250. Hail Hail vs. Sleight of Hand

Post by **stip** » Sat April 10, 2021 11:13 am

Hail Hail vs. Sleight of Hand

Post by **stip** » Sat April 10, 2021 11:24 am

I love when I get to vote for slightly overrated songs and just root my heart out for them. Hail Hail

thesound · Post by **thesound** » Sat April 10, 2021 11:49 am

Hail Hail is extremely overrated and sleight of hand is slightly overrated.

Sleight of Hand gets my vote but hail hail will win.

Anders · Post by **Anders** » Sat April 10, 2021 12:49 pm

Hail, Hail

SOH had a good run.

liebzz · Post by **liebzz** » Sat April 10, 2021 1:05 pm

Hail, Hail. One of the few Pearl Jam songs to include a comma.

Post by **epilogue** » Sat April 10, 2021 1:06 pm

SOH.

But I wouldn't kick either out of bed, ya know?

mkay0 · Post by **mkay0** » Sat April 10, 2021 3:22 pm

Team comma

VinylGuy · Post by **VinylGuy** » Sat April 10, 2021 3:31 pm

I love both, but im rooting for Soh to win this now.

knee tunes · Post by **knee tunes** » Sat April 10, 2021 4:01 pm

Sleight of Hand

wease · Post by **wease** » Sat April 10, 2021 4:22 pm

Hail Hail

Brett · Post by **Brett** » Sat April 10, 2021 5:33 pm

I've indicated before that "Sleight of Hand" is, to me, the most affecting and moving piece of music that Pearl Jam has ever recorded. I relate quite strongly to the story of getting lost in a life that rarely goes as planned or in ideal directions despite never really experiencing strong or extreme trauma. I can't say why I felt that so strongly at age 17 when I first fell in love with the song, but I certainly feel it at 36 as well. Beyond the lyrical component, the music has also always gripped me, again quite a while before I got into or had even heard of anything like post-rock, ambient, or other more experimental stuff. I guess it's just of part of my DNA to be drawn this song, and in turn the song is now a part of me.

"Hail, Hail" earns a spot in the upper tier of Pearl Jam by being a newly matured take on the band's patented high energy rockers, and it does a nice job of inverting and zig-zagging some of the tropes of the love song form. It definitely doesn't move me like it's opponent, though, and after listening to it to help me write down some of my thoughts, I find that it's lost some of the luster it's had.

"Sleight of Hand" for the win, as always.

PHATJ · Post by **PHATJ** » Sat April 10, 2021 6:10 pm

Sleight of Hand

Kevin Davis · Post by **Kevin Davis** » Sat April 10, 2021 7:51 pm

Brett wrote:I've indicated before that "Sleight of Hand" is, to me, the most affecting and moving piece of music that Pearl Jam has ever recorded. I relate quite strongly to the story of getting lost in a life that rarely goes as planned or in ideal directions despite never really experiencing strong or extreme trauma. I can't say why I felt that so strongly at age 17 when I first fell in love with the song, but I certainly feel it at 36 as well. Beyond the lyrical component, the music has also always gripped me, again quite a while before I got into or had even heard of anything like post-rock, ambient, or other more experimental stuff. I guess it's just of part of my DNA to be drawn this song, and in turn the song is now a part of me.

I have a lot of connection to this one from different parts of my life as well -- it really captures the numb melancholy of a dead-end routine that could apply as much to life as an adolescent (as a private school kid, the line "he'd wake up, wash, and pour himself into uniform" felt pretty poignant at 17) as it could to life as an adult in any number of ruts.

Thurman Murman · Post by **Thurman Murman** » Sat April 10, 2021 8:46 pm

Hail Hail quite easily here.

ABNorman · Post by **ABNorman** » Sat April 10, 2021 9:34 pm

Hail, Hail very easily here.

LetMeSleep · Post by **LetMeSleep** » Sat April 10, 2021 10:21 pm

SoH although Hail Hail is also sublime.

digster · Post by **digster** » Sat April 10, 2021 10:22 pm

Brett wrote:I've indicated before that "Sleight of Hand" is, to me, the most affecting and moving piece of music that Pearl Jam has ever recorded. I relate quite strongly to the story of getting lost in a life that rarely goes as planned or in ideal directions despite never really experiencing strong or extreme trauma. I can't say why I felt that so strongly at age 17 when I first fell in love with the song, but I certainly feel it at 36 as well. Beyond the lyrical component, the music has also always gripped me, again quite a while before I got into or had even heard of anything like post-rock, ambient, or other more experimental stuff. I guess it's just of part of my DNA to be drawn this song, and in turn the song is now a part of me.

Exactly; this song can cut deeper than any other in their catalog if you're in the particular headspace. I just a few years younger when I first heard it, and it also grabbed me initially, but I think at first I felt it very strongly as a warning, a cautionary tale, and probably tied it too closely to being about the kind of working life that doesn't offer any fulfillment. As I've grown with the song, I've learned how much it can pertain to things beyond your work, and like the character in this song, at many different ages I've been struck with the fear that this is all it's going to be and that it's too late to change course.

Anders · Post by **Anders** » Sat April 10, 2021 10:30 pm

It just came up against the best song.

Brett · Post by **Brett** » Sun April 11, 2021 3:41 am

digster wrote:
Brett wrote:I've indicated before that "Sleight of Hand" is, to me, the most affecting and moving piece of music that Pearl Jam has ever recorded. I relate quite strongly to the story of getting lost in a life that rarely goes as planned or in ideal directions despite never really experiencing strong or extreme trauma. I can't say why I felt that so strongly at age 17 when I first fell in love with the song, but I certainly feel it at 36 as well. Beyond the lyrical component, the music has also always gripped me, again quite a while before I got into or had even heard of anything like post-rock, ambient, or other more experimental stuff. I guess it's just of part of my DNA to be drawn this song, and in turn the song is now a part of me.
Exactly; this song can cut deeper than any other in their catalog if you're in the particular headspace. I just a few years younger when I first heard it, and it also grabbed me initially, but I think at first I felt it very strongly as a warning, a cautionary tale, and probably tied it too closely to being about the kind of working life that doesn't offer any fulfillment. As I've grown with the song, I've learned how much it can pertain to things beyond your work, and like the character in this song, at many different ages I've been struck with the fear that this is all it's going to be and that it's too late to change course.

Y'know, I think you're onto something with that whole cautionary tale thing. That probably was what first endeared me to the song's subject matter, especially being the oldest of four brothers raised by a single mom. I think I had anxiety about being in similar sort of near-drowning life situation. Thankfully, I've managed to avoid getting that mired by life's shit so far.

Red Mosquito