Lightning Bolt: the official album thread

[HardTI]

The way he sings "...to send you in the arms of another man" is awesome. But it makes my autotune radar go off.

Specifically, the way he sings "arms"?

[stip]

guys, I have no idea what the fuck I'm going to say about this song

[McParadigm]

guys, I have no idea what the fuck I'm going to say about this song

Everybody feels that way for the first few listens.

[darth_vedder]

guys, I have no idea what the fuck I'm going to say about this song

I don't believe that for one minute.

[Dugg]

Ed absolutely makes this song. That hasn't happened since I have no idea.

Getaway too. His singing is the melody.

[stip]

guys, i'm enjoying this and for some reason i feel embarrassed by that.

there's nothing particularly embarrassing about this song. It's just a song I never expected to really hear.

[harmless]

Cheesiness is increasingly becoming a word I think needs to be defined with examples before being used.

In a broad sense, I think "cheesy" (or "corny," or any of its many synonyms) typically refers to something that feels emotionally phony despite the fact that it is manipulated and manufactured to be just the opposite. Think of those big Nashville ballads sung from the perspective of dads giving their daughters away to be married, or soldiers coming home from the war in pine boxes while the entire town of Pissville, Kentucy stands by saluting, unable to decide if their tears are tears of grief or tears of pure American pride. Really just listen to a pop country station for a half hour and you'll have a pretty good understanding of the term.

To use a more relevant example, I would cite the difference between hearing "Future Days" with all the accompaniment from Wrigley, and hearing the unadorned inner-ear monitor thing that leaked, with just Eddie and the guitar. The latter is a naked and honest sentiment (albeit not a particularly exciting one, and not a particularly great song), but when you bring in the piano, the strings, etc. you get this feeling of someone behind the curtain really trying to sell that emotion, to put it across in a theatrical, unduly dramatic way. That's where the manipulation comes in, and I think where most people get off the wagon.

I'm not sure I agree with this, since it doesn't seem to account for something that is cheesy but still genuinely moving. Maybe what you describe is one end of a cheese continuum.

I think Pearl Jam is one of those bands that you either buy into or not. There's always been a sincere and earnestness that either people have loved or makes some uncomfortable. There's a certain hokiness you buy into, I've felt, since Ten. The Nirvana/Sonic Youth side of the spectrum hated Ten cause they liked the whole "detached cool" thing. That hokiness is something very American, and which resonates in a very middle-American way. It's something that alot of people eat up but doesn't necessarily stand up well to critical review (the kind that happens in journalism and now message boards).

I am always okay with this and don't have the cheese radar others seem to. Eddie sounds very nice, and the song so far is pleasant, but kinda featureless. Best case scenario it becomes hypnotic and sweeps you lazily along with it. But this is a long song to not really have dramatic moments.

Maybe they just thought that even more crescendo and drama would've pushed it even further off the cheese knife-edge. Other songs in their catalogue just pare it back enough to not send it totally into cheese territory. This one goes much further and wanks longer but still doesn't fully ejaculate.

[Jaeti]

guys, I have no idea what the fuck I'm going to say about this song

I think that means it's starting to work its magic on you...

[harmless]

Ed absolutely makes this song. That hasn't happened since I have no idea.

Getaway too. His singing is the melody.

Yeah, most of these songs actually.

[joshualukin]

Long time dweller, first time poster. Just heard Sirens for the 4th time. Sounds like a love child of Elderly Woman and Otherside. *Perpares to be shunned* I really like this song. *Puts shield up*

[McParadigm]

The way he sings "...to send you in the arms of another man" is awesome. But it makes my autotune radar go off.

Specifically, the way he sings "arms"?

I need to hear a clearer mix, but there's some moments in the first verse of Swallowed Whole that very distinctly sound of autotune. There are several moments here that suggest it, too. But that's no surprise...they've been using it since S/T.

[stupidmop]

guys, I have no idea what the fuck I'm going to say about this song

Leave it at 'Why?' and call it a day.

[harmless]

And true enough, Sirens sets you up for the cheese of Lightning Bolt perfectly.

[harmless]

guys, I have no idea what the fuck I'm going to say about this song

I think that means it's starting to work its magic on you...

"I don't know what this is" is a great reaction.

[Arrogant Blue]

Yeah, I Liked the "last 4" pretty much from the first listen..... This one reminds me of something and I don't think it's gonna be good when I figure out what it is.

I dont want to really judge it yet.... I think I like the solo

[stip]

I've been perplexed by PJ before but never stumped.

I'm stumped, team.

i am on my 4th listen and I am stumped.

i haven't focused on the story yet and won't until i get caught up in the l-bolt thread, but stumped is the right word.

This is the most challenging pearl jam song I've ever heard insofar as I am utterly caught off guard by it.

I was even expecting 80s power ballad...

[stupidmop]

The way he sings "...to send you in the arms of another man" is awesome. But it makes my autotune radar go off.

Specifically, the way he sings "arms"?

I need to hear a clearer mix, but there's some moments in the first verse of Swallowed Whole that very distinctly sound of autotune. There are several moments here that suggest it, too. But that's no surprise...they've been using it since S/T.

There's a bit on LB that sounded really weird in a autotune way to me, I thiiiiink its the 'yeahs' after that line about the notheast or northwest or whatever. I thought it was the file skipping at first.

[buckeye24]

guys, I have no idea what the fuck I'm going to say about this song

Me either. It's nowhere near what I was expecting it to sound like.

[stip]

I hope eddie gave mark arm a copy of this to listen to and in turn mark arm gave him a kick to the crotch.

i just want you to know that this post is enhanced by your avatar

[McParadigm]

I assume the next time I hear this will be while I wait for my wife to buy baby clothes at Kohls.