Last year, I literally gave myself a mere three frickin' days to conceive and produce Songs For Relay, my self-made charity compilation for last year's Relay for Life in Pottstown.

Not to be selfish, but I was thinking of getting some sleep while working on the sequel this year. So I'm starting now, instead of--you know--the week of.

The gist is this: cancer sucks. And music is how I deal with things that suck. Just ask any of my ex-girlfriends. So, I put songs that I feel carry weight for people who are dealing with something heavy, like cancer, on a mix CD and sell it for $5 in tandem with The Pottstown Relay For Life.

All 500 pennies from each sold comp go to Pottstown's Relay For Life, who give all the money to the American Cancer Society (we raised over a milly two years ago). Artists who lend me their songs get nothing, and I get nothing. But we all sleep soundly at night knowing we used music to help someone through something, man. Bono would be proud.

So, it's time for some more songs for Relay. I don't need songs about cancer or dealing with it specifically. For instance, the song that gave me the idea to do this whole thing was a beautiful live cut of My Morning Jacket's "Bermuda Highway" (from the Acoustic Citsuoca EP). Listening to it filled me with strength. It's not a song about dealing with a difficult disease, but about not giving up on your hopes, dreams, and passions. Those are the songs I want: strong songs.

I'll approach artists/managers both big and local to get some songs on this year's comp, but don't be shy if you got the perfect song for this and are willing to help out. I'll do more to promote the bands I use this year too, because you know, I'm giving myself more than 3 days to pull the whole thing together. So send me some submissions, whether you're U2 or a local solo guy that's never played a live show.

Last year, I sold 100 copies (remember, I sequenced, burned, pasted, taped, and distributed totally on my own), raising $500. The goal this year is to double that.

Send your band's submissions to c.march@hotmail.com
or
The Mercury ATTN: Chris March 24 N. Hanover Street Pottstown, PA 19464

Look forward to hearing from you.

What I really want for Christmas is the voice of Jim James, but I'll settle for this My Morning Jacket cover of The King's "Santa Claus Is Back In Town." It's my favorite "Christmas is coming boys and girls" song of the season. And like I said, there ain't no voice with more gift than Mr. James', so download it and revel in it.

MP3: My Morning Jacket - Santa Claus Is Back In Town (Live radio show performance from 2001)
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My Morning Jacket - "Evil Urges"

For the longest time, I really tried to like My Morning Jacket. I really really did.

From the beginning of the band's buzz very early on, I literally had to force myself to understand what all the mouth-watering hootenanny from their uber obsessive fanboys was all about.

"The best live band alive."

"Each song off each record is different and unique, you gotta hear them, man. Fo realz!"

Anyone who was anyone in the taste making music-sphere spoke the world of them, so how could I not at least attempt to see what the uproar was about?

I bought each record of their's since 2001's "At Dawn" and most of the time, I found my self WANTING to like them, instead of finding myself past the point of no return in a profound obsession, like everyone else spurring off about their records.

Beginning with that record, I saw the diamond seeds of something wonderful. Some of those songs were impeccably gorgeous, some of the best songs written from that pre 9-11 time period. "Bermuda Highway" is, to this day, one of the most beautiful songs I've ever listened to. And Jim James' transcendental vocals showcased the most wide-open soul-baring wails I'd ever heard. What an angel voice. A white wolf of super soul! Otis Redding, Etta James, Michael Jackson all put to shame, like THAT! His voice was perfect. TOO perfect. Too pristine and instrumental to sit in a set of headphones with any other instruments around it.

But, the seeds were all I saw, and they weren't sewn. None of the record really bloomed for me. The songs were awesome, but executed much differently than they begged to be. I was totally wowed by the details, but as a whole, the record was just too dusty Kentucky. And it's not that I don't dig some folk or some Band of Horses and Limbeck, because I totally do. But My Morning Jacket were doing the wrong things with their razor sharp talents, and it turned me off where it turned others on. Their grungey southern dirt rock needed less twang and more verve to properly exude their fabled greatness. They barked when they should have wailed. And so I found myself digging holes in the wrong fields.

With each new record, I found myself gravitating towards more and more of their growing songs, but still, it was Jim's voice and his lyrics that kept my ears perked, not the records, feedback-heavy solos or set of songs.

That mostly changed with Z, released in 2005. It was like they were Bob Dylan and went electric. Out of nowhere came this ethereal record with a new and lucid air to the music and performance. It was a new jacket for the morning. They mostly cutaway the southern jam band carnival fest taste, but kept the same ingredients to make the spacey trip of "Z." And my mind was blown, as was all the ever-so-smug "I told you so" scenesters, who alas, told me so, oh so long ago.

The half a dozen songs I've heard from their upcoming "Evil Urges" (due June 10) takes that and masters it further. Descending even deeper into the abyss of undefinable music style and uncanny music vision. Remember when Radiohead dropped "Ok Computer" on the world? Yeah, this ain't all that different of a trip, broheem.

"Touch Me I'm Going To Scream (Part 2)" is perhaps the wickedest track I've heard in ages. The song is so alive. It breathes, like a new baby born. It's bristling and bold. It's a rhythmic firecracker, with Jim's voice harrowing from the inside like the warm stirring core of planet earth, spinning out of control. I'm finally and totally convinced this band is every ounce of gravy so many have spoke of for so long now.

But even better than that, I tripped across the band's brightest light while sniffing out these "Evil Urges" tunes. And I hate myself for not digging this up sooner; the "Acoustic Citsuoca" EP from 2004.

I've listened to this on repeat all freaking weekend long and there is no sign of me stopping now. It's sparse, twinkling, live and acoustic, letting Jim man the reigns mostly on his own through this laid-back set of 5 songs. They cherry pick some of the best tunes off their earlier stuff and polish them off here. And boy do they shine. This starry-eyed cut of "Bermuda Highway" is what I will refer to when people ask me what my favorite song is. Mind. Blowing.

And wrapping this all up, have you been wanting to see what all this fuss about The Jacket is for, like I used to? Sign up for eMusic, and use your 50 free downloads you get for signing up to start chomping into their entire catalogue, because eMusic has every release of theirs now, including "Acoustic Citsuoca," and will land "Evil Urges" when it's released in June. eMusic, btw, is my best friend. If you're a music head, and aren't a "I only buy vinyl and/or physical CD" snob, eMusic is a total indie world godsend.