Alright

[Ms Harmless]

at least it isn't "I used to be crustacean in an underwater nation"

Man, I love that tune.

because it resonates for you

[Jaeti]

"I used to be crustacean in an underwater nation"

Top-2 PJ lyric.

[mkay0]

This one absolutely wins the 'most improved' award for me during the 20+ listens mark. Really see this as a worthy successor to Pendulum.

[Ms Harmless]

I'm pretty defensive and protective of this song, because that "should your living truth die" line really fucking popped at me from the first listen, as well as the repeated "it's alright to be alone", "it's your own", and the (I think powerful) subversion of religion in "keep the eucharist whole, keep it for yourself"

the song says to me (as a spiritual person, and traumatised ex-Christian) that I am allowed to celebrate myself and my accomplishments; I am allowed to make little self-care rituals every day, little eucharists that celebrate my own little deaths and rebirths, my sacrifices for others; I am allowed to ascribe change and achievement to my own resilience, and I don't have to "give God all the glory" and diminish my own humanity in the process (I can reject "less of me, more of you, Jesus")

my living truth(s) DID die, over the last several years, in many small ways and some life-changing, irrevocably big ways; I realised at some point that I've done nothing but lived others' stories, been a supporting actor in other's narratives, religious, domestic, familial; I have learned that my life has been largely a series of moulding to others and what they want for me, what they validate in me (anything they see as an extension of themselves -- e.g. my parents), because I've been so desperate for a largely invalidated upbringing to be finally vindicated and my identity finally seen; and this has led me into some super toxic relationships, each one slowly chipping away the things that I once felt were *Me* and *My Own*, until I didn't have a sense of identity that wasn't created by others (hence why I find *being alone*, *being lonely*, so fucking hard)

so, I've felt myself being snappy and reactive towards people who see this song's lyrics as "bad" (sorry Kevin Davis, I love your posts!), because I felt I needed to convince myself that I wasn't just forgiving things that are actually bad

so today I've been leaning into that cognitive dissonance, and rather than seeing these lyrics as unintentionally bad and cliched, I've started seeing them as full of disappointing bait and switch

"should your living truth die" (a wonderfully grand, important, existential and spiritual crisis)

"could be an acid trip" (an almost dismissive, stoic rejection of the sheer *magnitude* of the problem -- "cheer up, maybe it was just a bad trip")

and there are many parts like this, where a really relatable tug on the heartstrings is kind of "spoiled" by a "thanks I'm cured!" type of cynicism; so the hippie-communal "Eat, Pray, Love!" becomes "Eat, Pray... Meh"

I see this song as a really interesting look into how Jeff might approach Ed's mysticism; instead of looking at the opening sky and constellations and seeing wonder, this skater boy looks at a loaf of bread

instead of saying "wow", he says *shrug* "cool"

and if you want the "wow", you may find that disappointing; but if -- like me -- your mental health, your brain, your experience, is constantly switching between an overwhelmed "wow, incredible!" and a mundane "ugh, fine, I guess" when it hits the ground again, this little celebration of Your Own Personal Eucharist (see what I did there?) in a nutshell, might work in its entirety

the song, to me, is about *not quite seeing*, glibly shrugging the full epiphany and revelation off, because you're afraid of the vulnerability that *fully seeing* would ask of you

it's a song about hearing your emotions come to call, but being afraid to feel them, because that will mean having to feel pain, guilt, grief; but not feeling your feelings, and running from confronting yourself, is lying

so this beginning verse almost opens up the song's bait and switch structure, why it is what it is

"You can't hide the lies
In the rings of a tree
If your heart still beats free
Keep it for yourself
When you want to run
And leave some part unrevealed
Like the flight of the bee
Keep it for yourself"

the song invites you to "hit the road toward the clouds" ("hit the road Jack!") in its cliche, camper bro way, not to experience the beauty of nature outside of yourself, but to make the uphill climb of confronting what's inside; and the lyrics beautifully show this tussle happening, between the fearful Dudebro and the attuned Hermit

[EJ]

I'm pretty defensive and protective of this song, because that "should your living truth die" line really fucking popped at me from the first listen, as well as the repeated "it's alright to be alone", "it's your own", and the (I think powerful) subversion of religion in "keep the eucharist whole, keep it for yourself"

the song says to me (as a spiritual person, and traumatised ex-Christian) that I am allowed to celebrate myself and my accomplishments; I am allowed to make little self-care rituals every day, little eucharists that celebrate my own little deaths and rebirths, my sacrifices for others; I am allowed to ascribe change and achievement to my own resilience, and I don't have to "give God all the glory" and diminish my own humanity in the process (I can reject "less of me, more of you, Jesus")

my living truth(s) DID die, over the last several years, in many small ways and some life-changing, irrevocably big ways; I realised at some point that I've done nothing but lived others' stories, been a supporting actor in other's narratives, religious, domestic, familial; I have learned that my life has been largely a series of moulding to others and what they want for me, what they validate in me (anything they see as an extension of themselves -- e.g. my parents), because I've been so desperate for a largely invalidated upbringing to be finally vindicated and my identity finally seen; and this has led me into some super toxic relationships, each one slowly chipping away the things that I once felt were *Me* and *My Own*, until I didn't have a sense of identity that wasn't created by others (hence why I find *being alone*, *being lonely*, so fucking hard)

so, I've felt myself being snappy and reactive towards people who see this song's lyrics as "bad" (sorry Kevin Davis, I love your posts!), because I felt I needed to convince myself that I wasn't just forgiving things that are actually bad

so today I've been leaning into that cognitive dissonance, and rather than seeing these lyrics as unintentionally bad and cliched, I've started seeing them as full of disappointing bait and switch

"should your living truth die" (a wonderfully grand, important, existential and spiritual crisis)

"could be an acid trip" (an almost dismissive, stoic rejection of the sheer *magnitude* of the problem -- "cheer up, maybe it was just a bad trip")

and there are many parts like this, where a really relatable tug on the heartstrings is kind of "spoiled" by a "thanks I'm cured!" type of cynicism; so the hippie-communal "Eat, Pray, Love!" becomes "Eat, Pray... Meh"

I see this song as a really interesting look into how Jeff might approach Ed's mysticism; instead of looking at the opening sky and constellations and seeing wonder, this skater boy looks at a loaf of bread

instead of saying "wow", he says *shrug* "cool"

and if you want the "wow", you may find that disappointing; but if -- like me -- your mental health, your brain, your experience, is constantly switching between an overwhelmed "wow, incredible!" and a mundane "ugh, fine, I guess" when it hits the ground again, this little celebration of Your Own Personal Eucharist (see what I did there?) in a nutshell, might work in its entirety

the song, to me, is about *not quite seeing*, glibly shrugging the full epiphany and revelation off, because you're afraid of the vulnerability that *fully seeing* would ask of you

it's a song about hearing your emotions come to call, but being afraid to feel them, because that will mean having to feel pain, guilt, grief; but not feeling your feelings, and running from confronting yourself, is lying

so this beginning verse almost opens up the song's bait and switch structure, why it is what it is

"You can't hide the lies
In the rings of a tree
If your heart still beats free
Keep it for yourself
When you want to run
And leave some part unrevealed
Like the flight of the bee
Keep it for yourself"

the song invites you to "hit the road toward the clouds" ("hit the road Jack!") in its cliche, camper bro way, not to experience the beauty of nature outside of yourself, but to make the uphill climb of confronting what's inside; and the lyrics beautifully show this tussle happening, between the fearful Dudebro and the attuned Hermit

Great post.

Sounds like you haven’t given up on satisfaction.

[Juvenal]

Harmless, that's a great post. No wonder this song resonates so well with you.

PS I've been praising you a lot today so from now on it's tough love, goddammit

[Biff Pocoroba]

This has become one of my favorites off Gigaton. I need to give it a few more listens before I can offer a detailed critique but I definitely like it, even if it is a little long. Actually several of the Gigaton songs feel long.
I especially love how this one starts. I think this would have been a good track to lead off the album and I can see it going into the live rotation as a show opener.

[EJ]

This has become one of my favorites off Gigaton. I need to give it a few more listens before I can offer a detailed critique but I definitely like it, even if it is a little long. Actually several of the Gigaton songs feel long.
I especially love how this one starts. I think this would have been a good track to lead off the album and I can see it going into the live rotation as a show opener.

Heh, I actually don't think it's long enough. It's begging for one more extended moment at the end.

[Kevin Davis]

so, I've felt myself being snappy and reactive towards people who see this song's lyrics as "bad" (sorry Kevin Davis, I love your posts!), because I felt I needed to convince myself that I wasn't just forgiving things that are actually bad

No apology necessary! I am happy that you came back around to experience this album with us, and I've enjoyed so much having new Pearl Jam music to discuss with other people who enjoy discussing Pearl Jam music -- especially since we all seem to agree that this time around there's genuinely something to talk about! At no point have I felt like your defense of this song that you enjoy was flippant or unkind; likewise I hope my reactions to the lyrical content never came across as an attempt to sap the joy out of this song for you and those others who really identify with it.

And I'll reiterate, I do enjoy this song, especially in the context of the record. It's certainly not the first PJ song whose lyrics I overlook in the name of enjoying the music. I realize most people on RM don't respond to lyrics at all, and that's fine. They're not the first thing I hone in on either, at least not in Pearl Jam music -- they just jumped out here based on how starkly they're presented.

Either way -- cheers, friend!

[RockPusher]

This one absolutely wins the 'most improved' award for me during the 20+ listens mark. Really see this as a worthy successor to Pendulum.

Agreed that this is Gigaton's Pendulum. Pendulum was my only 5-star song on LB, and in some ways, I like Alright more (a lot of that has to do with the coronavirus moment).

[RockPusher]

This has become one of my favorites off Gigaton. I need to give it a few more listens before I can offer a detailed critique but I definitely like it, even if it is a little long. Actually several of the Gigaton songs feel long.
I especially love how this one starts. I think this would have been a good track to lead off the album and I can see it going into the live rotation as a show opener.

Heh, I actually don't think it's long enough. It's begging for one more extended moment at the end.

There's a moment, maybe 2/3 of the way through, where the drums take off for a second and it feels like it's going to start rocking, but it doesn't. I would have loved it if the ending went there, but still, no complaints.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Ms Harmless]

Pendulum is not fit to clean Alright's feet.

[epilogue]

I love Pendulum. But yes.

[Ms Harmless]

This has become one of my favorites off Gigaton. I need to give it a few more listens before I can offer a detailed critique but I definitely like it, even if it is a little long. Actually several of the Gigaton songs feel long.
I especially love how this one starts. I think this would have been a good track to lead off the album and I can see it going into the live rotation as a show opener.

Heh, I actually don't think it's long enough. It's begging for one more extended moment at the end.

There's a moment, maybe 2/3 of the way through, where the drums take off for a second and it feels like it's going to start rocking, but it doesn't. I would have loved it if the ending went there, but still, no complaints.

I've imagined a really heavy outro to this too, it sounds sweet, but I don't think the song misses it

[Ms Harmless]

I'm pretty defensive and protective of this song, because that "should your living truth die" line really fucking popped at me from the first listen, as well as the repeated "it's alright to be alone", "it's your own", and the (I think powerful) subversion of religion in "keep the eucharist whole, keep it for yourself"

the song says to me (as a spiritual person, and traumatised ex-Christian) that I am allowed to celebrate myself and my accomplishments; I am allowed to make little self-care rituals every day, little eucharists that celebrate my own little deaths and rebirths, my sacrifices for others; I am allowed to ascribe change and achievement to my own resilience, and I don't have to "give God all the glory" and diminish my own humanity in the process (I can reject "less of me, more of you, Jesus")

my living truth(s) DID die, over the last several years, in many small ways and some life-changing, irrevocably big ways; I realised at some point that I've done nothing but lived others' stories, been a supporting actor in other's narratives, religious, domestic, familial; I have learned that my life has been largely a series of moulding to others and what they want for me, what they validate in me (anything they see as an extension of themselves -- e.g. my parents), because I've been so desperate for a largely invalidated upbringing to be finally vindicated and my identity finally seen; and this has led me into some super toxic relationships, each one slowly chipping away the things that I once felt were *Me* and *My Own*, until I didn't have a sense of identity that wasn't created by others (hence why I find *being alone*, *being lonely*, so fucking hard)

so, I've felt myself being snappy and reactive towards people who see this song's lyrics as "bad" (sorry Kevin Davis, I love your posts!), because I felt I needed to convince myself that I wasn't just forgiving things that are actually bad

so today I've been leaning into that cognitive dissonance, and rather than seeing these lyrics as unintentionally bad and cliched, I've started seeing them as full of disappointing bait and switch

"should your living truth die" (a wonderfully grand, important, existential and spiritual crisis)

"could be an acid trip" (an almost dismissive, stoic rejection of the sheer *magnitude* of the problem -- "cheer up, maybe it was just a bad trip")

and there are many parts like this, where a really relatable tug on the heartstrings is kind of "spoiled" by a "thanks I'm cured!" type of cynicism; so the hippie-communal "Eat, Pray, Love!" becomes "Eat, Pray... Meh"

I see this song as a really interesting look into how Jeff might approach Ed's mysticism; instead of looking at the opening sky and constellations and seeing wonder, this skater boy looks at a loaf of bread

instead of saying "wow", he says *shrug* "cool"

and if you want the "wow", you may find that disappointing; but if -- like me -- your mental health, your brain, your experience, is constantly switching between an overwhelmed "wow, incredible!" and a mundane "ugh, fine, I guess" when it hits the ground again, this little celebration of Your Own Personal Eucharist (see what I did there?) in a nutshell, might work in its entirety

the song, to me, is about *not quite seeing*, glibly shrugging the full epiphany and revelation off, because you're afraid of the vulnerability that *fully seeing* would ask of you

it's a song about hearing your emotions come to call, but being afraid to feel them, because that will mean having to feel pain, guilt, grief; but not feeling your feelings, and running from confronting yourself, is lying

so this beginning verse almost opens up the song's bait and switch structure, why it is what it is

"You can't hide the lies
In the rings of a tree
If your heart still beats free
Keep it for yourself
When you want to run
And leave some part unrevealed
Like the flight of the bee
Keep it for yourself"

the song invites you to "hit the road toward the clouds" ("hit the road Jack!") in its cliche, camper bro way, not to experience the beauty of nature outside of yourself, but to make the uphill climb of confronting what's inside; and the lyrics beautifully show this tussle happening, between the fearful Dudebro and the attuned Hermit

Great post.

Sounds like you haven’t given up on satisfaction.

haha! and working things through in text form helps me realise that

[Ms Harmless]

Harmless, that's a great post. No wonder this song resonates so well with you.

PS I've been praising you a lot today so from now on it's tough love, goddammit

haha, grrr

thank you for your kindness and support

[Ms Harmless]

so, I've felt myself being snappy and reactive towards people who see this song's lyrics as "bad" (sorry Kevin Davis, I love your posts!), because I felt I needed to convince myself that I wasn't just forgiving things that are actually bad

No apology necessary! I am happy that you came back around to experience this album with us, and I've enjoyed so much having new Pearl Jam music to discuss with other people who enjoy discussing Pearl Jam music -- especially since we all seem to agree that this time around there's genuinely something to talk about! At no point have I felt like your defense of this song that you enjoy was flippant or unkind; likewise I hope my reactions to the lyrical content never came across as an attempt to sap the joy out of this song for you and those others who really identify with it.

And I'll reiterate, I do enjoy this song, especially in the context of the record. It's certainly not the first PJ song whose lyrics I overlook in the name of enjoying the music. I realize most people on RM don't respond to lyrics at all, and that's fine. They're not the first thing I hone in on either, at least not in Pearl Jam music -- they just jumped out here based on how starkly they're presented.

Either way -- cheers, friend!

glad there are no hard feelings! I would hate that

[PHATJ]

Lovely post, Harmless.

[Ms Harmless]

thanks!