Song of the Moment: Sirens

General Pearl Jam discussion.
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So...Sirens?

5 stars
47
38%
4 stars
30
24%
3 stars
25
20%
2 stars
7
6%
1 star
16
13%
 
Total votes: 125

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Jorge
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by Jorge »

Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
harmless wrote:
bluestate wrote:
harmless wrote:MFS is going to have to do *a lot* to reduce the cheesy impact of this song so soon after MYM.
One day you're loving the song, the next day you're conflicted by it, or something like that :?: You have a long way to go until 10/14 bro! Hang in there.
Yeah, this song is playing havoc with my brain.
Don't think too much about it, its just music
:shake:
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by harmless »

Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
@SkitchP wrote:Just listened to this. I didn't hate it.
That sounds like a good thing
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by harmless »

theplatypus wrote:
Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
harmless wrote:
bluestate wrote:
harmless wrote:MFS is going to have to do *a lot* to reduce the cheesy impact of this song so soon after MYM.
One day you're loving the song, the next day you're conflicted by it, or something like that :?: You have a long way to go until 10/14 bro! Hang in there.
Yeah, this song is playing havoc with my brain.
Don't think too much about it, its just music
:shake:
If I think too much, I can get overwhelmed.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by LetMeSleep »

harmless wrote:
theplatypus wrote:
Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
harmless wrote:
bluestate wrote:
harmless wrote:MFS is going to have to do *a lot* to reduce the cheesy impact of this song so soon after MYM.
One day you're loving the song, the next day you're conflicted by it, or something like that :?: You have a long way to go until 10/14 bro! Hang in there.
Yeah, this song is playing havoc with my brain.
Don't think too much about it, its just music
:shake:
If I think too much, I can get overwhelmed.
It's a fragile thing.
Spoiler: show
I was in a band once that had a song called "It's A Fragile Thing".
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Dr. Van Nostrand
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by Dr. Van Nostrand »

theplatypus wrote:
Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
harmless wrote:
bluestate wrote:
harmless wrote:MFS is going to have to do *a lot* to reduce the cheesy impact of this song so soon after MYM.
One day you're loving the song, the next day you're conflicted by it, or something like that :?: You have a long way to go until 10/14 bro! Hang in there.
Yeah, this song is playing havoc with my brain.
Don't think too much about it, its just music
:shake:
Seriously, why analyze every little detail, if you like it then great, if not then its not that big of a deal
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harmless
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by harmless »

LetMeSleep wrote:
harmless wrote:
theplatypus wrote:
Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
harmless wrote:
bluestate wrote:
harmless wrote:MFS is going to have to do *a lot* to reduce the cheesy impact of this song so soon after MYM.
One day you're loving the song, the next day you're conflicted by it, or something like that :?: You have a long way to go until 10/14 bro! Hang in there.
Yeah, this song is playing havoc with my brain.
Don't think too much about it, its just music
:shake:
If I think too much, I can get overwhelmed.
It's a fragile thing.
Spoiler: show
I was in a band once that had a song called "It's A Fragile Thing".
I need this song to become "just another PJ song" before I know what I really think about it. But my general feeling is positive. It might eventually be a 4 star song, but there's annoying things about it keeping it from being a 5.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
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Jorge
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by Jorge »

Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
theplatypus wrote:
Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
harmless wrote:
bluestate wrote:
harmless wrote:MFS is going to have to do *a lot* to reduce the cheesy impact of this song so soon after MYM.
One day you're loving the song, the next day you're conflicted by it, or something like that :?: You have a long way to go until 10/14 bro! Hang in there.
Yeah, this song is playing havoc with my brain.
Don't think too much about it, its just music
:shake:
Seriously, why analyze every little detail, if you like it then great, if not then its not that big of a deal
Some people really care about music and enjoy dissecting its minutiae. It's never "just music" for me.
Anders wrote:I do not have a «neoliberal assessment of geopolitics», so please stop writing that I do.
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harmless
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by harmless »

Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
theplatypus wrote:
Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
harmless wrote:
bluestate wrote:
harmless wrote:MFS is going to have to do *a lot* to reduce the cheesy impact of this song so soon after MYM.
One day you're loving the song, the next day you're conflicted by it, or something like that :?: You have a long way to go until 10/14 bro! Hang in there.
Yeah, this song is playing havoc with my brain.
Don't think too much about it, its just music
:shake:
Seriously, why analyze every little detail, if you like it then great, if not then its not that big of a deal
I can see why you're saying this, but the thing is, the very best PJ material stands up to pretty much endless scrutiny.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
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harmless
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by harmless »

And this song is such a departure for the band, if I end up hating it, it will be a very big deal, as it has been for others.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by LetMeSleep »

harmless wrote:And this song is such a departure for the band, if I end up hating it, it will be a very big deal, as it has been for others.
But not really, in the general scheme of things.
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by harmless »

I really wish Ed had made more of the sirens context. This is a love song set against the context of hearing police and ambulance sirens in the night. It's about mortality, death, etc. It's too sappy to deal with those things in as weighty a way as they deserve. But I still love the theme and the context. Maybe it could've been brought out in the context instead of that visually great but kind of pointless lighthouse thing.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by LetMeSleep »

harmless wrote:I really wish Ed had made more of the sirens context. This is a love song set against the context of hearing police and ambulance sirens in the night. It's about mortality, death, etc. It's too sappy to deal with those things in as weighty a way as they deserve. But I still love the theme and the context. Maybe it could've been brought out in the context instead of that visually great but kind of pointless lighthouse thing.
There are maybe 6 lines that are rather banal, generic love song material. But I agree Harmless, there could have been more to it other than the kickoff to "reaching across the bed".
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by harmless »

LetMeSleep wrote:
harmless wrote:And this song is such a departure for the band, if I end up hating it, it will be a very big deal, as it has been for others.
But not really, in the general scheme of things.
I don't want to debate this again, but I think it does signal an aesthetic, attitudinal departure for the band. It's not "just a song" in the sense that it signals a massive change of direction. After you've written a song like this, the sky is probably the limit as far as what you might try in the future. If this song is just a one-off kooky departure, it's a great song and an interesting genre experiment, but I don't really want them to make many more songs like this... I'm just trying to be as honest as I can and fight the screaming fanboi in me.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by harmless »

LetMeSleep wrote:
harmless wrote:I really wish Ed had made more of the sirens context. This is a love song set against the context of hearing police and ambulance sirens in the night. It's about mortality, death, etc. It's too sappy to deal with those things in as weighty a way as they deserve. But I still love the theme and the context. Maybe it could've been brought out in the context instead of that visually great but kind of pointless lighthouse thing.
There are maybe 6 lines that are rather banal, generic love song material. But I agree Harmless, there could have been more to it other than the kickoff to "reaching across the bed".
When I thought it was "reach across the bend" it was *way* more interesting.

Btw, that should've been "artwork", not a third "context".
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by Dr. Van Nostrand »

theplatypus wrote:
Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
theplatypus wrote:
Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
harmless wrote:
bluestate wrote:
harmless wrote:MFS is going to have to do *a lot* to reduce the cheesy impact of this song so soon after MYM.
One day you're loving the song, the next day you're conflicted by it, or something like that :?: You have a long way to go until 10/14 bro! Hang in there.
Yeah, this song is playing havoc with my brain.
Don't think too much about it, its just music
:shake:
Seriously, why analyze every little detail, if you like it then great, if not then its not that big of a deal
Some people really care about music and enjoy dissecting its minutiae. It's never "just music" for me.
I didn't mean for "its just music" to sound bad, i was mainly just saying that if it is causing any kind of stress by analyzing every little detail then stop and just listen, it really can be as simple as listen if you like it and don't if you don't.
I have no problems dissecting music and finding all the little details you like, but i personally think its silly to do it just to point out all the things you don't like
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by LetMeSleep »

harmless wrote:
LetMeSleep wrote:
harmless wrote:And this song is such a departure for the band, if I end up hating it, it will be a very big deal, as it has been for others.
But not really, in the general scheme of things.
I don't want to debate this again, but I think it does signal an aesthetic, attitudinal departure for the band. It's not "just a song" in the sense that it signals a massive change of direction. After you've written a song like this, the sky is probably the limit as far as what you might try in the future. If this song is just a one-off kooky departure, it's a great song and an interesting genre experiment, but I don't really want them to make many more songs like this... I'm just trying to be as honest as I can and fight the screaming fanboi in me.
I just meant that it's just a song. From a band. It's not a major life event (birth, death). And this far down the road it's pretty safe to assume that we all will be here again for the next album (maybe not in this company but analyzing the shit out of it).
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by harmless »

LetMeSleep wrote:
harmless wrote:
LetMeSleep wrote:
harmless wrote:And this song is such a departure for the band, if I end up hating it, it will be a very big deal, as it has been for others.
But not really, in the general scheme of things.
I don't want to debate this again, but I think it does signal an aesthetic, attitudinal departure for the band. It's not "just a song" in the sense that it signals a massive change of direction. After you've written a song like this, the sky is probably the limit as far as what you might try in the future. If this song is just a one-off kooky departure, it's a great song and an interesting genre experiment, but I don't really want them to make many more songs like this... I'm just trying to be as honest as I can and fight the screaming fanboi in me.
I just meant that it's just a song. From a band. It's not a major life event (birth, death). And this far down the road it's pretty safe to assume that we all will be here again for the next album (maybe not in this company but analyzing the shit out of it).
:thumbsup:
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by Jorge »

harmless wrote: I don't want to debate this again, but I think it does signal an aesthetic, attitudinal departure for the band. It's not "just a song" in the sense that it signals a massive change of direction. After you've written a song like this, the sky is probably the limit as far as what you might try in the future.
We must be listening to different songs, Mark. I really don't see this as a massive change of direction at all. It's an emotional rock ballad from a band that's famous for making emotional rock ballads. I agree the style is dissimilar to what they've done in the past, but to my ears it's within a standard deviation of rock music. I would like to hear a radical left turn, but I don't think this is it.
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by Dr. Van Nostrand »

harmless wrote:
Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
theplatypus wrote:
Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:
harmless wrote:
bluestate wrote:
harmless wrote:MFS is going to have to do *a lot* to reduce the cheesy impact of this song so soon after MYM.
One day you're loving the song, the next day you're conflicted by it, or something like that :?: You have a long way to go until 10/14 bro! Hang in there.
Yeah, this song is playing havoc with my brain.
Don't think too much about it, its just music
:shake:
Seriously, why analyze every little detail, if you like it then great, if not then its not that big of a deal
I can see why you're saying this, but the thing is, the very best PJ material stands up to pretty much endless scrutiny.
It does for me, i love finding all the little parts to the songs that make me like them even more, i just don't worry about picking out the parts i don't like if i don't like a song, though i guess that could be wrong because i do always say that mats drumming on green disease kills the song for me.
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Re: New Song (9.19.13): Sirens

Post by harmless »

theplatypus wrote:
harmless wrote: I don't want to debate this again, but I think it does signal an aesthetic, attitudinal departure for the band. It's not "just a song" in the sense that it signals a massive change of direction. After you've written a song like this, the sky is probably the limit as far as what you might try in the future.
We must be listening to different songs, Mark. I really don't see this as a massive change of direction at all. It's an emotional rock ballad from a band that's famous for making emotional rock ballads. I agree the style is dissimilar to what they've done in the past, but to my ears it's within a standard deviation of rock music. I would like to hear a radical left turn, but I don't think this is it.
Yeah, "massive change of direction" was probably a huge exaggeration. I agree that there's a fairly standard PJ song in there. But wow, it's just drenched in atypical Pearl Jam atmospherics (I'm trying to avoid the word "cheese", as I think it all kind of works for the song's aims) and that's what I feel is the change of direction. It may just be Brendan O'Brien's fault again, but the frustration is that it sounds like a PJ song being uncomfortably pulled in a different direction, almost like the same marionette suddenly beginning to do a different dance because someone shot the puppeteer and started pulling the strings.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
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