When I say “Jack Johnson”, what comes to mind? If you’re like most people, you’d probably say “nothing”, because you’ve never heard of him. But for those of us who know this mass of musicianship, the first thing that probably comes to mind is relaxing somewhere. Perhaps it’s on a beach, chillin’ out with friends or family, or just by your lonesome self. You may listen to his music for various reasons. Maybe it’s to relieve some stress. Maybe it’s to unwind after a long day. Or maybe it’s to impress your girlfriend. But no matter what your reasons for listening are, Jack makes music for one very simple reason: because he enjoys doing it.

It’s my belief that if there was nobody listening to him, he would still be playing his guitar and singing some tunes to himself somewhere in Hawaii. But, he decided to put his wonderfully soothing melodies onto a disc so that everyone else could enjoy them and sing along with him. So let’s just say that no one buys any more of his CDs…ever. Then what? Well then, he’ll probably just go back to playing in a room by himself, or maybe to an audience of Hermit crabs on a beach. The point that I’m trying to get at is that this man truly enjoys doing what he does, and it shows on all of his albums, from Brushfire Fairytales to In Between Dreams. He is essentially what a musician should be about; making music for the sake of making music.

And on Brushfire Fairytales, he doesn’t just make music. He makes great music. Music that you can listen to over and over and over…


1) Inaudible Melodies
Slow down everyone
You're moving too fast
Frames can't catch you when you're moving like that

Right from the start, Jack is asking everyone who is listening to just take it easy. Don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the world that you take for granted all of the little things that can mean so much. He’s basically telling you that he just wants you to do him a favor. That favor, should you choose to accept it, is that you should sit back and listen to his CD…and relax. I know that Frankie told you to relax a long time ago, but Jack is telling you with a lot more sincerity…and without a studded cod piece to distract you from his message.

2) Middle Man
Maybe give a friend a call instead of making him confused
What a terrible thing for you to do

Middle Man opens with a thumping bass line that could rival any 2 Live Crew record you’ve ever had cranked up in your 㥤 Daytona. Well, maybe not. But it is quite a different sound from the previous track. Jack jazzes it up with some tropical strumming and a quicker, almost rambling, delivery. Here’s a fun drinking game you can play with a friend: listen to this song, and have your friend try to sing along with it. For every word that they mess up, you take a shot of Vodka and then punch them in the face. I guarantee that you’ll be blitzed and they’ll be bruised in about 12 seconds. But even though I can’t understand a-one word of the verses, I love how he draws out the words of the chorus (i.e. “making him confuuuuuuuuused”).

3) Posters
Looking at himself but wishing he was someone else
Because the posters on the wall, they don't look like him at all

I have a feeling that this one is targeted towards people my age, because it seems that the 16-24 age bracket is always being told that they’re not good enough the way they are. That we need some enhancements before we can be happy with ourselves. But Mr. Johnson is here to counteract that message with one of his own: you’re fine just the way you are. If you try to be someone else, then chances are, people won’t like you anyways. Not you. They’ll like “that other person” that you are (or aren’t). I think it’s one of the more thought-provoking songs that he has ever written. And he backs it perfectly, with a dainty guitar and an occasional chime from a bell thrown in to accentuate his point.

4) Sexy Plexi
Just like glass with no ring
Softer and sadder you sing
Sexy, sexy do your thing

This is just a cool, groovy song. (Oh dear God, did I actually just use the word “groovy”? Somebody shoot me now.) This is definitely a song that would be good to have in the background if you’re on a date. Just don’t let her pay too much attention to the lyrics; otherwise she might get turned off pretty quickly. From what I gather, this song is about a girl who’s either a stripper or a hooker, I’m not sure which. Let’s put it this way, she’s someone who gets degraded on a regular basis. Not exactly the type of thing that would make a girl feel comfortable listening to in your room. But as long as you keep her somewhat distracted, you should be fine.

5) Flake
It seems to me that maybe
Pretty much always means no

I can’t ever recall hearing such truth in such a small amount of words. “Maybe pretty much always means no.” How true, Jack. How true. Here’s what’s so great about Brushfire Fairytales: If you listen to the lyrics of each song separately, you will get a completely different feeling than if you listen to the music separately. In the lyrics, you hear him talk about significantly sincere things, but the music is so mellow and calm that it lets you breathe his honesty in without it being forced down your throat. For that, I love this song. We get a catchy, Cuban beat offered up with, of all things, a xylophone. Who else utilizes the xylophone in their debut single? I know damn well that Limp Bizkit isn’t doing that. (Eeck. Now I have to go wash my hands off with insecticide after typing something that was related to Mr. Red Cap.)

6) Bubble Toes
It's as common as something that nobody knows
That her beauty will follow wherever she goes

I know this to be a favorite among my female friends, and I have no shame in admitting that I like it too. You ask me, “Jake, how can you, a person of the male species, admit to liking such a wooingly sweet song?” Well, to you, kind sir, I have to just say this: “The song is about someone else’s feet. And it’s not a creepy fetish song. And it’s good.” Actually, it’s not entirely about someone’s feet, although it does make some references to them during the duration of the song. It’s about his love for his now-wife, then-crush, and how being “just friends” with her made him go crazy. I’m a big fan of the bluesy intro, as well.

7) Fortunate Fool
She's the one that stumbles when she talks about it
So maybe we shouldn't talk about such a fortunate fool

Another bluesy submission coming from the subtle strings of Jack’s guitar. Nothing too fancy coming in terms of the bass, but still pretty cool. I do like the little taps that he does just after he does a down stroke. I don’t know why, but I appreciate those little nuances. Nothing bad that I can say about this song, but nothing extraordinary I can say about it either. It certainly doesn’t inhale as vigorously (suck, in laymen’s terms) as much as Celine Dion, but it’s not exactly Bohemian Rhapsody. Just a good, middle-of-the road song.

8) The News
Why don't the newscasters cry when they read about people who die?
At least they could be decent enough to put just a tear in their eyes

This is certainly the most interesting in terms of lyrical content. He compares the nightly news that he watches as an adult to the bedtime stories and lullabies of his childhood. And he raises some intriguing questions about human morality, such as why “A billion people died on the news tonight/But not so many cried at the terrible sight”. You know that they meant something to somebody somewhere, but since you didn’t know them personally, you don’t bat an eye at it. Maybe it’s because the news has become such an impersonal thing that we have built up sort of a tolerance to it. Or maybe it’s because, since everything that happens on the news is so far away from us that we tend to think of it as nothing more than part of a plotline in a movie. It’s kind of a sad song to listen to, actually.

9) Drink the Water
And if heaven was below he'd know just where to go
Dive in the ocean and he'd sink like a stone

For as calming as Brushfire Fairytales is, it tackles a wide variety of serious subjects. On this song, the topic of discussion is Jack’s drinking problem. “What?” you say. I know, I know. I was thinking the same thing. How could a laid-back surfer/songwriter have a drinking problem? I though that was reserved for Slash and other hairy-chested hard rockers. Well, you’re wrong. In Drink the Water, Jack compares his descent into the liquor bottle as him diving into a vast ocean and drowning. This song has more of a modern-rock feel than anything else on the album.

10) Mudfootball
We used to laugh a lot
But only because we thought
That everything good always would remain
Nothing's gonna change there's no need to complain

The carefree spirit of this song reminisces about the good ‘ol days of youth, where every day was about having as much fun as possible, without thinking about anything else except for what you were doing at that exact moment. There’s no reason to think about the future when you can enjoy what’s happening in the present. But what’s ironic about this song is that I can’t help but think about the past AND the future when I listen to it. But I think that’s what Jack was trying to do. He wants you to realize that you have to eventually start thinking about what’s ahead, as hard as it may be to do. But I can’t get depressed because it has such a cheery mood about it.

11) F-Stop Blues
Look who's laughing now that you've wasted
How many years and you've barely even tasted
Anything remotely close to everything you've boasted about
Look who's crying now

This one shares similar ideas with Mudfootball, but this time it’s just a little different. Whereas Mudfootball was about living in the present, F-Stop Blues is about living in the past. Both songs beg you to look to the future, but they go about it in different ways. I think a lot of this song revolves around baby Jack, or at least adolescent Johnson. In any event, his memories have crafted a great song. Again, I love how he really draws out certain words, especially when he sings the “imagining lightning striking” line and he over-accentuates each word.

12) Losing Hope
Losing hope is easy
When your only friend is gone
And every time you look around
Well, it all, it all just seems to change

Suddenly, it goes from mildly disheartening to all-out depressing by the press of the “Next” button on the CD player. This is the only song by Jack Johnson (and one of the very few songs in general) that has made me shed a tear. Every time I hear him sing that chorus, I immediately think about most of my friends going to college and how much things are going to change in the next couple of weeks and months…and years. The running theme throughout Brushfire Fairytales seems to be about thinking in terms of the future and adjusting to change. This stays with that theme, but gives you a sliver of hope at the end of the song when Jack proclaims “Hanging on is easy/When you’ve got a friend to call/When nothing’s making sense at all/You’re not the only one who’s afraid of change.” Thanks for the light at the end of the tunnel, Jack, because otherwise I might have had to go curl up in the fetal position and have a good cry.

13) It’s All Understood
Fact is only what you believe
And fact and fiction work as a team
It's almost always fiction in the end

I’m not sure why Jack decided to end his CD on such a dismal note, but I guess it’s his album and he can do what he wants. However depressing it may be, it does provide what I believe to be the disc’s best lyric: “Fact and fiction work as a team.” If that doesn’t make you think, maybe you need to get some extra neurons pumped into your skull. I just wish that this song had some up-tempo melodies to back it up. With that said, I can’t say that I hate it, because I actually like what Jack did on the guitar. Some relatively simple picking gives him more of a chance to shine vocally, so it’s not all that bad. Still, I definitely would have chosen a different song to end the album on.


Well, although there are a couple of tiny trepidations that I have with Brushfire Fairytales, it still doesn’t take away from it being a wonderfully understated CD full of easygoing melodies. Kudos to you, Mr. Johnson, on providing such a satisfying escape from the worries of the world. I hope that you and your guitar continue to make love--I mean--make music for many, many years to come.


Related Reviews for This Artist:
On and On...
In Between Dreams
Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Waking up