181. Insignificance vs. Breath

Post by **stip** » Thu April 01, 2021 12:07 am

Insignificance vs. Breath

VinylGuy · Post by **VinylGuy** » Thu April 01, 2021 12:11 am

super hard. Breath is such a great song, the mood, the guitar solo....but im going for Insignificance.

Anders · Post by **Anders** » Thu April 01, 2021 12:15 am

Insignificance is a five star song.

Post by **stip** » Thu April 01, 2021 12:16 am

I do think Insignificance is a masterfully written song. It's one of those songs that, while not a favorite, I totally get why people adore. And I really like it. It's more sophisticated than Breath. But Breath is a shot of pure, undistilled, Ten era goodness. And the 'if I knew where it was...' moment into the solo is a catalog highlight. It gets my vote.

Post by **stip** » Thu April 01, 2021 12:17 am

Anders wrote:Insignificance is a five star song.

I think both of these probably are, for different reasons

Anders · Post by **Anders** » Thu April 01, 2021 12:19 am

stip wrote:
Anders wrote:Insignificance is a five star song.
I think both of these probably are, for different reasons

Breath is very good too. Reminds me of Singles.

LetMeSleep · Post by **LetMeSleep** » Thu April 01, 2021 12:21 am

Now we're talking. Insignificance however Breath is stellar.

Post by **stip** » Thu April 01, 2021 12:22 am

I think Breath is gonna lose big, but there's no shame losing to Insignificance. I suspect this will be closer than the score

digster · Post by **digster** » Thu April 01, 2021 12:25 am

Insignificance I've gone on about, so I'll hold it here. Breath is good, though IMO it suffers a bit from some of that, for lack of a better term, 'rawk' feeling that can plague some of PJ's early stuff (though it's more apparent in songs like Leash or Hold On).

Post by **stip** » Thu April 01, 2021 12:28 am

It's definitely there, but I feel like a song like Breath is where they get it absolutely right - the platonic form of Pearl Jam rawk. It's the songs like Leash or Hold On that border just a little bit on self-parody. The thing about Breath is that none of the other pearl jam imitators could have pulled that off. I do like Hold On, but someone else could have written and performed it.

Jaeti · Post by **Jaeti** » Thu April 01, 2021 12:42 am

Nothing bad to say about Breath, but this is clearly Insignificance for me.

E.H. Ruddock · Post by **E.H. Ruddock** » Thu April 01, 2021 1:14 am

I like Breath better

Thurman Murman · Post by **Thurman Murman** » Thu April 01, 2021 1:34 am

This one is really, really tough...and i agree with the sentiment that these are two 5 star songs.

I'm going with Insignificance, but its really close.

Jaeti · Post by **Jaeti** » Thu April 01, 2021 1:58 am

Kinda surprised at the degree of the blowout here.

blueviper · Post by **blueviper** » Thu April 01, 2021 2:06 am

I can’t stand Insignificance

dad · Post by **dad** » Thu April 01, 2021 2:24 am

This was tough. I voted Breath, but damnit I love Insignificance.

liebzz · Post by **liebzz** » Thu April 01, 2021 2:35 am

Insignificance for me. Another song I’ll be hard pressed to ever vote against. I love Breath as much as the next person but it ain’t Insignificance.

Post by **epilogue** » Thu April 01, 2021 2:48 am

E.H. Ruddock wrote:I like Breath better

This surprises me.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Thu April 01, 2021 3:11 am

Love them both, and I get that Breath has that raw rock quality that us 40-somethings grew up on, but Insignificance to me is really interesting and more definitive.

PHATJ · Post by **PHATJ** » Thu April 01, 2021 4:17 am

Insignificance has grown on me possibly more than any other PJ song over the years. What I one considered a bottom third of Binaural song, I know believe is quite possibly a top 10 Pearl Jam song. And I don’t think anyone that labels it as one of the best is crazy at all. It’s an amazing song, and a damn big reason why Binaural is my favorite Pearl Jam album of all time. Easy 5 Stars. And yes, I’m stoned.

Red Mosquito