For all the indie rock nerds out there, you’ll be pleased to know it’s not just Radiohead’s Thom Yorke who chooses to unwind with a little yoga. My Morning Jacket’s Jim James is all about getting his yoga retreat on to unplug.
On tour now to promote his debut solo album, “Regions of Light and Sound of God,” which is being lauded by music critics and described as having a “higher level of personal mysticism and spirituality,” James seems to be seeking a certain tranquility he can only find when detached from technology and, apparently, on weekend yoga retreats. He told Knoxville.com:
“I just went on a three-day yoga retreat and left the phone off, and it was really nice. I always try to give it up completely when I’m on vacation. More day to day, I try my best just to use it as a tool — I like to think of them as a hammer, a tool that you pick up for a specific use, but then you put down. But I’m like everybody else and have my moments where I’m just (expletive) sucked into that thing and can’t look away from it.”
James continues about our gadget dependency, the theme behind his new album’s opening track “State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.).”:
“In a nutshell, it’s really about trying to have a balanced life and not getting too swept up by the flood of technology in our lives right now. Life is hard and can be really lonely, and a lot of us now seek solace in the online world. Our smartphones can be very hypnotic. “
He says as he stares wistfully into his iPhone screen with the meditation app, the yoga pose app, the app that reminds him to breathe and the app that tells him where the closest yoga classes are happening RIGHT NOW.
Switch it off, man! Save yourselves!
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Earlier…
