The Official Xiola.org review

[sonny]

come on people? who are you guys? is this really the same group of people?

satellite party is good?
you think these songs are good, because you are separating them from the original line up?

the only thing i will concede is if you are a fan dave navarro, this is probably the best thing he's done since spread. trust no one was ruined in the studio and he wasn't as present on strays as he is here.

but these songs are weak.

step away for a little bit and listen to some music that came out this year, 2011. there are amazing artist creating music. some are new some are older like jane's addiction, but those folks are making real good music.

this band is lost. they aren't really sure what to do. allowing perry to take his dance music and turn it into jane's addiction songs, because dave and stephen played on it, isn't enough.

i know it's hard, as you might say bitter, pill to swallow, but jane's addiction is dead. you can say this isn't the original jane's addiction, so it's ok if they sorta suck. it's not ok. they are still using the name jane's addiction.

i know you guys are fans of jane's addiction, but you don't have to lap up their shit.

how many of you folks are willing to put yr money where yr mouth is and buy this shit? i bet the number is low.

it's nothing personal for me, if it was good, i'd say so. i might even bring xiola.org back from the dead if it were good enough to get behind.

i am pissed that it's not good. you should be too. but instead you guys are making excuses left and right. it's not as good as this or these guys are older now, so they don't have to make good music.

drop all the excuses. is it good or not? it's not good. standing alone or compared to old jane's or compared to other 2011 releases. anyway you slice it, this album is shit.

i forgive a lot of the drivel here, because most are so out of touch with the original jane's addiction and it's history. time will tell. i suspect 2 years from now, you'll have trouble remembering the title of this record, much less the songs.

one thing you will remember is there is a song on there that is in response to xiola.org's interviews with eric avery. i bet you'll remember that. ;)

[ESY]

(that's for Jalphy).

Sonny, thanks for your site over all the years but and listen to TGEA - you will fell so much better!

[sonny]

(that's for Jalphy).

Sonny, thanks for your site over all the years but and listen to TGEA - you will fell so much better!

there's too much other good music to listen to. it's not like i'm sitting a listening to strays on repeat, nor ritual or shocking, but just the idea of jane's addiction making new music should be exciting. but some of these songs are much closer to "applause for you" than anything ever put out by jane's addiction or it's members.

i wouldn't be so shocked and appalled if so many weren't singing it's praises, while making excuses for it. you shouldn't have to make excuses for good music.

[Japhy]

blah, blah, blah... token mention of xiola.org etc

Ok mate, appreciate all that. I'd better not like it anymore then or else i'll be some kind of fraudulent Jane's fan... sorry, i hadn't read the "real fan" handbook.

When you get a second, can you please let me know what killer 2011 releases i should be listening to because i only intended on buying this Jane's record all year.

Thanks.

[Essence_Smith]

you think these songs are good, because you are separating them from the original line up?

Isn't that precisely what you HAVE to do?

I think you're wearing your heart on your sleeve, and that's fine, but for me personally I have kept my expectations so LOW that this album was actually a pleasant surprise for me...the only song I really liked a lot was Underground, the rest is what it is...a producer driven record by three members of a once great band...I understand and don't disagree with a lot of what you're saying, but I think speak for a few here when I say we all KNOW that JANE'S IS DEAD...but yeah, we're that desperate for something halfway decent from these guys we've been rooting for so many years that we see this as at least halfway acceptable...Strays wasn't just a letdown because of the material, it was a letdown because the band themselves were trying to live up to something they couldn't...I don't think they did that this time around and I think people are appreciating the material more because of that, etc...but me personally I like about half of the songs on this, about the same as Strays and prolly won't be listening to any of this in 6 months...lowered expectations baby...

[ESY]

Sonny, the thing is, what DO you expect them to release in 2011? One of my biggest dissapointments over the last few years was the new bauhaus release. It was terrible. It wasn't for lack of trying on the participant's parts but they were trying too hard to recapture lightning in a bottle and they couldn't. I like the fact that this record from Janes Addiction (see what I did there?), doesn't try to do that. And, to me, it is a really good record - one that I have been driving down the highway fast to and enjoying on full volume and also taking pleasure in listening to at home late at night on my headphones. I'm not deluding myself - I like it.

[sonny]

blah, blah, blah... token mention of xiola.org etc

Ok mate, appreciate all that. I'd better not like it anymore then or else i'll be some kind of fraudulent Jane's fan... sorry, i hadn't read the "real fan" handbook.

When you get a second, can you please let me know what killer 2011 releases i should be listening to because i only intended on buying this Jane's record all year.

Thanks.

you do realize it's October of 2011 and you are only gonna buy this release? you are way gone. i hate to inform ya, but you are not a music lover. yr sitting in yr comfortable chair the past. let it go. maybe this is the problem with many of ya.

but meanwhile i'll open yr mind a little... all of this is better than the escape artist

wilco - the whole love
radiohead - the king of limbs
TV on the radio - nine type of light
red hot chili peppers - i'm with you
pj harvey - let england shake
fleet foxes - helplessness blues
explosions in the sky - take care, take care, take care
the pains of being pure at heart - belong
st. vincent - strange mercy
mastodon - the hunter (still listening to this one, so i'm not sure, but it's still better than JA)

[Deconstruction]

come on people? who are you guys? is this really the same group of people?

satellite party is good?
you think these songs are good, because you are separating them from the original line up?

the only thing i will concede is if you are a fan dave navarro, this is probably the best thing he's done since spread. trust no one was ruined in the studio and he wasn't as present on strays as he is here.

but these songs are weak.

step away for a little bit and listen to some music that came out this year, 2011. there are amazing artist creating music. some are new some are older like jane's addiction, but those folks are making real good music.

this band is lost. they aren't really sure what to do. allowing perry to take his dance music and turn it into jane's addiction songs, because dave and stephen played on it, isn't enough.

i know it's hard, as you might say bitter, pill to swallow, but jane's addiction is dead. you can say this isn't the original jane's addiction, so it's ok if they sorta suck. it's not ok. they are still using the name jane's addiction.

i know you guys are fans of jane's addiction, but you don't have to lap up their shit.

how many of you folks are willing to put yr money where yr mouth is and buy this shit? i bet the number is low.

it's nothing personal for me, if it was good, i'd say so. i might even bring xiola.org back from the dead if it were good enough to get behind.

i am pissed that it's not good. you should be too. but instead you guys are making excuses left and right. it's not as good as this or these guys are older now, so they don't have to make good music.

drop all the excuses. is it good or not? it's not good. standing alone or compared to old jane's or compared to other 2011 releases. anyway you slice it, this album is shit.

i forgive a lot of the drivel here, because most are so out of touch with the original jane's addiction and it's history. time will tell. i suspect 2 years from now, you'll have trouble remembering the title of this record, much less the songs.

one thing you will remember is there is a song on there that is in response to xiola.org's interviews with eric avery. i bet you'll remember that. ;)

You don't like the record, that's okay, but don't tell people how to feel about the record and call us "lesser fans making excuses" for it. I like it and many people here do. Six7Six7 sure as shit didn't have any reason to like it, he's called Perry out for years. I also haven't liked any of their output post Strays, but this record has some songs that I'm enjoying.

[sonny]

you think these songs are good, because you are separating them from the original line up?

Isn't that precisely what you HAVE to do?

I think you're wearing your heart on your sleeve, and that's fine, but for me personally I have kept my expectations so LOW that this album was actually a pleasant surprise for me...the only song I really liked a lot was Underground, the rest is what it is...a producer driven record by three members of a once great band...I understand and don't disagree with a lot of what you're saying, but I think speak for a few here when I say we all KNOW that JANE'S IS DEAD...but yeah, we're that desperate for something halfway decent from these guys we've been rooting for so many years that we see this as at least halfway acceptable...Strays wasn't just a letdown because of the material, it was a letdown because the band themselves were trying to live up to something they couldn't...I don't think they did that this time around and I think people are appreciating the material more because of that, etc...but me personally I like about half of the songs on this, about the same as Strays and prolly won't be listening to any of this in 6 months...lowered expectations baby...

what i'm saying is do whatever you like to FORCE yrself to like this record. but you shouldn't have to do that. you should just like it and it should be amazing because it is jane's addiction. ya see?

we are jane's addiction fans, so we are the target crowd here. so we should think this record is GOD himself. but we don't. we like a song here or there, we make excuses for the others, so we can listen to those as well.

if you wanna separate it, then do so. what if you didn't know who perry was and some handed you this record, free from yr prior history with JA. it's still shit. probably even more so.


that said, some of these songs could probably get p!nk or avril a hit song.

[Japhy]

blah, blah, blah... token mention of xiola.org etc

Ok mate, appreciate all that. I'd better not like it anymore then or else i'll be some kind of fraudulent Jane's fan... sorry, i hadn't read the "real fan" handbook.

When you get a second, can you please let me know what killer 2011 releases i should be listening to because i only intended on buying this Jane's record all year.

Thanks.

you do realize it's October of 2011 and you are only gonna buy this release? you are way gone. i hate to inform ya, but you are not a music lover. yr sitting in yr comfortable chair the past. let it go. maybe this is the problem with many of ya.

but meanwhile i'll open yr mind a little... all of this is better than the escape artist

wilco - the whole love
radiohead - the king of limbs
TV on the radio - nine type of light
red hot chili peppers - i'm with you
pj harvey - let england shake
fleet foxes - helplessness blues
explosions in the sky - take care, take care, take care
the pains of being pure at heart - belong
st. vincent - strange mercy
mastodon - the hunter (still listening to this one, so i'm not sure, but it's still better than JA)

No way did you not get the sarcasm in my post? You seriously think i haven't bought any music or been to shows? Fuck me pal, you're the one that's gone. Nice obvious list of new music by the way. What happened to you man?

[sonny]

Sonny, the thing is, what DO you expect them to release in 2011? One of my biggest dissapointments over the last few years was the new bauhaus release. It was terrible. It wasn't for lack of trying on the participant's parts but they were trying too hard to recapture lightning in a bottle and they couldn't. I like the fact that this record from Janes Addiction (see what I did there?), doesn't try to do that. And, to me, it is a really good record - one that I have been driving down the highway fast to and enjoying on full volume and also taking pleasure in listening to at home late at night on my headphones. I'm not deluding myself - I like it.

either way yr argument fails. if they try to remake ritual, they will fail. that is a given. some they are trying to make a current record with 3 of the originals and it failed as well.

the only thing i expect is good music and it's not good music. not because it's not ritual, not because eric's not there. none of that matters. it's either good or not and it's just not.

[sonny]

come on people? who are you guys? is this really the same group of people?

satellite party is good?
you think these songs are good, because you are separating them from the original line up?

the only thing i will concede is if you are a fan dave navarro, this is probably the best thing he's done since spread. trust no one was ruined in the studio and he wasn't as present on strays as he is here.

but these songs are weak.

step away for a little bit and listen to some music that came out this year, 2011. there are amazing artist creating music. some are new some are older like jane's addiction, but those folks are making real good music.

this band is lost. they aren't really sure what to do. allowing perry to take his dance music and turn it into jane's addiction songs, because dave and stephen played on it, isn't enough.

i know it's hard, as you might say bitter, pill to swallow, but jane's addiction is dead. you can say this isn't the original jane's addiction, so it's ok if they sorta suck. it's not ok. they are still using the name jane's addiction.

i know you guys are fans of jane's addiction, but you don't have to lap up their shit.

how many of you folks are willing to put yr money where yr mouth is and buy this shit? i bet the number is low.

it's nothing personal for me, if it was good, i'd say so. i might even bring xiola.org back from the dead if it were good enough to get behind.

i am pissed that it's not good. you should be too. but instead you guys are making excuses left and right. it's not as good as this or these guys are older now, so they don't have to make good music.

drop all the excuses. is it good or not? it's not good. standing alone or compared to old jane's or compared to other 2011 releases. anyway you slice it, this album is shit.

i forgive a lot of the drivel here, because most are so out of touch with the original jane's addiction and it's history. time will tell. i suspect 2 years from now, you'll have trouble remembering the title of this record, much less the songs.

one thing you will remember is there is a song on there that is in response to xiola.org's interviews with eric avery. i bet you'll remember that. ;)

You don't like the record, that's okay, but don't tell people how to feel about the record and call us "lesser fans making excuses" for it. I like it and many people here do. Six7Six7 sure as shit didn't have any reason to like it, he's called Perry out for years. I also haven't liked any of their output post Strays, but this record has some songs that I'm enjoying.

i'm only questioning how you could like this and ritual/shocking era jane's addiction. how could one person realize how great ritual/shocking is and still think this alterna/pop bullshit is good.

i can question yr taste and i can question whether you grasp what jane's addiction is/was.

[sonny]

blah, blah, blah... token mention of xiola.org etc

Ok mate, appreciate all that. I'd better not like it anymore then or else i'll be some kind of fraudulent Jane's fan... sorry, i hadn't read the "real fan" handbook.

When you get a second, can you please let me know what killer 2011 releases i should be listening to because i only intended on buying this Jane's record all year.

Thanks.

you do realize it's October of 2011 and you are only gonna buy this release? you are way gone. i hate to inform ya, but you are not a music lover. yr sitting in yr comfortable chair the past. let it go. maybe this is the problem with many of ya.

but meanwhile i'll open yr mind a little... all of this is better than the escape artist

wilco - the whole love
radiohead - the king of limbs
TV on the radio - nine type of light
red hot chili peppers - i'm with you
pj harvey - let england shake
fleet foxes - helplessness blues
explosions in the sky - take care, take care, take care
the pains of being pure at heart - belong
st. vincent - strange mercy
mastodon - the hunter (still listening to this one, so i'm not sure, but it's still better than JA)

No way did you not get the sarcasm in my post? You seriously think i haven't bought any music or been to shows? Fuck me pal, you're the one that's gone. Nice obvious list of new music by the way. What happened to you man?

you said it. i listed the obvious selections to show the clear flaw in yr argument. if you want to dismiss what you said with the lame "just kidding" go ahead.

either way it only proves there are a dozen or more records better than jane's addiction's album, just this year. why would i spend money on this shit?

[Japhy]

you said it. i listed the obvious selections to show the clear flaw in yr argument.

What's my argument? And where did i say that the Fleet Foxes album wasn't as good as the Jane's one? You're daft as a brush mate. But all the banter aside, you should fucking stick around on this site and stop nipping in every now and then... it's a bit tiring when you dominate the boards for a couple of hours.

[kv]

Bitter? Maybe. But definitely biased. It would be impossible for him to judge it any other way. After 5 years away from interacting with the Jane's camp can I only now begin to feel disconnected enough to not let personal feelings influence how I hear the band. In fact, it's only been over the past few months that I've started listening to the old catalogue again.

[kv]

blah, blah, blah... token mention of xiola.org etc

Ok mate, appreciate all that. I'd better not like it anymore then or else i'll be some kind of fraudulent Jane's fan... sorry, i hadn't read the "real fan" handbook.

When you get a second, can you please let me know what killer 2011 releases i should be listening to because i only intended on buying this Jane's record all year.

Thanks.

you do realize it's October of 2011 and you are only gonna buy this release? you are way gone. i hate to inform ya, but you are not a music lover. yr sitting in yr comfortable chair the past. let it go. maybe this is the problem with many of ya.

but meanwhile i'll open yr mind a little... all of this is better than the escape artist

wilco - the whole love
radiohead - the king of limbs
TV on the radio - nine type of light
red hot chili peppers - i'm with you
pj harvey - let england shake
fleet foxes - helplessness blues
explosions in the sky - take care, take care, take care
the pains of being pure at heart - belong
st. vincent - strange mercy
mastodon - the hunter (still listening to this one, so i'm not sure, but it's still better than JA)

can't argue tastes some people like shit music..i still say it feels way stronger then strays..even though it won't be enough to buy it for me...

[Deconstruction]

come on people? who are you guys? is this really the same group of people?

satellite party is good?
you think these songs are good, because you are separating them from the original line up?

the only thing i will concede is if you are a fan dave navarro, this is probably the best thing he's done since spread. trust no one was ruined in the studio and he wasn't as present on strays as he is here.

but these songs are weak.

step away for a little bit and listen to some music that came out this year, 2011. there are amazing artist creating music. some are new some are older like jane's addiction, but those folks are making real good music.

this band is lost. they aren't really sure what to do. allowing perry to take his dance music and turn it into jane's addiction songs, because dave and stephen played on it, isn't enough.

i know it's hard, as you might say bitter, pill to swallow, but jane's addiction is dead. you can say this isn't the original jane's addiction, so it's ok if they sorta suck. it's not ok. they are still using the name jane's addiction.

i know you guys are fans of jane's addiction, but you don't have to lap up their shit.

how many of you folks are willing to put yr money where yr mouth is and buy this shit? i bet the number is low.

it's nothing personal for me, if it was good, i'd say so. i might even bring xiola.org back from the dead if it were good enough to get behind.

i am pissed that it's not good. you should be too. but instead you guys are making excuses left and right. it's not as good as this or these guys are older now, so they don't have to make good music.

drop all the excuses. is it good or not? it's not good. standing alone or compared to old jane's or compared to other 2011 releases. anyway you slice it, this album is shit.

i forgive a lot of the drivel here, because most are so out of touch with the original jane's addiction and it's history. time will tell. i suspect 2 years from now, you'll have trouble remembering the title of this record, much less the songs.

one thing you will remember is there is a song on there that is in response to xiola.org's interviews with eric avery. i bet you'll remember that. ;)

You don't like the record, that's okay, but don't tell people how to feel about the record and call us "lesser fans making excuses" for it. I like it and many people here do. Six7Six7 sure as shit didn't have any reason to like it, he's called Perry out for years. I also haven't liked any of their output post Strays, but this record has some songs that I'm enjoying.

i'm only questioning how you could like this and ritual/shocking era jane's addiction. how could one person realize how great ritual/shocking is and still think this alterna/pop bullshit is good.

i can question yr taste and i can question whether you grasp what jane's addiction is/was.

Again, you're being a closed minded self righteous ass. So you are saying anybody who likes the new record isn't a real Jane's fan and can't grasp what Jane's is? Get off your high horse, we all listen to the records and no fan is better than any other fan. These guys are in their 40's and 50's, they're never going to make music that sounds like Ritual/Nothing's Shocking, even if Eric had made a new record with them. I have no problem with some pop influences coming, I think Perry has some killer melodies on the album, I don't give a fuck if they're pop or whatever. I like The Great Escape Artist, like I said it's fine that you don't like it, I disagree with some people here about their favorite/least favorite tracks, but you need to get over the fact that there are actually people who like the record. You aren't going to change anyone's mind, give it a rest.

Also Sonny, I'm not into many of the bands or records you listed (outside of the Chili Peppers, I prefer old Radiohead).

[Kajicat]

I agree with quite a bit of Sonny's review, but at the same time he's wearing his heart on his sleeve so much that you can tell he's a "cynical asshole" - his post on Xiola.org directly before the album review sums Sonny up perfectly at this point. I feel bad for you Sonny, you obviously love Jane's so much and have put so much time into following the band that it absolutely crushes you when they release material that doesn't meet the standards of their past.

Jane's is my fav band of all time, and the new material certainly isn't amazing, but it's still good...not bad...but good music as far as I'm concerned. I didn't expect NS or Ritual...I knew they were heading a completely different direction, and that's fine in my book as bands need to grow and experiment.

If I feel the urge to listen to old classic Jane's I can always pop in XXX, NS, or Ritual but if I wanna' hear what they're up to now in 2011 I can pop in TGEA. Doesn't tarnish them at all to me. I guess I just don't care as much as you, Super Fan. As of right now, I've listened to TGEA twice and I like Strays better (I've ALWAYS liked Strays, since it was released). But who knows, it will grow on me for sure and I might end up liking it more than Strays in the future. Not sure yet.

[CaseyContrarian]

I'm fairly disappointed that Sonny seems to be implying that people here don't "get" what made JA great, or that he alone possesses a special insight. Some of us are accomplished musicians who have been with JA since the beginning, so to claim that we're not tuned into their original greatness is frankly insulting. When Sonny nuked his site, vaporizing years of conversation and lively debate, most of us accepted that it was his choice. Much like it is our choice whether or not to enjoy the new record.

[tubro]

perry and eric and now sonny have all been stricken with the disease of blurting. it happens for a lot of reasons, i guess, but most often it seems to occur when people who are very emotional about something or someone decide to air it all out in a manner they perceive to be brutally honest and no holds barred. my guess is that anyone in that situation is likely to later rethink what they said and how they said it, insofar as even if they stand behind the message, they regret some of the tone. i posted that clip of john lennon commenting, years later, on having sung 'how do you sleep at night you cunt' to paul, and he said words to the effect that as he thought about it year later he was talking to and about himself as much as to and about paul and anyway, after all the intervening years, all that really matters is how he and paul feel about each other. i think that in the long haul that well describes how perry and eric may look at each other and may look back at some of the things they blurted. and from his review, i sense that sonny feels that he somehow is part of that equation. and in a way he is, i guess, but he's also not at all. but i'll always appreciate you a lot, sonny. i've been a music freak for 35 years and your site (and now its progeny) is the only one that i've ever visited repeatedly and posted on. you became the moderator and flame tender for one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time. so everyone has the right to vent, or blurt, and anyone can go overboard from emotion or anger or bitterness or any other emotion. And while i don't really embrace that much of your assessment (which isnt to say that i love TGEA--i don't -- its just that the place you're coming from as a reviewer is far from where i sit) i enjoyed reading this thread of your bash and subsequent defense of it.

[Pandemonium]

Again, Sonny makes a few points I agree with but his personal issues just cloud and undermine his opinion.

I dunno, what exactly in the band or the individual members past 20 years worth of music made anything think they'd come even close to matching the quality of XXX, NS and Ritual? Good as P4P was and bits of other non-Janes projects have been as well as parts of Strays, none of 'em ever came close to the original trilogy. Just the last 10 years worth of individual projects (especially Perrys'), the fact they brought in Sitek to do song doctor duties and the previews of IF and ETTL made it pretty clear this wasn't going to be Jane's stylistically successful "Achtung Baby" reinvention of their trademark sound that would hold any ground to their original albums (like that record did).

I guess that's why this release for better or worse isn't a big deal to me. It's what I expected under the circumstances. I don't hate it, there *are* a few songs and bits n' pieces that I like and I'll even buy the cd next week because I'm an OCD completest when it comes to artists I've followed for a long time.

[tcrock]

running xiola has gotten to sonny's head, in a bad way. Dude, blowing up your site was a good first step, next step is to ignore Janes subject matter altogether. Seriously, i think something popped in there. I haven't listened to the album yet, so we shall see how I feel when I do....It is safe to say however, I will not be questioning people's opinions on it if they differ from my own and accusing them of "not getting" Jane's. This was the shit that drove me crazy on xiola.

[JOEinPHX]

[sonny]

I agree with quite a bit of Sonny's review, but at the same time he's wearing his heart on his sleeve so much that you can tell he's a "cynical asshole" - his post on Xiola.org directly before the album review sums Sonny up perfectly at this point. I feel bad for you Sonny, you obviously love Jane's so much and have put so much time into following the band that it absolutely crushes you when they release material that doesn't meet the standards of their past.

Jane's is my fav band of all time, and the new material certainly isn't amazing, but it's still good...not bad...but good music as far as I'm concerned. I didn't expect NS or Ritual...I knew they were heading a completely different direction, and that's fine in my book as bands need to grow and experiment.

If I feel the urge to listen to old classic Jane's I can always pop in XXX, NS, or Ritual but if I wanna' hear what they're up to now in 2011 I can pop in TGEA. Doesn't tarnish them at all to me. I guess I just don't care as much as you, Super Fan. As of right now, I've listened to TGEA twice and I like Strays better (I've ALWAYS liked Strays, since it was released). But who knows, it will grow on me for sure and I might end up liking it more than Strays in the future. Not sure yet.

it's not even past standards. it's just not good by any measure. and most here can't say they like it without following it with some excuse.

can any of you sit here and say this album is 2011 jane's addiction? this is right where 2011 jane's addiction should be?

[sonny]

you said it. i listed the obvious selections to show the clear flaw in yr argument.

What's my argument? And where did i say that the Fleet Foxes album wasn't as good as the Jane's one? You're daft as a brush mate. But all the banter aside, you should fucking stick around on this site and stop nipping in every now and then... it's a bit tiring when you dominate the boards for a couple of hours.

you said it a few posts ago. daft? mate?

jane's addiction is the only album you are buying, etc.