Lightning Bolt: the official album thread

[VinylGuy]

I think the fans are having an identity crisis more than the band.

I began my identity crisis with PJ at Yield, so I'm very used to it now.

it's this incredibly complex mixture of a band moving into new (and often older) themes, declining productivity, a somewhat different sound and perhaps even a different approach to song writing and having this collide with some people not liking the music as much but not wanting to let go of the band and so you get this combo of battered girlfriend standing by her man/need to denigrate the band to diminish internal expectations (pearl jam are generic/they suck live)/finding someone to blame (ed, BoB, Mike, matt, oddly enough not stone or jeff) with the implication that if they just got out of the way everything goes back to normal/people feeling the need to talk extensively about a band they just don't care that much about anymore because they like posting on RM/trolling because it's the internet and it's not okay to enjoy things.

Great post. And i love when people here complain about the live sound and then go to the shows and its like .." yeah, i have fun it was just ok" ...and a few years passes and the same guy makes a post about how good was that show, now this band its dead.

[Mine]

this has been an incredible thread Dime, and I will not have you speak ill of it!!!!!!!!

it's definitely colossal

[verb_to_trust]

I think the fans are having an identity crisis more than the band.

I began my identity crisis with PJ at Yield, so I'm very used to it now.

This is my second honeymoon, so I feel young and in love again

I'm looking forward to that happening at Lightning Bolt. If it doesn't, no biggy, but I would really like it to. I would love an album I could crank up on the stereo, like, in public and stuff.

I remember the first time I went for my first headphones walk with S/T (which is how i like to listen to new music). At some point fairly early in the record I think I actually was tearing up a bit because it felt, for the first time in over a decade, that the band I loved was back. No Code and Yield were both incredibly uneven records to me, and that the muddy navel gazing monologue I was growing less and and less interested in over the last two albums was finally over. Something had returned that I knew was missing, but didn't realize how much until it came back. that started the first time I heard WWS. I couldn't stop smiling for a few hours afterwards.

That cooled over time, especially as the back half of S/T kinda fell off a cliff for me (the only song I really care about in the back half is come back) but still, it was a great feeling.

Self titled made me cry too. Solidarity.

[stip]

I think the fans are having an identity crisis more than the band.

I began my identity crisis with PJ at Yield, so I'm very used to it now.

This is my second honeymoon, so I feel young and in love again

I'm looking forward to that happening at Lightning Bolt. If it doesn't, no biggy, but I would really like it to. I would love an album I could crank up on the stereo, like, in public and stuff.

I remember the first time I went for my first headphones walk with S/T (which is how i like to listen to new music). At some point fairly early in the record I think I actually was tearing up a bit because it felt, for the first time in over a decade, that the band I loved was back. No Code and Yield were both incredibly uneven records to me, and that the muddy navel gazing monologue I was growing less and and less interested in over the last two albums was finally over. Something had returned that I knew was missing, but didn't realize how much until it came back. that started the first time I heard WWS. I couldn't stop smiling for a few hours afterwards.

That cooled over time, especially as the back half of S/T kinda fell off a cliff for me (the only song I really care about in the back half is come back) but still, it was a great feeling.

I felt that about Backspacer initially. What I'd like from the new one is some songs that grab instantly but then stay there.

I felt the same way with Backspacer as well. I'd have to go back and reread my TSIS post but I'm sure I gushed about the album. Fortunately it's held up for me remarkably well. There are a few songs I like less now then I did then, but there are others I like more, and it remains, supersonic aside, a remarkably enjoyable and consistent listen. In no way their best, and really lacking truly top shelf songs, but there are only two pearl jam albums that has as many songs on it that I really want to listen to.

[stip]

I think the fans are having an identity crisis more than the band.

I began my identity crisis with PJ at Yield, so I'm very used to it now.

This is my second honeymoon, so I feel young and in love again

I'm looking forward to that happening at Lightning Bolt. If it doesn't, no biggy, but I would really like it to. I would love an album I could crank up on the stereo, like, in public and stuff.

I remember the first time I went for my first headphones walk with S/T (which is how i like to listen to new music). At some point fairly early in the record I think I actually was tearing up a bit because it felt, for the first time in over a decade, that the band I loved was back. No Code and Yield were both incredibly uneven records to me, and that the muddy navel gazing monologue I was growing less and and less interested in over the last two albums was finally over. Something had returned that I knew was missing, but didn't realize how much until it came back. that started the first time I heard WWS. I couldn't stop smiling for a few hours afterwards.

That cooled over time, especially as the back half of S/T kinda fell off a cliff for me (the only song I really care about in the back half is come back) but still, it was a great feeling.

Self titled made me cry too. Solidarity.

*terrorist fist jab

[harmless]

I think the fans are having an identity crisis more than the band.

I began my identity crisis with PJ at Yield, so I'm very used to it now.

it's this incredibly complex mixture of a band moving into new (and often older) themes, declining productivity, a somewhat different sound and perhaps even a different approach to song writing and having this collide with some people not liking the music as much but not wanting to let go of the band and so you get this combo of battered girlfriend standing by her man/need to denigrate the band to diminish internal expectations (pearl jam are generic/they suck live)/finding someone to blame (ed, BoB, Mike, matt, oddly enough not stone or jeff) with the implication that if they just got out of the way everything goes back to normal/people feeling the need to talk extensively about a band they just don't care that much about anymore because they like posting on RM/trolling because it's the internet and it's not okay to enjoy things.

Great post. And i love when people here complain about the live sound and then go to the shows and its like .." yeah, i have fun it was just ok" ...and a few years passes and the same guy makes a post about how good was that show, now this band its dead.

I think a lot of people have forgotten a lot of their initial impressions if they're more than, say, a decade old. I personally remember what I thought of each and every PJ album, initially and much later. And I also remember how I felt after hearing certain songs. It was always a patchy experience and I very often had to grow into a PJ song that I sometimes hated at first. Now's no different. The only difference is that I now have more songs to compare them to, so the bar is raised. The songs have to do more to please me. I read on the Pit, someone arguing that the 'Lightning Bolt!' chorus isn't half as embarrassing if you remember that they always wrote one/two word choruses, and they always wrote songs with mediocre choruses, or even no chorus. But suddenly this one's judged as awful because fans expect more of them now.

[verb_to_trust]

I think the fans are having an identity crisis more than the band.

I began my identity crisis with PJ at Yield, so I'm very used to it now.

This is my second honeymoon, so I feel young and in love again

I'm looking forward to that happening at Lightning Bolt. If it doesn't, no biggy, but I would really like it to. I would love an album I could crank up on the stereo, like, in public and stuff.

I remember the first time I went for my first headphones walk with S/T (which is how i like to listen to new music). At some point fairly early in the record I think I actually was tearing up a bit because it felt, for the first time in over a decade, that the band I loved was back. No Code and Yield were both incredibly uneven records to me, and that the muddy navel gazing monologue I was growing less and and less interested in over the last two albums was finally over. Something had returned that I knew was missing, but didn't realize how much until it came back. that started the first time I heard WWS. I couldn't stop smiling for a few hours afterwards.

That cooled over time, especially as the back half of S/T kinda fell off a cliff for me (the only song I really care about in the back half is come back) but still, it was a great feeling.

Self titled made me cry too. Solidarity.

*terrorist fist jab

I was thinking more of a "three stooges eye poke"

[verb_to_trust]

I think the fans are having an identity crisis more than the band.

I began my identity crisis with PJ at Yield, so I'm very used to it now.

it's this incredibly complex mixture of a band moving into new (and often older) themes, declining productivity, a somewhat different sound and perhaps even a different approach to song writing and having this collide with some people not liking the music as much but not wanting to let go of the band and so you get this combo of battered girlfriend standing by her man/need to denigrate the band to diminish internal expectations (pearl jam are generic/they suck live)/finding someone to blame (ed, BoB, Mike, matt, oddly enough not stone or jeff) with the implication that if they just got out of the way everything goes back to normal/people feeling the need to talk extensively about a band they just don't care that much about anymore because they like posting on RM/trolling because it's the internet and it's not okay to enjoy things.

Great post. And i love when people here complain about the live sound and then go to the shows and its like .." yeah, i have fun it was just ok" ...and a few years passes and the same guy makes a post about how good was that show, now this band its dead.

I think a lot of people have forgotten a lot of their initial impressions if they're more than, say, a decade old. I personally remember what I thought of each and every PJ album, initially and much later. And I also remember how I felt after hearing certain songs. It was always a patchy experience and I very often had to grow into a PJ song that I sometimes hated at first. Now's no different. The only difference is that I now have more songs to compare them to, so the bar is raised. The songs have to do more to please me. I read on the Pit, someone arguing that the 'Lightning Bolt!' chorus isn't half as embarrassing if you remember that they always wrote one/two word choruses, and they always wrote songs with mediocre choruses, or even no chorus. But suddenly this one's judged as awful because fans expect more of them now.

Couldn't it just be as simple as screeching the words "Lightning Bolt" not working that well for a chorus though?

[stip]

I think the fans are having an identity crisis more than the band.

I began my identity crisis with PJ at Yield, so I'm very used to it now.

it's this incredibly complex mixture of a band moving into new (and often older) themes, declining productivity, a somewhat different sound and perhaps even a different approach to song writing and having this collide with some people not liking the music as much but not wanting to let go of the band and so you get this combo of battered girlfriend standing by her man/need to denigrate the band to diminish internal expectations (pearl jam are generic/they suck live)/finding someone to blame (ed, BoB, Mike, matt, oddly enough not stone or jeff) with the implication that if they just got out of the way everything goes back to normal/people feeling the need to talk extensively about a band they just don't care that much about anymore because they like posting on RM/trolling because it's the internet and it's not okay to enjoy things.

Great post. And i love when people here complain about the live sound and then go to the shows and its like .." yeah, i have fun it was just ok" ...and a few years passes and the same guy makes a post about how good was that show, now this band its dead.

I think a lot of people have forgotten a lot of their initial impressions if they're more than, say, a decade old. I personally remember what I thought of each and every PJ album, initially and much later. And I also remember how I felt after hearing certain songs. It was always a patchy experience and I very often had to grow into a PJ song that I sometimes hated at first. Now's no different. The only difference is that I now have more songs to compare them to, so the bar is raised. The songs have to do more to please me. I read on the Pit, someone arguing that the 'Lightning Bolt!' chorus isn't half as embarrassing if you remember that they always wrote one/two word choruses, and they always wrote songs with mediocre choruses, or even no chorus. But suddenly this one's judged as awful because fans expect more of them now.

we also grow into new music in the middle of a constant ongoing conversation about it, which will affect how we hear and think about things (for better or worse)

[stip]

I think the fans are having an identity crisis more than the band.

I began my identity crisis with PJ at Yield, so I'm very used to it now.

it's this incredibly complex mixture of a band moving into new (and often older) themes, declining productivity, a somewhat different sound and perhaps even a different approach to song writing and having this collide with some people not liking the music as much but not wanting to let go of the band and so you get this combo of battered girlfriend standing by her man/need to denigrate the band to diminish internal expectations (pearl jam are generic/they suck live)/finding someone to blame (ed, BoB, Mike, matt, oddly enough not stone or jeff) with the implication that if they just got out of the way everything goes back to normal/people feeling the need to talk extensively about a band they just don't care that much about anymore because they like posting on RM/trolling because it's the internet and it's not okay to enjoy things.

Great post. And i love when people here complain about the live sound and then go to the shows and its like .." yeah, i have fun it was just ok" ...and a few years passes and the same guy makes a post about how good was that show, now this band its dead.

I think a lot of people have forgotten a lot of their initial impressions if they're more than, say, a decade old. I personally remember what I thought of each and every PJ album, initially and much later. And I also remember how I felt after hearing certain songs. It was always a patchy experience and I very often had to grow into a PJ song that I sometimes hated at first. Now's no different. The only difference is that I now have more songs to compare them to, so the bar is raised. The songs have to do more to please me. I read on the Pit, someone arguing that the 'Lightning Bolt!' chorus isn't half as embarrassing if you remember that they always wrote one/two word choruses, and they always wrote songs with mediocre choruses, or even no chorus. But suddenly this one's judged as awful because fans expect more of them now.

Couldn't it just be as simple as screeching the words "Lightning Bolt" not working that well for a chorus though?

no

[stip]

or at least lightning bolt not being a good chorus doesn't really get to the heart of what's going on here. You don't make that your signature and then spend several days trolling the thread for that album because you don't like a chrous

[harmless]

I think the fans are having an identity crisis more than the band.

I began my identity crisis with PJ at Yield, so I'm very used to it now.

it's this incredibly complex mixture of a band moving into new (and often older) themes, declining productivity, a somewhat different sound and perhaps even a different approach to song writing and having this collide with some people not liking the music as much but not wanting to let go of the band and so you get this combo of battered girlfriend standing by her man/need to denigrate the band to diminish internal expectations (pearl jam are generic/they suck live)/finding someone to blame (ed, BoB, Mike, matt, oddly enough not stone or jeff) with the implication that if they just got out of the way everything goes back to normal/people feeling the need to talk extensively about a band they just don't care that much about anymore because they like posting on RM/trolling because it's the internet and it's not okay to enjoy things.

Great post. And i love when people here complain about the live sound and then go to the shows and its like .." yeah, i have fun it was just ok" ...and a few years passes and the same guy makes a post about how good was that show, now this band its dead.

I think a lot of people have forgotten a lot of their initial impressions if they're more than, say, a decade old. I personally remember what I thought of each and every PJ album, initially and much later. And I also remember how I felt after hearing certain songs. It was always a patchy experience and I very often had to grow into a PJ song that I sometimes hated at first. Now's no different. The only difference is that I now have more songs to compare them to, so the bar is raised. The songs have to do more to please me. I read on the Pit, someone arguing that the 'Lightning Bolt!' chorus isn't half as embarrassing if you remember that they always wrote one/two word choruses, and they always wrote songs with mediocre choruses, or even no chorus. But suddenly this one's judged as awful because fans expect more of them now.

Couldn't it just be as simple as screeching the words "Lightning Bolt" not working that well for a chorus though?

Well, sure, if that's your feeling. But it's definitely not PJ's only ridiculous chorus in that vein. People have always thrown shit at 'Evacuation', until sometime in the last few years, suddenly someone decided it was genius and that's been the overriding feeling since. My personal feeling about LB is that everything surrounding that non-event of a chorus is very good to great, which makes the chorus even less important. And I feel the same about loads of choruses. PJ really don't write very good choruses a lot of the time; they're either lifted by the surrounding song, or they're not, and the whole song fails. PJ have very often been better at writing verses and bridges. And I'm hoping the chorus isn't screeched on the record, but if it is it won't be the end of the world.

[harmless]

I can't remember a PJ song which was absolutely made by its chorus.

[VinylGuy]

I think the fans are having an identity crisis more than the band.

I began my identity crisis with PJ at Yield, so I'm very used to it now.

it's this incredibly complex mixture of a band moving into new (and often older) themes, declining productivity, a somewhat different sound and perhaps even a different approach to song writing and having this collide with some people not liking the music as much but not wanting to let go of the band and so you get this combo of battered girlfriend standing by her man/need to denigrate the band to diminish internal expectations (pearl jam are generic/they suck live)/finding someone to blame (ed, BoB, Mike, matt, oddly enough not stone or jeff) with the implication that if they just got out of the way everything goes back to normal/people feeling the need to talk extensively about a band they just don't care that much about anymore because they like posting on RM/trolling because it's the internet and it's not okay to enjoy things.

Great post. And i love when people here complain about the live sound and then go to the shows and its like .." yeah, i have fun it was just ok" ...and a few years passes and the same guy makes a post about how good was that show, now this band its dead.

I think a lot of people have forgotten a lot of their initial impressions if they're more than, say, a decade old. I personally remember what I thought of each and every PJ album, initially and much later. And I also remember how I felt after hearing certain songs. It was always a patchy experience and I very often had to grow into a PJ song that I sometimes hated at first. Now's no different. The only difference is that I now have more songs to compare them to, so the bar is raised. The songs have to do more to please me. I read on the Pit, someone arguing that the 'Lightning Bolt!' chorus isn't half as embarrassing if you remember that they always wrote one/two word choruses, and they always wrote songs with mediocre choruses, or even no chorus. But suddenly this one's judged as awful because fans expect more of them now.

Couldn't it just be as simple as screeching the words "Lightning Bolt" not working that well for a chorus though?

no

I think there were always a sense of the fans not being happy with the direction the band was taking...This is because PJ has been always a very challenging band...What still surprised me is how people are complaining or saying this like " because of the reviews i know this record is going to suck"...the same with the live shows...people complaining about their setlist when they haven´t gone to the shows or haven´t even heard the boot.

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

I remember the first time I went for my first headphones walk with S/T (which is how i like to listen to new music). At some point fairly early in the record I think I actually was tearing up a bit because it felt, for the first time in over a decade, that the band I loved was back. No Code and Yield were both incredibly uneven records to me, and that the muddy navel gazing monologue I was growing less and and less interested in over the last two albums was finally over. Something had returned that I knew was missing, but didn't realize how much until it came back. that started the first time I heard WWS. I couldn't stop smiling for a few hours afterwards.

That cooled over time, especially as the back half of S/T kinda fell off a cliff for me (the only song I really care about in the back half is come back) but still, it was a great feeling.

What is this faggotry?

[harmless]

I remember the first time I went for my first headphones walk with S/T (which is how i like to listen to new music). At some point fairly early in the record I think I actually was tearing up a bit because it felt, for the first time in over a decade, that the band I loved was back. No Code and Yield were both incredibly uneven records to me, and that the muddy navel gazing monologue I was growing less and and less interested in over the last two albums was finally over. Something had returned that I knew was missing, but didn't realize how much until it came back. that started the first time I heard WWS. I couldn't stop smiling for a few hours afterwards.

That cooled over time, especially as the back half of S/T kinda fell off a cliff for me (the only song I really care about in the back half is come back) but still, it was a great feeling.

What is this faggotry?

Are you fucking kidding me?

[stip]

I think the fans are having an identity crisis more than the band.

I began my identity crisis with PJ at Yield, so I'm very used to it now.

it's this incredibly complex mixture of a band moving into new (and often older) themes, declining productivity, a somewhat different sound and perhaps even a different approach to song writing and having this collide with some people not liking the music as much but not wanting to let go of the band and so you get this combo of battered girlfriend standing by her man/need to denigrate the band to diminish internal expectations (pearl jam are generic/they suck live)/finding someone to blame (ed, BoB, Mike, matt, oddly enough not stone or jeff) with the implication that if they just got out of the way everything goes back to normal/people feeling the need to talk extensively about a band they just don't care that much about anymore because they like posting on RM/trolling because it's the internet and it's not okay to enjoy things.

Great post. And i love when people here complain about the live sound and then go to the shows and its like .." yeah, i have fun it was just ok" ...and a few years passes and the same guy makes a post about how good was that show, now this band its dead.

I think a lot of people have forgotten a lot of their initial impressions if they're more than, say, a decade old. I personally remember what I thought of each and every PJ album, initially and much later. And I also remember how I felt after hearing certain songs. It was always a patchy experience and I very often had to grow into a PJ song that I sometimes hated at first. Now's no different. The only difference is that I now have more songs to compare them to, so the bar is raised. The songs have to do more to please me. I read on the Pit, someone arguing that the 'Lightning Bolt!' chorus isn't half as embarrassing if you remember that they always wrote one/two word choruses, and they always wrote songs with mediocre choruses, or even no chorus. But suddenly this one's judged as awful because fans expect more of them now.

Couldn't it just be as simple as screeching the words "Lightning Bolt" not working that well for a chorus though?

no

I think there were always a sense of the fans not being happy with the direction the band was taking...This is because PJ has been always a very challenging band...What still surprised me is how people are complaining or saying this like " because of the reviews i know this record is going to suck"...the same with the live shows...people complaining about their setlist when they haven´t gone to the shows or haven´t even heard the boot.

to be clear, I am in no way saying people have to like the music they are making now, be challenged by it, or anything like that. Not liking it is totally legit. But not liking it hardly explains why we get the posting that we do

[VinylGuy]

I think the fans are having an identity crisis more than the band.

I began my identity crisis with PJ at Yield, so I'm very used to it now.

it's this incredibly complex mixture of a band moving into new (and often older) themes, declining productivity, a somewhat different sound and perhaps even a different approach to song writing and having this collide with some people not liking the music as much but not wanting to let go of the band and so you get this combo of battered girlfriend standing by her man/need to denigrate the band to diminish internal expectations (pearl jam are generic/they suck live)/finding someone to blame (ed, BoB, Mike, matt, oddly enough not stone or jeff) with the implication that if they just got out of the way everything goes back to normal/people feeling the need to talk extensively about a band they just don't care that much about anymore because they like posting on RM/trolling because it's the internet and it's not okay to enjoy things.

Great post. And i love when people here complain about the live sound and then go to the shows and its like .." yeah, i have fun it was just ok" ...and a few years passes and the same guy makes a post about how good was that show, now this band its dead.

I think a lot of people have forgotten a lot of their initial impressions if they're more than, say, a decade old. I personally remember what I thought of each and every PJ album, initially and much later. And I also remember how I felt after hearing certain songs. It was always a patchy experience and I very often had to grow into a PJ song that I sometimes hated at first. Now's no different. The only difference is that I now have more songs to compare them to, so the bar is raised. The songs have to do more to please me. I read on the Pit, someone arguing that the 'Lightning Bolt!' chorus isn't half as embarrassing if you remember that they always wrote one/two word choruses, and they always wrote songs with mediocre choruses, or even no chorus. But suddenly this one's judged as awful because fans expect more of them now.

Couldn't it just be as simple as screeching the words "Lightning Bolt" not working that well for a chorus though?

no

I think there were always a sense of the fans not being happy with the direction the band was taking...This is because PJ has been always a very challenging band...What still surprised me is how people are complaining or saying this like " because of the reviews i know this record is going to suck"...the same with the live shows...people complaining about their setlist when they haven´t gone to the shows or haven´t even heard the boot.

to be clear, I am in no way saying people have to like the music they are making now, be challenged by it, or anything like that. Not liking it is totally legit. But not liking it hardly explains why we get the posting that we do

And i agree with that.

[Lounge Lizard]

I can't remember a PJ song which was absolutely made by its chorus.

are you kidding
Alive, Jeremy are The choruses that made the songs

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

Are you fucking kidding me?

It was a joke you fuck.