Song of the Moment: Sirens

[stip]

13 years ago Sirens really would have freaked me the fuck out (whereas here it just took me an hour or two of listening to it) because I would have dismissed the song outright by virtue of what it sounds like. Music had to sound a certain way for me to take it seriously. For it to be authentic. There are entire genres of music I would have dismissed not just because I don't like them, but because I would have argued that they were in some may aesthetically inferior to what I listened to.

I happen to quite like Call Me Maybe and All the Single Ladies (to pick two recent examples) when I chance to hear them, even though I have no desire to track down those albums or even listen to other songs by those artists. I can appreciate them for what they are and judge whether or not I like them based on my reaction to the music, and not have to filter it through my sense of what music is supposed to sound like.

But that is me in the year 2013. Coming right out of college I wouldn't even have been able to hear Sirens. Now that might just be me, but I suspect everyone who felt challenged by the song, or finds it polarizing, feels something similar (at least in regards to what PEARL JAM is supposed to sound like) to a degree.


(and of course the usual caveat that this is a separate issue from whether or not the song is any good on its merits--this is about why it was so hard to even look for the merits of the song).

[stip]

I really like the way the acoustic guitar intertwines with the last notes of Mike's solo--this is done better on the album version.

[dimejinky99]

Posted Q' LB review in the LB thread.

[dimejinky99]

Can some kind soul point me in the direction of the link for the sirens video mp3 download please?

Hate getting bottom paged. Anyone able to help with this?

[stip]

A few days in this is definitely the song I am listening to the most, although it isn't my favorite. I suspect this is going to be a 3 or 3.5 star song that I like hearing fine in the context of the album, and wouldn't turn off if it comes on shuffle, but won't often seek out. But there will also be times when I really want to hear it and on those days and at those times it'll be something special.

[dimejinky99]

I think I've overplayed it on myself.

But weirdly lots of friends who are non Pj fans are getting in touch randomly saying they really love it. Strange.

When will McP be able to give us a rundown on the radio play?

[stip]

he had some first day numbers a few days ago. I suspect he'll let us know after the first week

[Mike]

13 years ago Sirens really would have freaked me the fuck out (whereas here it just took me an hour or two of listening to it) because I would have dismissed the song outright by virtue of what it sounds like. Music had to sound a certain way for me to take it seriously. For it to be authentic. There are entire genres of music I would have dismissed not just because I don't like them, but because I would have argued that they were in some may aesthetically inferior to what I listened to.

I happen to quite like Call Me Maybe and All the Single Ladies (to pick two recent examples) when I chance to hear them, even though I have no desire to track down those albums or even listen to other songs by those artists. I can appreciate them for what they are and judge whether or not I like them based on my reaction to the music, and not have to filter it through my sense of what music is supposed to sound like.

But that is me in the year 2013. Coming right out of college I wouldn't even have been able to hear Sirens. Now that might just be me, but I suspect everyone who felt challenged by the song, or finds it polarizing, feels something similar (at least in regards to what PEARL JAM is supposed to sound like) to a degree.


(and of course the usual caveat that this is a separate issue from whether or not the song is any good on its merits--this is about why it was so hard to even look for the merits of the song).

A lot of this describes my initial confusion with this song.

[stip]

sometimes I think you need to overplay a song to learn what you really think about it. After it's overplayed and you walk away how does it feel when you come back

[dimejinky99]

Well I just got a new stereo after living on headphones for over a year so I gonna play it big more, loudly. See how it flies.

Still love it but not playing it on repeat as I was up til Thursday.
Didn't hear it once yesterday. So it's still great.

[harmless]

13 years ago Sirens really would have freaked me the fuck out (whereas here it just took me an hour or two of listening to it) because I would have dismissed the song outright by virtue of what it sounds like. Music had to sound a certain way for me to take it seriously. For it to be authentic. There are entire genres of music I would have dismissed not just because I don't like them, but because I would have argued that they were in some may aesthetically inferior to what I listened to.

I happen to quite like Call Me Maybe and All the Single Ladies (to pick two recent examples) when I chance to hear them, even though I have no desire to track down those albums or even listen to other songs by those artists. I can appreciate them for what they are and judge whether or not I like them based on my reaction to the music, and not have to filter it through my sense of what music is supposed to sound like.

But that is me in the year 2013. Coming right out of college I wouldn't even have been able to hear Sirens. Now that might just be me, but I suspect everyone who felt challenged by the song, or finds it polarizing, feels something similar (at least in regards to what PEARL JAM is supposed to sound like) to a degree.


(and of course the usual caveat that this is a separate issue from whether or not the song is any good on its merits--this is about why it was so hard to even look for the merits of the song).

I totally agree. And the amount of crap like "Call Me Maybe" that I listen to has grown exponentially for me as I've grown older and various things have come to together to change my identity from the insecure grunge-lover. I'm still pretty insecure about plenty of things, but when it comes to being far more sensitive to the way music is making me feel (that's what depression and therapy does for you), I'm not ashamed anymore when a song just *gets me*. I can analyse the production problems and the structural problems, because I've always done that, but I'm much, much less inclined to be turned off a song for those reasons.

[Habitman]

How good a vocal performance is sirens? How do we think it stacks up with other performances? Top 5? I'm interested to read the responses. I believe it's one of his best which considering his age - that's quite a statement on this song.

[harmless]

How good a vocal performance is sirens? How do we think it stacks up with other performances? Top 5? I'm interested to read the responses. I believe it's one of his best which considering his age - that's quite a statement on this song.

It's great, but I can't escape the feeling that some of it's "fixed".

[zekethomas]

Can someone pm the link to the audio (from the video version) - Thank you

[stip]

How good a vocal performance is sirens? How do we think it stacks up with other performances? Top 5? I'm interested to read the responses. I believe it's one of his best which considering his age - that's quite a statement on this song.

it's very strong, and conveys a lot in some fairly subtle/delicate ways.

[VinylGuy]

How good a vocal performance is sirens? How do we think it stacks up with other performances? Top 5? I'm interested to read the responses. I believe it's one of his best which considering his age - that's quite a statement on this song.

its great...i dont know how will it hold with time; but he sounds awesome in both Mind Your Manners and Sirens; his deep baritone is back.

[harmless]

I read people wishing the guitars emulated sirens a bit more, and I... I think they kind of do. The very echoey "sliding" guitars on the acoustic parts could be said to sound like distant air-raid sirens, and the solo jarringly crunches in like a loud close siren. It's not a huge thing but it's probably something I'd put in a review, were I to write one. I think that those touches add to the song's melancholy atmosphere. I still feel it sounds "sadder" than some people are describing, and that helps.

[WaitingForBluey]

Pearl Jam's early identity was that they (and their fans) stood against this kind of music even though there was always probably a part of them that wanted to embrace it but were too embarrassed to do so because so much of it was mind numbing schlocky crap.

I used to convince myself of this in the early days but I can't buy into this logic anymore. If this was true there would've been at least a dozen PJ songs that would have never been written. As for Last Kiss, well I won't even go there.

[harmless]

Pearl Jam's early identity was that they (and their fans) stood against this kind of music even though there was always probably a part of them that wanted to embrace it but were too embarrassed to do so because so much of it was mind numbing schlocky crap.

I used to convince myself of this in the early days but I can't buy into this logic anymore. If this was true there would've been at least a dozen PJ songs that would have never been written. As for Last Kiss, well I won't even go there.

They didn't write "Last Kiss". And that was delving into 50's Rock and Roll (the foundation for all rock music), not Adult Contemporary radio-friendly stuff. The subject was also a fatal car crash...

[stip]

it was also a one off fun little cover that unexpectedly came to define them. I never felt any tension between vitalogy and leaving here, for instance. Singing someone else's music is different than writing your own.