Song of the Moment: Sleeping By Myself (Pearl Jam)

[harmless]

Yeah but it's on Riot Act, and TMW is possibly the best "sentimental" song they've ever written.

[lefty]

I don't care much for the full band version, but I do enjoy the uke version.

[dimejinky99]

Yeah but it's on Riot Act, and TMW is possibly the best "sentimental" song they've ever written.

Is it? I can't think of any others though, so guess you're right.

[harmless]

You can't think of any sentimental PJ songs other than TMW? "Parachutes", "Just Breathe", "The End", "Sirens", "Future Days", etc. etc. etc.

[Mike]

For me it's Elderly Woman if that counts as sentimental. Or maybe Fatal.

[harmless]

I don't think Fatal is sentimental (it's too downbeat, musically). Possibly Elderly Woman.

[stip]

elderly woman is a pretty sentimental song in a weird way. And quite possibly the best.

[harmless]

Yup. If we're counting that one, it's an obvious classic.

[evenslow]

That's a tough one.

On the sentimental side we have:
My God it's been so long
Never dreamed you'd return

On the non-sentimental side we have:
Hearts and thoughts they fade
Fade away

In the end, I think it's expressing sadness with a flicker of hope for recognition, not sentimentality.

[Mike]

It has that wonderful nostalgic sentimentality.

[Mike]

9 years ago two 14 year old boys were sitting in a train and one of them introduced the other to Pearl Jam by playing Elderly Woman. 3 years later both saw Pearl Jam together for the first time and they played Elderly Woman and there was a lot of bro-love. Today they're still best friends and both's favorite band is still Pearl Jam. The one doing the introduction was actually me. Cool story, huh?

[harmless]

That's a tough one.

On the sentimental side we have:
My God it's been so long
Never dreamed you'd return

On the non-sentimental side we have:
Hearts and thoughts they fade
Fade away

In the end, I think it's expressing sadness with a flicker of hope for recognition, not sentimentality.

Dude, that's pretty sentimental.

[stip]

I wept

[McParadigm]

I wept

stip 11:35

[evenslow]

That's a tough one.

On the sentimental side we have:
My God it's been so long
Never dreamed you'd return

On the non-sentimental side we have:
Hearts and thoughts they fade
Fade away

In the end, I think it's expressing sadness with a flicker of hope for recognition, not sentimentality.

Dude, that's pretty sentimental.

Here comes the dictionary police, woo, woo, woo, woo:
sentimental • (of a work of literature, music, or art) dealing with feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia in an exaggerated and self-indulgent way

The song does deal with sadness. Maybe some tenderness (try a little). But nostalgia suggests romanticizing the past, which this song does not really do.

Most importantly, it's not exaggerated or self-indulgent.

It's more about loneliness and lost hope and stifled dreams and resignation than it is about anything, ya know, romantic.

[darth_vedder]

I don't care much for the full band version, but I do enjoy the uke version.

It's the exact opposite for me. I like the full band version (like in a 3 star out of 5 sort of way), but the uke version does nothing for me.

[harmless]

That's a tough one.

On the sentimental side we have:
My God it's been so long
Never dreamed you'd return

On the non-sentimental side we have:
Hearts and thoughts they fade
Fade away

In the end, I think it's expressing sadness with a flicker of hope for recognition, not sentimentality.

Dude, that's pretty sentimental.

Here comes the dictionary police, woo, woo, woo, woo:
sentimental • (of a work of literature, music, or art) dealing with feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia in an exaggerated and self-indulgent way

The song does deal with sadness. Maybe some tenderness (try a little). But nostalgia suggests romanticizing the past, which this song does not really do.

Most importantly, it's not exaggerated or self-indulgent.

It's more about loneliness and lost hope and stifled dreams and resignation than it is about anything, ya know, romantic.

We can argue all you want about whether those lyrics sound sentimental to you or not, but they certainly fit the definition.

[dimejinky99]

So sentimental is good and nostalgia is bad.
Have I got that right?

I'd call small town, nostalgic. Not sentimental.

[harmless]

No, they're both neutral, and good or bad depending on your ears. If you look at the definition, "nostalgia" is only one of the ways something can be sentimental.

[evenslow]

That's a tough one.

On the sentimental side we have:
My God it's been so long
Never dreamed you'd return

On the non-sentimental side we have:
Hearts and thoughts they fade
Fade away

In the end, I think it's expressing sadness with a flicker of hope for recognition, not sentimentality.

Dude, that's pretty sentimental.

Here comes the dictionary police, woo, woo, woo, woo:
sentimental • (of a work of literature, music, or art) dealing with feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia in an exaggerated and self-indulgent way

The song does deal with sadness. Maybe some tenderness (try a little). But nostalgia suggests romanticizing the past, which this song does not really do.

Most importantly, it's not exaggerated or self-indulgent.

It's more about loneliness and lost hope and stifled dreams and resignation than it is about anything, ya know, romantic.

We can argue all you want about whether those lyrics sound sentimental to you or not, but they certainly fit the definition.

I don't want to argue. Those lyrics don't sound sentimental to me. And they only fit the definition if you think they're done in an exaggerated and self-indulgent way. I say, they're not.

"All By Myself" is a good example of a sad song done in an exaggerated manner. "Elderly Woman" is not "All By Myself". (Though she is all by herself)