Lightning Bolt: the official album thread

[harmless]

Well, my opinion is that MYM's 'target' is perfectly clear, given its imagery, helped by the single artwork. Whether you think that target is hackneyed by now is subjective, and if you do, I get that. But I'm not sure Ed is forcing anything. If anything, he's doing something that's easy and recognisable at this point. This doesn't mean that it isn't sincere; it just might not be as fresh. Also, I'm not sure this band was always fighting against something at all. One 'stream' of their work was the fighting against; another stream was the introverted, agnostic searching that you find on every album. So this band had a 'fighting against injustice' angle, but they weren't Rage Against the Machine, who were all fight and no real inner searching. It makes perfect sense to me that in middle age (whether I like it or not), Ed would want to kick back with his family and write about the beauty of life. Even Yield gave us hints of this. And if the success of Into the Wild, wasn't a huge clue, well...

Into the Wild wasn't really about kicking back with your family, having fun and enjoying a settled life though. Pretty much the opposite actually.

Right. I didn't mean to imply that it was. I just meant that it was about observing nature, and quiet reflection on the world around; the criticisms of society took a back seat to the more beautiful 'tree-hugging' stuff about the natural world. I don't necessarily see reflections on domestic family life and love as a very different category.

I don't think ITW the quiet, tree-hugging, enjoying nature thing you're describing. It's not just let's go for a picnic what the sunset and go home. The character leaves everything, leaves his family and society (and criticisms of society definitely are a part of it), and goes out in the wilderness looking for something, looking for himself, looking for whatever he needs (or he feels he needs, same difference). There's a turmoil and quest, and an attempt to fulfill that quest that leads to dramatic consequences for him and his relatives. However naive/silly one may think this quest or the character is, there is nothing quiet about this. The "reflective" songs now seem to be more conservative/materialist, fearing the loss of something/someone, wishing them to come back etc. It's very different IMO.

I didn't dismiss it as 'silly', and the quest is all you describe and more. But it's nothing more than what hippies have desired since forever -- to leave society and become one with nature as a lifestyle. So my 'tree-hugging' was a bit flippant, but it was just shorthand for an age-old desire that Into the Wild, music and film, expresses. That desire can also be fulfilled though, in a greater desire to spend more time with family and at home, in spite of the world's noise and demands. So in a way, Ed has moved from 'society' into a more indwardly-focussed schtick. Yes, he has a lot of money, but he's at peace. The difference between Ed and Chris McCandless is that Ed doesn't think being rich and being at peace are mutually exclusive concepts. But then really, which of us does? And should we be demonised for that?

[harmless]

As I read here the other day, it's not like these guys have just become rich overnight and it's changed their attitude. They were filthy rich during the making of Yield, perhaps their most 'worldly-wise' album. They're just doing what they want to do now, due to age more than anything else. The move might be schtick and selling out, or it might be the most honest and sincere thing they've ever done. Who knows?

[Release_Me]

That fact that so many of us here are debating the countdown clock and when we will get some info about the album, etc. etc. says to me that their marketing strategy pretty much worked.

[harmless]

Yup. Maybe the idea was to get us all to talk Pearl Jam to death, thus reminding ourselves that we all still, in fact, love them.

[LetMeSleep]

Whether by design or not, the CC/LiR leak was a blessing.

Has there been any more word regarding the 3 track radio sampler?

[Heathen]

Well, my opinion is that MYM's 'target' is perfectly clear, given its imagery, helped by the single artwork. Whether you think that target is hackneyed by now is subjective, and if you do, I get that. But I'm not sure Ed is forcing anything. If anything, he's doing something that's easy and recognisable at this point. This doesn't mean that it isn't sincere; it just might not be as fresh. Also, I'm not sure this band was always fighting against something at all. One 'stream' of their work was the fighting against; another stream was the introverted, agnostic searching that you find on every album. So this band had a 'fighting against injustice' angle, but they weren't Rage Against the Machine, who were all fight and no real inner searching. It makes perfect sense to me that in middle age (whether I like it or not), Ed would want to kick back with his family and write about the beauty of life. Even Yield gave us hints of this. And if the success of Into the Wild, wasn't a huge clue, well...

Into the Wild wasn't really about kicking back with your family, having fun and enjoying a settled life though. Pretty much the opposite actually.

Right. I didn't mean to imply that it was. I just meant that it was about observing nature, and quiet reflection on the world around; the criticisms of society took a back seat to the more beautiful 'tree-hugging' stuff about the natural world. I don't necessarily see reflections on domestic family life and love as a very different category.

I don't think ITW the quiet, tree-hugging, enjoying nature thing you're describing. It's not just let's go for a picnic what the sunset and go home. The character leaves everything, leaves his family and society (and criticisms of society definitely are a part of it), and goes out in the wilderness looking for something, looking for himself, looking for whatever he needs (or he feels he needs, same difference). There's a turmoil and quest, and an attempt to fulfill that quest that leads to dramatic consequences for him and his relatives. However naive/silly one may think this quest or the character is, there is nothing quiet about this. The "reflective" songs now seem to be more conservative/materialist, fearing the loss of something/someone, wishing them to come back etc. It's very different IMO.

I didn't dismiss it as 'silly', and the quest is all you describe and more. But it's nothing more than what hippies have desired since forever -- to leave society and become one with nature as a lifestyle. So my 'tree-hugging' was a bit flippant, but it was just shorthand for an age-old desire that Into the Wild, music and film, expresses. That desire can also be fulfilled though, in a greater desire to spend more time with family and at home, in spite of the world's noise and demands. So in a way, Ed has moved from 'society' into a more indwardly-focussed schtick. Yes, he has a lot of money, but he's at peace. The difference between Ed and Chris McCandless is that Ed doesn't think being rich and being at peace are mutually exclusive concepts. But then really, which of us does? And should we be demonised for that?

Are you just talking to yourself here? I really don't see how this has anything to do with my posts. I'm just saying that a) ITW was never a peaceful thing about having fun and observing nature, and that b) the feelings behind it seem very different from those behind songs like Future Days or Just Breathe etc. (ie. that ITW was in no way a 'huge clue' to what kind of reflective songs PJ would release nowadays). I'm not saying Ed should live like McCandless or something stupid like that.

[harmless]

Well, my opinion is that MYM's 'target' is perfectly clear, given its imagery, helped by the single artwork. Whether you think that target is hackneyed by now is subjective, and if you do, I get that. But I'm not sure Ed is forcing anything. If anything, he's doing something that's easy and recognisable at this point. This doesn't mean that it isn't sincere; it just might not be as fresh. Also, I'm not sure this band was always fighting against something at all. One 'stream' of their work was the fighting against; another stream was the introverted, agnostic searching that you find on every album. So this band had a 'fighting against injustice' angle, but they weren't Rage Against the Machine, who were all fight and no real inner searching. It makes perfect sense to me that in middle age (whether I like it or not), Ed would want to kick back with his family and write about the beauty of life. Even Yield gave us hints of this. And if the success of Into the Wild, wasn't a huge clue, well...

Into the Wild wasn't really about kicking back with your family, having fun and enjoying a settled life though. Pretty much the opposite actually.

Right. I didn't mean to imply that it was. I just meant that it was about observing nature, and quiet reflection on the world around; the criticisms of society took a back seat to the more beautiful 'tree-hugging' stuff about the natural world. I don't necessarily see reflections on domestic family life and love as a very different category.

I don't think ITW the quiet, tree-hugging, enjoying nature thing you're describing. It's not just let's go for a picnic what the sunset and go home. The character leaves everything, leaves his family and society (and criticisms of society definitely are a part of it), and goes out in the wilderness looking for something, looking for himself, looking for whatever he needs (or he feels he needs, same difference). There's a turmoil and quest, and an attempt to fulfill that quest that leads to dramatic consequences for him and his relatives. However naive/silly one may think this quest or the character is, there is nothing quiet about this. The "reflective" songs now seem to be more conservative/materialist, fearing the loss of something/someone, wishing them to come back etc. It's very different IMO.

I didn't dismiss it as 'silly', and the quest is all you describe and more. But it's nothing more than what hippies have desired since forever -- to leave society and become one with nature as a lifestyle. So my 'tree-hugging' was a bit flippant, but it was just shorthand for an age-old desire that Into the Wild, music and film, expresses. That desire can also be fulfilled though, in a greater desire to spend more time with family and at home, in spite of the world's noise and demands. So in a way, Ed has moved from 'society' into a more indwardly-focussed schtick. Yes, he has a lot of money, but he's at peace. The difference between Ed and Chris McCandless is that Ed doesn't think being rich and being at peace are mutually exclusive concepts. But then really, which of us does? And should we be demonised for that?

Are you just talking to yourself here? I really don't see how this has anything to do with my posts.

Yep. I wrote that as a related aside but it doesn't directly respond to your questions. But it does relate to your post in as much as Ed's writing in his situation seems (to me) to be one of the possible 'logical extensions' of his writing on ITW.

I'm just saying that a) ITW was never a peaceful thing about having fun and observing nature, and that b) the feelings behind it seem very different from those behind songs like Future Days or Just Breathe etc. (ie. that ITW was in no way a 'huge clue' to what kind of reflective songs PJ would release nowadays). I'm not saying Ed should live like McCandless or something stupid like that.

I know what you're saying, and I think I said in my last post that I agree with you regarding what ITW was about (and that my 'tree-hugging' was flippant shorthand, as is, I hope, 'a peaceful thing about observing nature and having fun', because I never put it like that). I've just gone on to expand on what I meant, so hopefully you know why my understanding of ITW leads me to believe that it wasn't a huge stretch to expect Ed to be writing as he is now, sometime soon in the future. If you disagree, so be it, it's not the end of the world.

[harmless]

Let's not forget that when Ed wrote ITW, reams and reams of casual fans thought he'd 'gone soft'. If we're accusing him of that now, we're at least a decade too late.

[Heathen]

I do disagree and it is the end of the world, remember that video about LB and the rapture?

[harmless]

Let's hope that you are the one left Far Behind after this rapture.

[Lounge Lizard]

Did it leak?

[Heathen]

Let's hope that you are the one left Far Behind after this rapture.

It's pretty much guaranteed

[harmless]

Why do I keep seeing 'Album Leak Download' and 'Apollo MP3 Download' etc. on Google?

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

Why do I keep seeing 'Album Leak Download' and 'Apollo MP3 Download' etc. on Google?

have you tried any of them?

[LetMeSleep]

Of course not. I'm a man of morals.

Spoiler: show

I tried one today but it was password protected and then the usual shite. Got me excited though even though I knew it was fake.

[broken iris]

Yup. Maybe the idea was to get us all to talk Pearl Jam to death, thus reminding ourselves that we all still, in fact, love them.

Getting people who were 100% guaranteed to buy the album to talk about it before hand is hardly marketing success. Leaked news will slowly get passed around like the free joint the corner dealer gives you so you will want another.

[Lounge Lizard]

According to Hasitleaked.com it's not out yet

http://hasitleaked.com/2013/pearl-jam-lightning-bolt/

[Revelator]

What if it leaked before an official track list has been posted? Slim chances of that, but would def be a first, no? Hard to believe that we haven't seen the "real" list yet...

[Mine]

Let's not forget that when Ed wrote ITW, reams and reams of casual fans thought he'd 'gone soft'. If we're accusing him of that now, we're at least a decade too late.

Also people here thought it was Mike on guitar when Hard Sun leaked. You reminded me of something else. Since ITW's release you regularly read people complaining how certain Ed's songs shouldn't be on PJ albums because they sound like his solo stuff. I wonder what this means for similar stuff since Small Town.
Thin Air i guess belongs on an Ed solo album following this logic (yup i know Stone wrote it).

[harmless]

Why do I keep seeing 'Album Leak Download' and 'Apollo MP3 Download' etc. on Google?

have you tried any of them?

Yes, and my computer blocked a trojan and some malware.