Leatherman

General Pearl Jam discussion.
User avatar
Leatherhead
Rank This Poster
Posts: 4280
Joined: Fri August 09, 2013 4:38 am

Re: Leatherman

Post by Leatherhead »

I really like this song. I like how it starts, doesn't give a fuck about any intro. I like Ed's vocals on this, I don't know how to describe it well, but I wish he'd sing like this more, especially nowadays if he could still pull it off. Reminds me of a WWC song. Ed sounds focused, but relaxed...? Of course Jack sounds great on this, but Matt does too, at least in the video from TB2K that I just watched.
User avatar
igotworms
likes rhythmic things that butt up against each other
Posts: 592
Joined: Wed September 11, 2013 3:36 pm

Re: Leatherman

Post by igotworms »

It's all about Jeff's bass, for me. He's playing with a Mani vibe. Brilliant.
Ms Harmless
She / Her
Posts: 13605
Joined: Sun January 26, 2020 12:10 pm
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
Location: Warwickshire, UK

Re: Leatherman

Post by Ms Harmless »

this song is really hugely Neil Young-influenced to me, right down to how Ed sings it
User avatar
wease
Major Dude
Posts: 40176
Joined: Sat January 05, 2013 1:57 pm
Location: Where everybody knows your name

Re: Leatherman

Post by wease »

Ms Harmless wrote:this song is really hugely Neil Young-influenced to me, right down to how Ed sings it
With the bass line Jeff plays, I’ve always thought it had a Who vibe.
Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing!
- C. Montgomery Burns
User avatar
PHATJ
10Club Complaint Department
Posts: 15145
Joined: Wed January 02, 2013 2:02 am
Twitter: Tweet this *points to your cans*
Location: Gigatown

Re: Leatherman

Post by PHATJ »

Maybe my favorite non album b-side
User avatar
wease
Major Dude
Posts: 40176
Joined: Sat January 05, 2013 1:57 pm
Location: Where everybody knows your name

Re: Leatherman

Post by wease »

PHATJ wrote:Maybe my favorite non album b-side
I love it, too.
Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing!
- C. Montgomery Burns
User avatar
PHATJ
10Club Complaint Department
Posts: 15145
Joined: Wed January 02, 2013 2:02 am
Twitter: Tweet this *points to your cans*
Location: Gigatown

Re: Leatherman

Post by PHATJ »

wease wrote:
PHATJ wrote:Maybe my favorite non album b-side
I love it, too.
:heartbeat:
User avatar
The Town
Broken Tamborine
Posts: 337
Joined: Sun November 03, 2013 7:44 am
Location: Colorado, USA

Re: Leatherman

Post by The Town »

After being made aware of the studio version for the first time in the Superblood Wolfmoon thread, Leatherman might now be a top 10 song for me.
Also really helps that Pearl Jam's singles are available on Spotify now.
I've had it stuck in my head and on repeat countless times over the past ~2 weeks.

I knew it as a rockin' song from TB2K but as far as I thought about it, I thought it was a wacky one-off or something.
Ay dios mío, a gem hidden in plain sight. I love it!
Last edited by The Town on Sat February 29, 2020 6:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
The Town
Broken Tamborine
Posts: 337
Joined: Sun November 03, 2013 7:44 am
Location: Colorado, USA

Re: Leatherman

Post by The Town »

stip wrote:
Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
E.H. Ruddock wrote:If someone wants to do a write up of this song, we can get it in the index. Then we can change the name of this thread to a proper "SOTM" name and appease chud's OCD
go for it, im surprised it didnt already have one, i tried to find it to merge this into it.
no one ever volunteered to write this one up, and I really don't care for this song and didn't want to write it up just to shit all over it
What is this index you speak of?


If it's waxing poetic you need... well, my pleasure:

Leatherman is playful and interesting, with layers of depth
-Everyone on this song is doing something immensely arresting.
-The heavy reverb on the vocals is addicting and once you're hooked, good luck ejecting these earworms! Don't worry they're truly benevolent.
-The quality studio production choices are off the charts. Seriously, listen to it loud on decent speakers or headphones.
-That little guitar flourish in the left channel at 0:33 and 1:34 wow!

-I picture EV sweaty, college-party-band fist pump every time at "here's what they'd say-ay-ay-ay-ay"

-Leatherman successfully builds a fun, inhabitable world. Not only through its strong storytelling but also through its word choice, melody, instrumentation, etc. It all comes together to create a transformative experience. It's how the song can "feel like a middle school social studies class".
The lyrics tie past and present, and I like picturing the Appalachian Trail myself.

-Playful lyrics, especially at the end, like "Bake some bread he's leatherman" and "Give me some skin" -This is the attitude (upbeat) I want sashaying its way into my life.

-Sometimes I hear "[Dick] Cheney's dead" in place of "a shame he's dead" and damn if that's not a fun alternative
-"Axe in his pack" could easily be "Axe in his back" and now you've got yourself a woods horror.

-The way the song peters out to perfection
User avatar
7 Years and Maybe Longer
A Return To Form
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon January 13, 2020 1:55 am

Re: Leatherman

Post by 7 Years and Maybe Longer »

The Town wrote:After being made aware of the studio version for the first time in the Superblood Wolfmoon thread, Leatherman might now be a top 10 song for me.
Also really helps that Pearl Jam's singles are available on Spotify now.
I've had it stuck in my head and on repeat countless times over the past ~2 weeks.

I knew it as a rockin' song from TB2K but as far as I thought about it, I thought it was a wacky one-off or something.
Ay dios mío, a gem hidden in plain sight. I love it!
I just listened to the studio version on youtube and came to the realization that I've only heard live versions before (in person, TB2K, bootlegs). This kind of blows my mind that I've never heard the studio cut, especially since it's from my favorite PJ era. It sounds great.
User avatar
EJ
Fake NYC Setlist Relayer
Posts: 7053
Joined: Wed January 02, 2013 3:15 pm

Re: Leatherman

Post by EJ »

The Town wrote: -"Axe in his pack" could easily be "Axe in his back" and now you've got yourself a woods horror.
I too like to picture a crusty mountain man haunting pesky teens at Camp Crystal Lake.
User avatar
stip
The worst
Posts: 42946
Joined: Thu December 13, 2012 6:31 pm

Re: Leatherman

Post by stip »

The Town wrote:
stip wrote:
Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
E.H. Ruddock wrote:If someone wants to do a write up of this song, we can get it in the index. Then we can change the name of this thread to a proper "SOTM" name and appease chud's OCD
go for it, im surprised it didnt already have one, i tried to find it to merge this into it.
no one ever volunteered to write this one up, and I really don't care for this song and didn't want to write it up just to shit all over it
What is this index you speak of?


If it's waxing poetic you need... well, my pleasure:

Leatherman is playful and interesting, with layers of depth
-Everyone on this song is doing something immensely arresting.
-The heavy reverb on the vocals is addicting and once you're hooked, good luck ejecting these earworms! Don't worry they're truly benevolent.
-The quality studio production choices are off the charts. Seriously, listen to it loud on decent speakers or headphones.
-That little guitar flourish in the left channel at 0:33 and 1:34 wow!

-I picture EV sweaty, college-party-band fist pump every time at "here's what they'd say-ay-ay-ay-ay"

-Leatherman successfully builds a fun, inhabitable world. Not only through its strong storytelling but also through its word choice, melody, instrumentation, etc. It all comes together to create a transformative experience. It's how the song can "feel like a middle school social studies class".
The lyrics tie past and present, and I like picturing the Appalachian Trail myself.

-Playful lyrics, especially at the end, like "Bake some bread he's leatherman" and "Give me some skin" -This is the attitude (upbeat) I want sashaying its way into my life.

-Sometimes I hear "[Dick] Cheney's dead" in place of "a shame he's dead" and damn if that's not a fun alternative
-"Axe in his pack" could easily be "Axe in his back" and now you've got yourself a woods horror.

-The way the song peters out to perfection
we have a stickied post up top that has links to all our post series, including the SOTM post for almost all songs in the catalog. They usually lead with an extended post about the song in question.
User avatar
The Town
Broken Tamborine
Posts: 337
Joined: Sun November 03, 2013 7:44 am
Location: Colorado, USA

Re: Leatherman

Post by The Town »

stip wrote:
The Town wrote:
stip wrote:
Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
E.H. Ruddock wrote:If someone wants to do a write up of this song, we can get it in the index. Then we can change the name of this thread to a proper "SOTM" name and appease chud's OCD
go for it, im surprised it didnt already have one, i tried to find it to merge this into it.
no one ever volunteered to write this one up, and I really don't care for this song and didn't want to write it up just to shit all over it
What is this index you speak of?


If it's waxing poetic you need... well, my pleasure:

Leatherman is playful and interesting, with layers of depth
-Everyone on this song is doing something immensely arresting.
-The heavy reverb on the vocals is addicting and once you're hooked, good luck ejecting these earworms! Don't worry they're truly benevolent.
-The quality studio production choices are off the charts. Seriously, listen to it loud on decent speakers or headphones.
-That little guitar flourish in the left channel at 0:33 and 1:34 wow!

-I picture EV sweaty, college-party-band fist pump every time at "here's what they'd say-ay-ay-ay-ay"

-Leatherman successfully builds a fun, inhabitable world. Not only through its strong storytelling but also through its word choice, melody, instrumentation, etc. It all comes together to create a transformative experience. It's how the song can "feel like a middle school social studies class".
The lyrics tie past and present, and I like picturing the Appalachian Trail myself.

-Playful lyrics, especially at the end, like "Bake some bread he's leatherman" and "Give me some skin" -This is the attitude (upbeat) I want sashaying its way into my life.

-Sometimes I hear "[Dick] Cheney's dead" in place of "a shame he's dead" and damn if that's not a fun alternative
-"Axe in his pack" could easily be "Axe in his back" and now you've got yourself a woods horror.

-The way the song peters out to perfection
we have a stickied post up top that has links to all our post series, including the SOTM post for almost all songs in the catalog. They usually lead with an extended post about the song in question.
Ok found it! Super handy spot

Pearl Jam board
Pearl Jam Chat Index under Announcements
Post Reply