ITT: Your Fandom Before and After Lightning Bolt

[Lounge Lizard]

I want something heavy from PJ.
Our journey's been heavy-hard-tentative-raw-rocking-moody-sad-trying-shiny-... time to go heavy again.

MYM heavy?

Yes, it's almost there

[harmless]

I want something heavy from PJ.
Our journey's been heavy-hard-tentative-raw-rocking-moody-sad-trying-shiny-... time to go heavy again.

MYM heavy?

Yes, it's almost there

I would be disappointed if there weren't one or two other tracks to at least match it.

[Lounge Lizard]

I want something heavy from PJ.
Our journey's been heavy-hard-tentative-raw-rocking-moody-sad-trying-shiny-... time to go heavy again.

MYM heavy?

Yes, it's almost there

I would be disappointed if there weren't one or two other tracks to at least match it.

Absolutely.

[Chris B 2414]

I've really liked or loved everything they have done and i really don't expect that to change, I've been listening to them for about 22 years and am still really excited to see what is next, even though their last might be their weakest, its still better for me then a lot of other stuff out there.

[kingjeremy]

I have been an ardent and a super loyal Pearl Jam fan since the early 90s, listened to their music almost every day until about Backspacer. Don't mean to use this thread to bash the band or anything, but I feel that I have discovered several new bands the past few years, and have been enjoying different genres of music. I look forward to PJ tours and spend several hours on tickets, etc...(Alpine valley esp.)...and have enjoyed every moment at the shows.

I am really looking forward to the Brooklyn shows, very excited, but not looking forward so much to their new album. I am resisting listening to their new songs which they played in Chicago, gave MYM a few listens, and I don't really feel like reading much of the album or song reviews. Analysis paralysis? I've pre-ordered the album and will listen to it when they release it. The countdown doesn't mean much to me either.

So....is there anyone out there who loves the band like crazy but not really crazy about the new album? Has your attitude towards the band changed in recent times? Just to be clear, they are still my favorite band, and will remain so, despite my lesser enthusiasm for their new music.

[stip]

you don't have to apologize if you like them less, you know

I feel like we have this thread elsewhere, but it's a good topic and so I'll merge it if someone links to an appropriate thread.

[Kevin Davis]

http://forums.theskyiscrape.com/viewtop ... =15&t=1976

[harmless]

I have been an ardent and a super loyal Pearl Jam fan since the early 90s, listened to their music almost every day until about Backspacer. Don't mean to use this thread to bash the band or anything, but I feel that I have discovered several new bands the past few years, and have been enjoying different genres of music. I look forward to PJ tours and spend several hours on tickets, etc...(Alpine valley esp.)...and have enjoyed every moment at the shows.

I am really looking forward to the Brooklyn shows, very excited, but not looking forward so much to their new album. I am resisting listening to their new songs which they played in Chicago, gave MYM a few listens, and I don't really feel like reading much of the album or song reviews. Analysis paralysis? I've pre-ordered the album and will listen to it when they release it. The countdown doesn't mean much to me either.

So....is there anyone out there who loves the band like crazy but not really crazy about the new album? Has your attitude towards the band changed in recent times? Just to be clear, they are still my favorite band, and will remain so, despite my lesser enthusiasm for their new music.

In theory I was still obsessed with Pearl Jam, but because of the (relative) disappointments of the last two albums, that was / is cooling quite a bit over the last few years. Which is why I started my original thread At the moment it looks as if this new album is shaping up to be a very good one, but my interest in it was once at a low point. It's shot up very recently, along with my post count.

[simonsc]

Where am I now? I'd say...resigned. When I consider Backspacer and a few listens to some of the Lightning Bolt stuff, I just don't think the band is interested in making the kinds of songs I'd like to hear. But that's the way it goes, and I certainly understand that they'll explore what they want to explore. Maybe their interests will align with mine, maybe not. There's still a ton of music in their catalog that I love, and I'll always look forward to whatever live show I can go see (Charlotte this year).

[harmless]

At the moment, I'm loving the Lightning Bolt songs, and there's real potential for this album to rekindle the flame. But there's a really bittersweet tension between that and constantly being reminded of Brendan O'Brien's ham-fisted interference. I'm still at the "hooked but curious" stage, I guess.

[BurtReynolds]

before: on life support. This was a make or break album for me.

after: Virtually nonexistent. The fact is I would never listen to this stuff if it wasn't by Pearl Jam. It's safe to say our musical interests have diverged. I am a little sad, but it was a good run.

I'm not even interested in live shows at this point. I'm not dying to sit through sets full of backspacer, lightning bolt, and ten, just to hear a couple of songs from the middle era.

[Lounge Lizard]

Mine:

[harmless]

before: on life support. This was a make or break album for me.

after: Virtually nonexistent. The fact is I would never listen to this stuff if it wasn't by Pearl Jam. It's safe to say our musical interests have diverged. I am a little sad, but it was a good run.

I'm not even interested in live shows at this point. I'm not dying to hear sets full of backspacer, lightning bolt, and ten, just to hear a couple of songs from the middle era.

I totally recognise the live conundrum. The more new material they write like this, the less space they will give to the middle period stuff... It hasn't totally put me off the band yet, but that, coupled with the fact they're just not a very tight live act anymore, has mostly removed my need to see them again. I am sad for that as I have had some good shows with good friends, my wife especially.

[McParadigm]

The fact is I would never listen to this stuff if it wasn't by Pearl Jam.

This is true for me, as well.

I keep saying it, but I really don't think a song like Sirens is bad. They do that type of song very well, here. It's just that it's nothing to do with me. That's an internal reality. I can easily imagine a woman with a Sheryl Crowe type voice singing that exact song with that exact backing track, and it wouldn't move me at all. So I can't figure why I would even expect it to move me now. Maybe because it's a different singer? I dunno. I can understand why people are really into this song. What I can't understand is why some of them would find it so shocking to think that some others might not be.

My mom was huge into easy listening ballad stuff when I was growing up, not so terribly different from this track in some ways, and she thought I was a little musically retarded for liking Tom Waits, Neil Young, and Pearl Jam. I used to respond to whatever snide remarks she had on hand by telling her that songs like the ones she played seemed to me to be about the IDEA of an emotion...the notion that that particular emotion exists, and can be displayed like a photograph...where songs like A Little Rain, Borrowed Tune, or Not For You feel more like attempts to capture the feeling itself. Lightning in a bottle (har har). Emotion is messy, and terribly imperfect, and it defies calculation and precision. I like to have a little (or a lot) of that in my music.

I haven't been to a show since 2003, and I didn't really care about the last two albums either. Maybe I'm still hoping that they'll have a late-era creative rebirth, I dunno. But until then, Pearl Jam is mostly just a narrative that I'm fascinated to watch play out in realtime. It was a part of my own story...if a relatively small part...for such an incredible length of time that I can't stop now, not when there are so few chapters left to read. In the meantime maybe songs like Sirens will come up on the iphone from time to time, and I'll enjoy them the way I enjoy Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now, Africa, Edge of Seventeen, or Two Hearts Living in Just One Mind: I'll move to the beat, I'll hum a bit and yeah, I genuinely will enjoy it in the way you can enjoy a song that is easily relegated to the background....and when it's over I'll look for something that's a little more than just that.

[evenslow]

The best part is you two will be the last posters left one day. Talking to one another about something you kinda liked many years ago.

[McParadigm]

The best part is you two will be the last posters left one day. Talking to one another about something you kinda liked many years ago.

I can't wait.

Actual footage:

[BurtReynolds]

The best part is you two will be the last posters left one day. Talking to one another about something you kinda liked many years ago.

no way, dude! You'll only have to tolerate me until the last songs leak. After a brief bitchfest, I think I will gracefully bow out of pjchat. I'll leave the fan board to the fans. Even though Backspacer sucked, I was still interested in the band. I don't think this is still the case.

[harmless]

The fact is I would never listen to this stuff if it wasn't by Pearl Jam.

This is true for me, as well.

I keep saying it, but I really don't think a song like Sirens is bad. They do that type of song very well, here. It's just that it's nothing to do with me. That's an internal reality. I can easily imagine a woman with a Sheryl Crowe type voice singing that exact song with that exact backing track, and it wouldn't move me at all. So I can't figure why I would even expect it to move me now. Maybe because it's a different singer? I dunno. I can understand why people are really into this song. What I can't understand is why some of them would find it so shocking to think that some others might not be.

My mom was huge into easy listening ballad stuff when I was growing up, not so terribly different from this track in some ways, and she thought I was a little musically retarded for liking Tom Waits, Neil Young, and Pearl Jam. I used to respond to whatever snide remarks she had on hand by telling her that songs like the ones she played seemed to me to be about the IDEA of an emotion...the notion that that particular emotion exists, and can be displayed like a photograph...where songs like A Little Rain, Borrowed Tune, or Not For You feel more like attempts to capture the feeling itself. Lightning in a bottle (har har). Emotion is messy, and terribly imperfect, and it defies calculation and precision. I like to have a little (or a lot) of that in my music.

I haven't been to a show since 2003, and I didn't really care about the last two albums either. Maybe I'm still hoping that they'll have a late-era creative rebirth, I dunno. But until then, Pearl Jam is mostly just a narrative that I'm fascinated to watch play out in realtime. It was a part of my own story...if a relatively small part...for such an incredible length of time that I can't stop now, not when there are so few chapters left to read. In the meantime maybe songs like Sirens will come up on the iphone from time to time, and I'll enjoy them the way I enjoy Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now, Africa, Edge of Seventeen, or Two Hearts Living in Just One Mind: I'll move to the beat, I'll hum a bit and yeah, I genuinely will enjoy it in the way you can enjoy a song that is easily relegated to the background....and when it's over I'll look for something that's a little more than just that.

Just wanted to say appreciated this post. Clarification is a good thing.

I wrote you a response as to why this stuff is working for me, despite the fact that I love Tom Waits, Neil Young, No Code, Binaural, Riot Act etc. as much as you do. But I accidentally deleted it... so fuck that.

[BurtReynolds]

before: on life support. This was a make or break album for me.

after: Virtually nonexistent. The fact is I would never listen to this stuff if it wasn't by Pearl Jam. It's safe to say our musical interests have diverged. I am a little sad, but it was a good run.

I'm not even interested in live shows at this point. I'm not dying to hear sets f,ull of backspacer, lightning bolt, and ten, just to hear a couple of songs from the middle era.

I totally recognise the live conundrum. The more new material they write like this, the less space they will give to the middle period stuff... It hasn't totally put me off the band yet, but that, coupled with the fact they're just not a very tight live act anymore, has mostly removed my need to see them again. I am sad for that as I have had some good shows with good friends, my wife especially.

I still feel like they put on a great show, but the limited setlists, rising ticket prices and lack of touring in general doesn't make it worthwhile anymore. I think I've had my fill.

[McParadigm]

Just wanted to say appreciated this post. Clarification is a good thing.

I wrote you a response as to why this stuff is working for me, despite the fact that I love Tom Waits, Neil Young, No Code, Binaural, Riot Act etc. as much as you do. But I accidentally deleted it... so fuck that.

Thanks. I do mean it when I say I can see why somebody would like these songs. They're very well done, the sound is good, and a lot of the stuff (warble warble smoosh) that was a concern in recent years is pretty absent. In fact, I think it's probably more "reasonable" (if that term can be applied to preference) to like all the above stuff and to also like this record, otherwise I wouldn't feel the need to explain why that's not happening for me at all.

Additionally, I think it's more fun to enjoy music than it is to be disappointed with/make fun of/something else it.