Gigaton: Official album thread

[Jorge]

Isn't "The Fixer" supposed to be a cautionary song about how men shouldn't feel the need to fix everything?

I never really bought that interpretation (I don't think it's supported by the actual lyrics on their own) but it's what Ed claimed the song to be about.

[EJ]

I would argue the core message of The Fixer is basically's the band's core message too.

How so?

When something's gone, I wanna fight to get it back again
When something's lost, I wanna fight to get it back again
If there's no love, I wanna try to love again

Yuck. And, delivered in a Hannah Montana-esque cadence.

[Monkey_Driven]

Isn't "The Fixer" supposed to be a cautionary song about how men shouldn't feel the need to fix everything?

I never really bought that interpretation (I don't think it's supported by the actual lyrics on their own) but it's what Ed claimed the song to be about.

I've never read it that way, but I guess I can see it if you squint.

[Jorge]

It always struck me as a clumsy post-hoc explanation on Ed's part that didn't make much sense and certainly didn't jive with the lyrics as written, but whatever, death of the author and all that

[Monkey_Driven]

Gigaton Songs Rankings:

Dance of the Clairvoyants
Quick Escape
Comes Then Goes

Never Destination
Take The Long Way
Buckle Up
Who Ever Said
River Cross

Seven O'Clock
Alright
Superblood Wolfmoon


Retrograde

[Monkey_Driven]

It always struck me as a clumsy post-hoc explanation on Ed's part that didn't make much sense and certainly didn't jive with the lyrics as written, but whatever, death of the author and all that

I honestly can't remember that far back anymore.

[PHATJ]

I would argue the core message of The Fixer is basically's the band's core message too.

How so?

When something's gone, I wanna fight to get it back again
When something's lost, I wanna fight to get it back again
If there's no love, I wanna try to love again

Isn't this the core message of pretty much all of their albums? I think you can make some pretty direct lines between Gigaton and these sentiments, for example.

Hmmm, I don’t know about all that. And even if we all agreed that was the case, it doesn’t make the song sound better. I’m a music before lyrics guy anyway. And musical mood is something I really gravitate towards or away from. The Fixer is too surface level and sparkly for me. Musical and lyrical choices make it feel void of significance or importance. And at no point has it ever “moved” me. There is zero emotional significance conveyed throughout the song. And more than any band, Pearl Jam’s power comes from an emotional connection. At least that’s what they do for me when they are making their best music.

[RockPusher]

I like The Fixer but I think it is also emblematic of what I don't like about Backspacer- namely that it is trying so hard to be a fun, quirky record. When someone says it's better than such and such number of songs on Gigaton, I can't even really evaluate that because Gigaton is a real ALBUM to me that is stronger than the sum of its parts. Backspacer, to me, is weaker than the sum of its parts. I like some of those parts very much, but don't find myself wanting that whole experience very often, if at all.

[RockPusher]

Maybe I still equate Pearl Jam with angst, thanks to MTV brainwashing at an impressionable age.

[PHATJ]

I guess I just really don’t like anything about Backspacer as an album. The whole vision for that album is not something that would excite me even if it was talked about as a concept before a single song was written. Pop songs, and happy little punk songs, and acoustic Ed solo songs, all mashed together into a short, little, light hearted, almost surface level PJ album is my worst case scenario for a PJ vision. It focuses on all the things that they aren’t nearly as successful at doing, while tearing the soul out of everything. The soul of PJ is what makes their music different and special. And Backspacer is void of the soul and atmosphere that defines the true heart of the band I love.

[epilogue]

Isn't "The Fixer" supposed to be a cautionary song about how men shouldn't feel the need to fix everything?

I never really bought that interpretation (I don't think it's supported by the actual lyrics on their own) but it's what Ed claimed the song to be about.

That's always been my take.

[RockPusher]

Having sung Just Breathe and The End a number of times in Rock Band, I really feel the soul in those tunes, but I recognize it is much more just Ed baring his heart than the soul *of the band.* Whereas Comes Then Goes is an Ed solo that carries the Pearl Jam spirit into itself and back out of itself, an integral part of an album that captures the whole band sound and feel.

[PHATJ]

Having sung Just Breathe and The End a number of times in Rock Band, I really feel the soul in those tunes, but I recognize it is much more just Ed baring his heart than the soul *of the band.* Whereas Comes Then Goes is an Ed solo that carries the Pearl Jam spirit into itself and back out of itself, an integral part of an album that captures the whole band sound and feel.

Yes

[Jorge]

Isn't "The Fixer" supposed to be a cautionary song about how men shouldn't feel the need to fix everything?

I never really bought that interpretation (I don't think it's supported by the actual lyrics on their own) but it's what Ed claimed the song to be about.

That's always been my take.

Where do you see this in the lyrics

[epilogue]

Isn't "The Fixer" supposed to be a cautionary song about how men shouldn't feel the need to fix everything?

I never really bought that interpretation (I don't think it's supported by the actual lyrics on their own) but it's what Ed claimed the song to be about.

That's always been my take.

Where do you see this in the lyrics

It seems pretty clear to me. I'm sorry I'm not trying to be dismissive but I'm not sure how to answer this.

[96583UP]

I always derived it from the second line

Yeah, hey, hey
DON'T DO THE FOLLOWING: When something's dark, let me shed a little light on it
When something's cold, let me put a little fire on it
If somethings old, I wanna put a bit of shine on it
When something's gone, I wanna fight to get it back again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, fight to get it back again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
When something's broke, I wanna put a bit of fixin' on it
When something's bored, I wanna put a little exciting on it
If something's low, I wanna put a little high on it
When something's lost, I wanna fight to get it back again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, fight to get it back again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
When signals cross, I wanna put a little straight on it
If there's no love, I wanna try to love again
I'll say your prayers, I'll take your side
I'll find us a way to make light
I'll dig your grave, we'll dance and sing
What's saved could be one last lifetime
Hey, hey, hey
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, fight to get it back again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Fight to get it back again, yeah, yeah, yeah
Fight to get it back again, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Jorge]

The lyrics are objectively and unabashedly positive. The only way someone sees a cautionary tale in there is if they choose to impose some sort of shame at the male vocalists goals of making things better.

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that. My environmentalist reading of DOTC was 100% a subjective choice.

But the lyrics to The Fixer do nothing at face value to suggest a cautionary tale.

Spoiler: show

Yeah, hey, hey
When something's dark, let me shed a little light on it
When something's cold, let me put a little fire on it
If somethings old, I wanna put a bit of shine on it
When something's gone, I wanna fight to get it back again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, fight to get it back again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
When something's broke, I wanna put a bit of fixin' on it
When something's bored, I wanna put a little exciting on it
If something's low, I wanna put a little high on it
When something's lost, I wanna fight to get it back again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, fight to get it back again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
When signals cross, I wanna put a little straight on it
If there's no love, I wanna try to love again
I'll say your prayers, I'll take your side
I'll find us a way to make light
I'll dig your grave, we'll dance and sing
What's saved could be one last lifetime
Hey, hey, hey
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, fight to get it back again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Fight to get it back again, yeah, yeah, yeah
Fight to get it back again, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

It seems to me like to get to the cautionary/critical interpretation of it, you need context or information that is not actually present in the text. This is why Ed's explanation never sat right with me. He wrote an entire song where the lyrics are clearly about a sandwich and then gave an interview where he told us actually it's about soup.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now