BOB vitriol / scape goat thread

[stip]

He seemed more annoyed or frustrated (and this is with reading into it a little bit) with the time it took to make the record, rather than seemingly anything about the record itself. I'm interested in this idea that they saw what they were doing two years ago and decided to press pause, but according to O'Brien those songs are on the record also. It's not like they were cast aside.

My thought is that possibly we have a few Backspacer-esque songs recorded before, but that wasn't *all* they wanted the album to be, so they called it off while they figured out what else they wanted from it. It would be OK to get an album with dark and light tones on it, imo.

I can't think that with 5 songwriters in the band and with all those other projects that there was any shortage of material they wanted to record w/ BoB. I think they're well past the 'let's record everything we have' and make the rest b-sides and rarities. When a band is 10 albums in, they want to be very specific about what they want to spend their time on. They've already touched upon a load of stuff up until this point in their careers. You're right in that they may have just wanted to figure it all out prior to taking anything to BoB. They had that session in early 2012 and it took them a year before going back in w/ BoB. But I think Ed's injury and the Soundgarden album had alot to do with why it took even a little longer.

Surely a band is going to be in a different headspace a year and a half later. So we can hope that if nothing else, there will be variety on this one.

I hope we don't get variety but unfortunately it's the most likely scenario with this band.

I don't mind variety, as long as the tones can sit next to one another and as long as all the songs are good and they tell a story together. Variety isn't inconsistency, necessarily, although you're right, PJ often seem to conflate the two. I guess you wouldn't like a lack of variety if it meant several of the kind of song you hate.

Yeah I guess I want consistency more than lack of variety.

And to be honest at this point there is no big difference between a full album of songs I hate or an album with a few okay songs and a couple I hate.

#

I think a lot of people feel like they can be down with an album if it has some great songs on it. I want an entire album of good songs, with nothing I hate on it. I just want something I can press play on and leave it without skipping.

that is BS for me, less supersonic of course. No 5 star songs, but an enjoyable record from start to finish. As opposed to Yield or S/T, which are full of my favorite songs, but surrounds them with stuff I don't usually feel like listening to

[stip]

i remain confident, perhaps for no reason, that LB will sound great on the album because they named the album after it

I wonder what the odds are, if s/t had become the concept album that it almost was, that it would have been named Gone.

STOP HELPING

[McParadigm]

[nomorecrackpipes]

Point being: I kind of thought PJ's records would sound better on record than CD and was always kind of disappointed. They didn't really sound much better, I realized they simply had an affinity for the medium, not the sound. The only albums that sounded markedly better on vinyl were Mirrorball and Binaural (I haven't spun Riot Act enough to know one way or another). Mirrorball sounds PHENOMENAL on vinyl, far better than the CD (which muddied up the sound).

Is there a way to sample the sound of Mirrorball on vinyl? I have the CD and have only listened to it sparingly because the sound is so foggy that it gets really boring.

I'm not certain my "recording system" will allow it; I have some strange issues between the varying eras of equipment. The last time I tried recording a record (Black Keys 45 that came with a limited edition copy of Brothers) it didn't sound that great.

There are a number of audiophile forums/locations that transfer vinyl to FLAC (24 bit probably) so they don't "ruin" their records from overplay. Maybe that's something I can look into one of these days.

This weekend I'll do a listening session from Binaural, RA, and S/T. Maybe I'll get wild and play the single 45s from those records.

[Farmer John]

Has a loudness war question ever been brought up in those pj radio roundtable discussions?

At a Q&A somewhere (the roundtable maybe? I can't find a link, but it was at some point within the last two years) he was asked this question and he said "I don't care." That made me sad.

I remember someone asking Vedder at some point about the increased use of heavy compression in modern music production and he admitted he had no idea what that meant.

I remember that. I died a little that day.

I found the interview where Ed says he "doesn't really know much about compression". It was in reference to the Ten reissue and the interviewer said he hopes Brendan O'Brien didn't put a lot of compression on it.

It's around the 8:25 mark.
http://castroller.com/podcasts/explorem ... an/1013419

[elliseamos]

Has a loudness war question ever been brought up in those pj radio roundtable discussions?

At a Q&A somewhere (the roundtable maybe? I can't find a link, but it was at some point within the last two years) he was asked this question and he said "I don't care." That made me sad.

I remember someone asking Vedder at some point about the increased use of heavy compression in modern music production and he admitted he had no idea what that meant.

I remember that. I died a little that day.

I found the interview where Ed says he "doesn't really know much about compression". It was in reference to the Ten reissue and the interviewer said he hopes Brendan O'Brien didn't put a lot of compression on it.

It's around the 8:25 mark.
http://castroller.com/podcasts/explorem ... an/1013419

well that's that.

RIP PJ

[lecherouslittlestump]

If we can ignore Ten, because I think it's an anomaly due to it been a debut album and the band having limited control...

VS - Yield: all produced by BOB. Fair to say these are considered to be really well produced albums.

Binaural: Seemed quite a difficult process production wise, and maybe the end result isn't what the band intended, but again the fanbase seems to think this is a good sounding atmospheric album

Riot Act: produced by Adam Kasper. "Anti Pro-Tools record." Again, seems to be considered that this is a really well produced album.

Pearl Jam: produced again by Adam Kasper. This time, blasted for sounding 'harsh.' Not seen as a good sounding record. Yet it's produced by Kasper, the same producer as Riot Act. Also an album that, by all accounts, the band slaved over and spent a prolonged period of time over.

Backspacer: produced by BOB. I distinctly remember the excitement that BOB was coming back, hoping he would return PJ to their 'classic sound.' Instead, there is a HEAP of criticism directed towards him for making the music sound 'glossy' and commercial. Also seems to be a record that the band did not spend much time on.

In other words, some of the bands best sounding albums are produced by Kasper and O'Brien and some of the bands worst sounding albums are produced by Kasper and O'Brien. Ergo one can conclude that it don't mean shit who produces.

[Birds in Hell]

If you guys read books and like music, I heartily recommend Perfecting Sound Forever, it's quite fascinating (it should be at a library near you).

I'll second this recommendation. It's a thoroughly excellent book and I really think anyone interested in music and the way it sounds will get a lot out of it.

I'll pick this up.

This happen yet, chud? I'm not going to let you forget.

[nomorecrackpipes]

I did my private listening session with these three records over the weekend. Thoughts:

Binaural: Produced by PJ & Blake, some mixed by BoB, others mixed by Blake (NAIS, Of the Girl, Rival, Sleight, Soon Forget - the Blake mixed version of Insignificance is on the NAIS single); no record of where it was mastered
- Generally recorded live and sounds really good (great with headphones). The CD sounds kind of muddy, but the record allows more space. The Blake mixed songs stand out from the BoB in that it feels more like they're in the room.

Riot Act: Produced by Adam Kasper, mixed by BoB; no record of where it was mastered.
- The best sounding PJ record, Ed consistently sounds like he's in the room with you. You can hear a lot more of the room they recorded in. They said they recorded "live" and it sounds like it.

Avocado: Produced by Adam Kasper & Pearl Jam, mixed by Kasper; no record of where it was mastered.
- Slightly better, but still suffers from the high end really cranked up and the low end not in proportion. It seems the entire songs are mixed/mastered at the same level, so the endings of Come Back & Inside Job (when the full band comes in), sound really harsh.

Aside: I listened to the 45 of "I Got Id" see see if it sounded similar to the awesome Mirrorball - and it does. It is not entirely fair to compare a 45 to a dual album 33, but I did it anyway. You can clearly tell when the Neil Young solo is overdubbed on I Got Id. Also, the holes are of different sizes on the import & US versions:

[Norah]

If you guys read books and like music, I heartily recommend Perfecting Sound Forever, it's quite fascinating (it should be at a library near you).

I'll second this recommendation. It's a thoroughly excellent book and I really think anyone interested in music and the way it sounds will get a lot out of it.

I'll pick this up.

This happen yet, chud? I'm not going to let you forget.

Thanks for reminding me. Ordering it now.

[Juvenal]

I did my private listening session with these three records over the weekend. Thoughts:

Binaural: Produced by PJ & Blake, some mixed by BoB, others mixed by Blake (NAIS, Of the Girl, Rival, Sleight, Soon Forget - the Blake mixed version of Insignificance is on the NAIS single); no record of where it was mastered
- Generally recorded live and sounds really good (great with headphones). The CD sounds kind of muddy, but the record allows more space. The Blake mixed songs stand out from the BoB in that it feels more like they're in the room.

Riot Act: Produced by Adam Kasper, mixed by BoB; no record of where it was mastered.
- The best sounding PJ record, Ed consistently sounds like he's in the room with you. You can hear a lot more of the room they recorded in. They said they recorded "live" and it sounds like it.

Avocado: Produced by Adam Kasper & Pearl Jam, mixed by Kasper; no record of where it was mastered.
- Slightly better, but still suffers from the high end really cranked up and the low end not in proportion. It seems the entire songs are mixed/mastered at the same level, so the endings of Come Back & Inside Job (when the full band comes in), sound really harsh.

Aside: I listened to the 45 of "I Got Id" see see if it sounded similar to the awesome Mirrorball - and it does. It is not entirely fair to compare a 45 to a dual album 33, but I did it anyway. You can clearly tell when the Neil Young solo is overdubbed on I Got Id. Also, the holes are of different sizes on the import & US versions:

Nice! I was listening to Riot Act today and it was remarkable how awesome it sounds. I love the little linking bridge between Can't Keep and Save You

[harmless]

That's what young people do.

[Norah]

If you guys read books and like music, I heartily recommend Perfecting Sound Forever, it's quite fascinating (it should be at a library near you).

I'll second this recommendation. It's a thoroughly excellent book and I really think anyone interested in music and the way it sounds will get a lot out of it.

I'll pick this up.

This happen yet, chud? I'm not going to let you forget.

Just finished the first chapter and I'm really enjoying it. And man, this guy really loves When The Levee Breaks.

[McParadigm]

Well who the goddamn fuck doesn't

[Norah]

Fair point.

[E.H. Ruddock]

Well who the goddamn fuck doesn't

Yeah, seriously

[ItsOkay]

That's what young people do.

Each time a piece of me dies.
Please have mercy on us all.

[EJ]

what do old(er) people do?

[ItsOkay]

what do old(er) people do?

[harmless]