173. Sometimes vs. Present Tense

Post by **stip** » Wed March 31, 2021 12:20 am

Sometimes vs. Present Tense

wease · Post by **wease** » Wed March 31, 2021 12:51 am

Sometimes I like Present Tense
Sometimes I don’t

Post by **stip** » Wed March 31, 2021 12:52 am

Once upon a time this would have been an easy vote for Present Tense. Now I'm not sure. Maybe Sometimes, which I think has probably aged a bit better for me, though the outro of Present Tense is pretty great.

wease · Post by **wease** » Wed March 31, 2021 12:54 am

The outro is about the only part I care about anymore

JuanHamm · Post by **JuanHamm** » Wed March 31, 2021 12:55 am

Sometimes, but I love both of them. I remember how lucky I felt in 2003 to see them perform present tense live at about half the shows that I went to.

Jaeti · Post by **Jaeti** » Wed March 31, 2021 1:06 am

This is a weird, tough one. Two 5-stars from my favorite album.

It's true that the outro to Present Tense is what feels profound about it, not the lyrics. If I'm being honest, that dings it a bit. But I still like the verses, even if they don't pack the same punch as when I was a teenager. In any case, the outro still does about as much for me as the whole of Sometimes.

I can admit I might be a bit in denial about Sometimes actually being the better song, but I'm not going to vote for it. Maybe next year.

PHATJ · Post by **PHATJ** » Wed March 31, 2021 2:40 am

Easy vote for Present Tense for me. I still adore that song.

Post by **epilogue** » Wed March 31, 2021 3:04 am

Sometimes

VinylGuy · Post by **VinylGuy** » Wed March 31, 2021 3:28 am

Its MJ sitting watching outside...and PT playing. yes.

tragabigzanda · Post by **tragabigzanda** » Wed March 31, 2021 3:29 am

Ugh you guys are really blowing this one

Norah · Post by **Norah** » Wed March 31, 2021 3:52 am

for real

knee tunes · Post by **knee tunes** » Wed March 31, 2021 3:53 am

LetMeSleep · Post by **LetMeSleep** » Wed March 31, 2021 3:55 am

epilogue wrote:Sometimes

Lovely song

VinylGuy · Post by **VinylGuy** » Wed March 31, 2021 3:55 am

you guys want sometimes to win?

PHATJ · Post by **PHATJ** » Wed March 31, 2021 3:58 am

Present Tense is great. Some of you have issues with the supposedly sophomoric lyrics, I guess. I don’t really care about that, the lyrics have always been fine in my opinion. But even if you don’t like the lyrics, what’s not to absolutely love of the music? It’s delicate, and moving, and powerful, and that crescendo is really wonderful and such a great example of what I love about Pearl Jam musically. Present Tense remains my favorite song on No Code.

LetMeSleep · Post by **LetMeSleep** » Wed March 31, 2021 4:00 am

VinylGuy wrote:you guys want sometimes to win?

Only because it's the better song.

Anders · Post by **Anders** » Wed March 31, 2021 6:00 am

Two top tier five star songs. Really difficult.

Higgs · Post by **Higgs** » Wed March 31, 2021 7:01 am

PT for me. Never really felt Sometimes tbh.

Anders · Post by **Anders** » Wed March 31, 2021 7:33 am

It’s a wonderful start to the best Pearl Jam album.

ABNorman · Post by **ABNorman** » Wed March 31, 2021 10:19 am

These days I'd rather listen to Sometimes. Perfect opener.

Red Mosquito