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It dawned on me this weekend (and I say this with a tear in my eye, haha) that Jack is now, officially, a mainstream musician. Yes, I do realize that he’s been mainstream for a few years now, but I will admit that I have been making an honest effort to deny this fact.
I was fortunate enough to see him play at Alpine Valley last week from the pit, which was absolutely amazing. But when I would turn around and see the 40,000 people behind me, I couldn’t help but remember the days when he was the opening act for Ben Harper, a little known musician trying to make a big name for himself.
His music first came into my life in 2001 and for at least two years, I was the only person in my high school who even heard the name Jack Johnson. During those early years I would blast songs like Flake and Bubble Toes in my car and on my stereo much to the delight of others. My friends would ask who was singing and I would simply respond, “It’s Jack Johnson. You haven’t heard of him!?” knowing full well they hadn’t.
It was during these first few years that Jack’s music brought the most joy to me. The fact that he was virtually unknown made his music seem more personal. Today, I still get excited when he releases a new album or contributes a song to a compilation, but I find myself having a difficult time truly appreciating the singles he releases. Its not that I don’t like these songs, it’s more that I have trouble accepting a song of his that is played on the radio over and over again (if that makes sense).
When I was at the concert this past weekend, it was evident that I was surrounded by many true JJ fans. At the same time however, I was a bit discourage by a few of my surrounding patrons. For instance, the only people standing between me and Jack/Zach Gill was a group of high school girls. Although most of the songs he played that night would be considered “popular” JJ tunes, this group of teens would only got excited when he played songs along the lines of “Better Together” and “Upside Down.” They spent the rest of the concert talking to each other and taking pictures, which really irked me. I mean here are these young kids with the best seats in the house and they only showed interest in three or four songs. I wondered if they would have enjoyed themselves if he busted out some my favs like ‘Its All Understood’ or ‘Symbol In My Driveway.’
I realize now that I have to accept the fact that the first era of Jack Johnson, the era of an unknown yet rising star, is over. No more are the days where people refer to him as “the dude opening for Ben Harper.” No more are the days where I can play Bubble Toes and NOT have everyone around me sing the ‘La Da Da Da Da Da’ part. And no more are the days where his music seems like it belongs only to me.
I must conclude my rant here by saying that although it is sad to have to accept the fact that Jack is now a global phenomenon, I am nonetheless extremely happy for all of his success. Everyone on this forum knows how much of a talent Jack is. I love the fact that he spends so much of his time devoted to environmental causes and that his number one priority in life is his family. Those are just two more reasons that show how standup of a guy Jack is. And its just two more reasons to like the man even more.
With that I say mahalo Jack, you are one amazing individual. And hopefully we don’t have to wait too long before your next album drops.
Peace and Love,
Josh
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Diito!!!!!
You know, I have often wondered why more people did not know about Jack, but I was always secretly happy, like I was part of a club or something. I guess, we still are,the club of true fans, not the fair weather kind.
I have to say also that the way he respects his family is unmatched. It impresses me to no end. I think without his wife he would be a lot more likely to not expose his inner feelings. Obviously I do not know Jack, but if I could guess, I would say that he worries about his family and people/things that are close to him the most, it is his wife that makes him aware of what an impact he could have on the rest of the world. She is compassionate and caring and he would do anything for her. It is the most giving kind of relationship.
Maybe I see it this way, because that is the kind of relationship I have and I wish us all to have.
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I had that same “epiphany” recently, and made a post about it. You put into words much better than I did. Here’s the link.
http://www.jackjohnsonmusic.com/allatonce/discuss/viewthread/616
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I am with you on this. I feel that a lot of the fans who have just recently got into Jack do not realize some of the messages he is sending. Example, those girls in front of you at the concert who only liked Upside Down and Better Together. They are probably the exact same girls he is singing about in Posters, yet they don’t even know it. Know what I mean? Granted, that is a stereotype, maybe they are not like that at all. It just seems like a lot of fans don’t realize what he is singing about in a some of his “deeper” songs and if they did know what he is saying, they wouldn’t be the way that they are: superficial, systematic… you get where I’m going with this.
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part of me agrees with you, the other part is so happy for Jack, ide much rather his sell 380K cds the first week out rather than all those other undeserving talents. Plus him being well known and well liked only means that we will continue to get music from him as opposed to people who put out 3 or 4 cds and then fail and stop making music. I know jack is under his own label but that label is still owned by a major record label. I know the true JJ fans whe I see them, I too loved being able to tell people that Jack is my all time fav artist and them having no idea who he was, i still dont think EVERYONE knows who he is, he is not a global phenomenon he is a quiet success which i am ok with. Yes rolling stone isnt so quiet, but still. I do agree with the majority of your rant though
=)
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People, get over yourselves already…"true" fans? Do know how pretentious that sounds? Be happy you’ve been along for the ride as long as you have; not morose, conflicted or whatever the heck you call it because others have jumped on the bus…You haven’t lost anything because others have found that same something…we’re all just wasting time, right?
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mwulf85 - Jun 27, 2008 05:56pm People, get over yourselves already…"true" fans? Do know how pretentious that sounds? Be happy you’ve been along for the ride as long as you have; not morose, conflicted or whatever the heck you call it because others have jumped on the bus…You haven’t lost anything because others have found that same something…we’re all just wasting time, right?
Okay, okay, I will stop wallowing. It is just great being part of the process. You know I hate to admit when I am wrong, but I am. Whether you just listen to 1 or know all of Jack’s songs by heart, you are a fan. I love some of Led Zeppelin’s songs and I consider myself a fan, so there you go. I am wrong, it certainly is not the 1st time, and I am sure it won’t be the last.
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Hey, this is all part of the learning and growing process, isn’t it?
I had a similar experience with obnoxious fans at Kokua Maui 2006. I had my three kids, at the time 9, 8, and 5. We were in the fourth row. The totally stoned guy behind us made a comment at the end about how he couldn’t believe my 5 year old knew every word to every song. He was a little much, but not too bad. What was scary was the drunk girl who fell over the aisle chair (my husband’s seat) and landed on my daughter’s chair. Fortunately she wasn’t in her seat. There was a mad rush of people out of control, and it was a bummer.
However, it was still a spiritual experience for me to hear Jack play Constellations, and to look up at the stars in Hawaii. My poor husband buffered us from the craziness.
My conclusion is, that special feeling of knowing Jack’s music without too much hype out there was great. But what is even greater is that his music is now reaching so many more people. It may take some time for it to really sink in to some people, who don’t get deeper into it in the same special way some of us do, but the music is so positive, uplifting, thought-provoking, etc. that it WILL make a difference. There will be a day when the teenager is a little older, and suddently the lyrics pop out and make sense. Kind of like the things your parents always said, you just shrugged it off, then years later you realize they were right.
The other lesson is that you can’t always judge a musician or anyone, for that matter, by what the media tells you about them or by what is “popular”. It makes me think of another band I love, and none of their popular songs are even my top 20. But most people would dismiss them and think of them as one-hit wonders. Even my other favorite, Van Morrison, has so many songs that are so amazing, yet no one has heard of them. I’m starting to ramble, I’d better stop!!
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Very well said, I too belong in the club of true fans been a JJ fan since 2002, fist song I heard from him Fortunate Fool hit me like lighting and been hooked even since.
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whats wrong with mainstream? his music is great… nothing else to it
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The way I see it is.. if Jack’s wife is willing to let him share her Christmas present (Angel) with the world.. then we should be ok with him having a few more fans. Your connection with the music is all that you own, not the music.
I totally understand where you are coming from though.. it’s like finding a special place somewhere (like an unknown beach or a hole in the wall restaurant). Then suddenly the Travel Channel finds out about it and tons of toursits go there now.
Jack may be mainstream.. but he’s a great role model and a real person. You still have a pretty good chance of meeting him if you volunteer at a concert or Kokua and I don’t forsee him on the covers of any gossip mags..
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Yes I completely agree. We brought our 3 kids to the Clarkston show in Mich a few weeks ago. To our surprise, most of those young fans were not really singing along to all those goodies Jack was busting out...and NO ONE seemed to know Mason Jennings which is more understandable but WOW he was great too! Anyway, I had to protect my kids a little more than I thought I would’ve for a Jack Johnson concert...times have changed for him. It’s funny, my teenage niece use to make fun of me for always having Jack Johnson playing when she got in my car, now she tells me kids in her school are using his songs for reports or whatever. So now I’m “cool” to like Jack....hmmm...I hope they all listen up to the point his is making because it is life-changing to hear and understand. Thanks for starting this post!
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Just a correction here, Jack owns his own label, it is just distributed to retail by a major label.
mpfanatic - Jun 27, 2008 04:41pm part of me agrees with you, the other part is so happy for Jack, ide much rather his sell 380K cds the first week out rather than all those other undeserving talents. Plus him being well known and well liked only means that we will continue to get music from him as opposed to people who put out 3 or 4 cds and then fail and stop making music. I know jack is under his own label but that label is still owned by a major record label. I know the true JJ fans whe I see them, I too loved being able to tell people that Jack is my all time fav artist and them having no idea who he was, i still dont think EVERYONE knows who he is, he is not a global phenomenon he is a quiet success which i am ok with. Yes rolling stone isnt so quiet, but still. I do agree with the majority of your rant though
=)
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bensbackwoods - Jun 29, 2008 01:15pm Yes I completely agree. We brought our 3 kids to the Clarkston show in Mich a few weeks ago. To our surprise, most of those young fans were not really singing along to all those goodies Jack was busting out...and NO ONE seemed to know Mason Jennings which is more understandable but WOW he was great too! Anyway, I had to protect my kids a little more than I thought I would’ve for a Jack Johnson concert...times have changed for him. It’s funny, my teenage niece use to make fun of me for always having Jack Johnson playing when she got in my car, now she tells me kids in her school are using his songs for reports or whatever. So now I’m “cool” to like Jack....hmmm...I hope they all listen up to the point his is making because it is life-changing to hear and understand. Thanks for starting this post!
just curious… what do you mean you had to protect your children more than you thought you would?? Was it because people were pushy? just curious, when i saw jack last it was THE most mellow show ever, and there were tons of kids running around.
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Lacy - Jun 30, 2008 04:25pm bensbackwoods - Jun 29, 2008 01:15pm Yes I completely agree. We brought our 3 kids to the Clarkston show in Mich a few weeks ago. To our surprise, most of those young fans were not really singing along to all those goodies Jack was busting out...and NO ONE seemed to know Mason Jennings which is more understandable but WOW he was great too! Anyway, I had to protect my kids a little more than I thought I would’ve for a Jack Johnson concert...times have changed for him. It’s funny, my teenage niece use to make fun of me for always having Jack Johnson playing when she got in my car, now she tells me kids in her school are using his songs for reports or whatever. So now I’m “cool” to like Jack....hmmm...I hope they all listen up to the point his is making because it is life-changing to hear and understand. Thanks for starting this post!
just curious… what do you mean you had to protect your children more than you thought you would?? Was it because people were pushy? just curious, when i saw jack last it was THE most mellow show ever, and there were tons of kids running around.
Oh wow, wish we were at that show! No , there was no room for them to run and play. In fact, someone almost stepped on my daughter trying to get out towards the walkway. There just wasn’t much room to move and it was standing the entire time. A lot of drinking and other things, which is fine but I think I would’ve got a babysitter...although they were extremely excited to see and hear Jack too! They’ve been listening since in the womb! LOL!
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