed in 2004 and released their first album in August 2005. In June of that year, McMahon was diagnosed with late stage acute lymphoblastic leukemia, b...
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we've all had those moments where music really helped us get through something. but when i titled this post "music saves lives" thats not what i meant. im mogging today about a cause near and dear to my heart, and one that i think everyone should know about.music saves lives in a nonprofit that helps link music and people with causes that save lives every day. music saves lives helps to sign p...
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2005. This was probably the strangest year for me in the past four, due mostly to the fact that most of the albums that have ended up on the list three years after the fact weren't there to begin with. In fact, a few of these albums I didn't even hear until this year. Anyway, here we go. 1. Jack's Mannequin - Everything In Transit This is without a doubt one of the most well written records of...
More >
Being the obsessive Andrew McMahon fan that I am, I ordered pre-sale tickets to see Jack's Mannequin the second they went on sale. I couldn't help it. I was totally freaking out. Anyway, I just got an email saying that because I ordered pre-sale tickets I get a special wristband that allows me to enter the venue before the doors open to non-presale buyers!!! YAAAAAY! That means I can get way up...
More >
As much as I fight to avoid labels - punk, emo-kid, elitest indie chick (okay, that one I embrace) - I find that I am very much an emo-kid. It's amazing what you learn about yourself by looking at a list of the last 10 songs you've played on your digital stereo. I listen to a lot of heartbreaking music - Her Space Holiday, the Decemberists, Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin, the Elected, ...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Holiday from Real |
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| 2 The Mixed Tape |
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| 3 Bruised |
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| 4 I'm Ready |
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| 5 La la Lie |
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| 6 Dark Blue |
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| 7 Miss Delaney |
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| 8 Kill the Messenger |
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| 9 Rescued |
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| 10 MFEO: Made for Each Other/You Can Breathe |
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| 11 Into the Airwaves [*] |
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 "Everything in Transit")
