Lightning Bolt: The Official Album Thread

[McParadigm]

That was not McP's best work.

which only further proves that no post worth making will ever involve star rankings

[stip]

That was not McP's best work.

you just need to read it 3-4 times to let it sink in.

[EJ]

warehouse is my own personal pitchfork

and, you are Harmless' personal stenographer.

[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.

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.

yeah at that point it's far less likely for an album to make that kind of visceral connection

[Mike]

I give McParadigm's post 3 stars.

[EJ]

I give McParadigm's post 3 stars.

More importantly, how many Ks would Kerrang give it?

[McParadigm]

warehouse is my own personal pitchfork

and, you are Harmless' personal stenographer.

My reaction to reading this is not totally unlike Stellan Skarsgård's Nymphomaniac poster.

[Mike]

I give McParadigm's post 3 stars.

More importantly, how many Ks would Kerrang give it?

Is it 3?

[EJ]

warehouse is my own personal pitchfork

and, you are Harmless' personal stenographer.

My reaction to reading this is not totally unlike Stellan Skarsgård's Nymphomaniac poster.

I had to google that one.

[Mike]

Sleeping By Myself and Yellow Moon might grow to have that "personal connection".

[McParadigm]

I had to google that one.

I'm so sorry

I thought you knew

[harmless]

Sirens is my sentimental jam. Sticky jam.

[malice]

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

he did a spot on job of it.

[Heathen]

warehouse is my own personal pitchfork

without the verbosity

[McParadigm]

he did a spot on job of it.

I'm always glad to see you around.

[EJ]

McP - any updates on the chart activity of MYM & Sirens? Or is that later in the week?

[McParadigm]

McP - any updates on the chart activity of MYM & Sirens? Or is that later in the week?

Oh, yeah. That's today. Pretty sure there's not much to say...Sirens is sort of lingering around the #15 spot on all the rawk lists, doing well on Triple A, and not much else, but I'll check anyway.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

Just had my first listen while following along with the lyrics. The only songs I think were weak lyrically were LB, which I don't mind because I like how he sings and the progression of the song, and Pendulum which I love nonetheless. I tried to see what sucks so bad about LTRP and I can't figure it out. I like the lyrics on it too. My favorite thing on the album might be the vocals on Yellow Moon. FD is the low point for me, fits into a Vedder solo show more than on this album. Don't hate it though. Stick me in the camp that really likes this thing. I love being a curmudgeon and complaining, but I feel in all honestly like any complaints from me would be nitpicking. Haven't liked a new release this much off the bat since Yield.

i still havent listened while reading through the lyrics, i might do that tonight, but im not really a lyric person, if they are so bad that they stand out to me then that means they are just awful because i usually just hear singers as another instrument in the band. i do always listen a few times through with lyrics for PJ though so i hopefully wont be singing the wrong words when singing along

I am the same thinking the vocals are more of another instrument in the band, the lyrics don't do much one way or the other for me. It's all in the way the singer sounds. I like the way EV sounds on this, aside from a few parts (Lightning Bolt chorus, the verses in MFS) They will elevate a song for me if they are really good. When I read the lyrics for LTRP it made me like it more. Until I read the lyrics I had no clue what 75% of the lyrics on the album were, and I'd listened to is 6x before reading along.

im probably at about around the same amount of plays with out reading them, so i think tonight will be a good listen and read

[Jaeti]

my father's son warrants further listens, not sure what to think

that and sirens (for very different reasons) tend to be the two songs that have demanded further listens before making up one's mind.

sirens is terrible, on pretty much every level

i still have, like, three more interminable minutes left

It gets better and, magically, shorter. You'll see.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

my father's son warrants further listens, not sure what to think

that and sirens (for very different reasons) tend to be the two songs that have demanded further listens before making up one's mind.

sirens is terrible, on pretty much every level

i still have, like, three more interminable minutes left

It gets better and, magically, shorter. You'll see.

he wont
sirens is an awesome song, but some just wont like it