Dark Matter (song)

[RockPusher]

Fantastic writeup stip.

[Chris_H_2]

I think it's just the same thing that happens any time they put out music (and, for all I know, the same thing happens at every other band's message board; this is the only one I frequent). There has always been a bizarre thing when it comes to music that doesn't seem to have a correlation to any other kind of art; no one would ask why you bother having an opinion on a famous director's new movie, even if you haven't liked their last few films.

"Music is the invisible art."

- Ken Burns

[Strat]

I just like that it feels like the band not over thinking the arrangement. There's a looseness to it that feels like they really did just get in a room and do their thing.

The rockers on Gigaton while better than past few records - still felt labored over or felt like an individual songwriters tune.

This feels like a band playing with eachother. That is exciting to me.

[liebzz]

give it time.. they're just excited to have new stuff

Some people just enjoy liking what they like. Presumably for most of us on this board, Pearl Jam is one of those things.

and the people that's aren't goo goo over it are perfectly fine with people liking it however they want. but it feels as if some of the people that do like it believe that other people aren't entitled to not like it, as if it's some personal affront or something. it's some weird, culty thing that comes up every release cycle.

let it go

Do you want to build a snowman?

[oneway23]

The annoying part is how it's always insinuated that they are critical thinkers and were in a cult.

Hate it all you want. Truly don't care. Trag offers wonderful insights (though I'll never understand how he can hate a song he loves just because of the production), but you ain't find me going into the foo fighters thread all the time talking about how they should fucking retire

Can't understand wasting brain space or keyboard miles prattling on about something one doesn't like.
Didn't like it in '06? didn't like it in '13? Let me guess...still don't like it in '24? Who would've thought!

I hang out in subreddits for things I no longer enjoy all of the time, just to illustrate and reinforce my keen wit; also, to ensure that people aren't enjoying their limited free time too much.

[Jorge]

Talking about music is fun

[Jorge]

Can't understand wasting brain space or keyboard miles prattling on about something one doesn't like.

How do you explain this post then

[guitar_davey]

give it time.. they're just excited to have new stuff

Some people just enjoy liking what they like. Presumably for most of us on this board, Pearl Jam is one of those things.

and the people that's aren't goo goo over it are perfectly fine with people liking it however they want. but it feels as if some of the people that do like it believe that other people aren't entitled to not like it, as if it's some personal affront or something. it's some weird, culty thing that comes up every release cycle.

No. It just baffles me that the same people who clearly aren't into this band or this song (or gave up on the band years ago, which is perfectly fair) need to race to their keyboards every time and hammer on about how lame Pearl Jam has gotten. It's kind of exhausting. And for those of us who get a little joy out of this band, yeah, I guess it does feel slightly personal.

The annoying part is how it's always insinuated that they are critical thinkers and were in a cult.

Hate it all you want. Truly don't care. Trag offers wonderful insights (though I'll never understand how he can hate a song he loves just because of the production), but you ain't find me going into the foo fighters thread all the time talking about how they should fucking retire

Yes!! This. All of it.

[Homeboyd]

So I've finally listened to this thing in my car (the true test of a song imo) and, if anything, I think I wish the song went even harder and was a little messier. As Stip said above "[t]he longer Dark Matter goes on the less measured and more unhinged it becomes". I wish the whole thing were less measured and more unhinged. By the time it reaches that point the song abruptly ends so there's really no payoff. Anyways, I'm still on board calling this a 4, especially when compared to the last 15 years from PJ.

[tree_]

if i said your skin was green, you would just ignore it, maybe look at me like i'm crazy, and move on... unless you thought maybe your skin were actually green

[E.H. Ruddock]

The annoying part is how it's always insinuated that they are critical thinkers and were in a cult.

Hate it all you want. Truly don't care. Trag offers wonderful insights (though I'll never understand how he can hate a song he loves just because of the production), but you ain't find me going into the foo fighters thread all the time talking about how they should fucking retire

Can't understand wasting brain space or keyboard miles prattling on about something one doesn't like.
Didn't like it in '06? didn't like it in '13? Let me guess...still don't like it in '24? Who would've thought!

I hang out in subreddits for things I no longer enjoy all of the time, just to illustrate and reinforce my keen wit; also, to ensure that people aren't enjoying their limited free time too much.

So this far in to a band's career, and no one can be critical of any of it? You like every single song? So this thread should just be a jizz fest about the song? That seems more like the Pit. I like this song, but I also like hearing why others may not like it. I did like it in 06, but didn't in 13, but do in 24. But I'm not going to like ALL of the songs, does that make me a bad fan? Sorry, but saying one is wasting keyboard miles or brain space just because it may not be their "In My Tree" (awful song btw), is a bad take.

[stip]

as always, people who hate it are allowed to write huge diatribes here and it's "let them speak", but as soon as you defend it because you like it, it must be because you're fooling yourself and you just need to "give it time"

I see your huge diatribe and raise you stip's post.

I promised you 1100 words and gave you 1500.

This bit is only for you

Spoiler: show

Eddie sounds great, but his voice is pushed back into the mix. The music drives the song, and Eddie is contributing his instrument in critical ways, rather than the band serving as his background players. The end result feels collaborative – a band playing together, feeding off each other’s energy. Eddie sounds weathered and wounded, but he has wrapped himself around his voice, keeping it in a controlled and protective space, and when he lets it off the leash we get intense punctuation that avoids drifting into the screechy territory that defined his work on S/T or Backspacer. He sounds vulnerable, but not like a victim, and sings like someone who has uncovered the wisdom and power and confidence at the heart of vulnerability.

The longer Dark Matter goes on the less measured and more unhinged it becomes. There is a rising intensity that gets angrier the longer it goes on. The music and lyrics feel almost extractive. A blunt drill powered by brute, wrenching force. Painful, destructive, outrageous. The performance captures the experience of living in a world not designed for living well. This is not presented as a revelation. It plays instead like a confirmation of known grievances that must nevertheless be named. The central ‘dark matter’ image makes sense in this context – the hidden substance that makes up our world is injustice. The source of our profound alienation from each other. Oppositional and totalizing, but only so long as it remains invisible.

Dark Matter is not a youthful song. It’s not trying to recapture that energy. That’s why it’s successful. As we get older we learn that context and compromise define what it means to live in the world. Gray mutes the bright, sharp colors we saw with younger eyes, and life inevitably forces us into choices that are no choice at all. This is both true and terrible, and to pretend the world is otherwise would be dishonest. It’s why mid and late life attempts to capture the energy and worldview of our younger selves so often rings inauthentic and insincere.

Instead, Dark Matter redefines what it means to age, and understands that, fire is not the sole possession of youth. We never stop needing light, heat, and potential. We just burn a different fuel to get it. Dark Matter owns what we’ve learned, and refuses to surrender to the dark, not in spite of the gray but because of it.

[Strat]

Trag, let's go in and steal the masters and take them to Albini

[E.H. Ruddock]

Trag, let's go in and steal the masters and take them to Albini

Can I come and wear my shirt?

[Strat]

The annoying part is how it's always insinuated that they are critical thinkers and were in a cult.

Hate it all you want. Truly don't care. Trag offers wonderful insights (though I'll never understand how he can hate a song he loves just because of the production), but you ain't find me going into the foo fighters thread all the time talking about how they should fucking retire

Can't understand wasting brain space or keyboard miles prattling on about something one doesn't like.
Didn't like it in '06? didn't like it in '13? Let me guess...still don't like it in '24? Who would've thought!

I hang out in subreddits for things I no longer enjoy all of the time, just to illustrate and reinforce my keen wit; also, to ensure that people aren't enjoying their limited free time too much.

So this far in to a band's career, and no one can be critical of any of it? You like every single song? So this thread should just be a jizz fest about the song? That seems more like the Pit. I like this song, but I also like hearing why others may not like it. I did like it in 06, but didn't in 13, but do in 24. But I'm not going to like ALL of the songs, does that make me a bad fan? Sorry, but saying one is wasting keyboard miles or brain space just because it may not be their "In My Tree" (awful song btw), is a bad take.

Please stop yelling at me

[guitar_davey]

Talking about music is fun

It is. But talking about things I'm not into isn't my idea of a good time. Like - avoid at all costs

[E.H. Ruddock]

The annoying part is how it's always insinuated that they are critical thinkers and were in a cult.

Hate it all you want. Truly don't care. Trag offers wonderful insights (though I'll never understand how he can hate a song he loves just because of the production), but you ain't find me going into the foo fighters thread all the time talking about how they should fucking retire

Can't understand wasting brain space or keyboard miles prattling on about something one doesn't like.
Didn't like it in '06? didn't like it in '13? Let me guess...still don't like it in '24? Who would've thought!

I hang out in subreddits for things I no longer enjoy all of the time, just to illustrate and reinforce my keen wit; also, to ensure that people aren't enjoying their limited free time too much.

So this far in to a band's career, and no one can be critical of any of it? You like every single song? So this thread should just be a jizz fest about the song? That seems more like the Pit. I like this song, but I also like hearing why others may not like it. I did like it in 06, but didn't in 13, but do in 24. But I'm not going to like ALL of the songs, does that make me a bad fan? Sorry, but saying one is wasting keyboard miles or brain space just because it may not be their "In My Tree" (awful song btw), is a bad take.

Please stop yelling at me

I just wanted to shit on In My Tree in this thread.

[Jorge]

Talking about music is fun

It is. But talking about things I'm not into isn't my idea of a good time. Like - avoid at all costs

Too bad. I think examining what you don't like about art, and reading what others have to say about it, is fun and rewarding.

[E.H. Ruddock]

Talking about music is fun

It is. But talking about things I'm not into isn't my idea of a good time. Like - avoid at all costs

But you can be into the band, and not this song? Does that mean you don't get to talk about it? That is weird. I love my favorite sushi restaurant but every now and then the meal isn't up to standard. Do I not get to talk about it?

[Ms Harmless]

as always, people who hate it are allowed to write huge diatribes here and it's "let them speak", but as soon as you defend it because you like it, it must be because you're fooling yourself and you just need to "give it time"

i'm not sure i've read anyone say that they hate it. they're critiquing aspects of it, which any openminded, non-group-think person should do, for better or worse. it's kind of telling how people misinterpret that as hating it.

I was using some hyperbole with "hate", but in any case, just because I'm differently interpreting something inherently subjective doesn't mean I'm "misinterpreting" anything