Lightning Bolt: The Official Album Thread

[harmless]

A lot of you will agree with this and it will give everyone else rage.
PJ albums ranked worst to best
http://www.uproxx.com/music/2013/10/ran ... t-to-best/

“Hey, you wanna listen to some Pearl Jam?” “Sure!” “Which one?” “Gotta go with Backspacer, bro.” That conversation has never, ever happened.

Yeah that was great.

[jimmy mac]

I always liked Backspacer, but after a week with this new record I kind of feel like it's ruined Backspacer for me. If that makes any sense. I listened to that thing straight through easily 100 times (I take a lot of car rides that a full listen fits perfectly into) and LB somehow makes that album seem irrelevant. Maybe it's that new car smell/dating someone new and exciting thing I have going.

[McParadigm]

also, do u mean whiskey?

Scotch. What am I, an animal?

[harmless]

A lot of you will agree with this and it will give everyone else rage.
PJ albums ranked worst to best
http://www.uproxx.com/music/2013/10/ran ... t-to-best/

I'm conflicted. They put Vitalogy on top, thats good. They put No Code and Binaural last behind Lightning Bolt and even further behind Backspacer, that's as bad as Hitler. I think I'm totally angry now.

Not only are Riot Act and Backspacer both bland and unexciting, but Riot Act is therefore awful and Backspacer is therefore a masterpiece that you just happen to forget about when you're not listening to it. We love the dark, experimental difficulty of Vitalogy, but absolutely not when it's called No Code, Binaural or Riot Act.

[stip]

Listening to No Code made me realize again what makes the last three albums different to everything before for me. I enjoy Avocado, Backspacer and Lightning Bolt but I enjoy all three in a superficial way. They're all a lot of "fun" but the songs don't manage to have a deeper impact on me, there's probably not a single song that I have a real connection to like I have to songs like Hail, Hail, Smile, In My Tree, Red Mosquito or Present Tense (just taking No Code songs as an example). Not feeling the soul here and I'm not sure why. Might be the songs, might be the production, might be the band itself.
These albums are like going to a party and having a great time and the older albums are more like spending time with a truly loved one. Or something like that.
Having said that, I enjoy the party that Lightning Bolt is giving me very much, it just won't mean a lot to me.

it may never change, of course, but it's hard to compare the meaning a song has to you one week out as opposed to 17 years.

[McParadigm]

it may never change, of course, but it's hard to compare the meaning a song has to you one week out as opposed to 17 years.

Rank the reasons why

[stip]

Star the lyrics to Infallible.

Keep - 4 stars. I'm a stickler for opening a song with a command!
on - 2 stars. Rubbish.
locking - 3 stars.
your - 2 1/2.
doors - 2 stars.
Keep - 4 stars. Back to getting it right!
on - 2 stars. Why would you go back to this sorry motif??
just - 2 1/2 stars.
as - 3 stars.
before - 3 stars.
Pay - 4 stars.
disasters - 5 stars! Peak moment!
no - 4 stars.
mind - 2 stars.
Didn't - 3 stars. Every time I hear it I get a little moment of false hope. And then...
get - 1 star. Ugh!
you - 2 stars.
this - 2 1/2.
time - 5 stars. Tom Waits reference!
No - 4 stars.
friends - 1 star.
left - 3 stars.
at - 3 1/2 stars. I like this playful callback to the word "as." Very conceptual.
the - 2 stars.
crime - 5 stars!
Our - 2 stars.
ship's - 3 stars.
come - 4 stars. Some unexpected sensuality here.
in - 5 stars. Even more subtle filth! Unusual for a Pearl Jam song.
and - 2 stars.
it's - 5 stars. Excellent choice to not repeat the word "ship." Singular neuter pronoun...very classy stuff, Ed!
sinking - 5 stars. I'll have to study the lyrics a little longer, but I think this might be about the ship. Evidence of a concept album?

More later!!!

this seems like an awful amount of time spent on one trolling post

I have a certain respect for people who treat trolling as an art, as opposed to people who pop in to say 'this album is awful' and then leave. that's just a sad little cry for attention.

[stip]

A lot of you will agree with this and it will give everyone else rage.
PJ albums ranked worst to best
http://www.uproxx.com/music/2013/10/ran ... t-to-best/

I'm conflicted. They put Vitalogy on top, thats good. They put No Code and Binaural last behind Lightning Bolt and even further behind Backspacer, that's as bad as Hitler. I think I'm totally angry now.

Not only are Riot Act and Backspacer both bland and unexciting, but Riot Act is therefore awful and Backspacer is therefore a masterpiece that you just happen to forget about when you're not listening to it. We love the dark, experimental difficulty of Vitalogy, but absolutely not when it's called No Code, Binaural or Riot Act.

that's because No Code, Binaural, and Riot Act forgot to overstuff themselves on awesome songs.

[stip]

it may never change, of course, but it's hard to compare the meaning a song has to you one week out as opposed to 17 years.

Rank the reasons why

Silly McParadigm. You can't rank reasons.

[EJ]

That was not McP's best work.

[Mike]

Listening to No Code made me realize again what makes the last three albums different to everything before for me. I enjoy Avocado, Backspacer and Lightning Bolt but I enjoy all three in a superficial way. They're all a lot of "fun" but the songs don't manage to have a deeper impact on me, there's probably not a single song that I have a real connection to like I have to songs like Hail, Hail, Smile, In My Tree, Red Mosquito or Present Tense (just taking No Code songs as an example). Not feeling the soul here and I'm not sure why. Might be the songs, might be the production, might be the band itself.
These albums are like going to a party and having a great time and the older albums are more like spending time with a truly loved one. Or something like that.
Having said that, I enjoy the party that Lightning Bolt is giving me very much, it just won't mean a lot to me.

it may never change, of course, but it's hard to compare the meaning a song has to you one week out as opposed to 17 years.

That's true, I can't really say this about Lightning Bolt yet but it's true for Avocado and Backspacer. I got into Pearl Jam in 2003 I think and bought No Code maybe a year later. So I had No Code for 9 years and Avocado for 7, that's not that much of a difference.

[McParadigm]

We love the dark, experimental difficulty of Vitalogy, but absolutely not when it's called No Code, Binaural or Riot Act.

that's because No Code, Binaural, and Riot Act forgot to overstuff themselves on awesome songs.

I can totally see someone liking the jagged, defiant reverse-catharsis of Vitalogy and not liking those other records.

Silly McParadigm. You can't rank reasons.

[warehouse]

Star the lyrics to Infallible.

Keep - 4 stars. I'm a stickler for opening a song with a command!
on - 2 stars. Rubbish.
locking - 3 stars.
your - 2 1/2.
doors - 2 stars.
Keep - 4 stars. Back to getting it right!
on - 2 stars. Why would you go back to this sorry motif??
just - 2 1/2 stars.
as - 3 stars.
before - 3 stars.
Pay - 4 stars.
disasters - 5 stars! Peak moment!
no - 4 stars.
mind - 2 stars.
Didn't - 3 stars. Every time I hear it I get a little moment of false hope. And then...
get - 1 star. Ugh!
you - 2 stars.
this - 2 1/2.
time - 5 stars. Tom Waits reference!
No - 4 stars.
friends - 1 star.
left - 3 stars.
at - 3 1/2 stars. I like this playful callback to the word "as." Very conceptual.
the - 2 stars.
crime - 5 stars!
Our - 2 stars.
ship's - 3 stars.
come - 4 stars. Some unexpected sensuality here.
in - 5 stars. Even more subtle filth! Unusual for a Pearl Jam song.
and - 2 stars.
it's - 5 stars. Excellent choice to not repeat the word "ship." Singular neuter pronoun...very classy stuff, Ed!
sinking - 5 stars. I'll have to study the lyrics a little longer, but I think this might be about the ship. Evidence of a concept album?

More later!!!

this seems like an awful amount of time spent on one trolling post

I have a certain respect for people who treat trolling as an art, as opposed to people who pop in to say 'this album is awful' and then leave. that's just a sad little cry for attention.

"this is awful" is a cry for attention, but the above isnt? lol ok

[Thurman Murman]

I always liked Backspacer, but after a week with this new record I kind of feel like it's ruined Backspacer for me.

For me its basically following the Backspacer template only doing it better...

Getaway > GSMF
MFS > Got Some
MYM > The Fixer
Sirens > Just Breathe
Lightning Bolt > UK
Infallible > Amongst the Waves
LTRP > Supersonic
Sleeping By Myself > Speed of Sound

The End is a far better closer than FD though.

[harmless]

We love the dark, experimental difficulty of Vitalogy, but absolutely not when it's called No Code, Binaural or Riot Act.

that's because No Code, Binaural, and Riot Act forgot to overstuff themselves on awesome songs.

I can totally see someone liking the jagged, defiant reverse-catharsis of Vitalogy and not liking those other records.

Silly McParadigm. You can't rank reasons.

Fair enough. Vitalogy is angry, rather than resigned.

[stip]

Number of songs that I love on a pearl jam album (4 stars or above)


Ten: 9/11
Vs: 5/12
Vitalogy: 10/10
No Code: 5/13 (but present tense is in danger of slipping into like territory)
Yield: 4/12
Binaural: 5/13
Riot Act: 3/15
S/T: 5/13
Backspacer: 8/11
Lightning Bolt: 7/12

So you're basically saying there are at least 8 songs on Backspacer that you prefer to Present Tense?!?!

Prefer, probably. I can't remember the last time I felt an urge to listen to present tense. It hangs on to its ranking because it's a well constructed song. A song like Red Mosquito or Hail Hail, when I hear it, makes me wonder why I haven't sought it out. Present Tense doesn't do that.


The songs on Backspacer have remained appealing and immediately satisfying, and there are hidden depths to most of the songs that I think people tend to miss because the presentation is so superficially obvious.

Next tuesday I'm going to throw backspacer on for my drive to work (the only day of the week when my daughter isn't in the car and so I know I have some uninterrupted time to listen) and see how it has held up post L-bolt.

[Thurman Murman]

That was not McP's best work.

[McParadigm]

warehouse is my own personal pitchfork

[stip]

can someone please PM me a link to the sirius rip where the band is talking about the songs so I can archive it?

[Mike]

"William Charles Schneider
Even the worst Pearl Jam album (Avocado) is better than 99.9999999999999999999999999999% of any other albums ever written."