My Morning Jacket "Holding On To Black Metal"

Continuing a theme explored on last week's Mat Kearney post . . . not adding a song onto mvyradio isn't a comment on its quality, only on its mix-ability.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes are awesome, but you wouldn't likely serve it in soup. It's not a complimentary texture or taste.

I think lots of radio programmers have been looking forward to the new My Morning Jacket. Jim James and Company deserve much credit for their creativity. They could easily crank out Neil Young-ish rawk, and sell plenty of records and have devoted fans. But instead, they seem to be happier challenging their fans' expectations and their own creative envelope.

"Holding On To Black Metal" is a powerful, complex, dense song, with horns and strings and a choir/chorus of women/falsetto-ing men/kids a la "Another Brick In The Wall."

It's a cool, adventurous song. But I think it would sound out of place between in-the-pocket mvyradio fare, say Paul Simon and The Civil Wars.

What do you think?


See the video on Youtube.