Lightning Bolt: The Official Album Thread

[Jorge]

Haha Maids Magazine

[Revelator]

big gestures left ungested.

I love this. Let this not go unappreciated, people.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

I don't think any band's fanbase is as hung up about what Pitchfork has to say about their beloved as Pearl Jam's are.

i havent been following this thread much this afternoon, but are people really worried? i thought it was a decent but totally expected write up by them, i dont think they will ever like a PJ album but i could care less

95% of the people I've ever met have not been impressed that I am a Pearl Jam fan. I really don't care what most reviewers have to say.

thats pretty much been my whole life a few people i knew liked them when i was in high school but no code took care of all of them

[Jaeti]

that's cool. Who do you write for?

Antiquiet

Grunge Report.

Absolute Punk

Grantland.

Maids Magazine

Highlights

Zillions.

Guideposts

[Lament]

that's cool. Who do you write for?

Antiquiet

Grunge Report.

Absolute Punk

Grantland.

Maids Magazine

Highlights

Zillions.

Guideposts

Dr. Ron Paul's Freedom Report.

[stip]

that's cool. Who do you write for?

Antiquiet

Grunge Report.

Absolute Punk

Grantland.

Maids Magazine

Highlights

Zillions.

Guideposts

Dr. Ron Paul's Freedom Report.

we'll have to ask Human Bass what he thinks of Platy's reviews.

[Sarah.]

I don't think any band's fanbase is as hung up about what Pitchfork has to say about their beloved as Pearl Jam's are.

i havent been following this thread much this afternoon, but are people really worried? i thought it was a decent but totally expected write up by them, i dont think they will ever like a PJ album but i could care less

95% of the people I've ever met have not been impressed that I am a Pearl Jam fan. I really don't care what most reviewers have to say.

thats pretty much been my whole life a few people i knew liked them when i was in high school but no code took care of all of them

It's easier and much less weird to tell people I keep lizards and bugs as pets, than to say I'm a PJ fan.

[BurtReynolds]

I don't think any band's fanbase is as hung up about what Pitchfork has to say about their beloved as Pearl Jam's are.

i havent been following this thread much this afternoon, but are people really worried? i thought it was a decent but totally expected write up by them, i dont think they will ever like a PJ album but i could care less

95% of the people I've ever met have not been impressed that I am a Pearl Jam fan. I really don't care what most reviewers have to say.

thats pretty much been my whole life a few people i knew liked them when i was in high school but no code took care of all of them

It's easier and much less weird to tell people I keep lizards and bugs as pets, than to say I'm a PJ fan.

oh you're one of those...

[McParadigm]

My point is that an artist does not need to challenge themselves just for the sake of doing it.

I get that. But the implications are that safety is just as strong a platform for art as any other and that, should you find yourself happy with the comfortable known, there's no substantial inherit benefit to pushing yourself or looking further.

Which is not completely different from saying "I know enough about my field to fill a reasonably engaging syllabus, so continuing to learn and update my understandings within my field is a pretty purposeless endeavor."

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

I don't think any band's fanbase is as hung up about what Pitchfork has to say about their beloved as Pearl Jam's are.

i havent been following this thread much this afternoon, but are people really worried? i thought it was a decent but totally expected write up by them, i dont think they will ever like a PJ album but i could care less

95% of the people I've ever met have not been impressed that I am a Pearl Jam fan. I really don't care what most reviewers have to say.

thats pretty much been my whole life a few people i knew liked them when i was in high school but no code took care of all of them

It's easier and much less weird to tell people I keep lizards and bugs as pets, than to say I'm a PJ fan.

thats probably pretty true

[McParadigm]

I don't think any band's fanbase is as hung up about what Pitchfork has to say about their beloved as Pearl Jam's are.

i havent been following this thread much this afternoon, but are people really worried? i thought it was a decent but totally expected write up by them, i dont think they will ever like a PJ album but i could care less

95% of the people I've ever met have not been impressed that I am a Pearl Jam fan. I really don't care what most reviewers have to say.

thats pretty much been my whole life a few people i knew liked them when i was in high school but no code took care of all of them

It's easier and much less weird to tell people I keep lizards and bugs as pets, than to say I'm a PJ fan.

oh you're one of those...

I almost married one of those.

People I've talked to about Pearl Jam have tended to know Vs, the Yield era, more recently, Backspacer better than they knew Ten...and to be pretty up about the band. Maybe this is why the band perceives themselves as not popular enough in the Plains states to bother going there. "Well, we played Even Flow and Breath back to back, and they all took a pee break. They must hate us."

[pnjguy]

It's hard to argue against the Pitchfork review, it's not like they're biased against the band. After hearing the album, i knew Pitchfork would not like it because this album, by in large isn't much different than previous releases. It's a lot better than Backspacer, and marginally better than Avocado, but that's not going to register to the outside demographic or a very critical review because the standards are much higher. My standards are low ever since Backspacer, so i can appreciate the record a lot more. I still hold on to just a little hope somewhere in my being that Ed will allow the band to get weirder and he stops being apprehensive to the fact that he doesn't have to cater to anyone other than his band mates. He holds the opinions of BOB and his fans a little too highly. It's not easy considering he's the face of a band with a wide range of fans, and it's apparent that he's very conscious what the outsider's think. By his own admission, he wishes he was more like Neil, but he isn't.

[stip]

My point is that an artist does not need to challenge themselves just for the sake of doing it.

I get that. But the implications are that safety is just as strong a platform for art as any other and that, should you find yourself happy with the comfortable known, there's no substantial inherit benefit to pushing yourself or looking further.

Which is not completely different from saying "I know enough about my field to fill a reasonably engaging syllabus, so continuing to learn and update my understandings within my field is a pretty purposeless endeavor."

It is. If we're running with this analogy, my assumption is you need to keep updating yourself within your field to stay current and interesting. Not groundbreaking, perhaps, but that's okay. The risk of, say, going into an entirely new area is that, if you get it wrong, your end product is worse off.

So to go back to the music my point is that neither platform is inherently strong or weak. It depends on whether you're able to write meaningful music. I think pearl jam can still do that within their existing parameters. If they couldn't, they'd need to to stretch out. they can try to experiment and maybe they'll get it right. I tend to think that's often where they misfire. I think this record strikes a good balance.

[LostDog1079]

The only song I'm not feeling right now is "Future Days". The song itself is ok, but I'm not digging it as much as the rest of the album.

[stip]

this is a serious question that I don't know the answer to. When was the last time neil young released a record that was totally unexpected and challenged your perception of what Neil young is. And that challenged a neutral party's conception of what Neil Young is.

[Lament]

Maybe This Note's For You?

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

its no secret that i am a big fan of this album, but i will say that i dont know what they were going for with the way they tracked it. im sure it was talked about while i was still waiting to hear the album, but im not sure if they were trying to say somehting with the order of the tracks or if they just threw them on there randomly

[Heathen]

Le Noise was rather unexpected

[super nintendo chalmers]

Volcom midnight deal here in NY was a shit show. I can't even articulate my disgust right now.

How about now?

Let's hear it.

Okay. I’ve had some time to mellow. But I’m still left pretty sour and disgusted at what I took part in and witnessed last night.

So, I read about the midnight sale, and figured, Why not go down? It’ll get me excited for the record and shouldn’t take too long, in and out, home in an hour or two tops. I drive down, find good parking and walk to the store. There’s a line around the block, I figure it must a be a nightclub or something, no way are people lined up like this for a pearl jam record. Boy was I wrong.

I get in line, surrounded by nice, friendly fans and we wait. And wait. And wait. The store is only allowing ten or so people in at a time to have a crack at tour shirts, the Brooklyn posters, and the album itself. About three hours later we gain entry to this bourgeois Hot Topic, only to find another line snaking around the perimeter of the store. It’s packed in here. Two registers going, a handful of useless employees standing around gazing at the hoard of doughy geeks fishing for the last 2XL Volcom exclusive shirt.

I grab the LP and get in line. By this time, its 230 and I’m pretty ticked. I start slagging the record as boring and predictable. People are starting to look and chuckle. Not For You is playing over the stereo and it kind of hit me, this isn’t the same band that tried to avoid ticketmaster and mtv. This isn’t the same band tried to be self-contained and subversive while walking the major label tightrope. What they are now is a red cunt hair away from Rolling Stones territory. Milking a devoted fanbase dry for more shirts in exclusive colors. I was disgusted not only at this feeding frenzy of blind consumerism but that I was part of it. Figuring I’ve waited this long, I might as well stick it out and get the bloody record. But I was comforted that it re affirmed by believes as a music fan and consumer. Keep it small, do it yourself, and stay in control of your art. Oh, just use mail order. Keep it simple.

Anyway, the record is okay. I was surprised they threw in a download code with the vinyl, I was sure they were going to make some other poor sap of a fan plunk down another twelve bucks for a limited edition of 5000 book bound copy of the CD.

Oh and Pendulm is a snoozefest.

[LostDog1079]

its no secret that i am a big fan of this album, but i will say that i dont know what they were going for with the way they tracked it. im sure it was talked about while i was still waiting to hear the album, but im not sure if they were trying to say somehting with the order of the tracks or if they just threw them on there randomly

I personally don't have a problem with the order of songs, Doc. But to each his/her own.