Lightning Bolt: the official album thread

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

Guys we can't turn on each other until everyone agrees that Lighting Bolt sucks.

then we will never be able to turn on each other, because i know its gonna be great

[Tj]

"Yes they sell out arenas and headline festivals but but but...."


Seems like they are doing fine to me then.

Yeah, people lose perspective. Pearl Jam are more popular than all but 0.0001% of bands in the world, and I don't think there's anything special about their fanbase which makes it "cult-like"-- just about every band of their tenure has a huge contingent of fanatics. Calling them a "cult band" rubs me the wrong way. They're not obscure outsider musicians. They breathe rarified air.

Good points, Jay. You and Sharon coming over tonight with your outfit.

[Tj]

Guys we can't turn on each other until everyone agrees that Lighting Bolt sucks.

then we will never be able to turn on each other, because i know its gonna be great

I don't think anybody other than Crackpot could turn me on.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

Guys we can't turn on each other until everyone agrees that Lighting Bolt sucks.

then we will never be able to turn on each other, because i know its gonna be great

I don't think anybody other than Crackpot could turn me on.

he does have the moves

[harmless]

Jorge, you're from South America. PJ are a household name there and people regularly cut their arms off to follow Ed in his sufferings. I get why my calling them a "cult band" is problematic for you, but really, the cultural landscape is vastly different where PJ are concerned in the UK. When I heard they were performing at Reading in 2006, I was beside myself with joy because they hardly ever play here. Everyone there was beside themselves when PJ played Even Flow, or anything off Ten or Vs. But not many seemed to know anything beyond that, as far as I could tell.

They breathe rarified air.

Can't we just agree on this and be done with it, Jorge?

[Tj]

I like how his arms extend past his elbows.

[dimejinky99]

nostalgic act?

Not that at all in Europe. They sell out within minutes usually and there is always a heartfelt excitement about the shows even happening, it only wanders Into nostalgia when Pj make it like that, usually during the show.

[melonhead4]

I can't fathom how lengthy this thread would be if anyone here actually enjoyed Pearl Jam.

About as lengthy as the LB thread on The Pit

All 13 beautiful pages of it!

Sometimes I wish this thread had only 13 words: "Hey, guys, I think everybody needs to check out the email account asap".

Its not going to leak anytime soon or at all...if it does it will be a week or so before....its not how it used to be, theyre really cracking down on illegal downloading....which sucks....i hope im wrong tho

[dimejinky99]

Jorge, you're from South America. PJ are a household name there and people regularly cut their arms off to follow Ed in his sufferings. I get why my calling them a "cult band" is problematic for you, but really, the cultural landscape is vastly different where PJ are concerned in the UK. When I heard they were performing at Reading in 2006, I was beside myself with joy because they hardly ever play here. Everyone there was beside themselves when PJ played Even Flow, or anything off Ten or Vs. But not many seemed to know anything beyond that, as far as I could tell.

They breathe rarified air.

Can't we just agree on this and be done with it, Jorge?

That is wholly down to the fact that Pj have only relatively recently started playing SA.

And those audiences are batshit crazy for pretty much any and every band that go there.

[harmless]

Jorge, you're from South America. PJ are a household name there and people regularly cut their arms off to follow Ed in his sufferings. I get why my calling them a "cult band" is problematic for you, but really, the cultural landscape is vastly different where PJ are concerned in the UK. When I heard they were performing at Reading in 2006, I was beside myself with joy because they hardly ever play here. Everyone there was beside themselves when PJ played Even Flow, or anything off Ten or Vs. But not many seemed to know anything beyond that, as far as I could tell.

They breathe rarified air.

Can't we just agree on this and be done with it, Jorge?

That is wholly down to the fact that Pj have only relatively recently started playing SA.

And those audiences are batshit crazy for pretty much any and every band that go there.

Maybe so. I am literally saying that the general level of excitement in the UK is not nearly as fanatical as that in mainland Europe. I mention PJ to a lot of people and nearly everyone I talk to, when I throw them into a conversation, hasn't heard of them, or remembers Ten and gives me a cheesy grin that says "Aww Pearl Jam? That's cute." Are they bigger in Ireland than England? I'm not sure. Maybe.

[Tj]

Pearl Jam are not a cult band. It would however take a cult following of a band to create a 600 + page thread about a album the following has not heard yet, and bash the band in 60 percent of the post. Knowing all the while after the album comes out we will all love it for 8 month then start bashing it again.

[LikeLukin]

I'm going to hate it from the beginning

[harmless]

Let's rank the many ways we can criticise RM criticisms of PJ.

[EJ]

Knowing all the while after the album comes out we will all love it for 8 month

That's pretty optimistic.

[iceagecoming]

Harmless, I've got your back regarding PJ in England.

9 out of 10 people under the age of 20 couldn't name a PJ song.
9 out of 10 people above the age of 20 couldn't name at least 2.

That might even be too generous.

[warehouse]

"Yes they sell out arenas and headline festivals but but but...."


Seems like they are doing fine to me then.

Yeah, people lose perspective. Pearl Jam are more popular than all but 0.0001% of bands in the world, and I don't think there's anything special about their fanbase which makes it "cult-like"-- just about every band of their tenure has a huge contingent of fanatics. Calling them a "cult band" rubs me the wrong way. They're not obscure outsider musicians. They breathe rarified air.

this cracked me up

[dimejinky99]

Jorge, you're from South America. PJ are a household name there and people regularly cut their arms off to follow Ed in his sufferings. I get why my calling them a "cult band" is problematic for you, but really, the cultural landscape is vastly different where PJ are concerned in the UK. When I heard they were performing at Reading in 2006, I was beside myself with joy because they hardly ever play here. Everyone there was beside themselves when PJ played Even Flow, or anything off Ten or Vs. But not many seemed to know anything beyond that, as far as I could tell.

They breathe rarified air.

Can't we just agree on this and be done with it, Jorge?

That is wholly down to the fact that Pj have only relatively recently started playing SA.

And those audiences are batshit crazy for pretty much any and every band that go there.

Maybe so. I am literally saying that the general level of excitement in the UK is not nearly as fanatical as that in mainland Europe. I mention PJ to a lot of people and nearly everyone I talk to, when I throw them into a conversation, hasn't heard of them, or remembers Ten and gives me a cheesy grin that says "Aww Pearl Jam? That's cute." Are they bigger in Ireland than England? I'm not sure. Maybe.

That's a cultural difference. English audiences are notoriously standoffish bordering on leaning back arms crossed going 'impress me' up to 'why did I even come here?'
Years of being the epiccenter of all touring band action has done that. Geographical Extremities that are far less visited by touring bands, Portugal/Ireland, are almost always a far more appreciative crowd. That feeds an ego thing and makes for a great gig for bands and crowds no doubt. But you can't not play England/the UK. It's suicide financially.
If you look, a lot of bands do multiple shows in the UK and only one in other countries.

Simply because the £ is worth more $ than the € and more than the $ itself. It's been that way for 20 odd years. Might change up soon if the UK leaves the eurozone and the pound falls. If it falls.

[Jorge]

Sorry Mark, you didn't qualify your original comment with anything about geography so I took it as a general statement about PJ as a whole. Even then, maybe I'm wrong and they are a cult band. I don't know.

I just think the PJ fanbase often buys into the whole "we are so obsessive and cultish and special" thing but any time I venture into any other band's fan discussions I see the same kind of fervor and obsessiveness and fanaticism. I don't think it's something that's unique to Pearl Jam. Hell, I went into a Fun. message board the other day because someone was linking to my blog, and they were discussing the same minute details as we see discussed here and on the Pit, only with a lot more enthusiasm (since their fans are so much younger).

[broken iris]

Harmless, I've got your back regarding PJ in England.

9 out of 10 people under the age of 20 couldn't name a PJ song.
9 out of 10 people above the age of 20 couldn't name at least 2.

That might even be too generous.

Not even after this?

[harmless]

Sorry Mark, you didn't qualify your original comment with anything about geography so I took it as a general statement about PJ as a whole. Even then, maybe I'm wrong and they are a cult band. I don't know.

I just think the PJ fanbase often buys into the whole "we are so obsessive and cultish and special" thing but any time I venture into any other band's fan discussions I see the same kind of fervor and obsessiveness and fanaticism. I don't think it's something that's unique to Pearl Jam. Hell, I went into a Fun. message board the other day because someone was linking to my blog, and they were discussing the same minute details as we see discussed here and on the Pit, only with a lot more enthusiasm (since their fans are so much younger).

No worries, I thought it was that we were talking at cross purposes rather than that we actually disagreed. I didn't think we were talking about the same thing because our cultural contexts are so different. But my wife and I are the only people we know who are into PJ. A few years ago we were quite tight with the Pit community, and we've been to a few gigs with the same ten or so people, but now it's just us, walking the long road on our lonesome. It feels very much like being the last left standing in a dying tribe.