Larry Kart Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Late to the party, but I just picked up a copy of "Routes" the other day. Either I'm just now ripe for this or it makes a big difference to take in the full opulence of the recording or both, but I'm almost literally intoxicated and also at times am finding myself without warning moved/touched/what have you by the union of her voice, her writing, and her "messages." It's a better planet for her being on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Rock on, Larry! Got an email from her today that said she's working on getting a date booked in Detroit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Kart Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 If she needs a date in Detroit, I can be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted April 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Detroit? Damn... I gotta get out of Texas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bright Moments Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 i really enjoyed routes! this will be in rotation at my house for a while! thanks jim! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted June 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 Rat Own! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Okay, time to update here: Monday released a new album, in Japan, My Ever Changing Moods. It's really GOOD. Dusty Groove can get you a copy (for a price!) If you happen to be one of those really shallow people who only like Monday for her gorgeous looks. . . I'll mention the bikini photographs inside one of the two booklets. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 I'd not recommend the new covers album as an "introduction" to her by any means. For that, I'd think that her original material would be much more enlightening, although you never know, really. But for people who are already fans, this new one should prove pleasant-to-more-than-pleasant listening. The repertoire is interesting, ranging from Blondie to Milton Nascimento to Brainstorm to...etc. Very eclectic, and very few of the covers are done as you'd "expect" them to be done. The highlight for me is a Latin-Jazz remake of the S.O.S. Band's "Just Be Good To Me", which Monday reworks from the inside out, the result being one of those things where you wonder why it seems so damn hard to rethink any kind of music, and all the answers point back inside. This bad boy grooves like a mofo, and if you don't know the original (or the Beats International club hit/remake), you might well think it was an original and a standard-in-the-making. Seriously. The album was pretty much recorded in a hurry, on a very tight budget, and, much like Episodes In Color (which it resembles in "spirit" I think), uses that in-the-moment energy to its advantage even when there's an occasional - very occasional, as these are all pros doing pro's work - performance/production "imperfection". As always, Monday lets the band play, and as always, she seems to be providing everybody a spiritual "boost" along the way. The back-and-forth exchange of energy between her and the band is palpable. And although there's not a lot of post-production, there is enough of her miraculous layered vocals throughout to justify a recommendation just to hear them. She really is on a level w/Brian Wilson & Marvin Gaye when it comes to doing this type thing imaginatively and musically, and those who know me know that that's about as high a praise as I can give for that particular thing. This is not an album to make me throw out 4 Seasons, Routes, Delicious Poison, etc. But it is a very nice listen. And in "Just Be Good To Me", it contains one of the most invigorating performances of any type music I've heard so far this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 (edited) If you happen to be one of those really shallow people who only like Monday for her gorgeous looks. . . I'll mention the bikini photographs inside one of the two booklets. . . Do such people really exist? Well, just in case they do... Edited July 17, 2007 by JSngry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epithet Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 I hope my mid-life crisis is less getting hungover on Monday and more getting frisky on Friday with Sally from Marketing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Does Sally write great songs too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Okay, time to update here: Monday released a new album, in Japan, My Ever Changing Moods. It's really GOOD. Dusty Groove can get you a copy (for a price!) If you happen to be one of those really shallow people who only like Monday for her gorgeous looks. . . I'll mention the bikini photographs inside one of the two booklets. . . Currently out of stock at Dusty Groove. Put it on my want list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 CD Japan link for those who go that way: http://www.cdjapan.jp/detailview.html?KEY=GNCL-1126 I've ordered often enough to give them an unqualified Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Is "Moods" the old Style Council tune? If so, great song! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Is "Moods" the old Style Council tune? If so, great song! Yep, that's the one. And yeah, a fine song it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 For those so inclined, there are a few random MM tracks available on emusic. Don't look like jazz but instead dance/house music from various Japanese label comps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Don't know what those cuts are, Ray, but Monday's done very little that is actual "dance/house music" in pure form (remixes excepted). She has done work based in that form, but usually adds things to it to set it apart from being "just" dance music. She did do a lot of "Acid Jazz" during her stay in Japan though, and her work in that field might well be the apex of that particualr genre. Not busting your chops on this, just trying to give clarity. You know, you start talking "dance/house music" to "jazz people" and shit starts getting weird... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 No worries. Just pointing out what might be some "rarities" to MM fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Well, for that matter, Monday's done very little that could be looked at as "pure jazz" either. Ain't nothing "pure" about her music but the spirit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 No worries. Just pointing out what might be some "rarities" to MM fans. Hey, cool. That would be a good thing. I've been putting together a collection the old fashioned way, and it ain't been cheap, let me tell you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 (edited) Darn. Sorry it's out of stock at dusty now, guess I ordered just in time. Here's the eMusic Michiru page: http://www.emusic.com/artist/Monday-Michir...d/11640168.html Two remixes of "The Right Time", and three comps that each have a track featuring Monday. A Calmaria (Sailing Into The Unknown Version) on Compost Moving Shadows (Featuring Monday Michiru) on "Covert Movement" Laid Back & Eazy (Featuring Monday Michiru) on "Tuned in Turned On" Edited July 18, 2007 by jazzbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Damn, neither of those "Right Time" remixes are on Alternate Routes, but the guy who did them is the same guy who did the long one that closed out that disc. I kinda want to hear what else he's got up his sleeve... As for those other things, "A Calmaria" has been done live (it's on those live downloads she offers) and, I think, better (more spiritedly anyway) than the version offered here. Otoh, that Kyoto Jazz Massive side - a "tribute" album that features both the that band and other artists - that it's on is a monster, is often avaialble thru DG, and is highly recommended to those wanting to hear what can happen when worlds collide. "Moving Shadows" & "Laid Back & Eazy" are both guest spots she did on albums by 60 Channels, which is one of many projects done by The Angel, who did that great, trippy remix of "Just Another Day" on Adoption Agency. The only one of these I have is "Moving Shadows", and it's very much a "for deep fans only" type things. Monday lends her voice, maybe some vocal arranging, but it's very much The Angels's trip all the way. Which is cool, but... So yeah, those downloads are all "not bad", but they don't give a true representation of Monday's own music. Oh well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Here's the most complete accounting I've seen so far as to Monday's various recordings: http://www.mondaymichiru.com/discography.aspx Some of this is compilations, but a lot of it is not. And some of it is going to be (and some of it already has been) a bitch-and-a-half to track down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Can you loan me your copy of Kyoto Jazz Massive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 This "My Ever Changing Moods". . .it's a very good summer album in my opinion. I'm enjoying replays; it has a great feeling behind it, you get (as in many another Monday cd) that sense of her optimism and warmth, and man is that welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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