Lightning Bolt: the official album thread

[WaitingForBluey]

I'm not sure what the confusion is about? A Vancouver radio station says they're playing Sirens today. That sounds like news to me.

[Lounge Lizard]

I can't tell anything about Jeff's video other than he is easily my favorite band member at this point

word.

I've been very excited to hear what he brings to the table on this album ever since hearing RNDM.

RNDM?

A band that Jeff is in:

http://rndmband.com/

ah, right, thanks. I became curious about it after a review on LB mentioned it. However not a single clip could I find on youtube. WTH.

[Lounge Lizard]

I'm not sure what the confusion is about? A Vancouver radio station says they're playing Sirens today. That sounds like news to me.

Edgy people are edgy

[harmless]

I'm assuming with the inclusion of SBM, that hopes of this really being a concept album (or apocalyptic rock opera of sorts) are through. Same thing happened with my guess on Self-titled (based on the track names) prior to release. Wrong again, I guess.

No, not really. If it's the odd one out, that's very likely to be only one song. So we're not wrong yet. It's much easier to fit one song into the 'narrative' than, like, half the album. S/T was basically two concept albums split apart. And the tracks weren't unified lyrically or by the artwork; this time, they're both.

I don't know about S/T, depends on your definition of concept album. I guess I kinda meant lyrically tells a linear story - so rock opera is probably a better term. By concept album, I could see a lot of their work trying to be placed into that definition, I suppose.

As for this one, they are definitely linked with artwork. I'm just hoping for a lyrical link. I feel like SBM probably tosses out the probability of that happening. It's not dead, just alot lower.

Of course not. It's about a relationship, and we have to conduct relationships in the context of everything going on in the world. And sometimes we struggle. So the song could be said to be about the strains and stress that something like political climate and oppression can put a personal relationship under. The personal is political. That's a message S/T had, but there it was far less consistent. And as I said above, we have lyrics... some of them people have guessed at, but there are enough there to think that we might get some thematic unity.

I browsed em'. Yeh, I could see a unified "theme". In fact, I think the theme aspect probably will happen. I guess what I was hoping for is a bit broader than just a theme.

I'd prefer a linear story of sorts, like mamasan.

I have to say that future days being the final act seems to lend more hope to that. The artwork did too. It certainly seems like the theme is religious in nature and maybe a move towards one's own notion of spirituality. That's the theme. I was hoping for a linear story though (lyrically). I felt that it's tough to stick a random song into a linear narrative format, that's all. Which by the sounds of it Brendan kinda pushed in. Which is why I'm losing a bit of hope of a "rock opera".

I now feel like (the song) Lightning Bolt's lyrics have rock opera written all over it, actually. So, who knows...

See, I'm not really a fan of a linear anything. I don't like the idea of a rock opera; stuff like Tommy sucks to me. But I do like associative connections, I do like joining subject matter and themes together and getting a big picture. PJ have done that once or twice really well, and S/T and Backspacer didn't. There's more hope this time. I'd rather write my own story and figure out what it's all saying to me. As long as images and lyrics are speaking to one another, I'll be able to do that. If anything, SBM and FD could be said to have the same relationship to the overall message. They don't have the same message in themselves, but they both are primarily about personal relationships. Also, "sleeping by myself" could be metaphorically said to relate to stuff Ed sings about elsewhere to do with independence of thought and action.

[verb_to_trust]

I'm assuming with the inclusion of SBM, that hopes of this really being a concept album (or apocalyptic rock opera of sorts) are through. Same thing happened with my guess on Self-titled (based on the track names) prior to release. Wrong again, I guess.

I wish I was this band's manager. A concept album by a good band would not only sell records, it would force people to listen to the entire thing. And it's something PJ could easily create. They've got all the parts for it - good lyricist, decent band of songwriters that can create conceptual music. It's kinda sad that 10 albums have gone by and Ed never really went beyond the Mamasan Trilogy - outside of I guess Into the Wild -which I think is pretty disjointed anyway.

So, your saying the band should create a concept album based on what management tells them? That would be a silly reason. If they were to have one in them, they'd do it, if they felt like it. An artist shouldn't be taking requests from anyone, not from their management, fans, mothers, whatever.

A concept double-album of "atmospheric" and "layered" music would have a high percentage of sucking donkey balls.

These guys haven't written together since the 90's and it took them 5 years just to get in the same place long enough to record this record. Do we really think they have a "rock opera" in the cards? It takes all they have just to cobble together something worth releasing....

[stip]

'Come Back' is literally the furthest you could get from 'Black' unless you put a kazoo over it.

boy, I really want to hear that version now.

At the most emotional points, Mike's solo is replaced with a kazoo!

Spoiler: show

I am so sorry for what I've done.

Nice work. I love the track title too. Kazoo Back.

old news at this point but I didn't want it to go unappreciated.

[harmless]

I'm not sure what the confusion is about? A Vancouver radio station says they're playing Sirens today. That sounds like news to me.

So it's like 9pm here. Is it worth me staying up for this?

[Release_Me]

Is there any official news about Sirens and when it's being released? I posted the rumour that it's going to be the next single and that it's dropping this week. I haven't followed up on the sources or read anything further since.

You are the one who posted the rumor. So if your "source" is legit, wouldn't you know before us?

I merely posted this tweet which I came across on my twitter:

#PJRumors New @PearlJam single (Sirens) will be out this week.
#LightningBolt pic.twitter.com/jGW5SwoXLv

It's available here:

https://twitter.com/PearlJamOnLine/stat ... 2581651456

I have no idea about the veracity of the rumour or if there have been any further developments.

[VinylGuy]

Jeff is a cool dude for sure....That video was awesome.

[harmless]

This band consists of four goofy guys and a cool dude.

[HardTI]

The cool one

[Monkey_Driven]

Jeff is a cool dude for sure....That video was awesome.

My buddy went to a RNDM show in Kansas and Jeff talked to him for about 15 minutes after the show. Cool dude indeed.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

I can't tell anything about Jeff's video other than he is easily my favorite band member at this point

word.

I've been very excited to hear what he brings to the table on this album ever since hearing RNDM.

RNDM?

A band that Jeff is in:

http://rndmband.com/

ah, right, thanks. I became curious about it after a review on LB mentioned it. However not a single clip could I find on youtube. WTH.

[IlluminEddie]

I'm assuming with the inclusion of SBM, that hopes of this really being a concept album (or apocalyptic rock opera of sorts) are through. Same thing happened with my guess on Self-titled (based on the track names) prior to release. Wrong again, I guess.

No, not really. If it's the odd one out, that's very likely to be only one song. So we're not wrong yet. It's much easier to fit one song into the 'narrative' than, like, half the album. S/T was basically two concept albums split apart. And the tracks weren't unified lyrically or by the artwork; this time, they're both.

I don't know about S/T, depends on your definition of concept album. I guess I kinda meant lyrically tells a linear story - so rock opera is probably a better term. By concept album, I could see a lot of their work trying to be placed into that definition, I suppose.

As for this one, they are definitely linked with artwork. I'm just hoping for a lyrical link. I feel like SBM probably tosses out the probability of that happening. It's not dead, just alot lower.

Of course not. It's about a relationship, and we have to conduct relationships in the context of everything going on in the world. And sometimes we struggle. So the song could be said to be about the strains and stress that something like political climate and oppression can put a personal relationship under. The personal is political. That's a message S/T had, but there it was far less consistent. And as I said above, we have lyrics... some of them people have guessed at, but there are enough there to think that we might get some thematic unity.

I browsed em'. Yeh, I could see a unified "theme". In fact, I think the theme aspect probably will happen. I guess what I was hoping for is a bit broader than just a theme.

I'd prefer a linear story of sorts, like mamasan.

I have to say that future days being the final act seems to lend more hope to that. The artwork did too. It certainly seems like the theme is religious in nature and maybe a move towards one's own notion of spirituality. That's the theme. I was hoping for a linear story though (lyrically). I felt that it's tough to stick a random song into a linear narrative format, that's all. Which by the sounds of it Brendan kinda pushed in. Which is why I'm losing a bit of hope of a "rock opera".

I now feel like (the song) Lightning Bolt's lyrics have rock opera written all over it, actually. So, who knows...

See, I'm not really a fan of a linear anything. I don't like the idea of a rock opera; stuff like Tommy sucks to me. But I do like associative connections, I do like joining subject matter and themes together and getting a big picture. PJ have done that once or twice really well, and S/T and Backspacer didn't. There's more hope this time. I'd rather write my own story and figure out what it's all saying to me. As long as images and lyrics are speaking to one another, I'll be able to do that. If anything, SBM and FD could be said to have the same relationship to the overall message. They don't have the same message in themselves, but they both are primarily about personal relationships. Also, "sleeping by myself" could be metaphorically said to relate to stuff Ed sings about elsewhere to do with independence of thought and action.

Well, it's kinda hard to know what Pearl Jam's "Tommy" would be, since it's never happened. For all we know, you'd love it and I'd hate it. The only synchronized linear narrative we have from them is Mamasan. And I think that's pretty awesome. Although, I actually think Ed could write better lyrics now then he could back then.

Maybe the music would be worse though. I know they are older. Maybe the topic would suck, maybe their delivery would just weigh it down. I understand that it may not work as well now. But, I still think the experiment would be worth the shot. I feel Ed is a good story teller. As far as Rock Operas though, I understand why some don't want PJ to go there. I do though and honestly it's not worth trying to convince me otherwise because the truth is they don't care about my opinion anyway and probably won't ever do one.

On the associative connections - concept stuff, I don't think PJ has done anything big like this yet. To me, an example of "associated connections" concept albums would be The Wall. That's another angle they could pursue, but I do think they need to be a bit upfront about the fact it's a concept album. If it's a good concept album, we should be able to say something like "The Wall is about personal isolation" and Lightning Bolt is about "...". We'll see if that's possible.

[harmless]

I'm assuming with the inclusion of SBM, that hopes of this really being a concept album (or apocalyptic rock opera of sorts) are through. Same thing happened with my guess on Self-titled (based on the track names) prior to release. Wrong again, I guess.

No, not really. If it's the odd one out, that's very likely to be only one song. So we're not wrong yet. It's much easier to fit one song into the 'narrative' than, like, half the album. S/T was basically two concept albums split apart. And the tracks weren't unified lyrically or by the artwork; this time, they're both.

I don't know about S/T, depends on your definition of concept album. I guess I kinda meant lyrically tells a linear story - so rock opera is probably a better term. By concept album, I could see a lot of their work trying to be placed into that definition, I suppose.

As for this one, they are definitely linked with artwork. I'm just hoping for a lyrical link. I feel like SBM probably tosses out the probability of that happening. It's not dead, just alot lower.

Of course not. It's about a relationship, and we have to conduct relationships in the context of everything going on in the world. And sometimes we struggle. So the song could be said to be about the strains and stress that something like political climate and oppression can put a personal relationship under. The personal is political. That's a message S/T had, but there it was far less consistent. And as I said above, we have lyrics... some of them people have guessed at, but there are enough there to think that we might get some thematic unity.

I browsed em'. Yeh, I could see a unified "theme". In fact, I think the theme aspect probably will happen. I guess what I was hoping for is a bit broader than just a theme.

I'd prefer a linear story of sorts, like mamasan.

I have to say that future days being the final act seems to lend more hope to that. The artwork did too. It certainly seems like the theme is religious in nature and maybe a move towards one's own notion of spirituality. That's the theme. I was hoping for a linear story though (lyrically). I felt that it's tough to stick a random song into a linear narrative format, that's all. Which by the sounds of it Brendan kinda pushed in. Which is why I'm losing a bit of hope of a "rock opera".

I now feel like (the song) Lightning Bolt's lyrics have rock opera written all over it, actually. So, who knows...

See, I'm not really a fan of a linear anything. I don't like the idea of a rock opera; stuff like Tommy sucks to me. But I do like associative connections, I do like joining subject matter and themes together and getting a big picture. PJ have done that once or twice really well, and S/T and Backspacer didn't. There's more hope this time. I'd rather write my own story and figure out what it's all saying to me. As long as images and lyrics are speaking to one another, I'll be able to do that. If anything, SBM and FD could be said to have the same relationship to the overall message. They don't have the same message in themselves, but they both are primarily about personal relationships. Also, "sleeping by myself" could be metaphorically said to relate to stuff Ed sings about elsewhere to do with independence of thought and action.

Well, it's kinda hard to know what Pearl Jam's "Tommy" would be, since it's never happened. For all we know, you'd love it and I'd hate it. The only synchronized linear narrative we have from them is Mamasan. And I think that's pretty awesome. Although, I actually think Ed could write better lyrics now then he could back then.

Maybe the music would be worse though. I know they are older. Maybe the topic would suck, maybe their delivery would just weigh it down. I understand that it may not work as well now. But, I still think the experiment would be worth the shot. I feel Ed is a good story teller. As far as Rock Opera's though, I understand why some don't want PJ to go there, I do though and honestly it's not worth trying to convince me otherwise because truth is they don't care about my opinion anyway and probably won't ever do one.

On the associative connections - concept stuff, I don't think PJ has done anything big like this yet. To me, an example of "associated connections" concept albums would be The Wall. That's another angle they could pursue, but I do think they need to be a bit upfront about the fact it's a concept album. If it's a good concept album, we should be able to say something like "The Wall is about personal isolation" and Lightning Bolt is about "...". We'll see if that's possible.

Yeah. As I say though, Ed has already made a statement akin to that on the Lightning Bolt EPK. It is about something, whether you or I see it or not.

[IlluminEddie]

Yeah. As I say though, Ed has already made a statement akin to that on the Lightning Bolt EPK. It is about something, whether you or I see it or not.

I'd bet Ed thinks it's about "belief or lack there of".

[harmless]

Yeah. As I say though, Ed has already made a statement akin to that on the Lightning Bolt EPK. It is about something, whether you or I see it or not.

I'd bet Ed thinks it's about "belief or lack there of".

The listening party reviews will tell you roughly what he said, I dunno. Something like "all the bad shit in the world" is a direct quote.

[McParadigm]

Something like "all the bad shit in the world" is a direct quote.

how profound

[WaitingForBluey]

I'm not sure what the confusion is about? A Vancouver radio station says they're playing Sirens today. That sounds like news to me.

So it's like 9pm here. Is it worth me staying up for this?

I wouldn't if I were you, unless PJ confirms this on their end... Tomorrow sounds like the more likely candidate... and I wouldn't even be surprised if PJ squashed this by contacting the radio station and telling them they can't play it until they make their official announcement.

I'm guessing 12 EST/9 PST tomorrow?

[CupidStunt]

Wow, I can't believe I actually found something (maybe) for once. Just punching different searches into twitter can be rewarding, let's hope it's real.