Song of the Moment: Lightning Bolt

[harmless]

Yup. I just think that anyone disliking LB because it's 'catchy' must've been asleep under a rock during everything before No Code.

[PHATJ]

Still love it and I can't wait to hear the studio version.

[Mrpennach]

The complaints are ridiculous... How can you tell what the song really feels like on the first ever live performance of it....

I remember hearing a shitty YouTube clip of the first ever live version of "Unthought Known"... The studio version and subsequent live versions proved to be one the best PJ songs in 15 years.

LB reminds me of this. It will be amazing.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sK7wJJH3OA

[PHATJ]

The complaints are ridiculous... How can you tell what the song really feels like on the first ever live performance of it....

I remember hearing a shitty YouTube clip of the first ever live version of "Unthought Known"... The studio version and subsequent live versions proved to be one the best PJ songs in 15 years.

LB reminds me of this. It will be amazing.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sK7wJJH3OA

Unthought isn't good.

[Got Some]

I think LB is probably the catchiest song they've written since Betterman. PJ songs generally are not that catchy. This one is infectious.

Yep loving this one

[Birds in Hell]

i like how the song ratchets up its intensity in the final two minutes. I hope the studio version reproduces that, since it's the lack of that final push that really held back UK and especially ATW.

I also just noticed Eddie isn't actually playing the opening guitar part. It sounds like something he would have written.

Hey, you're right. I think Stone's playing the lower palm muting and Mike is playing the higher more melodic bit. I hope the difference between the parts really comes through in the studio. I've been fooled into thinking it was just Ed chugging away. "Fool me twice... can't get fooled again."

The tone on the Wrigely version is definitely not like anything Ed would play, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Lightning Bolt (the song) is a Gossard jam.

[Hatfield]

Still love it and I can't wait to hear the studio version.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

Still love it and I can't wait to hear the studio version.

[Strat]

Listened to it for the first time since it first surfaced.

I dont know. There are parts where I think it could be a great song but Fixin' Ed/Current PJ just couldnt let it be cool. Too many yea yeas, and hee hee's, along with the first verse cheesey build up....



Also, what the fuck is ed doing vocally at the end? That is a goddamn abortion.

[hlniv]

Listened to it for the first time since it first surfaced.

I dont know. There are parts where I think it could be a great song but Fixin' Ed/Current PJ just couldnt let it be cool. Too many yea yeas, and hee hee's, along with the first verse cheesey build up....



Also, what the fuck is ed doing vocally at the end? That is a goddamn abortion.

I hope the album doesn't become associated with that limp ass snake, hanging off of cheese town. Title tracked records tend to

[harmless]

Listened to it for the first time since it first surfaced.

I dont know. There are parts where I think it could be a great song but Fixin' Ed/Current PJ just couldnt let it be cool. Too many yea yeas, and hee hee's, along with the first verse cheesey build up....



Also, what the fuck is ed doing vocally at the end? That is a goddamn abortion.

I agree, he should've shut up at the end: "Yeah yeah! Yeah yeah! She's a lightning beeksdls;aldk... She's a laaajnasdksa baaaaa... FUCK!"

[harmless]

i like how the song ratchets up its intensity in the final two minutes. I hope the studio version reproduces that, since it's the lack of that final push that really held back UK and especially ATW.

I also just noticed Eddie isn't actually playing the opening guitar part. It sounds like something he would have written.

Hey, you're right. I think Stone's playing the lower palm muting and Mike is playing the higher more melodic bit. I hope the difference between the parts really comes through in the studio. I've been fooled into thinking it was just Ed chugging away. "Fool me twice... can't get fooled again."

The tone on the Wrigely version is definitely not like anything Ed would play, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Lightning Bolt (the song) is a Gossard jam.

That would be nice. He might've tried for some interesting textures in there if that was the case.

[Release_Me]

Listened to it for the first time since it first surfaced.

I dont know. There are parts where I think it could be a great song but Fixin' Ed/Current PJ just couldnt let it be cool. Too many yea yeas, and hee hee's, along with the first verse cheesey build up....



Also, what the fuck is ed doing vocally at the end? That is a goddamn abortion.

You have an opinion and I understand that. But the yeah yeah is an old Ed trademark. I see many people suddenly complaining about it and can't get my head around it. This is the same band/singer that made songs like Porch which are dominated by yeah yeah lyrics. The yeah yeahs in LB are nowhere near as obvious or made to be as large a part of the song as they were in Porch. If you don't like Porch or other songs where Ed is basically not singing any lyrics, just making random sounds (Jeremy anyone?) then that's a different story. But the way you say 'Current PJ' implies they just started doing this recently. That simply is not true.

The buildup could be described as cheesy sounding. I don't see anything really wrong with the vocals in this track. Other than the fact that Ed moves away from the mic too much when he's singing high (multiple times at the end) to make it not sound jarringly loud. He overcompensates and you can barely hear him. These sorts of things are fixed in studio. But him singing over the band's jamming is another old trademark.

[harmless]

Listened to it for the first time since it first surfaced.

I dont know. There are parts where I think it could be a great song but Fixin' Ed/Current PJ just couldnt let it be cool. Too many yea yeas, and hee hee's, along with the first verse cheesey build up....



Also, what the fuck is ed doing vocally at the end? That is a goddamn abortion.

You have an opinion and I understand that. But the yeah yeah is an old Ed trademark. I see many people suddenly complaining about it and can't get my head around it. This is the same band/singer that made songs like Porch which are dominated by yeah yeah lyrics. The yeah yeahs in LB are nowhere near as obvious or made to be as large a part of the song as they were in Porch. If you don't like Porch or other songs where Ed is basically not singing any lyrics, just making random sounds (Jeremy anyone?) then that's a different story. But the way you say 'Current PJ' implies they just started doing this recently. That simply is not true.

The buildup could be described as cheesy sounding. I don't see anything really wrong with the vocals in this track. Other than the fact that Ed moves away from the mic too much when he's singing high (multiple times at the end) to make it not sound jarringly loud. He overcompensates and you can barely hear him. These sorts of things are fixed in studio. But him singing over the band's jamming is another old trademark.

I totally agree with you, and have argued the same myself about the 'yeah yeahs'. In this case though I just think the thing he's trying to do at the end sounds too screechy. I'm almost certain it'll sound better in the studio though. I generally don't think the repeated phrase 'Lightning bolt!' is ever going to sound very good, but it's not as bad as I found it at first.

[Release_Me]

'Lightning Bolt' isn't their best chorus, that's for sure. I don't seem to be as aggrieved by it as much as others though, probably because in the context of this song and the fact that it's a play on that famous line from Nothingman (Caught a bolt of lightning, cursed the day he let it go), it has more meaning that the line as a standalone would have you believe.

The screechiness is there, yes. That's how Ed sounds when he sings high these days. His upper register never really was very smooth but he employed it less often back in the day and made it sound more bad-ass because he had more power back then. Regardless, studio takes will make it sound better, I'm sure.

[harmless]

I like your take that the reference to NM makes it a little better.

[Release_Me]

Yes, I always link this song in my mind to Nothingman. There, the protagonist was singing about a lost love / a relationship he had messed up. Hence, 'Caught a bolt of lightning, cursed the day he let it go'.

Here, my interpretation is that the protagonist is singing about a love that turned sour but this time it was the girl who messed him up. He's helpless to do anything about it and is still desperately trying to hold on to what is a failed relationship. Hence, "She's a lightning bolt, never let her go".

[harmless]

Interesting.

[stupidmop]

He was a lot better at that singing over the band thing in the past, and I dont mean just the sound of his voice. He kind of aimlessly heeeheee's and heeyyaaaaa's over things regardless of if it sounds good. It's not as bad on this I thought but he does it on of the earth, black occasionally, middle of rvm... he needs to listen back to some of the boots lol.

Linking LB to nothingman makes the lyric worse for me tbh. It's like the no middle any more, its been said before from half full. Bleh. I don't mind this chorus though.

I do get the feeling its about a unhappy relationship rather than a happy one though. I thought the 'she's a lightning bolt, never let her go' could be sarcastic or mocking.

[harmless]

Calling something 'sarcastic' or 'mocking' is my go-to back handed compliment for making latter PJ songs cool.