Lightning Bolt: the official album thread

[BurtReynolds]

don't adults usually listen to whatever they listened to when they were teenagers?

RM

exactly. that's why I don't buy this MOR AOR stuff. It's not like pearl jam has a fan base that suddenly stopped listening to the music they used to and started listening to the music their parents listen to. It's just that the stuff I listened to becomes the stuff my kids say their parents listen to

Allow me to bring my mother into this:

A huge Zeppelin and Who fan when she was young, she maintained her love for and connection to those bands all through her life. As a middle aged woman, though, the new music she listened to tended to be Aerosmith's Armageddon song and Sheryl Crowe.

Tada.

its definitely a thing that many people seem to do, and PJ is riding that wave all the way to the bank.

it's true that a song like just breathe will appeal to a wider base of people (so did last kiss, after all),but do you really think that the deep album cuts are being written to self-consciously pander to that market?

I also don't think these are MOR/AOR songs. I think this is just a shorthand people use to be dismissive of other people's tastes.

I agree that MOR/AOR is often used to be dismissive of people's tastes, but I'm definitely thinking of a particular sound. I can't think of a better label. The best I can do is "Songs that sound like Jessie's Girl."

[stip]

Getaway sounds like it should be either faster or slower. The pace feels all wrong.
Lightning Bolt is still an awful title, but MAYBE this one might grow on me.
Let the Records Play sounds like the Hokey Pokey
Swallowed Whole is um. ok?

go back and listen again. As a dad, this music has been carefully crafted in a lab to maximize its appeal to you

[Dugg]

To me, these songs all start meh and then get considerably better in the middle and second half. I like them all more than MYM...

[stip]

Does no one else think eds vocals sound shitty? I enjoy the music, especially on getaway and lightning bolt (until the piano), but the vocals are the weak link for me.

Actually no. They sound strong to me. But they sound more ITW Ed than PJ Ed. If that makes sense. He sounds older.

Yeah, his voice sounds very good.

I like how he sounded. Smoother than Backspacer and S/T for sure, with more low end. He sounds great on MYM, so some of the roughness might be the shitty quality.

maybe not, of course.

[stip]

To me, these songs all start meh and then get considerably better in the middle and second half. I like them all more than MYM...

yeah, these are all slow starters.

[harmless]

don't adults usually listen to whatever they listened to when they were teenagers?

RM

exactly. that's why I don't buy this MOR AOR stuff. It's not like pearl jam has a fan base that suddenly stopped listening to the music they used to and started listening to the music their parents listen to. It's just that the stuff I listened to becomes the stuff my kids say their parents listen to

Allow me to bring my mother into this:

A huge Zeppelin and Who fan when she was young, she maintained her love for and connection to those bands all through her life. As a middle aged woman, though, the new music she listened to tended to be Aerosmith's Armageddon song and Sheryl Crowe.

Tada.

its definitely a thing that many people seem to do, and PJ is riding that wave all the way to the bank.

Well, the thing to me is, you can like or not like this stuff. Whatever you wanna do. But I don't see any reason to pretend that the last two records weren't heavy on nonthreatening, middle of the road, nothing too suprising "we're not 30 anymore" rock. That doesn't mean it can't have affected you, or that it might not have done something really well (it certainly has some limiting consequences regarding the impact the record will have in terms of discography, but I doubt anybody was expecting this to be the new sound that people most-strongly connected to the name Pearl Jam by anyway).

does your mom largely listen to whatever happens to be on the radio?

Nope. I'm going with the most recognizable examples, for the sake of clarity.

if half of the complaints about the last few records were 'they are trying too hard to be safe/we're not 30 anymore rock' and the other half are 'they're trying to hard to sound like young rockers' I wonder if both sets miss the mark

But these are the two groups most disappointed with the new music, so these complaints possibly reflect the expectations of the complainers more than they mean anything in and of themselves.

[stupidmop]

I don't really see how LB sounds like a potential hit. And not because its too interesting or nothing, cause its meh.

I guess the kiss Influence comes from the band breaking down to mikes leanings.

[stip]

that's possible.

There are certainly some readily identifiable classic rock influences in this. That's the music our parents listened to when they were young, and still listen to when they are old, and so we make that connection.

[Rangi Guy]

I've only listened to these through once, but I have to say I'm pretty impressed, and have a big smile on my face.
Still can't wait to have the official release in my hands instead of sprayed all across my chest

[stip]

I don't really see how LB sounds like a potential hit. And not because its too interesting or nothing, cause its meh.

I guess the kiss Influence comes from the band breaking down to mikes leanings.

do you like U2?

[Monkey_Driven]

I'm totally in the honeymoon phase but Getaway may be one of the best all around rockers they've had this decade. Great vocals and each member of the band has a chance to shine.

[BobSacremento]

I don't really see how LB sounds like a potential hit. And not because its too interesting or nothing, cause its meh.

I guess the kiss Influence comes from the band breaking down to mikes leanings.

It is really a decent song, I really like the vocal melody

I wouldn't mind this being a single

[stip]

as a collection of rockers I definitely prefer the best of the S/T and Backspacer crop. But it was the mid tempo tracks where those records lost their way, and that's where I'm expecting L-bolt to possibly pull ahead

[stupidmop]

I don't really see how LB sounds like a potential hit. And not because its too interesting or nothing, cause its meh.

I guess the kiss Influence comes from the band breaking down to mikes leanings.

do you like U2?

Nein.

Though I guess I don't mind Sunday bloody Sunday.

[stip]

I don't really see how LB sounds like a potential hit. And not because its too interesting or nothing, cause its meh.

I guess the kiss Influence comes from the band breaking down to mikes leanings.

do you like U2?

Nein.

Though I guess I don't mind Sunday bloody Sunday.

It's a very mid/late 80s millennial U2 style song. I'm going to send this to my big U2 friend once I have the album version and I am 90% sure she'll love it.

[harmless]

that's possible.

There are certainly some readily identifiable classic rock influences in this. That's the music our parents listened to when they were young, and still listen to when they are old, and so we make that connection.

I think the elephant in the room here, though, is that MOR classic rock bands are what PJ listened to. It makes perfect sense that as they grow older, they will want to sound like their heroes of their youth. And for Mike, one of those hero-bands is KISS. For Ed, it's The Who. For me, all of my life, Pearl Jam will exist amongst my heroes. So if I still had a band (I don't) I would be playing early PJ-influenced stuff till I died, and you can be sure as hell the younger generation would be calling it "Dad Rock" and thinking it sucked because it doesn't sound like AFI. So the fact that anyone is calling THIS "Dad Rock" is entirely generational. In and of itself, it's just music.

[Mart1n]

WOW...
Getaway is brilliant!!

[stupidmop]

I don't really see how LB sounds like a potential hit. And not because its too interesting or nothing, cause its meh.

I guess the kiss Influence comes from the band breaking down to mikes leanings.

It is really a decent song, I really like the vocal melody

I wouldn't mind this being a single

that's where we differ. I don't like the vocal melody at all.

And stip, yeah I guess I just gotta put it down to being not my kinda song, or the kind of song I wish they were making but that's my problem I guess.

[McParadigm]

that's possible.

There are certainly some readily identifiable classic rock influences in this. That's the music our parents listened to when they were young, and still listen to when they are old, and so we make that connection.

I think the elephant in the room here, though, is that MOR classic rock bands are what PJ listened to. It makes perfect sense that as they grow older, they will want to sound like their heroes of their youth. And for Mike, one of those hero-bands is KISS. For Ed, it's The Who. For me, all of my life, Pearl Jam will exist amongst my heroes. So if I still had a band (I don't) I would be playing early PJ-influenced stuff till I died, and you can be sure as hell the younger generation would be calling it "Dad Rock" and thinking it sucked because it doesn't sound like AFI. So the fact that anyone is calling THIS "Dad Rock" is entirely generational. In and of itself, it's just music.

I don't know where you're getting that era or time has anything to do with what makes something MOR or mommy rock, but its nothing to with that.

This music is to Vs-Binaural what You Better You Bet is to 65-73 era Who.

[stip]

I don't really see how LB sounds like a potential hit. And not because its too interesting or nothing, cause its meh.

I guess the kiss Influence comes from the band breaking down to mikes leanings.

It is really a decent song, I really like the vocal melody

I wouldn't mind this being a single

that's where we differ. I don't like the vocal melody at all.

And stip, yeah I guess I just gotta put it down to being not my kinda song, or the kind of song I wish they were making but that's my problem I guess.

well it certainly explains why you don't like it, but for what it's worth I think L-bolt is a well executed song of that style