Lets Actually Listen to the Album: Backspacer

[VinylGuy]

I think I love everything about GSMF. In my top half of album openers.

Damn. They've had some pretty killer album openers. GSMF actually might be my least favorite.

Last Exit - Brain of J. - Go - Can't Keep - Sometimes - Once - Breakerfall - Life Wasted - Gonna See My Friend would probably be my ranking of openers.

True...their openers are awesome.

[harmless]

Where will Getaway go?

[Lament]

Where will Getaway go?

I'd be very happy with it if it fell in between Once and Breakerfall for me.

[stip]

Against my better judgement i did this again. I'll spare you the gory details and just mention one song.

I cannot fathom how Force of Nature gets the love it does. Its 100% pure 80s movie training montage music. Back before they hired real musicians to make most of the soundtracks and instead hired some guy with a keyboard who was never heard from again. If it were presented as a parody, I might be able to get some enjoyment out of it, but its so serious. Its all the more shameful that it has the best lyrics on the album (for what lyrics are worth). Listening to it today, I could not believe the five guys who made Vitalogy actually sat in a room together, hammered this thing out, and then, unanimously, agreed it was worthy of an album spot (albeit barely, and was probably the last to make the cut I'm guessing).

And what... what is that instrument playing? is it a guitar? is it a keyboard synthesizing a guitar? Whatever it is, Its the most limp dick tone imaginable. It literally sounds like a sweaty wet fart on a 110 degree day. with humidity.

look, you try chopping logs in the Siberian winter without a song like this and see how far you get.

[harmless]

Where will Getaway go?

I'd be very happy with it if it fell in between Once and Breakerfall for me.

Well, uh... hold fast son. If we don't get out of this alive, at least we made it here.

[stip]

I think I love everything about GSMF. In my top half of album openers.

Damn. They've had some pretty killer album openers. GSMF actually might be my least favorite.

Last Exit - Brain of J. - Go - Can't Keep - Sometimes - Once - Breakerfall - Life Wasted - Gonna See My Friend would probably be my ranking of openers.

They have for sure, so I know that's a bold claim

1. Last Exit
2. Life Wasted
3. Go

( 2 and 3 are virtually tied)
4. GSMF
5. Brain of J
(virtually tied)

6. Can't Keep
7. Once

then a bit of a drop off

8. Breakerfall
9. Sometimes

[Lament]

Where will Getaway go?

I'd be very happy with it if it fell in between Once and Breakerfall for me.

Well, uh... hold fast son. If we don't get out of this alive, at least we made it here.

If it is as good as this, I will hunt down Brendan O'Brien and thank him for returning Pearl Jam to form.

[Lounge Lizard]

1. Go
2. Brain of J
3. Once
4. Sometimes
5. Last Exit
6. Gonna See My Friend
7. Breakerfall
8. Can't Keep
9. Life Wasted

[Lament]

7. Once

This is the most shocking part of your list to me. I was almost certain Once would be one of the songs you'd put ahead of GSMF.

[Mike]

I need to cheat and create categories without ranking to do this:

Great:
Go, Last Exit, Brain Of J, Can't Keep (Last Exit might be the best but I'm not sure)
Very Good:
Once, Sometimes, Breakerfall
Good:
Life Wasted, Gonna See My Friend

I hope Getaway will go to the Very Good category.

[Lounge Lizard]

Go is a fuckin awesome song in itself, opener or not.
I remember switching channels one day when I hit a commercial on the Discovery Channel, they had skaters rolling in a skate park to this song - I nearly jumped

[harmless]

1. Go
2. Brain of J
3. Once
4. Sometimes
5. Last Exit
6. Gonna See My Friend
7. Breakerfall
8. Can't Keep
9. Life Wasted

I would switch Last Exit/Once and Can't Keep/GSMF.

[Lounge Lizard]

1. Go
2. Brain of J
3. Once
4. Sometimes
5. Last Exit
6. Gonna See My Friend
7. Breakerfall
8. Can't Keep
9. Life Wasted

I would switch Last Exit/Once and Can't Keep/GSMF.

[harmless]

1. Go
2. Brain of J
3. Once
4. Sometimes
5. Last Exit
6. Gonna See My Friend
7. Breakerfall
8. Can't Keep
9. Life Wasted

I would switch Last Exit/Once and Can't Keep/GSMF.

I didn't say YOU had to. We can't all have perfect taste and it isn't my intention to change you.

[Lounge Lizard]

That wasn't really necessary

[VinylGuy]

Go is everything.

LISTEN TO IT LOUD MOTHERFUCKERS.

[Lounge Lizard]

Thing is I enjoy numbers 1 through 7 to different degrees.
8 and 9 I usually struggle through, hitting skip more often then not.
To me "Can't Keep" is a never-was trying to be another "Who You Are", falling short miserably. To my ear at least.
And "Life Wasted" has this dull "baaaam-bambam" riff that is just... loud and nothing else. Also the stops in this song are ridiculous and are followed by weird little half bridges that come out of nowhere, lead to nothing and sound lame in the process. The "ha-ha-ha" part is the best one and a half seconds of the song, and that's not saying much.

[stip]

7. Once

This is the most shocking part of your list to me. I was almost certain Once would be one of the songs you'd put ahead of GSMF.

1 to 7 are all songs I like quite a bit

[harmless]

That wasn't really necessary

What is?

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

Against my better judgement i did this again. I'll spare you the gory details and just mention one song.

I cannot fathom how Force of Nature gets the love it does. Its 100% pure 80s movie training montage music. Back before they hired real musicians to make most of the soundtracks and instead hired some guy with a keyboard who was never heard from again. If it were presented as a parody, I might be able to get some enjoyment out of it, but its so serious. Its all the more shameful that it has the best lyrics on the album (for what lyrics are worth). Listening to it today, I could not believe the five guys who made Vitalogy actually sat in a room together, hammered this thing out, and then, unanimously, agreed it was worthy of an album spot (albeit barely, and was probably the last to make the cut I'm guessing).

And what... what is that instrument playing? is it a guitar? is it a keyboard synthesizing a guitar? Whatever it is, Its the most limp dick tone imaginable. It literally sounds like a sweaty wet fart on a 110 degree day. with humidity.