Song of the Moment: Lightning Bolt

[LetMeSleep]

I heard that tonight. It is a great transition

I feel that Sirens would have worked well with a fade out and LB with an ending.

[harmless]

I heard that tonight. It is a great transition

I feel that Sirens would have worked well with a fade out and LB with an ending.

Gotta agree there.

[stip]

I heard that tonight. It is a great transition

I feel that Sirens would have worked well with a fade out and LB with an ending.

Gotta agree there.

Yup. Trying to withhold judgement until we get the infallible transition, though

[harmless]

I heard that tonight. It is a great transition

I feel that Sirens would have worked well with a fade out and LB with an ending.

Gotta agree there.

Yup. Trying to withhold judgement until we get the infallible transition, though

Forgot about that. That might, um, fix it.

[fishbob]

I heard that tonight. It is a great transition

I feel that Sirens would have worked well with a fade out and LB with an ending.

Agreed, I think Lightning Bolt should do an unexpected coda into a minor chord perhaps to leave the song unresolved.
To be honest, the song fades out on the WRONG HOOK! The post-first chorus McCready solo IS THE HOOK in this song! I don't get how they couldn't hear it? THAT is what the song should fade out on.

[15showsandcounting]

Best song I have heard yet from the album leaks. The chorus is a bit meh, but I love everything else about the song.

[dimejinky99]

Is the last line in this something about a colouring book?

[stip]

in lightning bolt?

uncontrollable, like you

[McParadigm]

What kind of lightning bolt coloring book would it be?

Lightning McQueen? Bolt? Harry Potter?

[stip]

Why Lightning Bolt is such a great song:


We’ve heard the palm muted intro before, but there is this jagged little part being played over it that gives the bit some teeth, and Eddie’s bassy vocals almost make it feel like something’s stalking you. It's tense with anticipation, but not fear. A much more dramatic beginning for this kind of song than we’ve gotten before. The piano starts the build, and 28 seconds in Eddie raises his voice, we get Matt’s rolling drums, the spacey effects following a few seconds later (I love just about every little flourish in the song), and the overall picture is, well, stormy. It’s so easy to imagine yourself in this safe little pocket of a hurricane. And this all happens so quickly. It’s just this snap transition from gradual build to climax that feels like it took minutes to build and happens in literally like two seconds.

The chorus is maybe the least remarkable part of the song, but catchy in a WWS sing songy chorus kind of way. The guitar part here is pretty groovy, and the way Eddie’s voice shimmers and slurs as he sings lightning bolt is great. It makes the phrase so much more interesting, especially given the charge the guitars are giving the sequence.

And just as we’re primed for the second verse to start we go right into the big guitar solo, smooth with a nice groove (and what sounds, with headphones, like very faint background screaming that I can’t amke out) into a few seconds of classical wankery and those chain saw notes that then take us right into what feels a bit like the fixer bridge with the breathy vocals and light notes. It takes us back down from the high of the previous chorus and the solo while never actually slowing the song down, until we get the build back into chorus that happens in seconds but feels much longer. I think this is kind of an easy to miss achievement, just how effectively this song gives you the feeling of peaks and valleys, climaxes and rests, while constantly pushing forward at a really fast clip

And we start the final two verses, going back into the music from the first verse, although it feels much fuller this time, riding the energy that keeps relentlessly building throughout the song (there's a bit of an end of the world as we know it manic energy to this song), enhanced by those spacey accents. We then get another one of the snap transitions (this song does these so well) into the final extended verse around 2:45. The music starts to rise again (not that it ever fell , this song just piles energy on top of energy) and we get that lovely set of lyrics about the birds flying off into the distance and that amazing final sequence. Some of the best lyrics we’ve had on the album thus far and Eddie’s so committed to them--saving the final screaming bursts for the statement lyrics. “Your death will soon arrive as she finally decides that all her problems/they won’t die with you” is one of my favorite lyrics Eddie has penned in a long time and I’m not even sure what it means yet. It’s just this incredible free fall inspirational moment of catharsis, and the outro music is a glorious wall of spacey atmospheric effects and celebratory guitar. There aren’t that many pearl jam songs that feel so thrilled to be alive in this singular moment. Having stone’s final little guitar solo come in on the ‘she’s your rock and roll’ lyric is a nice subtle touch. ‘Uncontrollable, like you’...

I hope the start of infallible forgives this fade out. My only complaint about the song (well, the initial lyrical couplet isn’t good)

I still love the fixer, but I think this is the song it should have been

[dimejinky99]

It's great cos the last line mentions a colouring book

[stip]

knock it off, dime!

[daft twat]

have you got yourself some sand? jesus christ, i'll never get past that. how are we not comparing that to the gas in my tank feels like money in the bank? i want to like this song because i like everything else so far, but that's just too much for me.

[WtOB?]

this song is gonna really suffer on the record following sirens.

[harmless]

this song is gonna really suffer on the record following sirens.

I don't think it even *wants* to be the emotional set-piece that Sirens is. That's what's slightly clever about it; like the stuff on Yield, it's almost a rousing anthem but holds itself back. It's like they've deliberately taken away attention from the title track.

[LetMeSleep]

this song is gonna really suffer on the record following sirens.

I agree WtoB. LB transitions out of Getaway quite well. And Sirens into SWhole works too. I'm intrigued to hear this album as it appears to be a patchwork quilt. In fact I've thought a few times that it feels like a jukebox.

[harmless]

this song is gonna really suffer on the record following sirens.

I agree WtoB. LB transitions out of Getaway quite well. And Sirens into SWhole works too. I'm intrigued to hear this album as it appears to be a patchwork quilt. In fact I've thought a few times that it feels like a jukebox.

Had the same thought.

The cover kind of looks like the top of a jukebox, right?

[LetMeSleep]

this song is gonna really suffer on the record following sirens.

I agree WtoB. LB transitions out of Getaway quite well. And Sirens into SWhole works too. I'm intrigued to hear this album as it appears to be a patchwork quilt. In fact I've thought a few times that it feels like a jukebox.

Had the same thought.

The cover kind of looks like the top of a jukebox, right?

I thought that yesterday too.

[harmless]

this song is gonna really suffer on the record following sirens.

I agree WtoB. LB transitions out of Getaway quite well. And Sirens into SWhole works too. I'm intrigued to hear this album as it appears to be a patchwork quilt. In fact I've thought a few times that it feels like a jukebox.

Had the same thought.

The cover kind of looks like the top of a jukebox, right?

I thought that yesterday too.

[harmless]

On that last climactic high-register verse, Ed changes the tune to highlight it. I love that and I love the new verse melody. Has he done that before? It feels new.