Pearl Jam underrated/overrated/properly rated

[stip]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/982 ... erly-rated

to sum up

Ten: properly rated
Vs: properly rated
Vitalogy: overrated
No Code: properly rated
Yield: underrated
Binaural: properly rated
Riot Act: underrated
Pearl Jam: overrated
Backspacer: underrated
Lightning bolt: properly rated
B-sides: properly rated
Live show: properly rated
Ticketmaster fight: overrated
mother love bone: overrated
hungerstrike: underrated
unplugged: underrated
jeremy video: underrated
93 mtv vma:underrated
Dave krusen: properly rated
matt chamberlin: underrated
Dave abruzee: underrated
Jack Irons:properly rated
Matt cameron: properly rated

Properly rated is the final conclusion





I do love this description of binaural, btw

Binaural (2000) I once had a conversation with this guy about Pearl Jam in which he claimed that the band's best era was 1998 to 2002. This is the sort of argument a person makes after digesting so much of a particular artist's work that it has driven him to the brink of insanity. It's like saying, "You know, Raging Bull and Goodfellas are solid, but they pale in comparison to Scorsese's output from 1997 to 2002."3 The early '00s were clearly a bad time for Pearl Jam — Mike McCready4 struggled with drug addiction, there was the Roskilde tragedy,5 and the band was perceived by many casual observers as passé. Pearl Jam should've taken an extended break after Yield, but instead it plowed forward with the most dispiriting and deeply confused record of its career. Binaural represents the worst instance of Pearl Jam attempting to make music least suited to its specific skill set — it's a record of dense atmospherics and measured brooding by the most stridently anthemic and emotive band of its generation. What's supposed to be a pained, delicate sigh comes off as a dull, thudding roar. Binaural is a three-dimensional sonic representation of a band being flattened against a psychic brick wall. PROPERLY RATED.

[Heathen]

I almost wish bad things would happen to this person

[bada]

He doesn't like the studio version of Betterman? What about Betterman (live)?

[digster]

Vitalogy (1994) This was the album that skeptical rock critics who had initially dismissed Pearl Jam as grunge carpetbaggers decided was OK to like, probably because it was easily the least likable Pearl Jam album to this point. The typeface on the album cover nods to Harvest, but the album's aesthetic is Time Fades Away. Half of Vitalogy is brilliant, and the other half is terrible; that this was by design doesn't make the tiresome parts any less tiresome. I've loved this album for nearly 20 years, but only recently did I realize that my version of Vitalogy consists of only six songs ("Last Exit," "Not for You," "Tremor Christ," "Nothingman," "Corduroy," and "Immortality") out of a possible 14. That is not a good percentage of plays for a supposedly classic record.1 I think other people similarly misremember Vitalogy's quality — it ranked no. 2 in a Rolling Stone readers' poll about Pearl Jam albums, which is far too high. More than 877,000 people bought Vitalogy the week it came out, and I'm guessing at least 416,000 were disappointed. OVERRATED.

Oh well. Vitalogy had a good run, I guess.

[stip]

I disagreed with a lot of what he said, but I thought he was consistently entertaining in how he said it.

[bodysnatcher]

[given2trade]

Where is Merkinball?

[Sarah.]

I've been waiting for ages for someone to properly review Jeff's hats.

[Heathen]

I like how he can already tell how rated an album that just came out is.

[Tuolumne]

I thought this was a great piece. I disagree on a few parts, I don't think he understands the impact of Vitalogy, but he manages to synthesize the numerous viewpoints on Pearl Jam and he arrives much closer to a certain truth than almost any other piece I've read.

There's sort of a mainstream perception of the band, and then there's sort of an "underworld" (the Tenclub, RM faction of the fanbase) perception. Lately, the mainstream has begun the accept and build in the "underworld" perception into the narrative. They're no longer just the old grungsters, their also the band that perservered and built up this immense following. At the end of the day, as much as is written around here on the internets, it's just ONE vantage point on the band, just as the mainstream has it's vantage point. He found a certain middleground. Not perfectly, but pretty good analysis.

[BurtReynolds]

Im not getting involved in this.

[stupidmop]

I do love this description of binaural, btw

Binaural (2000) I once had a conversation with this guy about Pearl Jam in which he claimed that the band's best era was 1998 to 2002. This is the sort of argument a person makes after digesting so much of a particular artist's work that it has driven him to the brink of insanity. It's like saying, "You know, Raging Bull and Goodfellas are solid, but they pale in comparison to Scorsese's output from 1997 to 2002."3 The early '00s were clearly a bad time for Pearl Jam — Mike McCready4 struggled with drug addiction, there was the Roskilde tragedy,5 and the band was perceived by many casual observers as passé. Pearl Jam should've taken an extended break after Yield, but instead it plowed forward with the most dispiriting and deeply confused record of its career. Binaural represents the worst instance of Pearl Jam attempting to make music least suited to its specific skill set — it's a record of dense atmospherics and measured brooding by the most stridently anthemic and emotive band of its generation. What's supposed to be a pained, delicate sigh comes off as a dull, thudding roar. Binaural is a three-dimensional sonic representation of a band being flattened against a psychic brick wall. PROPERLY RATED.

Your mom's a three-dimensional sonic representation of a band being flattened against a psychic brick wall.

Actually i kinda like that description though I got no fucking clue what it means.

One day the truth of binaurals awesomeness with hit you like a freight train, and you will rue the day you 'meh'd' it. RUE.

[malice]

I almost wish bad things would happen to this person

shut up, punk!

[warehouse]

i feel like the binaural piece should be talking about riot act. roskilde happened after binaural.

[Heathen]

I almost wish bad things would happen to this person

shut up, punk!

why do you hate me? I didn't even marry a model!

[Lament]

Sports are the best.

[malice]

I almost wish bad things would happen to this person

shut up, punk!

why do you hate me? I didn't even marry a model!

alex jones made me do it. I mistook you for a late middle aged rock star. the whole model thing does dispel that for me though

[Heathen]

malice: properly rated

[malice]

malice: properly rated

good bad music

[Noonie]

What a Stipster.