Gigaton: Official album thread

[Monkey_Driven]

I'd say someone in the PJ camp definitely had a quiet word and told him to take it down/change it.

i'd lean into more of this theory. i really wish PJ wasn't so tight-lipped about every single thing having to do with the band. would be cool if they did some sort of studio diary, or messages here and there. hell, even if they themselves want to be quiet, that's fine. but it seems they make anyone who even makes eye contact with a band member sign some sort of nondisclosure agreement.

I was thinking about this earlier (and by earlier I mean all the time for years) but god damn these guys keep everything on fucking lockdown like it's the god damn CIA. And no one even really tries to penetrate the bubble ever. If you think about all the lead up to PJ20 and Backspacer and Lightning Bolt or even the god damn Hall of Fame - they're never asked anything remotely approaching a tough question. Guess you gotta hand it to Beer Man and Nicole Vandenberg and company. These dudes are untouchable.

NOTHING about internal squabbles - just some vague jokey stuff about how Stone was the problem.

NOTHING about the drummer changes - just some vague jokey stuff from Cameron Crowe about hahaha Spinal Tap.

NOTHING about their songwriting process or any kind of band dynamics in the studio. Just some vague stuff about how Ed has two hands on the wheel and everyone else gets one (???).

NOTHING about shitcanning BOB and then bringing in Tchad Blake and then shitcanning him and bringing back BOB. They've never gotten into any of it, in any way, in any interview. Ever.

Every single description of the band is super cliche - Pearl Jam took on Ticketmaster and then turned into this generation's Grateful Dead, etc, etc. The narrative never changes. And no one ever challenges them on the simplest of band dynamics. It's absolutely remarkable.

There was the Kim Nealy book and then basically radio silence for 20 years. I guess you gotta hand it to them. We never get so much as a hint as to the living, breathing organism beneath the surface. We just get the platitudes of a Twitter account that keeps repeating how much they are so lucky to love their fans.

I don't doubt they truly believe that... but on the other hand I would absolutely kill for the slightest amount of transparency. If Foo Fighters could do it with Back and Forth (and every other band for that matter in... name a rock documentary) than they could/should do it. I don't think it will ever happen at this point, though.

I think my TLDR on this is I can't believe how truly little I know about a band I've spent thousands of posts on over the years.

This is a good post.

[liebzz]

Yeah but I think that’s in many ways the point, right? This was always a band shrouded in a bit of mystery because their stated goal from the start was to make music that spoke for itself. In fact, there were tons of interviews at different points where they wouldn’t talk about the meaning of songs because they wanted the listener to derive their own meaning and context for the song. It’s why they stopped making videos for a while. That I know almost nothing about that stuff is in many ways a benefit to them.

That said, I do wish they would give a bit more concrete info on where they are at this point but mostly because while the prior gaps between albums made be antsy for new music, this long long gap I think leads me more to move away from their music and looking elsewhere. Almost like giving up on them at this point.

[McParadigm]

evenslow conjures up great posts as easily as Boom does a shirt without sleeves.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[E.H. Ruddock]

I just want to know if Matt and Mike hang out. I hope they do.

[E.H. Ruddock]

I just want to know if Matt and Mike hang out. I hope they do.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[epilogue]

Do you guys think Mike and Matt actually hang out, though? I hope they do.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[bodysnatcher]

I think Jeff and Ed and Matt and Ed hang out when they can, based off some historical knowledge

Basically no one gives a shit about Stone

[Bammer]

Do you guys think Mike and Matt actually hang out, though? I hope they do.

[bodysnatcher]

That is a great post by evenslow, but I gotta say that I've got to taste for the inter-drama any more; I'm over it, and I respect their decision to keep stuff re: the drummer changeups, power struggles, Beth, etc close to their chest. What I DO really miss is anything related to the creativity -- basically what they captured with SVT -- and would still devour anything having to do with their songwriting process, studio squabbles, mixing choices, and what gets left on the cutting room floor.

this is what i care about too. i have no interest in their personal lives, which i don't think anyone should, and i applaud them for being able to keep tabs on that. i think their desire to keep their personal lives personal creates the situation where they just keep EVERYTHING personal. just put a lock on all of it, so the water doesn't start seeping through the cracks.

[Bammer]

That is a great post by evenslow, but I gotta say that I've got to taste for the inter-drama any more; I'm over it, and I respect their decision to keep stuff re: the drummer changeups, power struggles, Beth, etc close to their chest. What I DO really miss is anything related to the creativity -- basically what they captured with SVT -- and would still devour anything having to do with their songwriting process, studio squabbles, mixing choices, and what gets left on the cutting room floor.

Put the baby down and spell check your shiz.

[VinylGuy]

they always did a great job on dealing with their stuff without any kind of drama. And when someone else talked, they had ruthless lawyers to handle that.

I love when they do an EPK or a movie were you can actually see a little bit more of their inner relationship.

[wease]

I just want to know if Matt and Mike hang out. I hope they do.

[VinylGuy]

I know for a fact they do lots of stuff together.

Not music tough.

[96583UP]

evenslow's meltdown probably highlights why the band pulled over the curtain and started restricting access after the first few albums

Ed had a bad stalker problem

spin me around, roll me over, fucking circus

one could hope they would re-calibrate but after years under the miscroscope i'm sure they just prefer to go to sleep at night not having had to account for why they chose heinz ketchup over catsup that day

esp now with the PJ message board and all these freaks with no lives obsessing over every shit b-side the band ever put out

that and they are not really a band anymore 95% of the time so they don't want to pierce that bubble and deflate the merch machine

[knee tunes]

The first sentence in the post is now changed to "Listened to a new solo track today by JA Ripping good!"

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4DNrqtF39j/

butt there a shark attacking tho

[Bammer]

evenslow's meltdown probably highlights why the band pulled over the curtain and started restricting access after the first few albums

Ed had a bad stalker problem

spin me around, roll me over, fucking circus

one could hope they would re-calibrate but after years under the miscroscope i'm sure they just prefer to go to sleep at night not having had to account for why they chose heinz ketchup over catsup that day

esp now with the PJ message board and all these freaks with no lives obsessing over every shit b-side the band ever put out

that and they are not really a band anymore 95% of the time so they don't want to pierce that bubble and deflate the merch machine

Dude another non-schtick post. WTF?

[verb_to_trust]

It's hard to expect these guys to want to talk about the band with any depth. The good stuff is over 20 years old, so they're not going to want to re hash it. The last 15 plus years have been mostly shit and I'm sure they probably know it. It's not surprising these guys haven't been out there enthusiastically talking about their product. The band is just an embarrassing way to make lots of money at this point.