Gigaton: Official album thread

[blueviper]

I was thinking "Without You" from Eddie's Ukelele Songs would be a good song for the full band treatment.

Then I noticed that on the front of the album the font for his name is the same font they've been using for Gigaton song titles.

[EJ]

this is not a particularly entertaining discussion. lets please be done with it so we can go back to album speculation

Indeed. What are your thoughts so far?

Would still love to hear more from Dime about the album. I know he has loved River Cross for so long.

Only ones that stood out are DOTC (but I’m obsessed with that one so biased going in) and River cross which I was predisposed to love as you know. I only got one spin, my pal has it on his phone he reviews for papers here.
I wasn’t taking notes and weren’t in the best environment for a good listening experience either and talking over it. He came to me as his biggest Pj fan he knows for my take before writing but sadly the rest is just forgettable as in I don’t remember it apart from it being variations of what we already have to varying degrees of good/bad if that makes sense

You listened to it from a phone's speaker?

[Strat]

Dime will love it in no time.

[dad]

Why does that matter? We are all Pearl Jam fans.

eeeeh

AL

[Tsuga]

What I've been trying to tell myself in my anticipation is that songs and albums aren't commodities. As a fan and collector I'm wired to want to make predictions, and to think of songs as objects that fit in predetermined slots and tick boxes. For example, "New Song = Old Song X + Old Song Y," or "New Song = Genre 1 + Genre 2 with a Dash of Genre 3." But this is really mechanistic thinking, and not really what the experience of listening to music is, despite ourselves and our desire to put things into categories and words. I reckon that even for those of us who dissect and analyze and think deeply about every note (all fine things in and of themselves) there is so much about the music that we'll never be able to describe, at least not directly. Music triggers not just emotions or critical analysis but memories, associations, et al. Not all of them reflect back upon themselves.

It's fun to wonder about whether the new songs/album will end up moving me as much as my favorites songs/albums of the past. But they can't do it exactly, because they're not the same songs, and I'm not the same person.

At the end of the day, when I think back to being a teenager and listening to the first four records over and over and over and over again, it was because each song felt like its own little world for me to lose myself in. It's hard as a 41 year old to get back to that kind of listening, especially when it's its own kind of fun to make Top 10 lists and compare and contrast and make playlists etc. But there's no substitute for just living with a song and forging your own relationship to it, beyond the reviews and the snark and the un-satisfiable expectations.

nice post. Agree

Thanks, Stip!

[Monkey_Driven]

Dime's posting is consistent, though I'm not sure how much stock we should put into his first impressions given his listening environment.

[Farmer John]

When Dime hears the album for real, I'm sure he'll love it.

[dimejinky99]

Dime's posting is consistent, though I'm not sure how much stock we should put into his first impressions given his listening environment.

Thank you. And exactly that. The ones I personally don’t like tend to be the ones I struggle with and listen to most. ST I’ve listened to probably more than most and I still don’t get it.
I’ve never hated or even disliked a Pj record out the gate. Usually just to excited to get new music to form a thought. I’m sure we’re probably all the same. Only comparable first spin for me in terms of immediate reaction is Riot act.

‘Well. It’s new songs I guess. Shrug’.

For me it’s all about how they are live. And they haven’t been here in ten years and my touring to see them is over so it could be I’m being cynical and even a bit bitter. But it’s earned certainly when it comes to being over how much I’ve had to travel to see em

Not that that will be a problem for the next year at least.

[scrub12]

This thread jumped like 5 pages overnight so I thought something legitimate happened.


Nope.

[Freewheelin]

Leak you damn thing!

[dimejinky99]

Gotta love all these ‘not’ new accounts...who haven’t visited siiiiince last time the band released an album and they logged in looking for the leak.

Real friendly.

[dimejinky99]

Leak you damn thing!

Saw your ninja edit there. Asshole.

[Tim]

This thread jumped like 5 pages overnight so I thought something legitimate happened.


Nope.

50 page jump would indicate something legitimate happened. This 5 page jump is whatever is the opposite of a circle jerk.

[ABNorman]

[BenHoward]

i'm a legit tourist. nearly 40 years old. joined here a few weeks ago. have many kids, all girls less than 10, all of whom love PJ and EV. my youngest's favorite song is Rise. they all have good taste, as does my wife, who has impeccable taste in men.

Dime's words didn't offend me. maybe the guy had a bad day. his comments, and others though, touch on the thing about this release that has me most intrigued, which is whether a band like PJ actually can create a cohesive, standout album this late in their careers. can they continue to evolve and change or, at this stage, are they bound to simply sound like previous versions of themselves? Their familiarity with each other, and how they play together, is an obvious advantage in the context of touring. i'm not so sure it's the same in the context of recording in the studio and building a coherent body of art that stands by itself against their other work. between the early 90s and, basically 2012, i was an uber DMB fanboy who spent a regrettable amount of time on antsmarching.org (which, by the way, is a far more hostile place then RM which i have found to be very friendly), and know the details and nuances and back stories of every song, every note, and every failed studio session, all the band dynamics, much like many of you do about PJ. to me, it's incredible that the band that composed before these crowded streets in 1998 (DMBs magnum opus in my opinion) which is just a beautiful work of art, also put out Everyday, Stand Up and Come Tomorrow. i appreciate that many of the old timers around here may feel the same about BS and LB and may, on some level, much like me within the context of DMB, will ultimately be disappointed in Gigaton.

to me, the more abstract and instrumental PJ became, the more i enjoyed them over the years because i just do not have an affinity for classic rock. i grew up listening to my dad's music: simon and garfunkle, gordon lightfoot, john denver, cat stevens, etc. I honestly shy away from the harder stuff, though there was a several year period in junior high where i only listened to Green Day's "dookie" and offspring's "smash" (still awesome, btw). as i got older and started seeing live music, my tastes just.... changed. while i still have enormous affinity for many hard PJ songs, particularly those with a message that resonates with me emotionally (looking at you do the evolution, brain of j, save you, rearviewmirror, last exit, etc.), i've always been drawn to PJ's more sentimental, instrumental, and nuanced offerings, even the cheesy straight up ballads and corn-ball lyrics. in that vein i'm drawn to black (like the rest of the world), release, elderly woman, indifference, nothingman, corduroy, immortality, smile, off he goes (especially live), almost all of Yield but particularly faithful, wishlist and lowlight, light years, insignificance, love boat captain, i am mine, thumbing my way, parachutes, come back, and inside job. on the last two albums, likely due to the fact that getting married and having a gaggle of girls has turned me into an utter sap, i truly love songs like just breathe, amongst the waves, unthought known, speed of sound, force of nature, the end, sirens, yellow moon and future days.

I have the benefit, within the context of anticipating Gigaton, of knowing, because of my history with the band, that i will find value in it no matter what... the only question is how much. i love River Cross.. can't wait for it. And, frankly, the reviews critical of the length of songs, the over-the-top nature of some of songs, the pop-centric appeal, the "layers" and production, just have me more excited for the album. I hope its something my kids get into because, there is nothing quite like bonding over and sharing good music.... which is part of why, i assume, we're all compelled to talk about music on the internet. if part of my legacy with my kids is imparting onto them (after a considerable investment in brainwashing them into liking music) the value of coming together around music, researching and finding out the bands and music that you like, doing the deep dive, and investing in life, than i've succeeded in some small part. i have a feeling Gigaton will be part of that story. can't wait.

[Thurman Murman]

What I've been trying to tell myself in my anticipation is that songs and albums aren't commodities. As a fan and collector I'm wired to want to make predictions, and to think of songs as objects that fit in predetermined slots and tick boxes. For example, "New Song = Old Song X + Old Song Y," or "New Song = Genre 1 + Genre 2 with a Dash of Genre 3." But this is really mechanistic thinking, and not really what the experience of listening to music is, despite ourselves and our desire to put things into categories and words. I reckon that even for those of us who dissect and analyze and think deeply about every note (all fine things in and of themselves) there is so much about the music that we'll never be able to describe, at least not directly. Music triggers not just emotions or critical analysis but memories, associations, et al. Not all of them reflect back upon themselves.

It's fun to wonder about whether the new songs/album will end up moving me as much as my favorites songs/albums of the past. But they can't do it exactly, because they're not the same songs, and I'm not the same person.

At the end of the day, when I think back to being a teenager and listening to the first four records over and over and over and over again, it was because each song felt like its own little world for me to lose myself in. It's hard as a 41 year old to get back to that kind of listening, especially when it's its own kind of fun to make Top 10 lists and compare and contrast and make playlists etc. But there's no substitute for just living with a song and forging your own relationship to it, beyond the reviews and the snark and the un-satisfiable expectations.

nice post. Agree

Thanks, Stip!

Ditto the great post! I am pretty much in the exact same situation (only a year older than you). Those first 4 albums meant EVERYTHING to me when i was a teenager. I'd listen to those albums over and over again, pour over the lyrics, digest every article i could find on the band....that kind of listening can't be replicated at this point. There's virtually no chance the new songs will ever land with me like those 90s songs did, and i'm totally ok with that. My hope for this album is that there's more depth to it than the last two...if it measures up to Avocado then i'll be more than thrilled.

[oneway23]

Gotta love all these ‘not’ new accounts...who haven’t visited siiiiince last time the band released an album and they logged in looking for the leak.

Real friendly.

It's not 2006...No one needs to come here if/when it leaks. If anyone shows up here PMing for leaks, they're misusing the internet.

[Freewheelin]

Leak you damn thing!

Saw your ninja edit there. Asshole.

So I decided to not keep it going, nothing I deleted wasn’t true, I can cop being called an asshole, but you can’t cop been called out when you make an arsehole post. Which you did. it was so obvious what you were saying that many people tried to pull you up.


I’ve been a member here in one way or another since the early 2000s, and even if I don’t post heaps, I visit every other day.

[Monkey_Driven]

i'm a legit tourist. nearly 40 years old. joined here a few weeks ago. have many kids, all girls less than 10, all of whom love PJ and EV. my youngest's favorite song is Rise. they all have good taste, as does my wife, who has impeccable taste in men.

Dime's words didn't offend me. maybe the guy had a bad day. his comments, and others though, touch on the thing about this release that has me most intrigued, which is whether a band like PJ actually can create a cohesive, standout album this late in their careers. can they continue to evolve and change or, at this stage, are they bound to simply sound like previous versions of themselves? Their familiarity with each other, and how they play together, is an obvious advantage in the context of touring. i'm not so sure it's the same in the context of recording in the studio and building a coherent body of art that stands by itself against their other work. between the early 90s and, basically 2012, i was an uber DMB fanboy who spent a regrettable amount of time on antsmarching.org (which, by the way, is a far more hostile place then RM which i have found to be very friendly), and know the details and nuances and back stories of every song, every note, and every failed studio session, all the band dynamics, much like many of you do about PJ. to me, it's incredible that the band that composed before these crowded streets in 1998 (DMBs magnum opus in my opinion) which is just a beautiful work of art, also put out Everyday, Stand Up and Come Tomorrow. i appreciate that many of the old timers around here may feel the same about BS and LB and may, on some level, much like me within the context of DMB, will ultimately be disappointed in Gigaton.

to me, the more abstract and instrumental PJ became, the more i enjoyed them over the years because i just do not have an affinity for classic rock. i grew up listening to my dad's music: simon and garfunkle, gordon lightfoot, john denver, cat stevens, etc. I honestly shy away from the harder stuff, though there was a several year period in junior high where i only listened to Green Day's "dookie" and offspring's "smash" (still awesome, btw). as i got older and started seeing live music, my tastes just.... changed. while i still have enormous affinity for many hard PJ songs, particularly those with a message that resonates with me emotionally (looking at you do the evolution, brain of j, save you, rearviewmirror, last exit, etc.), i've always been drawn to PJ's more sentimental, instrumental, and nuanced offerings, even the cheesy straight up ballads and corn-ball lyrics. in that vein i'm drawn to black (like the rest of the world), release, elderly woman, indifference, nothingman, corduroy, immortality, smile, off he goes (especially live), almost all of Yield but particularly faithful, wishlist and lowlight, light years, insignificance, love boat captain, i am mine, thumbing my way, parachutes, come back, and inside job. on the last two albums, likely due to the fact that getting married and having a gaggle of girls has turned me into an utter sap, i truly love songs like just breathe, amongst the waves, unthought known, speed of sound, force of nature, the end, sirens, yellow moon and future days.

I have the benefit, within the context of anticipating Gigaton, of knowing, because of my history with the band, that i will find value in it no matter what... the only question is how much. i love River Cross.. can't wait for it. And, frankly, the reviews critical of the length of songs, the over-the-top nature of some of songs, the pop-centric appeal, the "layers" and production, just have me more excited for the album. I hope its something my kids get into because, there is nothing quite like bonding over and sharing good music.... which is part of why, i assume, we're all compelled to talk about music on the internet. if part of my legacy with my kids is imparting onto them (after a considerable investment in brainwashing them into liking music) the value of coming together around music, researching and finding out the bands and music that you like, doing the deep dive, and investing in life, than i've succeeded in some small part. i have a feeling Gigaton will be part of that story. can't wait.

Thanks for posting this. Stick around for awhile. We need posters like you.

[Strat]

Shit dime, I caught up. Gotta tell your buddy that initial comment about yours was pretty Dickish. You have a tendency to invalidate people’s opinions due to the number of posts they have. You made a snarky comment and that triggered people because we’re all Fucking mad excited here.

Everyone just calm down now.

Pearl Jam is coming ...