Mindless Self Indulgence Album: “If [Digipak]”

If you're like me, you're probably looking at this in comparison to the original release version of IF, and wondering if you should spend the extra $10 on this album instead. And since I didn't read anything specific about that when I was ordering, I thought a review on the packaging difference and extras would be nice. I think everyone's pretty much covered the music reviews dead on too, so this is mostly for collecting purposes. :)

This 2-Disc album is not in a regular jewel case. Instead, it folds out into three panels with pockets inside, with the main CD in the left panel, the booklet in the middle and the bonus disc in the right one. Anyone who is familiar with Jhonen Vasquez will automatically be drawn to the artwork found in IF, which is very detailed and colorful that's reminiscent of his JTHM/Squee comic books. If you don't know who he is (or just know him for Invader Zim), you'll be introduced to his playful yet morbid style of humor which actually suits MSI really well. Definitely not mom-friendly (duh), but it's certainly a crowd pleaser. There's even a mini-comic inside the booklet that explains the artwork on both CDs as well, which is a small yet effective connection that I found enjoyable. This is a must-have if you enjoy purchasing CD's for their overall presentation and for sharing purposes (with friends asking me about MSI simply because they saw this in my car, for example).

The Bonus disc contains 4 videos of MSI performing live at different venues along with the official music video to Animal. The audio and quality of the videos are great, but if you've watched their performances on YouTube already, it might leave you feeling as if you've seen these before and might not be worth the extra money, but otherwise are great to have in a collection. If you have friends that might not know who MSI are and are curious about them, this comes in handy as well. Also, in comparison to the design of the actual physical album, I found the main menu of the disc to be a bit disappointing. It's just the cover with simple yellow font on top of the fingers that links to each video, which kind of felt a bit cheap compared to other bonus discs that I've owned. A little more creativity would've really added that extra kick in comparison to the regular version (such as an easter egg), but at this point I could be nit picky.

Overall this is a great addition to any fan's collection who are both new and familiar with MSI. Whether you like their previous albums or this one music-wise is completely up to you though. I personally felt disappointed at first, but after listening to it for two months straight, I absolutely love it. Have fun!

It's more like 2.5. It's not really bad by any means, just completely mediocre and forgettable (and MSI's the sort of band I would rather see release a horrible album than a bland one). All of their previous output has been sneeringly sarcastic, antagonistic, hedonistic, manic, ballistic- whereas everything about this album, from the title and packaging to the lyrics, structute and music itself, is completely ignorable. Songs are repetitive and overlong, Jimmy's vocals are lazy and supressed, and the lyrics are uninspired filler. I'm honestly usually the last person to make the assumption that I'm about to, but no album by any other band has seemed so obviously guilty. This is a cash-in.

I love the album, but at the same time i feel that Jimmy is catering to a new generation and has tried something new. I'm so glad that I finally have a studio copy of Revenge, but I liked the way he dragged out the title in the live track. It feels like he really has a new direction with his material, but I would have given my right arm for this album two years ago...

Overall, this is an excellent album but don't expect another Tight or Frankenstein Girls because something so catastrophic to the music world could never be duplicated. If you didn't enjoy You'll Rebel To Anything, for the hard hitting punk electronica less hip hop is on this album.

I like a lot of MSI songs, but this is one of the few albums where basically the whole album is good. The other albums had a bunch of decent ones and some not so great, but I never feel the desire to skip any on this album. Great stuff!

MSI are simply fun and outrageous all at the same time. This is great party music for people who like rap, industrial rock, and punk music. This is probably their third best album. Some of their earlier material is still better but this sin't bad at all.