91. Hard to Imagine vs. Rats

[stip]

91. Hard to Imagine vs. Rats

[stip]

Hard to Imagine for the live performances. There are a few matches this round where i'd take both songs over either of these

[stip]

Actually just two. This feels like the weakest of the second round matches

[Birds in Hell]

RM, you're messing this up already.

[LetMeSleep]

Rats. Come on, people.

[Knabetnuom]

At first listen the sane vote is Hard To Imagine, how could it not be? While the song never again quite reached the moody, dreamy heights of its live performance at Slim's in 1993, it remains the hit single that never was, a tune one could point to and name quintessential Pearl Jam, Ed's mysterious half-formed lyrics and voice at its most potent, the ballad like opening slowly growing in strength to rumble along at a sweet mid tempo groove with an outro to rival the paeans they were (seemingly) effortlessly creating back then.

The power of the song is in the way the instruments interlock, musical notes connecting and pulling apart, supplying weight or leaving space as needed, a song capturing the feeing of being on the cusp of sleep, waking or falling it doesn't matter; sustaining that emotion throughout a gentle anthem while maintaining its dreamlike state.

For that alone, it should earn an easy vote.

Not so fast.

Who else but Eddie Vedder could take one of the most reviled creatures on this planet, the Chordata Rodentia and pen a funky, explosive, and cathartic anthem over the deliciously thick groove of the "A-brothers" rhythm section. By cleverly drawing out the perceived virtues of rats over people Eddie has the listener cheering along to creatures they'd be disturbed by to see in person, not just cheering but pumping their fists in their air for yet another empowering outro as Dave's drums lay down their funkiest of beats, lending credence to the untold drummer theory that...well...that would be telling, wouldn't it?

Let's instead focus on that pounding, the sticks like bones driving into flesh, like the flesh of a rat which are all too similar to bats, which are nothing but flying rodents and deserve to be bashed and beaten and broken and bloodied and so I VOTE FOR BATS BATS BATS HAHHAHAHAHHAHAH BATSMAN BATS BATMAN 1 VOTE FOR BATMAN ALL VOTES FOR BATMAN BATS HAHAHAHAHA BATS BATS THEY DON'T EAT CAUSE HE'S DEAD I KILLED HIM HAHAHAHAHAH BATS BATS MAN BATS BAT

[ABNorman]

Hard to Imagine and Rats met in 2014. HtI won with 56 votes to 29. This one looks a bit closer!

[Anders]

Actually just two. This feels like the weakest of the second round matches

Yes. HTI

[JuanHamm]

Guys it's Rats