Gigaton: Official album thread

[evenslow]

I've mentioned this here before, but the book Grunge is Dead has some very brutal comments by none other than Regan Hagar who is one of Stone's longtime friends (in addition to the tough comments by Shawn Smith). Those comments lay right into Ed. Regan works for the band now so clearly things are ironed out, but something was afoot back in the day and Stone and Ed made it through but the relationship definitely changed.

Haven't heard of this before. Care to elaborate (again)?

[evenslow]

There's no one Ed wants to kick out of the band more than Stone.

true

[Birds in Hell]

I've mentioned this here before, but the book Grunge is Dead has some very brutal comments by none other than Regan Hagar who is one of Stone's longtime friends (in addition to the tough comments by Shawn Smith). Those comments lay right into Ed. Regan works for the band now so clearly things are ironed out, but something was afoot back in the day and Stone and Ed made it through but the relationship definitely changed.

Haven't heard of this before. Care to elaborate (again)?

I presume it's this:

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[96583UP]

and you read the above

and people wanna say Dave A wasnt blackballed

‘so surprised Dave never did anything after he left PJ’

‘no the problem was that Dave A sucked’

bullshit

if they did that to Brad

they did it to Dave A

‘profit shadow’

[liebzz]

I have heard Shame enough times to say it likely wouldn’t have been that big in 1993. People were hungry for more loud depressing rock. Brad, though excellent in their own right, didn’t fit the sound in the moment. I would even venture to say their sound would fit better in the last 20 years than 1993.

[Tuolumne]

I've mentioned this here before, but the book Grunge is Dead has some very brutal comments by none other than Regan Hagar who is one of Stone's longtime friends (in addition to the tough comments by Shawn Smith). Those comments lay right into Ed. Regan works for the band now so clearly things are ironed out, but something was afoot back in the day and Stone and Ed made it through but the relationship definitely changed.

Haven't heard of this before. Care to elaborate (again)?

I presume it's this:

That's some of it, but there's sections where Regan really goes into how much he doesn't dig Ed's entire approach to being a rocker and just simply doesn't dig much of the band but still loves Stone , etc, etc.
It's pretty tough IMO and you're talking about literally one of Stone's best friends in the world. It should be noted that Regan is now employed as the band's graphic designer or whatever so I just chalk it up to a family conflict.

The biggest takeaway for me on PJ20 was how close Ed and Jeff are. It's their vision that won over. I think generally we should all be pleased with this. This is the setlist changing, focus on artwork, focus on band ethics, etc version that we all love. Stone's more the true Mother Love Bone guy. For me, I think Stone really struggled to be in the band during albums like Vitalogy, No Code, Binaural, Riot Act. Albums that people on this board love. The diehard fanbase that is one of the band's defining legacies ... I don't Stone got any of that until much later. He pretty much says this in many interviews.

All that said, Stone has something more to offer, and as strong as I think Gigaton is (and I think LB is a more than solid album) we just haven't had that Ed/Stone collaboration over the last 2 albums that can be really great for the band. The fact that this band is still around is astounding to me, band's are just naturally supposed to break up by this point and not be coming up w/ albums like Gigaton at this point. So, the fact that there's even a relationship that Ed and Stone can work on and build from still gives me a glimmering hope that the two of them can come up with something in a truly collaborative fashion.

[Tuolumne]

and you read the above

and people wanna say Dave A wasnt blackballed

‘so surprised Dave never did anything after he left PJ’

‘no the problem was that Dave A sucked’

bullshit

if they did that to Brad

they did it to Dave A

‘profit shadow’

I think it's really easy to bash the band for both Dave A and Brad. In the end, they won and Dave A and Brad "lost" so they probably don't feel like they need their side of the story told.

But, reading Grunge is Dead I really felt Regan Hagar to be a bit of a tool. He's totally an Andy Wood guy, glam rocker kinda dude. I think he sorta embodies the world that Andy Wood left behind in the wake of his death. Guys like Regan Hagar lost their career trajectory, Andy was supposed to carry guys like him.

It's just not a perspective that the PJ fanbase was every really into or anyone that was into 90s alternative at the time. And, there's probably something to the coattail riding aspect.

[sweeper]

Chances that you guys are reading way too much into these quotes?

100%?

[Birds in Hell]

That's some of it, but there's sections where Regan really goes into how much he doesn't dig Ed's entire approach to being a rocker and just simply doesn't dig much of the band but still loves Stone , etc, etc.
It's pretty tough IMO and you're talking about literally one of Stone's best friends in the world. It should be noted that Regan is now employed as the band's graphic designer or whatever so I just chalk it up to a family conflict.

Yeah, there is some more - and I think the quote above Regan's is also hilarious:

[Monkey_Driven]

It didn't help Ed at all that he was an outsider to the scene and immediately had more success that the majority of those other musicians. Any slight or large personality clash is going to be amplified or exaggerated.

[Leatherhead]

Without Ed there's no way in hell we'd have Pearl Jam's best albums. Vitalogy -> Riot Act. And Gigaton.

[wease]

I need to get this book.

[VinylGuy]

yeah, i remember those Regan quotes. Stone and Ed relationship continues to amaze me. They always did a very good job with not letting any turmoil escape to the press, and the first time i kinda thought they werent getting along was in SVT with Ed talking about Stone being the nemesis.
I do believe Ed must have been a difficult dude in the Vitalogy era for sure, and i guess he relaxed with the Yield era and became more confortable with being a rock star in the Avocado era. Thats when he did change a lot in terms of press, videos, interviews..he really understand his place.

I do hope to hear more Ed and Stone collabs because those are just the best.

[Bammer]

Chances that you guys are reading way too much into these quotes?

100%?

It’s kinda like how some people think Star Wars holds the secret to the meaning of life.

[Tuolumne]

Chances that you guys are reading way too much into these quotes?

100%?

It’s kinda like how some people think Star Wars holds the secret to the meaning of life.

Maybe. But the way i see it, it's 2 dudes - Regan and Shawn - who were talking about really heavy things that happened to *them*, which is their entire career trajectories, and how bitter they felt about what happened. What makes it sorta serious is that the band that they are mad at has one of their best friends. And alot of the bitterness is based off of decisions by the mid-90s version of Ed.

I happen to think the Ed and Stone relationship is awkward for me to watch. I have to think it's even more awkward on the inside, but that's just me.

[VinylGuy]

I was surprised on those claims. They had the idea of Stone not being able to tour or promote the band as much as they wanted to in 1993. At the same time they were signed by Epic because of Stone and Pearl Jam so it was weird to hear Regan so bitter about it.
Im glad they sort it out.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[liebzz]

Imagine devoting your life to writing pop/rock music, seeing a bunch of friends get famous, and then getting all "Wah but we didn't get rich and famous!" about it.

Especially when those friends find a guy from out of nowhere to take them to that stardom in less than a year.

[Strat]

People who love stone gossard dave a pearl jam ear these quotes up.