Dark Matter (song)

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Dark Matter Initial Reactions

5 Stars
33
17%
4 Stars
92
48%
3 Stars
56
29%
2 Stars
8
4%
1 Star
3
2%
 
Total votes: 192

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tree_
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by tree_ »

guitar_davey wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:
Ms Harmless wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:I’m surprised so many people are complimenting Ed’s work on this. Yes, it’s not word salad — that’s great. And yes, his track is situated comfortably in the mix — also great. But his actual voice is sounding pretty rough.
I disagree; he sounds his age, definitely not "rough"
Anthony Kiedis and Thom Yorke are of a similar age and they both sound fantastic.
They don't do remotely the same thing that EV does.
one should argue that EV should stop doing what he does then
Fattie_Vedder
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Fattie_Vedder »

Someone else said it earlier and I wanted to reflect I feel the same way: I love the lyrics. My interpretation of them speaks to events that are personal and difficult.
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by guitar_davey »

tree_ wrote:
guitar_davey wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:
Ms Harmless wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:I’m surprised so many people are complimenting Ed’s work on this. Yes, it’s not word salad — that’s great. And yes, his track is situated comfortably in the mix — also great. But his actual voice is sounding pretty rough.
I disagree; he sounds his age, definitely not "rough"
Anthony Kiedis and Thom Yorke are of a similar age and they both sound fantastic.
They don't do remotely the same thing that EV does.
one should argue that EV should stop doing what he does then
Well, I guess one is. :peace:
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Jaeti
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Jaeti »

Fattie_Vedder wrote:Listened a few more times this morning. It’s just so fucking fun and energizing. And the songs I tend to love most are the mid-tempo ones that soar, but I love this. I find myself belting along with the chorus.

It’s deceptively simple on the surface, but there are many innovative touches and tweaks they’ve made that make the song a different experience. You’ll notice those more on the instrumental version.
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McParadigm
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by McParadigm »

I think the difference in opinions here is that what Trag hears as a rough and tired sound, I and maybe some others hear as weathered and urgent.

I think Ed is at his best in this band and in these days when he’s writing material that sounds like a fighting message to tomorrow from a survivor of the past. The bruises and holes in his voice make it a good instrument for those songs, and this is one of them.

I think the way he sounds on Gig and on this song are preferable to any record since Riot Act. He’s mostly fitting himself into songs whose content make his “badly damaged, and refusing to give up” delivery a benefit, not a curse.
(patriotic choking noises)
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Coach
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Coach »

At the end of the day, 50 percent Ed is better than 100 percent of most singers.
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Ms Harmless »

tree_ wrote:
guitar_davey wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:
Ms Harmless wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:I’m surprised so many people are complimenting Ed’s work on this. Yes, it’s not word salad — that’s great. And yes, his track is situated comfortably in the mix — also great. But his actual voice is sounding pretty rough.
I disagree; he sounds his age, definitely not "rough"
Anthony Kiedis and Thom Yorke are of a similar age and they both sound fantastic.
They don't do remotely the same thing that EV does.
one should argue that EV should stop doing what he does then
I'm arguing that they never did do what he did, which was always a different thing altogether; a lot of people thought Ed shredding his voice in his 20s and 30s was un-musical and he should just keep singing Betterman; but that's what a great hard rock singer sounds like at 20-30, and this is what one sounds like at 60
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by tree_ »

did anybody else want Ed to go "ewww WA-Ah-Ah-Ah!" after the intro drums before the guitars come in?
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Val »

There's no pleasing the too cool for school gang
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by oneway23 »

McParadigm wrote:I think the difference in opinions here is that what Trag hears as a rough and tired sound, I and maybe some others hear as weathered and urgent.

I think Ed is at his best in this band and in these days when he’s writing material that sounds like a fighting message to tomorrow from a survivor of the past. The bruises and holes in his voice make it a good instrument for those songs, and this is one of them.
Fantastic insight...Really well put
Coach wrote:At the end of the day, 50 percent Ed is better than 100 percent of most singers.
Coach leading the line here...You got it
We still make records to be listened to — not that everyone will listen to a record track one to twelve in a row or side A or Side B — but we still make 'em in case somebody does want to listen to it like that, that's how we make em…
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Ms Harmless »

McParadigm wrote:I think the difference in opinions here is that what Trag hears as a rough and tired sound, I and maybe some others hear as weathered and urgent.

I think Ed is at his best in this band and in these days when he’s writing material that sounds like a fighting message to tomorrow from a survivor of the past. The bruises and holes in his voice make it a good instrument for those songs, and this is one of them.

I think the way he sounds on Gig and on this song are preferable to any record since Riot Act. He’s mostly fitting himself into songs whose content make his “badly damaged, and refusing to give up” delivery a benefit, not a curse.
Fuckin A, yes
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Coach
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Coach »

81 percent rank DM 4 stars or higher here.

If you were to tell me that last year....I'd be pretty stoked.
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Homeboyd »

Surprised how much I enjoyed this song after not really liking the snippet. Don’t think it’s a great PJ song in the classic vein but it certainly has more focus and immediacy than anything they’ve done in awhile. Seems like a modern PJ take on a Binaural song to me. Also really like that Ed sits back in the mix a bit and is borderline indecipherable on the first listen…
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by tragabigzanda »

pearl jam sucks now
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Thu January 01, 2026 7:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Val
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Val »

tree_ wrote:did anybody else want Ed to go "ewww WA-Ah-Ah-Ah!" after the intro drums before the guitars come in?
I kind of wanted him to "freestyle" through the last chorus instead of going note for note :oops:
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by tommy »

Ms Harmless wrote:
McParadigm wrote:I think the difference in opinions here is that what Trag hears as a rough and tired sound, I and maybe some others hear as weathered and urgent.

I think Ed is at his best in this band and in these days when he’s writing material that sounds like a fighting message to tomorrow from a survivor of the past. The bruises and holes in his voice make it a good instrument for those songs, and this is one of them.

I think the way he sounds on Gig and on this song are preferable to any record since Riot Act. He’s mostly fitting himself into songs whose content make his “badly damaged, and refusing to give up” delivery a benefit, not a curse.
Fuckin A, yes
Yes, this is exactly it.
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tragabigzanda
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by tragabigzanda »

pearl jam sucks now
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Thu January 01, 2026 7:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Val
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Val »

tragabigzanda wrote: Yes you are totally right about Kiedis’s use of Autotune it’s been an embarrassment for like 20 years now. But that has more to do with his inherent ability to carry a tune, and less to do with the age of his voice and how hard he tries to work it.
Kiedis sounds terrible live :shake:
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Coach
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Coach »

oneway23 wrote:
McParadigm wrote:I think the difference in opinions here is that what Trag hears as a rough and tired sound, I and maybe some others hear as weathered and urgent.

I think Ed is at his best in this band and in these days when he’s writing material that sounds like a fighting message to tomorrow from a survivor of the past. The bruises and holes in his voice make it a good instrument for those songs, and this is one of them.
Fantastic insight...Really well put
Coach wrote:At the end of the day, 50 percent Ed is better than 100 percent of most singers.
Coach leading the line here...You got it
I had a good weigh-in today. 153.1.
BMI = 23.3 (HEALTHY, like this song).
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Monkey_Driven »

I can't imagine hearing Black live in 2022 or 2023 and not thinking that Ed can still capture the magic with his voice. He absolutely still has "it".
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