Lightning Bolt: The Official Album Thread

[fishbob]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.avclub.com/articles/pearl-ja ... -b,104188/

"Well, I think that song’s good, but I don’t think it’s a standout. It’s not my favorite song on the record; I like it a lot and I’m glad it’s on there."

Phew

[Release_Me]

There are so many different things so enjoy in music aside from the vocal melodies. Even songs completely lacking a vocal melody can be enjoyable! Fascinating, I know. For a Pearl Jam example: See the verses of Push Me, Pull Me or the three Binaural instrumentals.

I hope I'm not being misinterpreted. My beef isn't with dark Pearl Jam. Ten, Vs and Vitalogy are my favourite albums and they have their fair share of darkness. Dark songs can be melodic as many of those are. Bright songs can also be melodic. There is no mutually exclusive rule there. My beef is with the middle period albums which have all the darkness (maybe more) of early PJ but none of the melody (to my ears). I would love Sleight of Hand if atmosphere alone was enough for me. It's just not. Vocals and melody are what make or break songs for me. You can be different in that you'll listen to something repeatedly for it's other musical aspects. I probably won't.

[Mike]

There are so many different things so enjoy in music aside from the vocal melodies. Even songs completely lacking a vocal melody can be enjoyable! Fascinating, I know. For a Pearl Jam example: See the verses of Push Me, Pull Me or the three Binaural instrumentals.

I hope I'm not being misinterpreted. My beef isn't with dark Pearl Jam. Ten, Vs and Vitalogy are my favourite albums and they have their fair share of darkness. Dark songs can be melodic as many of those are. Bright songs can also be melodic. There is no mutually exclusive rule there. My beef is with the middle period albums which have all the darkness (maybe more) of early PJ but none of the melody (to my ears). I would love Sleight of Hand if atmosphere alone was enough for me. It's just not. Vocals and melody are what make or break songs for me. You can be different in that you'll listen to something repeatedly for it's other musical aspects. I probably won't.

Oh, no, I didn't mean to imply something about you. I just felt the need to say that some people might think songs are great even without a wonderful vocal melody when there's enough other things that are great. (Not saying that Binaural and Riot Act have bad vocal melodies, I love most of these.)

[ABNorman]

I'm in the "vocal melody is super important" camp. I can appreciate a song with atmosphere, unique instrumentation or other things, but if I'm not singing the melody in my head at random times, it's just not going to stay on the playlist. Pearl Jam's always mostly been about the Ved to me. That's my beef with Yellow Moon: there's nothing in the vocals to hang on to.

That said, there's a good few Pearl Jam songs that people wouldn't consider melodic that I really love, so I'm totally inconsistent on this.

[dimejinky99]

Something I've always wondered about. (In relation to SBM mostly)

Where in history did it begin that songs had really sad lyrics or were about heartbreak, and yet come with really happy melodies?

Was it the everly brothers or one of those bands?

Is always wondered about that

[ABNorman]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.avclub.com/articles/pearl-ja ... -b,104188/

"Well, I think that song’s good, but I don’t think it’s a standout. It’s not my favorite song on the record; I like it a lot and I’m glad it’s on there."

Phew

I think these AVClub "behind the scenes" type interviews are often a bit more candid than elsewhere. That's why I like 'em.

[fishbob]

There are so many different things so enjoy in music aside from the vocal melodies. Even songs completely lacking a vocal melody can be enjoyable! Fascinating, I know. For a Pearl Jam example: See the verses of Push Me, Pull Me or the three Binaural instrumentals.

I hope I'm not being misinterpreted. My beef isn't with dark Pearl Jam. Ten, Vs and Vitalogy are my favourite albums and they have their fair share of darkness. Dark songs can be melodic as many of those are. Bright songs can also be melodic. There is no mutually exclusive rule there. My beef is with the middle period albums which have all the darkness (maybe more) of early PJ but none of the melody (to my ears). I would love Sleight of Hand if atmosphere alone was enough for me. It's just not. Vocals and melody are what make or break songs for me. You can be different in that you'll listen to something repeatedly for it's other musical aspects. I probably won't.

I have a pretty big problem with this statement right here.

[dimejinky99]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.avclub.com/articles/pearl-ja ... -b,104188/

"Well, I think that song’s good, but I don’t think it’s a standout. It’s not my favorite song on the record; I like it a lot and I’m glad it’s on there."

Phew

I think these AVClub "behind the scenes" type interviews are often a bit more candid than elsewhere. That's why I like 'em.

Great find and great interview. Thanks for that.

[Heathen]

There are so many different things so enjoy in music aside from the vocal melodies. Even songs completely lacking a vocal melody can be enjoyable! Fascinating, I know. For a Pearl Jam example: See the verses of Push Me, Pull Me or the three Binaural instrumentals.

I hope I'm not being misinterpreted. My beef isn't with dark Pearl Jam. Ten, Vs and Vitalogy are my favourite albums and they have their fair share of darkness. Dark songs can be melodic as many of those are. Bright songs can also be melodic. There is no mutually exclusive rule there. My beef is with the middle period albums which have all the darkness (maybe more) of early PJ but none of the melody (to my ears). I would love Sleight of Hand if atmosphere alone was enough for me. It's just not. Vocals and melody are what make or break songs for me. You can be different in that you'll listen to something repeatedly for it's other musical aspects. I probably won't.

I have a pretty big problem with this statement right here.

Yeah me too. I don't see how SoH has no melody.

[fishbob]

There are so many different things so enjoy in music aside from the vocal melodies. Even songs completely lacking a vocal melody can be enjoyable! Fascinating, I know. For a Pearl Jam example: See the verses of Push Me, Pull Me or the three Binaural instrumentals.

I hope I'm not being misinterpreted. My beef isn't with dark Pearl Jam. Ten, Vs and Vitalogy are my favourite albums and they have their fair share of darkness. Dark songs can be melodic as many of those are. Bright songs can also be melodic. There is no mutually exclusive rule there. My beef is with the middle period albums which have all the darkness (maybe more) of early PJ but none of the melody (to my ears). I would love Sleight of Hand if atmosphere alone was enough for me. It's just not. Vocals and melody are what make or break songs for me. You can be different in that you'll listen to something repeatedly for it's other musical aspects. I probably won't.

I have a pretty big problem with this statement right here.

Yeah me too. I don't see how SoH has no melody.

Applying this to music in a broader sense too, I'd hate to have this attitude

[Fuzzcharger]

I can't believe Release_Me is still going strong as he was an hour or so ago on the same topic.

[fishbob]

He's a trooper, I'll give him that

[Fuzzcharger]

So much darkness.

[Birds in Hell]

The moment everyone was waiting for!

Obligatory negative pitchfork review
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/186 ... ning-bolt/

And yet, even an exhaustive documentary produced by a super-fan like Crowe doesn’t have much to say about the band’s post-millennial output—because there’s really not a lot to say. Pearl Jam ceased long ago to be a band that makes records with any sense of occasion to them: no intriguing backstory, no conceptual constructs to shape the album’s identity, no new contemporary influences that might push them in an unexpected direction. You just get another nine to 13 Pearl Jam songs that—as per the quiet/loud division of 2004 anthology Rearviewmirror—can be easily slotted into one of two categories. (Even the tracklist sequences are invariably similar: the second song will be a no-fuss rocker that serves as the single, and the album will inevitably close with a wistfully earnest ballad.) Pearl Jam are arguably the only modern rock band of note that consciously moved away from its formative, hit-making sound—in the period spanning Vitalogy through to 2000’s Binaural—but came out the other side an even more traditional, predictable band.

Yeah, these guys just don't get Pearl Jam at all!

[Fuzzcharger]

The moment everyone was waiting for!

Obligatory negative pitchfork review
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/186 ... ning-bolt/

And yet, even an exhaustive documentary produced by a super-fan like Crowe doesn’t have much to say about the band’s post-millennial output—because there’s really not a lot to say. Pearl Jam ceased long ago to be a band that makes records with any sense of occasion to them: no intriguing backstory, no conceptual constructs to shape the album’s identity, no new contemporary influences that might push them in an unexpected direction. You just get another nine to 13 Pearl Jam songs that—as per the quiet/loud division of 2004 anthology Rearviewmirror—can be easily slotted into one of two categories. (Even the tracklist sequences are invariably similar: the second song will be a no-fuss rocker that serves as the single, and the album will inevitably close with a wistfully earnest ballad.) Pearl Jam are arguably the only modern rock band of note that consciously moved away from its formative, hit-making sound—in the period spanning Vitalogy through to 2000’s Binaural—but came out the other side an even more traditional, predictable band.

Yeah, these guys just don't get Pearl Jam at all!

[Birds in Hell]

This bit was good too:

And “My Father’s Son” is the rare latter-day Pearl Jam rave-up to put the spotlight on bassist Jeff Ament, whose sense of groove—once the cornerstone of the band’s sound—has been deemphasized by band’s ever-growing propensity for straight-ahead, chug-a-lug rockers.

[Noaheb]

Is this the album we've been waiting for?
The one that signifies the beginning of a new era where albums come out every couple of years again and b-sides are brought back into the fold as well as xmas singles that dont suck?

No, it is not.

thank you kind sir or madam

You are welcome. And thank you for respecting my right to sexual ambiguity.

You know, to be fully respectful he could have said "and/or".

As could have you about me missy

[fishbob]

Am I the only one that doesn't think Mind Your Manners sounds like fucking Spin The Black Circle at all?
Fuck that

"OMG it's fast so it must be exactly like that fast song they did in the 90s"

fuck you

[stip]

First post on the forum. I've been a huge Pearl Jam fan since their inception, even had a chance meeting with them when I was only 13 years old in Pittsburgh in 1992 during the Lollapalooza tour. Anyway, after Backspacer, I thought Pearl Jam was done. In my opinion they hadn't made a decent album since Binaural, so imagine my surprise when I put Lightning Bolt in for a spin and it was actually full of great tunes. Really enjoying this album upon first listen and I think it will end up comparing favorably to Binaural, Yield and Vs in the PJ canon.

Welcome to the board

[Heathen]

Obligatory negative pitchfork review
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/186 ... ning-bolt/

*mixed