ITT: Your Fandom Before and After Lightning Bolt

[Norah]

Also, I would hope I wouldn't spend a minute of my time talking about a band if my fandom were really gone/non-existent. But I guess boredom compels people to do odd things.

That's why I had to clarify my position and ask what they were really looking for with this poll. Because my fandom is still up there for this band pre-2005. I don't hate Pearl Jam. I just hate what they've done lately.

[evenslow]

I didn't take Into The Wild into account when I said that thing about all of them dying in 2005. So let's say Ed survived, made Into The Wild, then was eaten by a shark while surfing.

He'd be up there right now jammin' out with Jerry Garcia man!

[numbers]

Also, I would hope I wouldn't spend a minute of my time talking about a band if my fandom were really gone/non-existent. But I guess boredom compels people to do odd things.

That's why I had to clarify my position and ask what they were really looking for with this poll. Because my fandom is still up there for this band pre-2005. I don't hate Pearl Jam. I just hate what they've done lately.

That's pretty much where I am, although I wouldnt say I hate what they've done lately, I'm more just disappointed with it.

[evenslow]

Also, I would hope I wouldn't spend a minute of my time talking about a band if my fandom were really gone/non-existent. But I guess boredom compels people to do odd things.

That's why I had to clarify my position and ask what they were really looking for with this poll. Because my fandom is still up there for this band pre-2005. I don't hate Pearl Jam. I just hate what they've done lately.

I hear ya.

[Heathen]

Also, I would hope I wouldn't spend a minute of my time talking about a band if my fandom were really gone/non-existent. But I guess boredom compels people to do odd things.

That's why I had to clarify my position and ask what they were really looking for with this poll. Because my fandom is still up there for this band pre-2005. I don't hate Pearl Jam. I just hate what they've done lately.

Yeah same for me, even if I rarely listen to them nowadays, I really like what this band was. I just have zero hope that they're ever gonna make music that good again.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

I didn't notice the poll at first
I just voted for alive

[warehouse]

i voted #2. i didnt like 'backspacer' nearly as much as s/t, and im still not a huge riot act fan. that said, the band still tours and for me that is, was and will always be their strength. ive listened to them most of my life, its not like i will ever stop being a fan. honestly, i dont even think thats possible, they are like the soundtrack to my life. their music is as big a part of my life as some of the people i know or places ive been or things ive seen.

[BurtReynolds]

I don't think pj perfectly matches my personal musical tastes anymore. Even if it is good, I doubt I'll become overly attached to it. It will probably just be one of the many great albums I listen to this year ( and it has been a great year for music). I seriously doubt I will be picking it apart or trying to come up with stip-like interpretations.

Might try to get to a show this year, though. I haven't seen a non festival show in years.

[philpritchard]

i voted #2. i didnt like 'backspacer' nearly as much as s/t, and im still not a huge riot act fan. that said, the band still tours and for me that is, was and will always be their strength. ive listened to them most of my life, its not like i will ever stop being a fan. honestly, i dont even think thats possible, they are like the soundtrack to my life. their music is as big a part of my life as some of the people i know or places ive been or things ive seen.

That's pretty much what I was going to post, minus the Riot Act part.

[BurtReynolds]

thing about live shows is that every new album you don't like kinda dilutes the experience.

[Norah]

Also they haven't been a consistently good live band in about 7 years.

[harmless]

It's funny, even in the most depressing posts here there are lines I can identify with, particularly Burt's 'I don't think pj perfectly matches my personal musical interests anymore.' None of the other bands I listen to now really sound like PJ anymore, and increasingly, PJ are just one of the good ones. But I'm still an uber-fan in the sense that I'm still here after nearly 22 years, and I still call them my favourite band ever. Even if maybe Sigur Ros is my favourite current band. I don't need my music to be aggressive anymore, and I'm actually most excited about music which makes me euphorically happy at the moment, even if it's stupidly superficial. Backspacer could've done that, and I would be putting it up there. But it hasn't done it on a long-term basis; it's just OK, maybe because apart from 'Johnny Guitar', there isn't enough mindless abandon or humour in it. In terms of other 'rock' bands, I often find that I like a lot of what I hear (QOTSA's ...Like Clockwork for example) but my interest is fairly short-lived. Full-on 'Rock' doesn't pull on the heartstrings quite like it used to. But a band like the Mynabirds is exciting me like PJ used to, even if they sound totally different and have pop influences.

[dsb1218]

I'm going with Rearviewmirror (nostalgic, but in tact). The Ten through Binaural run not only soundtracked my junior high through grad school years, but had a higher success rate - song for song - than any one band should have realistically had. Everything since has been much more hit or miss. At this point, I look at any new studio music that I like as icing on the cake. As a touring band, although they're not the emotional tour de force they were in the early to mid 90's or the tight live musicians they were in (take your pick of 1998/2000/2003 and the numerous other threads devoted to that topic), I'll take being a fan of 2013 Pearl Jam that I can still see live over a band that only exists in my memory.

Sometimes I like to think about what the odds are of any talented band staying together 20+ years...especially one that's gone through what this one has. And of the very few bands that can say that, that it would be a band that has given me this many great musical memories...I feel like I've more than gotten my money's worth. So for now I am much more fascinated in what keeps the band going, in what motivates the various decisions that go into keeping the machine up and running.

[harmless]

I'm going with Rearviewmirror (nostalgic, but in tact). The Ten through Binaural run not only soundtracked my junior high through grad school years, but had a higher success rate - song for song - than any one band should have realistically had. Everything since has been much more hit or miss. At this point, I look at any new studio music that I like as icing on the cake. As a touring band, although they're not the emotional tour de force they were in the early to mid 90's or the tight live musicians they were in (take your pick of 1998/2000/2003 and the numerous other threads devoted to that topic), I'll take being a fan of 2013 Pearl Jam that I can still see live over a band that only exists in my memory.

Sometimes I like to think about what the odds are of any talented band staying together 20+ years...especially one that's gone through what this one has. And of the very few bands that can say that, that it would be a band that has given me this many great musical memories...I feel like I've more than gotten my money's worth. So for now I am much more fascinated in what keeps the band going, in what motivates the various decisions that go into keeping the machine up and running.

[warehouse]

thing about live shows is that every new album you don't like kinda dilutes the experience.

i dont really agree with this. for me, some of the songs i dont like on an album i enjoy in a live setting (UK).

[warehouse]

Also they haven't been a consistently good live band in about 7 years.

and this point has been exaggerated to death here

[harmless]

Also they haven't been a consistently good live band in about 7 years.

Yep. That's another thing. The reasons I was so obsessed with PJ in my youth aren't really true anymore, except for the occasional glimpse of their old selves in their studio albums. If they want to go further in this pop / commercial direction, I sure as hell hope they hone it so that it sounds like something excellent in its own right. At the moment I feel like they're stretching. The songs on Lost Dogs showed so much promise for ways they could've become a 'pop-rock' band more in line with R.E.M, and I would've been thrilled if they'd taken any of those directions -- surf rock, rock 'n roll, etc. etc. There are hints of that now, but it's so slickly produced that it's not Lost Dogs that I think of when I hear it.

[harmless]

Also they haven't been a consistently good live band in about 7 years.

and this point has been exaggerated to death here

Every point is exaggerated to death here!

[warehouse]

Also they haven't been a consistently good live band in about 7 years.

and this point has been exaggerated to death here

Every point is exaggerated to death here!

not like this one though

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

thing about live shows is that every new album you don't like kinda dilutes the experience.

i dont really agree with this. for me, some of the songs i dont like on an album i enjoy in a live setting (UK).

I agree with that, and also it keeps the streak for me at least of seeing at least 1 new to me song at every show, I've seen 14 so far and always gotten something different, and because of the new album i am pretty sure that will continue through my next 2 shows