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Making Tracks: Mellow, yellow fellow bridges soul, surf in new album


Packaged in a bright yellow case, Jack Johnson's newest album, "In Between Dreams," strums your cares away on the crest of a tune-filled tidal wave.

Break out your surfboard. This collection of music is more than just a mere ripple in the ocean of audible art.

Johnson invites us to embrace the warm rays of the sun, recline in our chairs and take the material world a little less seriously, which is why he represents a small group of musicians that can be called artists. Johnson paints a world for us to see through sound.

I encourage you to follow along with me as I dig my feet deeper into the lyrical sand with a track-by-track guide to this CD.

"Better Together" is a solid introductory song that captures the essence of the entire album. This song is a truly honest reminder that love defies definition and comprehension, and yet supplies true contentment.

The next track informs us that we'll "Never Know" what our lives are building towards.

I enjoyed this song because it puts a handle on the misconception of how important our lives are. We believe our problems are precious, but in a grander sense, we are a mere speck on the sole of Existence's right shoe.

His third track, "Banana Pancakes," shifts back to the romantic notions introduced in "Better Together".

The rhythm soothes as the lyrics describe how love gives you an excuse to be lazy.

The rest of the world seems to fall away when you are with that special person, and putting off that daily routine to lay beside that person for a few extra minutes is all OK in the book of love.

As for the fourth track, Johnson points his finger to the TV and asks where did all the "Good People" go?

When you stop and think about it, he's right.

The channels are full of backstabbers on reality shows, cheaters on talk shows and criminals on the news. It's a healthy reminder that we cannot be choosing our role models from the boob tube. TV is fresh out of people we can look up to.

As the album progresses, Johnson admits there is "No Other Way" to be in a successful relationship without sharing all of each other.

He confesses that he does not have all the answers, but that his certain someone is all that he needs to know about.

"No Other Way" also teaches us that we should learn to take comfort in knowing that we cannot solve all of life's problems in a day, but instead, tackle what we can and rest. Sleep will prepare you for the unseen burdens of tomorrow.

Track six brings us to Johnson's hit single, "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing".

This exceptional song provides some cynical verses about a man who is discouraged and fed up with the game of love. As he eloquently explains, "waiting on love ain't so easy to do."

The song sounds like my biography. I will often find myself attracted to someone for a very long time. I get as close as I possibly can get, but I'm still far away from a relationship with that person.

Yes, I know. I've just told you more than you wanted to know about me.

Johnson continues his honest touch with humanity in "Staple It Together". This is the first track on the album that strays from the first person point of view to invent a character to be described in the lyrics.

Johnson sings about a man who starts a new day of his life without understanding the day before it. The comprehension of life is necessary to truly live.

The title "Staple It Together" refers to how we need to learn how to make sense of our mess.

As I interpreted the song, I contemplated how our lives can quickly resemble desks that disappear under the stacks of waiting papers. In order to move forward, we need make our way through the heap to understand why it was there in the first place.

The next track, "Situations", is a truly cryptic song without any true context to be seen.

It breaks from the flow of the album by offering a multiple-choice look at four situations within life's realm of experiences. I think Johnson expects his audience to form its own interpretation about the situations. His hidden meaning is hard to understand, so I'll move quickly to the next track.

"Crying Shame" shifts to a more political message by invoking pessimistic views on the war in Iraq. I relate well to this song because I am strongly against the United States' involvement in the war. Johnson states that "by now we should know how to communicate instead of coming to blows". We pretend to be civilized, yet we have no qualms with taking each other's lives.

The next track also deals with death, but connects it to the opposing theme of new life.

"If I Could" handles the cyclicality of life. Just as each door closes, another door opens. Life is not without its highs and lows because one allows us to appreciate the other.

As the album begins to wrap up, "Breakdown" tells a story about how life never loses momentum. Compared to a train that has no stop to make, life continues and cannot break for anything or anyone. Life is a twisting, turning, bending and curving track that fades into the distance.

The next track is really more of an intermission.

Titled "Belle", the music breathes of Latin influence. The song's lyrics are composed of multiple languages ranging from Spanish to French to English. The song is over before it even begins, but the message remains clear. The language of love does not require spoken words.

The next track continues Johnson's ultimate theme of the spaciousness of love.

"Do You Remember" is a sweet serenade to recall the moments that were the foundations for relationships. The song harkens back to simpler times during elementary school that called for meeting your crush in between classes or sitting next to each other at lunch.

The final song, "Constellations," treats the end of the album like the final minutes of daylight during a sunset. The lyrics unfold like the stars in the sky as night approaches.

"In Between Dreams" is a sweet, occasionally sour and always honest examination of life and love.

Music rarely enters your ears like candy these days, but this album brings a ray of hope to the dark, dull and generic tunes of 2005.

This album is not just a simple addition to a CD collection. It dips into the true nature of our being. Johnson's songs find our core and treat us to lyrical truth.

Treat yourself to an earful of Jack Johnson. You'll be glad you did.

Jimmy Shoffman is not responsible for your buyer's remorse if, after purchasing Jack Johnson's new album, you think it sucks. Reach him at james.shoffman@asu.edu.


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