Reveling in magic

What can I say, I am in love!
Jim James is his name and he fronts the wondrous band, My Morning Jacket.
I am forever stuck in the beauty of his gifted voice and their love of reverb. As far as I can hear, no one does it better. Their live act has been touted as "blistering". Although I've only had the pleasure of seeing them perform on Austin City Limits earlier this year, I would have to agree. It was simply brilliant. Recently, I had the supreme pleasure of hearing Mr. James sing Steam Engine, which he performed at the Rolling Stone studios, solo. It was, as my special friend would say, "H.M." (hauntingly melodic).
Two more reasons to love Jim James are based solely on his views of religion and his love of all things, The Muppet Show. The one thing that struck me about Jim is his vision. He lives in this world of nonstop creativity where he can take everyday experiences and make them into something magical. Take his passion for the Muppets and the fact that he truly believes that it was much deeper than just for entertainment value. It's widely known now, from interviews he's given, that James found an early musical influence by watching Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem on The Muppet Show. Listen closely, you'll hear the similarities all over his music (not to mention the fact that he sometimes even sounds like a Muppet himself, in this case, it's not a bad thing at all). Nearly every interview he's ever given about My Morning Jacket has included some earnest reference to Jim Henson. "The Muppet Show was a really musical thing. Music was the thread that tied it all together. It was all about comedy and acting, but it still had heart and it was sad sometimes. There never has and there never will be anything like it. Somebody asked me what my goal was and what my dreams were. My ultimate dream would be to reach some kind of pinnacle of perfection like Jim Henson did of melding sound with vision and art. Something that can appeal to kids and adults and everybody alike to have that much of a positive impact. I think that show radiated so much mystery and positivity all at once and I want to feel like we are that kind of force on earth too. I love music and I love what we are doing, and I am very proud of it and I hope that it can grow into something more powerful for different kinds of people. Jim Henson really knew what he was doing." One of the things that James loves about Henson is that he never made a distinction between appealing to an adult and appealing to a child. He's oft been known to get lost in the emotion of writing songs. He's been known to say that he lives for those moments. It is when, in his opinion, the presence of God passes through him. "I think that force, for me, is religion. It's why I play music. We'll play some shows and most of them are pretty good and then some of those shows are the greatest thing that ever happened to us. And that is God. It's the same force that made the Rolling Stones good for so long and then made them start sucking." James' spirituality is to a point where prayer is part of his daily routine. He usually does this in the shower. Though he was raised Catholic, James gave up on organized religion right around the time he began playing music. He refuses to put a name on his beliefs, but whenever he's asked in interviews if he believes in God, the answer he usually provides is one word: absolutely. While their songs aren't specifically about this sort of divinity-as-discovered-through-rock-music, there is a remarkable sense of enlightenment to them. They make soul music in the most literal sense. It's both uplifting and unautobiographical with that same innocence you find in every character on the Muppet Show. Anyone who's philosophies come close to matching that of my own, well, what's not to love?