37. River Cross vs. Ghost

[stip]

River Cross vs. Ghost

[Leatherhead]

First time I'm going to vote against a Gigaton song, fucking love Ghost.

[knee tunes]

G

[Bammer]

This is a slam dunk

[stip]

This is really tough. I like Ghost a lot. Nice muscular sound, and some great Mike moments.


River Cross is Pearl Jam's Everybody Hurts for me (though Everybody Hurts is a better song). It's a good song, but if it catches me at the right time it still moves me to tears. The 'chorus' verses are remarkable in the comforting and cleansing way they wash over you before dissolving back into something harsh and jagged - until the last sequence when it resolves into the solidarity of the outro.

Drifting off in the undertow
Can't spot a figure on dry land
And afterthoughts of safety
When in truth, none to be had
None to be had

Wide awake through this deepest night
Still waiting on the sun
As the hours seem to multiply
Find a star to soldier on
Living beneath a lion's paw
Knowing nothing can be tamed
Can be tamed

While the government thrives on discontent
And there's no such thing as clear
Proselytizing and profitizing
As our will all but disappears
Folded over, forced in a choke hold
Outnumbered and held down
And all these talk of rapture
Look around at the promise now


This would not have been nearly as powerful had it not come out in the early days of COVID, but it did, and it will forever be linked to that moment. It helped me process quite a bit during an overwhelming time.


So River Cross

[liebzz]

Ghost is a great track. Much as I love River Cross, it can’t compete.

[tragabigzanda]

That first solo on Ghost doesn’t get enough respect

[LetMeSleep]

Ghost every day.

[epilogue]

Ghost every day.

[Jaeti]

Maybe the weirdest matchup, to my ears, so far. Like both of these songs. Both 3.5s for me, I'd say.

I've kind of only really come to appreciate Ghost in the past few years. For a long time it was pretty skipable for me, but I know several times over the past year I've just been in the mood to listen to it as a one-off.

I think that, over time, River Cross will only become more affecting. It arrived in the context of Covid, but there's a lot in it that will hit harder later on as I encounter situations from which I don't escape personally/emotionally unscathed.

So, River Cross.

[Bammer]

I was really hoping River Cross would get 0 votes

[VinylGuy]

As much as i loooove Ghost, and i even got it live and went nuts with it, River Cross is wonderful. Its in another league for me.

[mkay0]

That first solo on Ghost doesn’t get enough respect

Could maybe say this about half of Riot Act. Mike rips on it, and there are some live versions of those songs that absolutely transcend. Get Right, Ghost, All or None, Half Full can be some serious gems.

[stip]

i dont recall any live versions of get right and ghost that struck a chord. the riot act atmosphere really elevates both of those songs and live energy isnt a substitute (and almost feels out of place)

[VinylGuy]

Ghost was super good on Alpine Valley 2011. But i agree, there are some RA songs that doesnt sound as good live as in the studio. They are also super under performed songs live so thats maybe why.

[digster]

The version of Ghost from Live at the Showbox was outstanding (it used to be on Youtube, I'm not sure what happened).

Anyways, I'm going with Ghost here. The song has tremendously improved over the years, from something I tended to skip (along with Cropduster); now those songs anchor a really strong first half to Riot Act for me. The melody is kind of down in the dirt, and I like the intermingling of military language with the singer's psyche; it underlines the interweaving personal and political malaise woven throughout the record.

I like River Cross, but I feel that Gigaton, like many of their latter-day records, starts to lose a bit of steam in the back third. It's nowhere near the issue it is on Backspacer, for example, but I'd say I've listened to River Cross less than almost everything on Gigaton. It feels like a song that's there because they needed a song like that as a closer. It's still good, but my ability to vote for it was always going to depend on what it was up against.

[PHATJ]

First time I'm going to vote against a Gigaton song.

[Stardog Champion]

I voted for Ghost. I like River Cross, but I feel like I might need more time with it before I start voting for it in situations like this. I guess its newness is just working against it a bit here for me.