retracking backspacer

[digster]

I do, although obviously this won't be the case with everyone, and I hardly think Backspacer suddenly becomes people's favorite record. Your reaction to it will be bound by your overall opinion of the songs. Riot Act is instructive here, I think, in the RM context. Riot Act has been significantly rehabilitated on this board over the last decade, and I don't think it's because the songs needed more time to grow, or anything like that.

For many fans, the dreary overtones on that album, the pall that hung over much of it, was really hard to take when it was the standard bearer for the band. it was what pearl jam was, and many people didn't like it. Several records later, when Riot Act is a moment in the catalog rather than the embodiment of what pearl jam is, it is easier to appreciate the choices on their own merits, and interact with the songs for what they are, rather than what you want them to be. Riot Act is still probably at the bottom for me, but I relate to it on its own terms, rather than measuring the songs against what my ideal pearl jam album should be.

I think I'm just willing to give the fans here more credit to be well-versed enough in their own tastes and preferences. The songs wouldn't change if there was a record released two years; The Fixer would still be what it was, Speed of Sound would still have lasers. This just feels like another way of saying "if only there was another record, everyone would see this record for what it really is." They already do, at least relative to their own likes and dislikes. And I don't know if that would shift because another album came down the pipeline quicker. It would be the weird, crappy album that was a blip on PJ's radar instead of the weird, crappy album that was signifying their career.

[stupidmop]

Note to self: start every new thread you create in PJ chat with

PEARL JAM'S LAST TWO ALBUMS SUCKED BUT I KNOW THEY CAN STILL PUT OUT GOOD MUSIC SO WHY DON'T THEY AND EVERYONE ON RM AGREES WITH THIS.

We could probably just wipe the board clean and have this as the only thread. Everyone can +1 till the album comes out and them we can complain about that for a few months till its replaced with a new thread.

PEARL JAM'S LAST THREE ALBUMS SUCKED BUT I KNOW THEY CAN STILL PUT OUT GOOD MUSIC SO WHY DON'T THEY AND EVERYONE ON RM AGREES WITH THIS.

[stip]

actually who knows. It's a thought experiment, but I wonder if Around the Sun would have been received even worse if it had followed a classic like Hi-Fi instead of being the third album in what many saw as a gradual decline.

[malice]

Note to self: start every new thread you create in PJ chat with

PEARL JAM'S LAST TWO ALBUMS SUCKED BUT I KNOW THEY CAN STILL PUT OUT GOOD MUSIC SO WHY DON'T THEY AND EVERYONE ON RM AGREES WITH THIS.

that's too many characters for a thread title, duh

[Heathen]

Note to self: start every new thread you create in PJ chat with

PEARL JAM'S LAST TWO ALBUMS SUCKED BUT I KNOW THEY CAN STILL PUT OUT GOOD MUSIC SO WHY DON'T THEY AND EVERYONE ON RM AGREES WITH THIS.

that's too many characters for a thread title, duh

only the bolded part matters

[harmless]

I feel really lucky. Backspacer became over the course of 2009-2010 one of my favorite albums. I know I am like the only one that feels that way, but I really love the album as it speaks to me. Unthought known and Just breathe for me. are in the two slot of Pearl Jam songs as I believe in ties
so at #1 we have Black, Cordaroy and Givento Fly 2# we have Long Road, Ylb, Do the Evolution, Off he goes, Uthought Known and Just Breathe. Yes I think there are major misteps on this record. Sometimes tripping up a little is a good thing it adds a human element to the whole thing. Ten was missing this.Yield had some trip ups as did Vs, but they were and are great albums.

Backspacer is a good album. Eddie and O'Brien got in the way of it being a great album. I spin it quite a bit and enjoy parts of every song but I think it goes back to whoever said it would have been more accepted if the breaks between albums weren't so great.

Since this notion comes up regularly, let me ask you: what you do mean by more accepted? I mean, I seems to me that it's hard to be offended by this album even if you don't like it, it's just kind of forgettable for the most part so I'm not sure how shorter delays would have been able to make it even more easily forgotten.

Because if they had released it in 09 and then another in 2010/11 it would have been remember that quick fun record they did? it was cool they released a quick little album even though i dont like it that much. Instead of leaving leaving all the things you didnt like about backspacer to fester for 5 years till its transfered onto the band. "they released that short poppy i didnt like that much that one time" "they cant be asked to write music anymore that isnt short and poppy and happy and they're lazy and boring and old and fat fuck mikes guitar tone".

All of this assumes that you would have liked the album that followed backspacer though.

And i'm not saying any of the above is rational.

I get that but what I mean is, isn't that already how BS is seen for the most part? Does anyone really fester for 5 years about this?

You've been reading RM over those 5 years, right?

I don't think this kind of reaction is more than marginal and I wouldn't say it's only because of Backspacer. It seems to me that the most hardcore negative people you see are those that started to see the band decline from S/T on, I don't think BS alone would have been reason enough for anyone to be up in arms against the band.

Yep, I can agree with that. For me it's a whole host of issues that have contributed. Backspacer, being the cartoon album that it is, was just a little window into that frustration. If I'd been happier about everything else, all the new changes and decisions, then I could've enjoyed Backspacer for the fun little album it tried to be. I might even still be playing it at drunken parties. That's what I wish my attitude to Backspacer was.

[stip]

I do, although obviously this won't be the case with everyone, and I hardly think Backspacer suddenly becomes people's favorite record. Your reaction to it will be bound by your overall opinion of the songs. Riot Act is instructive here, I think, in the RM context. Riot Act has been significantly rehabilitated on this board over the last decade, and I don't think it's because the songs needed more time to grow, or anything like that.

For many fans, the dreary overtones on that album, the pall that hung over much of it, was really hard to take when it was the standard bearer for the band. it was what pearl jam was, and many people didn't like it. Several records later, when Riot Act is a moment in the catalog rather than the embodiment of what pearl jam is, it is easier to appreciate the choices on their own merits, and interact with the songs for what they are, rather than what you want them to be. Riot Act is still probably at the bottom for me, but I relate to it on its own terms, rather than measuring the songs against what my ideal pearl jam album should be.

I think I'm just willing to give the fans here more credit to be well-versed enough in their own tastes and preferences. The songs wouldn't change if there was a record released two years; The Fixer would still be what it was, Speed of Sound would still have lasers. This just feels like another way of saying "if only there was another record, everyone would see this record for what it really is." They already do, at least relative to their own likes and dislikes. And I don't know if that would shift because another album came down the pipeline quicker.

This isn't a question of giving people credit or not. Most of what I am describing is a sub conscious process we all engage in. It may affect some more than others, but this hits all of us to a degree. You are right in that your fundamental feelings about the songs will create the boundaries in which your tastes will move, but all this other stuff certainly impacts how we think and feel about it, whether or not we are aware of it

[harmless]

Note to self: start every new thread you create in PJ chat with

PEARL JAM'S LAST TWO ALBUMS SUCKED BUT I KNOW THEY CAN STILL PUT OUT GOOD MUSIC SO WHY DON'T THEY AND EVERYONE ON RM AGREES WITH THIS.

We could probably just wipe the board clean and have this as the only thread. Everyone can +1 till the album comes out and them we can complain about that for a few months till its replaced with a new thread.

PEARL JAM'S LAST THREE ALBUMS SUCKED BUT I KNOW THEY CAN STILL PUT OUT GOOD MUSIC SO WHY DON'T THEY AND EVERYONE ON RM AGREES WITH THIS.

Poll:

I agree with this - 43%
I agree with this - 7%
I agree with this - 22%
I agree with this - 8%
I agree with this - 20%

[malice]

Note to self: start every new thread you create in PJ chat with

PEARL JAM'S LAST TWO ALBUMS SUCKED BUT I KNOW THEY CAN STILL PUT OUT GOOD MUSIC SO WHY DON'T THEY AND EVERYONE ON RM AGREES WITH THIS.

that's too many characters for a thread title, duh

only the bolded part matters

true, but does it radiate the proper amount of hipster douche-baggery? possibly...

[E.H. Ruddock]

Note to self: start every new thread you create in PJ chat with

PEARL JAM'S LAST TWO ALBUMS SUCKED BUT I KNOW THEY CAN STILL PUT OUT GOOD MUSIC SO WHY DON'T THEY AND EVERYONE ON RM AGREES WITH THIS.

that's too many characters for a thread title, duh

I said "start the thread with" not "title the thread".

[malice]

Note to self: start every new thread you create in PJ chat with

PEARL JAM'S LAST TWO ALBUMS SUCKED BUT I KNOW THEY CAN STILL PUT OUT GOOD MUSIC SO WHY DON'T THEY AND EVERYONE ON RM AGREES WITH THIS.

that's too many characters for a thread title, duh

I said "start the thread with" not "title the thread".

I'm going to go ahead and ignore that, and in compromise I'll start every new thread title on RM with the first letter of each word above. very RM of me, yeah?

PJLTASBIKTCSPOGMSWDTAEORAWT - Why does B'OB suck so badly?

[E.H. Ruddock]

Note to self: start every new thread you create in PJ chat with

PEARL JAM'S LAST TWO ALBUMS SUCKED BUT I KNOW THEY CAN STILL PUT OUT GOOD MUSIC SO WHY DON'T THEY AND EVERYONE ON RM AGREES WITH THIS.

that's too many characters for a thread title, duh

I said "start the thread with" not "title the thread".

I'm going to go ahead and ignore that, and in compromise I'll start every new thread title on RM with the first letter of each word above. very RM of me, yeah?

PJLTASBIKTCSPOGMSWDTAEORAWT - Why does B'OB suck so badly?

malice, between us I think we killed this thread. Which was my intention all along.

[malice]

Note to self: start every new thread you create in PJ chat with

PEARL JAM'S LAST TWO ALBUMS SUCKED BUT I KNOW THEY CAN STILL PUT OUT GOOD MUSIC SO WHY DON'T THEY AND EVERYONE ON RM AGREES WITH THIS.

that's too many characters for a thread title, duh

I said "start the thread with" not "title the thread".

I'm going to go ahead and ignore that, and in compromise I'll start every new thread title on RM with the first letter of each word above. very RM of me, yeah?

PJLTASBIKTCSPOGMSWDTAEORAWT - Why does B'OB suck so badly?

malice, between us I think we killed this thread. Which was my intention all along.

every little bit helps

[elliseamos]

Note to self: start every new thread you create in PJ chat with

PEARL JAM'S LAST TWO ALBUMS SUCKED BUT I KNOW THEY CAN STILL PUT OUT GOOD MUSIC SO WHY DON'T THEY AND EVERYONE ON RM AGREES WITH THIS.

that's too many characters for a thread title, duh

I said "start the thread with" not "title the thread".

I'm going to go ahead and ignore that, and in compromise I'll start every new thread title on RM with the first letter of each word above. very RM of me, yeah?

PJLTASBIKTCSPOGMSWDTAEORAWT - Why does B'OB suck so badly?

malice, between us I think we killed this thread. Which was my intention all along.

every little bit helps

this probably should have happened through pm's, ruddock.

[E.H. Ruddock]

Note to self: start every new thread you create in PJ chat with

PEARL JAM'S LAST TWO ALBUMS SUCKED BUT I KNOW THEY CAN STILL PUT OUT GOOD MUSIC SO WHY DON'T THEY AND EVERYONE ON RM AGREES WITH THIS.

that's too many characters for a thread title, duh

I said "start the thread with" not "title the thread".

I'm going to go ahead and ignore that, and in compromise I'll start every new thread title on RM with the first letter of each word above. very RM of me, yeah?

PJLTASBIKTCSPOGMSWDTAEORAWT - Why does B'OB suck so badly?

malice, between us I think we killed this thread. Which was my intention all along.

every little bit helps

this probably should have happened through pm's, ruddock.

nah, I'm here to tear this place up today.

[McParadigm]

At first, I read the title of this thread as "retiring backspacer."

[Thejambi]

I missed too much to try to catch up.
Ole!

[harmless]

I missed too much to try to catch up.
Ole!

This could almost be a direct quote from a live performance.

[Thejambi]

I missed too much to try to catch up.
Ole!

This could almost be a direct quote from a live performance.

I think we're unlocking some of the fixin cook book.

[harmless]

I missed too much to try to catch up.
Ole!

This could almost be a direct quote from a live performance.

I think we're unlocking some of the fixin cook book.

I think that when you're onto a good thing there's nothing for it but to keep on keepin' on.