Lets Actually Listen to the Album: Riot Act

[nah]

I have thus far never tried to play You Are. I don't know where that puts me.

if you've played 'how soon is now' then youve played you are. or anything off fascination street.

[Birds in Hell]

I have thus far never tried to play You Are. I don't know where that puts me.

if you've played 'how soon is now' then youve played you are. or anything off fascination street.

That isn't remotely true.

[PHATJ]

i just wish we could all agree that when we heard 'you are' for the first time, we got scared. very scared. for me it was when the band went to krock and that was the first cut they played from the album. made me real nervous.

I loved it on first listen and still do. It's always been my favorite song from Riot Act.

[darth_vedder]

So did people actually LAL this album?

[Rod Serling]

How can I be sure I'm actually listening to Riot Act?

[Norah]

You don't even like Riot Act.

[Rod Serling]

You don't even like Riot Act.

But how can I know that? This whole time I might not have been actually listening to it.

[Norah]

[Norah]

Pearl Jam's music arouses and compliments a wide variety of moods and emotions. Powerful and borne from a deeply honest place, it is no wonder so many can personally relate to these incredible sounds. PJ do it all -- and we're not left wanting anything but more... Now let's jam.

[Jorge]

I have thus far never tried to play You Are. I don't know where that puts me.

if you've played 'how soon is now' then youve played you are. or anything off fascination street.

That isn't remotely true.

Yeah, what the hell.

[dkfan9]

I think Riot Act is also more than just the political mood of the time. Think of the general mood the band was in after the 2000 tour. A couple of hints they might quit after going through Roskilde. They sure weren't the happiest times. And they assembled all those feelings into that album. The more I think about it, the better Riot Act becomes.

This guy gets it.

i haven't read past page three yet. but yes he does.

the difference between 2002 and 1998 (riot act vs. yield) is simply that there are more events you can tie riot act directly to. but "what are you running from? taking pills to get along, creating walls to call your own" is a social commentary in the same way "i never knew soap made you taller" is.

[stip]

I think Riot Act is also more than just the political mood of the time. Think of the general mood the band was in after the 2000 tour. A couple of hints they might quit after going through Roskilde. They sure weren't the happiest times. And they assembled all those feelings into that album. The more I think about it, the better Riot Act becomes.

This guy gets it.

i haven't read past page three yet. but yes he does.

the difference between 2002 and 1998 (riot act vs. yield) is simply that there are more events you can tie riot act directly to. but "what are you running from? taking pills to get along, creating walls to call your own" is a social commentary in the same way "i never knew soap made you taller" is.

sure, but what makes Riot Act political is precisely that it is tying itself to something more concrete.

[stip]

What coherent narrative runs through any Pearl Jam album?

Ishmael through Yield. And even then, in some songs it's pretty vague if existent at all.

Other than DTE it is really just the idea of withdrawl that shows up in Yield. Actually I was going to say that this made less of a connection, but given how prevalent that idea is on Yield, as opposed to the other albums, I take it back

[knee tunes]

"Let's Actually LISTEN to the album Riot Act".....and here all along I've just been washing my stockings with it!

[Fuzzcharger]

"Let's Actually LISTEN to the album Riot Act".....and here all along I've just been washing my stockings with it!

[EJ]

I don't like that the first song of this album is also the best.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

"Let's Actually LISTEN to the album Riot Act".....and here all along I've just been washing my stockings with it!

how do you do that?

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

I don't like that the first song of this album is also the best.

i wont say iys the best, but it is a freaking great song for sure

[stip]

I LAL'd to the first half of this on my way to work today. Even though is probably two up from the bottom for me, it is still a good listen, and there's really no pearl jam album that I don't enjoy from start to finish. Especially if it's been a while. Can't Keep and Save You are both really good. Cropduster and Ghost are good, too. But not great.

What (or who) is making that high pitched backing vocals sound at the end of cropduster?

Thumbing My Way is a good example of a song with a nice base, but I really just don't enjoy what the rest of the band is doing on that song.

You Are REALLY needs a stronger performance from Eddie.

LBC is probably down at the bottom of all of pearl jam's anthems for me. The title doesn't help. The all you need is love stuff doesn't help, Eddie's largerly anemic performance doesn't help, and it's not like the music is ever super inspiring or interesting. That song came alive a bit live, but it is still an average song at best.


Part II on the way home

[stip]

Green disease was better than I remembered. Help help, bushleaguer, and 1/2 full were maybe a little worse. Still a satisfying, if unspectacular listen