Post Random Pearl Jam-Related Thoughts You Have

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

The paid audience in that video really pisses me off

[Strat]

The paid audience in that video really pisses me off

Honestly, though, weren't they like...homeless people they put to work for a day? I kind of remember something like that.

[Norah]

Local sag card holders looking for work as an extra. So to answer your question, yes.

[bodysnatcher]

had they not recorded that video for Fixer, i might like the song | | this much better

that video might be the worst thing PJ has ever done

[Birds in Hell]

It’s bad, but the version with blaring Target logos is even worse:



WHY

[Huell]

well, thats just an opinion. Im on the BS team and i think they took a big risk with that.

Backspacer was 9 years ago

And the risk they took there was to make... poppier, slicker, more radio-friendly songs

Man this video makes me cringe so hard. It's so anti-Pearl Jam. Why couldn't have been a natural tour music video like Alive or Even Flow?

Because it's an advert for Target, not a music video. That pose falling Ed dose is so fucking cringe... god
I had not seen that advert since the album came out... they do not get enough abuse for it. if you are going to stand on the mount and call people out, you have to be willing to be called out too. That's why they had the soft ball 'interviews' for LB too, so Ed can squeeze out some tears and light chat about a stale rice-cake of an album.

Era, who gives a shit? I like to think that the real band died off with Avocado being a epilogue to the band that started with Ten. What we have since is a zombiefied version of the band with Target adverts, Oracle events and botox. It's funny, my brother used to be a fan and I watched the Jools Holland thing they did for Avocado. I thought this is great to have them engaging again, and he was like 'fuck, they look like they are going through the motions and just want to be anywhere else' I tried to argue it at the time, but he was so right.

And here we are now with warmed up diarrheria of Cant Deny Me... This is the single reason to justify hating streaming and downloading, it has kept greedy veteran acts in a holding pattern whereas they would have fucked off and lived off royalties in blissful ignorance.

[VinylGuy]

Got an idea that perhaps BS and LB are not your favorites?

[Huell]

Backspacer is fine, but held up for the most part by BOB's input colouring in thin ideas. I think the drum and bass lock in well, in a more straight forward rock way with good production. Matt and Jeff find a new way to play together outside of the Binaural and Riot Act style. Speed of Sound demo was great but shows the bright window dressing for what it is. These songs rarely stand up live because they sound like chintzy 60's pop songs... and not in a good way.

LB is a stinker though, the sound of lack of inspiration... I always think of LB as a chemical reaction that ran its course or an engine where the parts are worn smooth and the friction needed from those parts to work is gone. Have zero interest in a new album after it and why i think that latest single is absolutely atrocious. Again, trying to paper over the lack of interesting music with some faux drama, Eddie's barking rings hollow but it is accentuated by them being 5 years older and 15 years from drawing from a genuine spark. It's really telling that Eddie has not released a solo album in the meantime too. Where is his inspiration gone?

I get them getting older and that, but the things I mentioned before about the business deals etc really detract from the ethos which is what made them so much more interesting from Yield to Avocado.

[Monkey_Driven]

For as shitty as that commercial is it is important to remember it is not an ad for Target, it is an ad for their album available only at Target. It's self promotion.

[Hatfield]

Backspacer is fine, but held up for the most part by BOB's input colouring in thin ideas. I think the drum and bass lock in well, in a more straight forward rock way with good production. Matt and Jeff find a new way to play together outside of the Binaural and Riot Act style. Speed of Sound demo was great but shows the bright window dressing for what it is. These songs rarely stand up live because they sound like chintzy 60's pop songs... and not in a good way.

LB is a stinker though, the sound of lack of inspiration... I always think of LB as a chemical reaction that ran its course or an engine where the parts are worn smooth and the friction needed from those parts to work is gone. Have zero interest in a new album after it and why i think that latest single is absolutely atrocious. Again, trying to paper over the lack of interesting music with some faux drama, Eddie's barking rings hollow but it is accentuated by them being 5 years older and 15 years from drawing from a genuine spark. It's really telling that Eddie has not released a solo album in the meantime too. Where is his inspiration gone?

I get them getting older and that, but the things I mentioned before about the business deals etc really detract from the ethos which is what made them so much more interesting from Yield to Avocado.

What's hard for me to get my head around, and shows my bias, I think of songs such as MiTS, Green Disease, Insignificance as "older" Pearl Jam, therefore I keep thinking this version of Pearl Jam should be able to come up with the same quality music. I haven't been able to make the leap that they are the "much older" version of Pearl Jam now and just might not have those sensibilities left in them, especially when they allow the wrong producer to help formulate their sound.

I haven't loved Ed's song writing of late, but I lay a lot of the burden on Stone. He needs to bring it.

[Jorge]

For as shitty as that commercial is it is important to remember it is not an ad for Target, it is an ad for their album available only at Target. It's self promotion.

I guess. They're playing in front of a Target logo, and the ad is for their album which was being sold exclusively by Target. It is essentially an ad for Target.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Jorge]

It's not a huge deal. It's more in the "kind of gross" category.

[Monkey_Driven]

For as shitty as that commercial is it is important to remember it is not an ad for Target, it is an ad for their album available only at Target. It's self promotion.

I guess. They're playing in front of a Target logo, and the ad is for their album which was being sold exclusively by Target. It is essentially an ad for Target.

My personal belief is that, in the grand scheme of things, none of this matters given that it allows them to put a ton of money back into their various philanthropic efforts. Kids are getting killed with nerve gas in Syria, and we're worried about the branding for The Fixer? I'm not suggesting that authenticity in their music isn't important (or even lacking), but the pros definitely outweigh the cons in my view.

Yup.

It's not a huge deal. It's more in the "kind of gross" category.

Yup.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[McParadigm]

For as shitty as that commercial is it is important to remember it is not an ad for Target, it is an ad for their album available only at Target. It's self promotion.

I guess. They're playing in front of a Target logo, and the ad is for their album which was being sold exclusively by Target. It is essentially an ad for Target.

My personal belief is that, in the grand scheme of things, none of this matters given that it allows them to put a ton of money back into their various philanthropic efforts. Kids are getting killed with nerve gas in Syria, and we're worried about the branding for The Fixer? I'm not suggesting that authenticity in their music isn't important (or even lacking), but the pros definitely outweigh the cons in my view.

[liebzz]

I forgave them for that misadventure.

I think that they miscalculated and thought that if they did promotion and the songs were poppy enough they could just reinsert themselves into the mainstream lexicon. But really, after spending most of the first two decades cultivating themselves as independent minded rock band, they fixed their position at that point. Trying to appeal to a wider audience at this point is silly since they can really release anything that inspires them and a quarter of a million people will buy it and they’ll sell out whatever shows they decide to play. Both LB and Backspacer’s weak point is that it is most definitely attempts to appeal to wider audiences making the songs sound forced and a bit ham fisted. Here’s to hoping their anguish over the state of the world will open new doors of creativity, Can’t Deny Me aside.

[EJ]

It's really telling that Eddie has not released a solo album in the meantime too. Where is his inspiration gone?

You're short changing him a bit. There was Out of Sand. And, uh...that other one???

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[guestT]

It's really telling that Eddie has not released a solo album in the meantime too. Where is his inspiration gone?

You're short changing him a bit. There was Out of Sand. And, uh...that other one???

The original songs he wrote for that movie that were apparently so bad they never released them.