Cloud Cult: The Meaning of 8

So I realized that when I talk about music, understanding what I'm saying is entirely contingent upon having heard the album and also some sort of infantile brain damage. I really feel that the solution to this is for everyone to immediately buy any album i talk about, rather than slightly modify my methods. This will give the added benefit of having Cloud Cult's mission statement, a sort of eco-friendly approach to album production that ends up in quite aesthetic packaging, become inextricably tied to their music. It has happened already, in that any review mentions Minowa's ideologies as much as his musical vacillations but asking him to engage in a high demand capitalism would tax his natural inclinations to release CDs made of used condoms and diapers.

Of course, The Meaning of 8 is the result of a singular opinion, the sort of album that tries and fails on the merits of one man alone, and eventually succeeds because of this. I don't think anything Minowa says, persay, is intrinsically interesting, but the fact that he so believes his lyrics lends them a sort of importance within the music. So what I'm saying is the analogy looks like this - reviews of Cloud Cult : environmental politics :: Cloud Cult : Minowa. This seems reductionist to say the least, and something Buccigross has been doing for years on Sportscenter (as Belle is to & Sebastian so too is Andruw Jones to the Braves) but what separates an effective cult and one that gets disbanded after no one can decide on what kind of robes to wear is the unified message. It doesn't matter if it's Herff Applewhite, the dude from Polyphonic Spree or even Dr. Jaques A. Bailly, you need to know exactly what you're saying, and sometimes the language of origin.

End of Year Rank for Meaning of 8: 7