Riot Act: Official Album Thread

[stip]

I love the way the song feels solid and uncertain at the same time, and the general cacophony of it. One of my favorite Mike mini solos, too. 10 seconds of hope and rebirth

really like the chorus lyrics, too

[stip]

I feel Eddie aimed for a very similar song with Unthought Known, arguably Amongst the Waves, and Lightning Bolt - all of which are notable improvements. I think he really figured it out with Lightning Bolt. He can stop now

I prefer Love Boat Captain to those. The band strenghts are way more focused on this song than in ATW or LB. And the production of course is miles better.

But im a pretty big fan of LBC and both LB and UK are songs i dont wanna go back to. ATW grow a lot in the last couple of years

I also like LBC even more than ATW and UK (which I also like)

what draws you both to it?

[Ms Harmless]

I never understood the problem with the "soap makes you taller line"; it's just a throwaway joke about the bizarre claims of commercials, in a song that doesn't even care about its own swagger

[stip]

I prefer I am Mine to every song on No Code, NAIS, and Backspacer, quite possibly

[Ms Harmless]

I feel Eddie aimed for a very similar song with Unthought Known, arguably Amongst the Waves, and Lightning Bolt - all of which are notable improvements. I think he really figured it out with Lightning Bolt. He can stop now

I prefer Love Boat Captain to those. The band strenghts are way more focused on this song than in ATW or LB. And the production of course is miles better.

But im a pretty big fan of LBC and both LB and UK are songs i dont wanna go back to. ATW grow a lot in the last couple of years

I also like LBC even more than ATW and UK (which I also like)

what draws you both to it?

it's really hard to articulate, lemme come back to this?

[stip]

I never understood the problem with the "soap makes you taller line"; it's just a throwaway joke about the bizarre claims of commercials, in a song that doesn't even care about its own swagger

that is the sentiment, but its not a good example. especially as no soap ad ever promised that

[stip]

I feel Eddie aimed for a very similar song with Unthought Known, arguably Amongst the Waves, and Lightning Bolt - all of which are notable improvements. I think he really figured it out with Lightning Bolt. He can stop now

I prefer Love Boat Captain to those. The band strenghts are way more focused on this song than in ATW or LB. And the production of course is miles better.

But im a pretty big fan of LBC and both LB and UK are songs i dont wanna go back to. ATW grow a lot in the last couple of years

I also like LBC even more than ATW and UK (which I also like)

what draws you both to it?

it's really hard to articulate, lemme come back to this?

sorry- thread will be locked and all riot act talk will forever cease in about 30 minutes

[Ms Harmless]

I never understood the problem with the "soap makes you taller line"; it's just a throwaway joke about the bizarre claims of commercials, in a song that doesn't even care about its own swagger

that is the sentiment, but its not a good example. especially as no soap ad ever promised that

it's not literal, it's hyperbole, deliberately ridiculous but no less ridiculous than half of the actual claims

[Ms Harmless]

I feel Eddie aimed for a very similar song with Unthought Known, arguably Amongst the Waves, and Lightning Bolt - all of which are notable improvements. I think he really figured it out with Lightning Bolt. He can stop now

I prefer Love Boat Captain to those. The band strenghts are way more focused on this song than in ATW or LB. And the production of course is miles better.

But im a pretty big fan of LBC and both LB and UK are songs i dont wanna go back to. ATW grow a lot in the last couple of years

I also like LBC even more than ATW and UK (which I also like)

what draws you both to it?

it's really hard to articulate, lemme come back to this?

sorry- thread will be locked and all riot act talk will forever cease in about 30 minutes

AL

[stip]

I like Thumbing my way more as an idea than as a final product. Good lyrics, and the music and vocal match its spirit, but unless I really focus it never holds my attention

[stip]

you are is a really cool idea, with one of my favorite opening lines ever, but Eddie’s performance needed to be a little more dynamic, or maybe it just needed a more engaging chorus. Like Breakerfall it is a song with a lot of moments I like that never fully come together. It is a 3 or a 3.5 star song that could have been more. I wonder if it would have worked better on an album with a more dynamic emotional range - even a binaural

[stip]

i used dislike get right for its stupid lyrics and my insistence that pearl jam’s less serious album tracks were stupid. Then I got over myself. It’s great. Super catchy without trying to be, light and airy despite feeling heavy, and great work from Mike. I dig the handclaps and cowbell and the general absurdity. It does feel a little out of place on such a serious album

[stip]

at this point riot act starts to feel long, and with 5 songs to go.

Green Disease is a song I should like more than I do. the pop punk vibe isnt my thing, and some of the lyrics are on the nose, but I do really like the chorus and everyone plays with commitment.

If this came earlier I might like it more. Maybe instead of LBC. Or put you are in where LBC is and slot this as a mid album pick me up

[stip]

Jeff songs all walk a very fine line for me, where either everything comes together or it feels like excess for its own sake. Help me falls into the latter category unfortunately. I like the bridge and the outro music, but the lyrics, coupled with the vocal choices, are trying a little too hard and end up feeling a little silly to me.

I actually like this one a lot more live - stripped of a few layers the core song is pretty good

[stip]

thinking about Stone in the context of my Jeff comment I am musically a fan of pretty much all his solo writing credits. his songs almost always rise and fall on how I feel about his lyrics

[stip]

Bushleaguer and Cant Deny Me both showcase how Eddie struggles with targets that are almost too large and too monstrous to engage. The music and chorus in Bushleaguer are pretty strong, but the spoken word is too smug, and the lyrics say almost nothing while congratulating themselves on how devastating they are. Ruins the song

Eddie struck a much better balance on ST by largely talking around the target (or interacting through surrogates), and on Gigaton by being dismissive and curiously humane

[VinylGuy]

i was always willing to give that soap line a pass, but man did it get eviscerated around here when it came out

I really dig Ghost’s exhausted energy. Mike’s first solo (and outro) are pretty great. And the ominious bridge would have added a lot to Take the Long Way.

Still, like much of Riot Act it is a song that works better nestled in the album than on its own

Ghost is one of my favorites. From the cool tone of the guitars, to the groove and specially the outro...and Ed is cool too.

It doesn't hurt when I bleed
But my memories, they eat me
I've seen it all before...
Bring it on, cause I'm no victim

Is such a powerful and cool moment..totally Jeff A mind im sure. I always feel super invigorated after listen to it.

[Ms Harmless]

at this point riot act starts to feel long, and with 5 songs to go.

Green Disease is a song I should like more than I do. the pop punk vibe isnt my thing, and some of the lyrics are on the nose, but I do really like the chorus and everyone plays with commitment.

If this came earlier I might like it more. Maybe instead of LBC. Or put you are in where LBC is and slot this as a mid album pick me up

that surprises me, as I'd say the chorus is the most "pop punk" section of the song

it's that happy vibe against the aggressive vibe of the verse that they repeated over and over after this album, but never got fully right until... "Never Destination", possibly? "Marker" gets close

[stip]

1/2 full doesnt quite work, and I dont quite know why. Lyrics are good, Eddie’s performance is appropriately engaged for the song, and the everyone is playing hard. Maybe Im just ready for Riot Act to be over (I am) or maybe the music mimics the anthematic chaos of so many great mid tempo songs without capturing the core. But it has always felt a little flat to me. Even live.

Maybe it just feels too much like red mosquito, which is superior in every way

[VinylGuy]

I feel Eddie aimed for a very similar song with Unthought Known, arguably Amongst the Waves, and Lightning Bolt - all of which are notable improvements. I think he really figured it out with Lightning Bolt. He can stop now

I prefer Love Boat Captain to those. The band strenghts are way more focused on this song than in ATW or LB. And the production of course is miles better.

But im a pretty big fan of LBC and both LB and UK are songs i dont wanna go back to. ATW grow a lot in the last couple of years

I also like LBC even more than ATW and UK (which I also like)

what draws you both to it?

Besides the band sounding way better and more articulate, there is a genuine feeling in LBC thats not quite in both UK and LB. There is actually a theme, the lines of

It's an art to live with pain, mix the light into grey,
Lost nine friends we'll never know, two years ago today
And if our lives became too long, would it add to our regret?

Are so powerful and moving, and the music is carrying every sentiment on its shoulders...im not really touched by anything thats happening in both LB or UK because they lack of meaning to me.