Why is Jack Johnson so popular?

DaytimeDilemma

He is so fucking generic.



Can't believe people buy into this shit.

HatredThrownDown

i like him because it's very easy to listen to. makes me forget about how cold it is outside. new album is awesome

musicismylife78

there are some of us who liked him, way back in 1999 or whenever his first record came out, way before it became a cliche to like his music.

my cousin saw him here at a small bar, in like 1999.

jack's music is good precisely because of its lack of technicality or tough chords or bizaare time signitures. He isnt tool or the mars volta or radiohead and he has never claimed to be.

he makes modern day surf music, along with Ben Harper and xavier rudd define surfing and the outdoors and sunshine and the beach. Ben harper said something like, someone has to be the soundtrack to surfing, it might as well be me.

same with jack.

you dont buy a jack Johnson to be wowed by mondblowing lyrics and extensive guitar playing and robert plant like vocal exertions.

His music is the ultimate chill out music. When the world seems messed up, when everything goes wrong, when you are sad, or upset, stressed, depressed, angry, Jack will pull you out of it. He is calm personified.

It is music made for camp fire sing alongs. It is music made for amatuer guitarists, it is made for college kids sitting in and outside dorm doors and serenading the other residents.

that said his change seems bizaare for the new record. He isnt his usual self, lines like "the futures just an empty promise" and "all at once the world can overwhelm, there is almost nothing you could say to calm me". ven his love songs to his wife and kids are sad, and meloncholy.

remember last record he had a song about losing a friend to cancer and actually made the song somewhat calm and zen buddhist in nature

Jack is a hero of mine, reguardless of his personality change. He is a calming serene presence in a world that is out of control

I think his popularity and Sam Beam, Josh Radin, John mayer, etc... all tie in together. None of them other than John mayer is really making inroads in the guitar department. They are quiet, calm, whispered vocalists who make music about emotion rather than skill and technicality.

Jack Johnson rules!

musicismylife78

plus his records are synomous with summer, its bound to be almost summer time when he releases a new record or when someone is playing his cd

musicismylife78

there is a time and place for loud, agressive, political, up in your face, radical, and experimental music, but there is also a time and place for warm, surfing, oceanic, calm and meditative summer tunes that are escapist in nature. jack fills that void

ledvedderman

radiohead33 wrote:

there are some of us who liked him, way back in 1999 or whenever his first record came out, way before it became a cliche to like his music.

my cousin saw him here at a small bar, in like 1999.

jack's music is good precisely because of its lack of technicality or tough chords or bizaare time signitures. He isnt tool or the mars volta or radiohead and he has never claimed to be.

he makes modern day surf music, along with Ben Harper and xavier rudd define surfing and the outdoors and sunshine and the beach. Ben harper said something like, someone has to be the soundtrack to surfing, it might as well be me.

same with jack.

you dont buy a jack Johnson to be wowed by mondblowing lyrics and extensive guitar playing and robert plant like vocal exertions.

His music is the ultimate chill out music. When the world seems messed up, when everything goes wrong, when you are sad, or upset, stressed, depressed, angry, Jack will pull you out of it. He is calm personified.

It is music made for camp fire sing alongs. It is music made for amatuer guitarists, it is made for college kids sitting in and outside dorm doors and serenading the other residents.

that said his change seems bizaare for the new record. He isnt his usual self, lines like "the futures just an empty promise" and "all at once the world can overwhelm, there is almost nothing you could say to calm me". ven his love songs to his wife and kids are sad, and meloncholy.

remember last record he had a song about losing a friend to cancer and actually made the song somewhat calm and zen buddhist in nature

Jack is a hero of mine, reguardless of his personality change. He is a calming serene presence in a world that is out of control

I think his popularity and Sam Beam, Josh Radin, John mayer, etc... all tie in together. None of them other than John mayer is really making inroads in the guitar department. They are quiet, calm, whispered vocalists who make music about emotion rather than skill and technicality.

Jack Johnson rules!

Wow. You nailed it, man. Great post.

New album is fantastic.

soulsinging

radiohead33 wrote:

His music is the ultimate chill out music. When the world seems messed up, when everything goes wrong, when you are sad, or upset, stressed, depressed, angry, Jack will pull you out of it. He is calm personified.

It is music made for camp fire sing alongs. It is music made for amatuer guitarists, it is made for college kids sitting in and outside dorm doors and serenading the other residents.

only problem is those people (amateur guitarists who feel compelled to force us all to listen to their bullshit singer-songwriter crap to show how sensitive they are in public in an effort to get laid) are among the most annoying assholes on the planet, up there with emo drama queens and racist homophobic rednecks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mm_txx8kEs

jack johnson bores me to tears, and he's in the dave matthews camp... an incredibly boring and uninteresting musical act that rises to the level of satan-spawn by virtue of having his mediocrity worshipped by millions of lame, wannabe hippy suburban rich kids who think the music is somehow deep. see also jason mraz.

pjoasisrule

Cant stand him, boring as hell. Hate his voice too, the vocals sound so half assed.

DOSW

Even his name is boring.

DOSW

soulsinging wrote:

only problem is those people (amateur guitarists who feel compelled to force us all to listen to their bullshit singer-songwriter crap to show how sensitive they are in public in an effort to get laid) are among the most annoying assholes on the planet, up there with emo drama queens and racist homophobic rednecks.

Sounds like some repressed jealously to me...

soulsinging

DOSW wrote:

Sounds like some repressed jealously to me...

maybe. doesn't make it less true though.

Joe2TheRevenge

i'm just going to say it:

Hootie > Dave Matthews > Jack Johnson

Jammin909

DaytimeDilemma wrote:

He is so fucking generic.



Can't believe people buy into this shit.

Yes, I 100% agree. Granted different genre, but no more original than Nickelback.

Mike Renzella

Please. As unoriginal as Nickelback? I am a big fan of Jack Johnson, and I wouldn't classify myself as a rich suburban hipster. Jacks' music has a calming effect on me. I love putting on his albums while driving to work in the middle of a crazy snowstorm, and I use his music to rock my baby to sleep. There is nothing wrong with mellow, breezy music that is easy to listen to.

mca47

radiohead33 wrote:

there are some of us who liked him, way back in 1999 or whenever his first record came out, way before it became a cliche to like his music.

my cousin saw him here at a small bar, in like 1999.

jack's music is good precisely because of its lack of technicality or tough chords or bizaare time signitures. He isnt tool or the mars volta or radiohead and he has never claimed to be.

he makes modern day surf music, along with Ben Harper and xavier rudd define surfing and the outdoors and sunshine and the beach. Ben harper said something like, someone has to be the soundtrack to surfing, it might as well be me.

same with jack.

you dont buy a jack Johnson to be wowed by mondblowing lyrics and extensive guitar playing and robert plant like vocal exertions.

His music is the ultimate chill out music. When the world seems messed up, when everything goes wrong, when you are sad, or upset, stressed, depressed, angry, Jack will pull you out of it. He is calm personified.

It is music made for camp fire sing alongs. It is music made for amatuer guitarists, it is made for college kids sitting in and outside dorm doors and serenading the other residents.

that said his change seems bizaare for the new record. He isnt his usual self, lines like "the futures just an empty promise" and "all at once the world can overwhelm, there is almost nothing you could say to calm me". ven his love songs to his wife and kids are sad, and meloncholy.

remember last record he had a song about losing a friend to cancer and actually made the song somewhat calm and zen buddhist in nature

Jack is a hero of mine, reguardless of his personality change. He is a calming serene presence in a world that is out of control

I think his popularity and Sam Beam, Josh Radin, John mayer, etc... all tie in together. None of them other than John mayer is really making inroads in the guitar department. They are quiet, calm, whispered vocalists who make music about emotion rather than skill and technicality.

Jack Johnson rules!

Well said.

I can see people not liking his style, but to say the guy sucks for being boring, etc. is insane!
Everytime I hear Jack I just get into a very happy mindset and can "get away" from whatever bullshit is going on around me.

His live shows are a blast!

Anon

soulsinging wrote:

only problem is those people (amateur guitarists who feel compelled to force us all to listen to their bullshit singer-songwriter crap to show how sensitive they are in public in an effort to get laid)

Lord, beer me strength....
i'm a guitarist and i just don't get that mentality. anyone that plays guitar purely because they think they are going to pull more chicks is retarded. if that's their reason for playing, then they are going to suck in my opinion because their passion to be a good guitarist is just not there. Any chick that only wants them for that reason, then you'd seriously have to question if the elevator actually goes to the top floor. i've been playing since i was young, it's taken around 13 years to get to where i am and i tell you it's a lot of freaking work. bazillions of hours. you gotta really love it. sometimes i'll be at a gig or i'll chat to people or meet new people and they find out i play guitar and some of them are instantly 'omg you play guitar', and you can see that they forget about me the person, and then get all goo goo ga ga over the 'guitar factor'. freakin insane. i just don't get it. to me, it's an insult as a musician that people are like that. i have no problems with people being impressed with my guitar playing, but don't be impressed just because i do play.

anyways, i'm with radiohead33 on this one. been into jack since before he was famous and along with harper, he is my favorite go to 'chill out' musician. i love that i can just wind down and not think and still be moved by his music.

brainofPJ

soulsinging wrote:

only problem is those people (amateur guitarists who feel compelled to force us all to listen to their bullshit singer-songwriter crap to show how sensitive they are in public in an effort to get laid) are among the most annoying assholes on the planet, up there with emo drama queens and racist homophobic rednecks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mm_txx8kEs

jack johnson bores me to tears, and he's in the dave matthews camp... an incredibly boring and uninteresting musical act that rises to the level of satan-spawn by virtue of having his mediocrity worshipped by millions of lame, wannabe hippy suburban rich kids who think the music is somehow deep. see also jason mraz.

i can't stand DMB but...

Dave Matthews is a good guitarist.

restlesssoul

DaytimeDilemma wrote:

He is so fucking generic.



Can't believe people buy into this shit.

im with you.

Azwethinkweiz

He's okay.

harmless_little_f***

radiohead33 wrote:

there are some of us who liked him, way back in 1999 or whenever his first record came out, way before it became a cliche to like his music.

my cousin saw him here at a small bar, in like 1999.

jack's music is good precisely because of its lack of technicality or tough chords or bizaare time signitures. He isnt tool or the mars volta or radiohead and he has never claimed to be.

he makes modern day surf music, along with Ben Harper and xavier rudd define surfing and the outdoors and sunshine and the beach. Ben harper said something like, someone has to be the soundtrack to surfing, it might as well be me.

same with jack.

you dont buy a jack Johnson to be wowed by mondblowing lyrics and extensive guitar playing and robert plant like vocal exertions.

His music is the ultimate chill out music. When the world seems messed up, when everything goes wrong, when you are sad, or upset, stressed, depressed, angry, Jack will pull you out of it. He is calm personified.

It is music made for camp fire sing alongs. It is music made for amatuer guitarists, it is made for college kids sitting in and outside dorm doors and serenading the other residents.

that said his change seems bizaare for the new record. He isnt his usual self, lines like "the futures just an empty promise" and "all at once the world can overwhelm, there is almost nothing you could say to calm me". ven his love songs to his wife and kids are sad, and meloncholy.

remember last record he had a song about losing a friend to cancer and actually made the song somewhat calm and zen buddhist in nature

Jack is a hero of mine, reguardless of his personality change. He is a calming serene presence in a world that is out of control

I think his popularity and Sam Beam, Josh Radin, John mayer, etc... all tie in together. None of them other than John mayer is really making inroads in the guitar department. They are quiet, calm, whispered vocalists who make music about emotion rather than skill and technicality.

Jack Johnson rules!

Wow... I hate what I've heard of jack johnson but this post made me want to give it another go. True story. I just don't 'get him'.. this helped.

andreasjunge

I went nuts when I first heard him in like 2001. I still like his stuff a lot, but seeing him live was a bit of a letdown. It was pretty much like 2,000 people llistening to his CDs and finding no place to sit down and get comfortable...

mookeywrench

but even as calm, chill out, summer music, Jack Johnson is incredibly boring and redundant from album to album.

There's plenty of other summer music that is interesting and contains depth such as the Flaming Lips or Yo la Tengo

Jack Johnson truly all sounds the same from song to song.

It's obviously not about crazy aggression/ interesting time sigs. But he's just plain dull when it comes to his style of 'summer surf' music. Same beat, same guitar, same kind of lyrics, same rhythm, same vocal inflections, same microphone, same production.

His music is very predictable and formulatic even for his style, he lacks variety and creativity.

pirlo21

Loved Jack since I first heard one of his albums being played in a surf shop where I grew up around 2001.
Bought all his stuff since then and still love it. But his stuff isn't anytime music. I've got to be in the right mood or place to enjoy it.

My (now ex-)girlfriend is a big fan too, so I took her to a Jack show last year, or the year before (time flies). And I was a bit worried the show would be a bit dull, cause his music isn't exactly the jump-out-yer-seat type!
But I really enjoyed the show. Really energetic, yet relaxed & chilled in the right quantities.

dirtyT

Jammin909 wrote:

Yes, I 100% agree. Granted different genre, but no more original than Nickelback.

That is statement is completely riduculous. Seriously, like him or not.

dirtyT

radiohead33
Faithfull Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,365

there are some of us who liked him, way back in 1999 or whenever his first record came out, way before it became a cliche to like his music.




I like you post, but didn't know it was a "cliche" to listen to his music.

gabers

It's kinda already been said, but to me Jack Johnson is being with my special lady on the north shore of Oahu. It's love, peace, chill, cool, and hope all rolled up into one mellowed out voice and guitar. I put him in the same camp as folks like Ben Harper, Ben Kweller, ya know, all the Bens. Some people don't get him. That's cool. For you there will always be Manilow.

harrymanback

Just like why is Dane Cook so popular ... too often people like what they think they are supposed to like.

jammerfall

harrymanback wrote:

... too often people like what they think they are supposed to like.

Well put.

blackredyellow

harrymanback wrote:

Just like why is Dane Cook so popular ... too often people like what they think they are supposed to like.

This statement might be true in highschool, but for most of us it's not. And for the record, Dane Cook is annoying, and not all that funny.

I don't mind Jack Johnson... it's cool to relax to or listen to by the pool. I'd never pay to see him live, but he's ok.

LONGRD

I bought On & On and In Between Times and they were pretty good. Nothing too special though.

dirtyT

blackredyellow wrote:

This statement might be true in highschool, but for most of us it's not. And for the record, Dane Cook is annoying, and not all that funny.

I don't mind Jack Johnson... it's cool to relax to or listen to by the pool. I'd never pay to see him live, but he's ok.

Good point. Sometimes, people just hear that something is good, and when they hear, they like it. Not because it is Cliche or because they are suppose to, maybe sometimes people don't like shit because they have been told it isn't cool to like it, or it is cliche. I think that is a more true statement.