Song of the Moment: Last Exit

[Blenheim Augustine]

I've read it's a stone song. makes sense to me. he also wrote satan's bed IIRC and they both have chunks of 5/4 (i think)

The main riff was Stone. Source: his facial expressions when he plays it.

[Blenheim Augustine]

Ed has made a point to write those highlight screams in a handfull of PJ openers (Save You, Breakerfall, GSMF) but his "Let my spirirt pass" scream in this song will forever be the best. It is one of my favorite vocal moments in their catalog.

It never wears thin. This is possibly my favourite song. Feels like putting your hand in a plug socket for humans.

[Mike]

This might be their best opener. I wish they would open one of their records with something like the beginning of Last Exit again. That random noodling just brings me in the right mood. Listening to it again right now and I noticed that it changes from 5/4 to 4/4 in the chorus for the first time. I just love everything about this song from the groove to Eddies voice.

10000 stars.

[melonhead4]

Dave def owns this track, actually he owns the whole album and VS too.....im hoping he plays with them at th RR HOF induction...i could see ed letting that happen....

I would never watch a new PJ gig with Dave A. Knowing that he isn't taking over from Matt permanently would make it a depressing experience.

You mean to say if Dave was playing with PJ at their induction ceremony you wouldnt watch? i agree itd be tough but id be glued to the TV

[harmless]

Dave def owns this track, actually he owns the whole album and VS too.....im hoping he plays with them at th RR HOF induction...i could see ed letting that happen....

I would never watch a new PJ gig with Dave A. Knowing that he isn't taking over from Matt permanently would make it a depressing experience.

You mean to say if Dave was playing with PJ at their induction ceremony you wouldnt watch? i agree itd be tough but id be glued to the TV

I have to qualify that. I would find it fascinating and enjoy it to an extent, but it would be bitter sweet, like visiting the street on which you had your first kiss.

[Lounge Lizard]

I remember that when I first heard Last Exit (and the whole of Vitalogy) it really put me off. The songs felt so very rough and yet they were neither truly heavy compared to heavy metal nor truly punky compared to what was going on in the world of punk rock at that moment. They were also neither grunge nor hard rock. It was at a loss as to how to attribute it. The only songs that appealed to my taste at the time were "Not For You", because it had a more familiar composition (and because it had been heavily aired on WAAF in 1995 to which I listened to a lot) and "Immortality", because it had that beloved four note melodic phrase during the verses so typical of many "grunge" songs of the time, especially Nirvana. However I was still unsatisfied with these two because NFY had a too simple three chord riff which made the song uninteresting to play on guitar, and Immortality had an underwhelming chorus that always killed the momentum of the verse for me.

As for other songs, it took a loooong time before I could appreciate them. I didn't like Last Exit because of the drums, I thought they were too straight forward and unimaginative, and because during the chorus the guitars and the vocals were following the same melogy. It put me off somehow. Now I've learned not to notice these points so much. I like the song now because it's bad ass, angry and has a very distinctive coarse sound. Can't confuse it sonically with anything else I've heard.

[Blenheim Augustine]

I didn't like Last Exit because of the drums, I thought they were too straight forward and unimaginative

How many rock songs have a drum track in 5/4 that goes: snare snare snare bass snare bass? It's not brain surgery but I always found it a unique groove especially with the bassline which is actually quite sparse and implies a lot more that it actually is doing.

[evenslow]

I remember that when I first heard Last Exit (and the whole of Vitalogy) it really put me off. The songs felt so very rough and yet they were neither truly heavy compared to heavy metal nor truly punky compared to what was going on in the world of punk rock at that moment. They were also neither grunge nor hard rock. It was at a loss as to how to attribute it. The only songs that appealed to my taste at the time were "Not For You", because it had a more familiar composition (and because it had been heavily aired on WAAF in 1995 to which I listened to a lot) and "Immortality", because it had that beloved four note melodic phrase during the verses so typical of many "grunge" songs of the time, especially Nirvana. However I was still unsatisfied with these two because NFY had a too simple three chord riff which made the song uninteresting to play on guitar, and Immortality had an underwhelming chorus that always killed the momentum of the verse for me.

The opposite of all this is why Vitalogy is their best record.

[its_not_1974]

I've read it's a stone song. makes sense to me. he also wrote satan's bed IIRC and they both have chunks of 5/4 (i think)

The main riff was Stone. Source: his facial expressions when he plays it.

That performance

[Juvenal]

This song is incredible. I remember pretentiously stating that the intro to this on Vitalogy sounded like the worn-out old merry-go-round of grunge running out of steam but gods dammit it fits. Love it

[stip]

that was a great description. Own it!

[Juvenal]

that was a great description. Own it!

*struts*

[stip]

that was a great description. Own it!

*struts*

it passes my 'do I wish I wrote that?' test

[VinylGuy]

A personal favorite, a song im always coming back to and always finding new meanings.
At the time i didnt quite liked it, Vitalogy was a difficult record for me and i wanted something more in the vein of Go.
But that intro is great...and jack irons owns it in every 1995 boot from that marvelous tour.

[simonsc]

I love this song. The only problem is that when I listen to it I get sucked into a vortex of searching for YouTube videos of live performances, which then leads me to listening to Vitalogy straight through, and oh hey where did an entire afternoon go?

Vitalogy is so strongly linked to place and time for me that I can't even explain my attachment to the songs. Last Exit to STBC to Not For You to Tremor Christ...good god.

Now I have to go listen again.

[Fuck You Jobu]

One of the greatest opening tracks ever. And it helps that it's on one of the greatest albums ever. It's one of those songs that even if I'm a total Pearl Jam dry spell and have no desire to listen to them whatsoever I still find myself instantly engaged by when it randomly comes on.

It has such a massive groove and relentless crunch that it's easy to miss what a melodic tour-de-force it is. I didn't really notice it until I heard that "String Quartet Tribute to Pearl Jam" CD, where the groove and crunch were both absent and all that was left to propel the song was the melody and harmony. It was far and away the best track on the collection.

Yeah, esp with the chorus

[RussellManiac12]

Awesome album and show opener. Love the sudden end to the song and the opening riff to Spin The Black Circle.

[injuddstree]

One of their best rockers.

[stip]

One of their best rockers.

i use it too, but ive always hated the phrase 'rockers'

[harmless]

One of their best rockers.

i use it too, but ive always hated the phrase 'rockers'

One of the most annoying things about this forum is the term 'rocker'. OK, two: also the use of 'rock and roll' to describe all rock music. 'Rock 'n Roll', as far as I know, should be restricted to the 50's and, I guess, some of the 60's.