123. Dance of the Clairvoyants vs. Nothingman

[stip]

Voting for Nothingman mostly because I'm sick of Stip's condescending attitude and assumptions.

my apologies

Also attitudes i get. assumptions?

[epilogue]

Voting for Nothingman mostly because I'm sick of Stip's condescending attitude and assumptions.

my apologies

Also attitudes i get. assumptions?

DON'T PLAY INNOCENT WITH ME

[ABNorman]

Oh no, I voted Nothingman 'cuz it looked like Dance would handily take it and now I have to decide for real.

[epilogue]

Oh no, I voted Nothingman 'cuz it looked like Dance would handily take it and now I have to decide for real.

I changed my jokingly mad a stip Nothingman vote to a sincere Dance vote a few minutes ago.

[liebzz]

Dance. Nothingman is great, but I do love Dance of the Clairvoyants. Voted for it I think nearly every round so far.

[Kevin Davis]

I went with "Nothingman," even though I love "Dance." This isn't meant to be overly negative but I feel like even the best of modern PJ -- and "Dance" is unquestionably that -- just doesn't have that same x factor (which I am sure comprises, among other things, years of meaning and personal experience) that really pushes that stuff from my favorite years into that uppermost echelon for me. This doesn't affect my enjoyment of the song in the moment, but an A/B exercise just highlights how far apart these eras of the band are in my heart.

[epilogue]

I look back on my Vitalogy experience and the best way to describe it is with the now outdated Facebook parlance "It's Complicated."

However, Nothingman was a song that grabbed me early. I certainly liked it more than Spin The Black Circle which was a dangerous lead single for a fan like me. I had to try to like STBC. I had to say I liked it out loud to my friends until it became true. But Nothingman was an instant get. While there was never a time that I called it the best song on the record, I wouldn't have argued with any fan who did.

The song has maintained it's level all these decades. It's never really gone up or down in my estimation. It's constant. It's consistent. It's a great song on an album of exceptional songs.

Dance of the Clairvoyants, though...

Just as instant for me as Nothingman but twice as potent. I played Dance on a loop for the better part of an entire morning when it first dropped. Like, three or four hours straight. And then again the next day. Dance is the best song on its album. And Dance, to me, is among the best songs the band has ever released. It's power transcends Nothingman's nostalgia. Yes, I've had more time with Nothingman. Yes, I've had personal experiences that have been able to color and enhance Nothingman. But Dance already hits me harder and pulls me in more often.

Dance speaks to me on a primal level that is more potent and powerful than time spent or distance traveled. It's immediate and it's forever.

Put another way, if Nothingman was the only song I'd ever heard by Pearl Jam, I'm sure I'd put it on some playlists and mixes from time to time. But I wouldn't constantly search for info on the band or a full album release date.

If Dance was the only song I'd ever heard by Pearl Jam, though... There's a chance, a feeling in my gut, that they could just maybe be my favorite band.

[Kevin Davis]

Beautiful post, Joe.

[epilogue]

Beautiful post, Joe.

Hey man, I'm just trying to keep pace with you.

[Strat]

I look back on my Vitalogy experience and the best way to describe it is with the now outdated Facebook parlance "It's Complicated."

However, Nothingman was a song that grabbed me early. I certainly liked it more than Spin The Black Circle which was a dangerous lead single for a fan like me. I had to try to like STBC. I had to say I liked it out loud to my friends until it became true. But Nothingman was an instant get. While there was never a time that I called it the best song on the record, I wouldn't have argued with any fan who did.

The song has maintained it's level all these decades. It's never really gone up or down in my estimation. It's constant. It's consistent. It's a great song on an album of exceptional songs.

Dance of the Clairvoyants, though...

Just as instant for me as Nothingman but twice as potent. I played Dance on a loop for the better part of an entire morning when it first dropped. Like, three or four hours straight. And then again the next day. Dance is the best song on its album. And Dance, to me, is among the best songs the band has ever released. It's power transcends Nothingman's nostalgia. Yes, I've had more time with Nothingman. Yes, I've had personal experiences that have been able to color and enhance Nothingman. But Dance already hits me harder and pulls me in more often.

Dance speaks to me on a primal level that is more potent and powerful than time spent or distance traveled. It's immediate and it's forever.

Put another way, if Nothingman was the only song I'd ever heard by Pearl Jam, I'm sure I'd put it on some playlists and mixes from time to time. But I wouldn't constantly search for info on the band or a full album release date.

If Dance was the only song I'd ever heard by Pearl Jam, though... There's a chance, a feeling in my gut, that they could just maybe be my favorite band.

And then you’d put on sweet Lew and wonder what the fuck you just got yourself into!


I’m going with dance, folks.

[epilogue]

[Leatherhead]

Dance, no question.

[The Argonaut]

I'll give you five bucks to change your vote, strat. jk

[Monkey_Driven]

Easily Dance

[digster]

Nothingman, though these are both fantastic. One's just more so to me.

[tragabigzanda]

Excellent post Joe.

I’m holding tight for Nothingman , but that was a great read and I can’t argue with a word of it

[epilogue]

And to be clear, I love both of these songs and I want both to advance. So, it's ultimately win/win for me. But I have to pick one and for the reasons I've already stated, I have to go Dance.

[macphisto]

Excellent post Joe.

I’m holding tight for Nothingman , but that was a great read and I can’t argue with a word of it

I loved the part where he lied to himself and his friends.

[epilogue]

Excellent post Joe.

I’m holding tight for Nothingman , but that was a great read and I can’t argue with a word of it

I loved the part where he lied to himself and his friends.

Stay classy, fist.

[JuanHamm]

Excellent post Joe.

I’m holding tight for Nothingman , but that was a great read and I can’t argue with a word of it

I loved the part where he lied to himself and his friends.

There are two kinds of people in the world, those that lie to themselves and those that lie to themselves about lying to themselves.