175. Who Ever Said vs. I Got Shit

[thesound]

I don’t need a reason to vote Who Ever Said, but for those who do... I got shit is only 94.53% pearl jam and 5.47% Neil young so it doesn’t count! My calculation may be off by a margin of 90%... and mind you the Neil Young contributions are epic.

...but actually it is much lower % than that because Brendan O’Brien plays bass on I got shit!

So there you go, now go and vote for WES!

[digster]

I Got Shit is the definite winner here, though I've come to really like Who Ever Said (it wasn't a favorite at first). I particularly like how it introduces the album in contrast to its predecessors; it's content to go its own way in terms of structure (the way in which it moves into that middle/bridge part and stays there for a few minutes and through several verses is the kind of thing that never would have happened on BS and LB). But I still think I Got Shit's a masterful song, and a good indication that they've always been able to write catchy melodies.

[bodysnatcher]

It’s called I Got ID, please show respect

[stip]

it looks like I Got Shit is going to take it, which isn't surprising, but that's a song that thematically feels dated and self-indulgent, in that it utterly wallows in it's own naval gazing grief. Pearl Jam has lots of songs about grief, loss, powerlessness, etc. but almost all of them have the cathartic moment that rises above it. I Got Shit just leans entirely in the other direction. Who Ever Said, on the other hand, is a song that is openly about not giving up on the world around you no matter how shitty it gets and how frustrating the people around you are. It's the right message for 2021, and I Got Shit feels almost irresponsible by contrast. I recognize that is a way of thinking about the music that is a bit idiosyncratic to myself.

[epilogue]

It’s called I Got ID, please show respect

I thought it was I Got Id

[bodysnatcher]

It’s called I Got ID, please show respect

I thought it was I Got Id

It is, I was just EMPHASIZING !

[epilogue]

It’s called I Got ID, please show respect

I thought it was I Got Id

It is, I was just EMPHASIZING !

I Got IT

[Brett]

it looks like I Got Shit is going to take it, which isn't surprising, but that's a song that thematically feels dated and self-indulgent, in that it utterly wallows in it's own naval gazing grief. Pearl Jam has lots of songs about grief, loss, powerlessness, etc. but almost all of them have the cathartic moment that rises above it. I Got Shit just leans entirely in the other direction. Who Ever Said, on the other hand, is a song that is openly about not giving up on the world around you no matter how shitty it gets and how frustrating the people around you are. It's the right message for 2021, and I Got Shit feels almost irresponsible by contrast. I recognize that is a way of thinking about the music that is a bit idiosyncratic to myself.

I'm voting "Who Ever Said" here, but one thing sticks out about your criticism of the lyrical content of "I Got Shit." It's okay to make art that doesn't rise above grief or powerlessness. There are a great many people who lose fights like that every day, and it's totally valid for artists to acknowledge that.

[bodysnatcher]

If “I got shit” had that moment of victory over your grief and powerlessness, stip would just say PJ has written that song before in a better way

[wease]

It’s called I Got ID, please show respect

I thought it was I Got Id

It is, I was just EMPHASIZING !

I Got IT

You got shit

[stip]

it looks like I Got Shit is going to take it, which isn't surprising, but that's a song that thematically feels dated and self-indulgent, in that it utterly wallows in it's own naval gazing grief. Pearl Jam has lots of songs about grief, loss, powerlessness, etc. but almost all of them have the cathartic moment that rises above it. I Got Shit just leans entirely in the other direction. Who Ever Said, on the other hand, is a song that is openly about not giving up on the world around you no matter how shitty it gets and how frustrating the people around you are. It's the right message for 2021, and I Got Shit feels almost irresponsible by contrast. I recognize that is a way of thinking about the music that is a bit idiosyncratic to myself.

I'm voting "Who Ever Said" here, but one thing sticks out about your criticism of the lyrical content of "I Got Shit." It's okay to make art that doesn't rise above grief or powerlessness. There are a great many people who lose fights like that every day, and it's totally valid for artists to acknowledge that.

That's fair, but it's not what I want from this band in particular. And I was struck by the juxtaposition between the two songs today