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Jon James: Home

NEWS (2/7/10 - Minneapolis):

Enduring the rigors of time travel to kick 2010 in the teeth, Au Contraire has officially dropped ... (more)

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myspace1.pngWHAT IF Buddy Holly used a flux capacitor to visit us in present day? And what if he did so under the strict condition that, upon arrival, he had to rock out with powerful, gained-up guitars and make modern-day, chest-beating, pop-stained, hyper-melodic, finger-in-your-eye ROCK? Of course he would still have to wear his '50s garb and horn-rimmed glasses. And he would still have to be polite and sensitive -- especially if you knew him personally. What would the music sound like? Would he be able to pull it off? Would it be a little scary, like he might get hurt making such kick-ass music?

Exciting, dreamy, intimate: Au Contraire! Carnivalish, ambitious, intense: Au Contraire!

I am all of those things too, Mr. James! And I claimed outright ownership of your record immediately upon hearing it! Maybe it was already mine! Maybe it’s actually about me or of me! Or maybe it’s just made for me to use as I wish: “Hey everyone! Watch me listen to this record! Look how exciting I can be!” 

Wait a minute. Maybe a little skepticism is in order. Is Mr. James really capable of such an accomplishment? Did someone help him do this? Did this chukka-boot-in-the-chest f**k-force of an album all come exclusively from the inside of his skull? Isn’t this mild-mannered, male-charm-school grad from Loves Park a bit over his skis? Did he, like Mr. Holly, also suffer injury making something so elegantly forceful and apishly big?

Excitement … what a difficult thing to achieve with music, huh?

I guess it’s plausible that I’m just somehow predisposed to love Mr. James’ music. And realizing this possibility is certainly not intended to rob him of any due credit. Au Contraire! It must mean that he is really on to something if I like it.

(Joel Criner, Minneapolis)