It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright is the fourth studio album by American indie band mewithoutYou. The record was Produced by Brian McTear and Daniel Smith, and was released on May 19, 2009 through Tooth & Nail Records.[1] The album is much more focused on the band's melodic and folk influences, such as Neutral Milk Hotel and Bob Dylan, with most of the songs written around the acoustic guitar. Many other instruments are used throughout the album, such as bells, violins, and an accordion. The poetic themes in the album include lyrical confessions, pastoral reflections, and parables. There is also a focus on spiritual reflection, existential meaning through the love of God and others, and the teachings of Sufi mystic Bawa Muhaiyaddeen.
| It's All Crazy! It’s All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 19, 2009 | |||
| Studio | Miner Street Recordings, Philadelphia | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 44:57 | |||
| Label | Tooth & Nail | |||
| Producer | Daniel Smith and Brian McTear | |||
| MewithoutYou chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk.net | (84%) link |
| AllMusic |    link |
| Christianity Today | link |
| Jesus Freak Hideout | link |
| Rock Sound | (10/10) link |
| Sputnikmusic | link |
Track listing
editMusic by mewithoutYou, lyrics by Aaron Weiss.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Every Thought a Thought of You" | 3:31 |
| 2. | "The Fox, the Crow and the Cookie" | 3:31 |
| 3. | "The Angel of Death Came to David's Room" | 3:54 |
| 4. | "Goodbye, I!" | 3:50 |
| 5. | "A Stick, a Carrot & String" | 3:06 |
| 6. | "Bullet to Binary (Pt. Two)" | 5:12 |
| 7. | "Timothy Hay" | 3:37 |
| 8. | "Fig with a Bellyache" | 3:31 |
| 9. | "Cattail Down" | 3:47 |
| 10. | "The King Beetle on a Coconut Estate" | 6:01 |
| 11. | "Allah, Allah, Allah" | 4:55 |
Lyrical themes
editIt's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright explores many of the teachings of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen. The Sufi teacher's story of "The Fox, the Crow, and the Cookie" from My Love You My Children: 101 Stories for Children[2] is told as well as his story about the "King Beetle" from The Divine Luminous Wisdom that Dispels Darkness.[3] Other concepts from the teacher are explored in "Allah, Allah, Allah," about seeing God in every blade of grass and in "Fig with a Bellyache" dealing with sexual temptation from The Divine Luminous Wisdom... and The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh.[4]
The album's mixture of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim themes has been the subject of much critical attention, with the band exploring Islamic concepts such as the oneness and universality of God.[5][6][7]
Awards
editIn 2010, the album was nominated for a Dove Award for Recorded Music Packaging of the Year at the 41st GMA Dove Awards.[8]
References
edit- ^ "mewithoutYou | it's all crazy! it's all false! it's all a dream! it's alright". Tooth & Nail. Archived from the original on December 4, 2009. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- ^ "Children's Stories : Sufi Books, Audio and Videos by M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen". Bmfstore.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- ^ Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. (December 12, 1972). The Divine Luminous Wisdom: That ... The Fellowship Press. ISBN 9780914390114. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- ^ "Q&A With mewithoutYou". Magnetmagazine.com. May 1, 2009. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- ^ "Now Hear This!: mewithoutYou [Philadelphia, PA], PopMatters". PopMatters. May 18, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
- ^ Morehead, Jason (June 2, 2009). "Josh Hurst Reviews mewithoutYou's It's all crazy! It's all false! It's all a dream! It's alright!". Opus. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
- ^ "mewithoutYou, "It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright" Review". www.jesusfreakhideout.com. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
- ^ "41st Annual GMA Dove Awards nominees announced", The Tennessean (February 18, 2010)[dead link]