Dark Matter (song)

General Pearl Jam discussion.
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Dark Matter Initial Reactions

5 Stars
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17%
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3 Stars
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2 Stars
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2%
 
Total votes: 192

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Jorge
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Jorge »

E.H. Ruddock wrote:
Strat wrote:
oneway23 wrote:This conversation makes my nether-regions itch...The 'Mats wipe the floor with any of these johnny come latelys anyhow
I love you.

100%
he was talking about Dave Matthews. That is his nickname. The 'Mats
LOL
Anders wrote:I do not have a «neoliberal assessment of geopolitics», so please stop writing that I do.
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Jorge
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Jorge »

What a great post
Anders wrote:I do not have a «neoliberal assessment of geopolitics», so please stop writing that I do.
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oneway23
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by oneway23 »

Strat wrote:
oneway23 wrote:This conversation makes my nether-regions itch...The 'Mats wipe the floor with any of these johnny come latelys anyhow
I love you.

100%
:heartbeat:
E.H. Ruddock wrote:he was talking about Dave Matthews. That is his nickname. The 'Mats
I'm sure there's an inside joke here I'm not privy to, but, nonetheless...Disgrace
Last edited by oneway23 on Fri February 23, 2024 5:57 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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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stip
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by stip »

tragabigzanda wrote:And as much as I hate to admit it, it has nothing to do with drum sounds or quality of lyrics. The PJ fans buy the tickets, maybe pat themselves on the back for the percentage that funnels through the Vitalogy foundation, then go plunk all their cash into extractive public markets so they can retire with three flat-screen TVs.

The young people beating the shit out of each other at an IDLES show are at least open to the idea of challenging that same system with every fiber of their being.

I agree. If history is any judge IDLES fans circa 2043 will be Pearl Jam fans in 2024, but rising generations are almost always where the transformative potential within society is. And it makes those scenes ultimately more culturally significant, even if any particular artist has a greater or lesser audience size. More people are probably listening to Pearl Jam, but Pearl Jam is no longer going to change the world.

Unpacking why is a really interesting conversation, but I also think this is what makes Gigaton and Lightning Bolt such interesting records. They are both unpacking and coming to grips with what you're describing. 30 years ago we (our generation) were going to transform society on the basis of our convictions and righteousness. Thirty years later and we demonstrably haven't. What happened? What lessons can be drawn from our failures? What does it say about our legacy? What obligations do we still have to the people trying to do what we (and the generations proceeding us) have failed to do.

Lightning Bolt and Gigaton are thoughtful explorations of the failures of Gen X to live up to its purported values, and try to figure out what comes next.
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stip
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by stip »

It's the difference between living ethically and authentically within a system vs. standing in opposition to a system that makes ethical and authentic living impossible. Most of us start out in a place where we embrace the later, but as our lives continue and we decide that a certain point what matters most is just that we live, we transition to the later.

And hopefully find a way to do it that diminishes harm, expands opportunity, and adds to the aggregate happiness in the world while leaving space for those who will follow to make their own choices.
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Strat
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Strat »

stip wrote:It's the difference between living ethically and authentically within a system vs. standing in opposition to a system that makes ethical and authentic living impossible. Most of us start out in a place where we embrace the later, but as our lives continue and we decide that a certain point what matters most is just that we live, we transition to the later.

And hopefully find a way to do it that diminishes harm, expands opportunity, and adds to the aggregate happiness in the world while leaving space for those who will follow to make their own choices.
Young people are dumb. Old people are tired.
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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 7:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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oneway23
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by oneway23 »

stip wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:And as much as I hate to admit it, it has nothing to do with drum sounds or quality of lyrics. The PJ fans buy the tickets, maybe pat themselves on the back for the percentage that funnels through the Vitalogy foundation, then go plunk all their cash into extractive public markets so they can retire with three flat-screen TVs.

The young people beating the shit out of each other at an IDLES show are at least open to the idea of challenging that same system with every fiber of their being.

I agree. If history is any judge IDLES fans circa 2043 will be Pearl Jam fans in 2024, but rising generations are almost always where the transformative potential within society is. And it makes those scenes ultimately more culturally significant, even if any particular artist has a greater or lesser audience size. More people are probably listening to Pearl Jam, but Pearl Jam is no longer going to change the world.

Unpacking why is a really interesting conversation, but I also think this is what makes Gigaton and Lightning Bolt such interesting records. They are both unpacking and coming to grips with what you're describing. 30 years ago we (our generation) were going to transform society on the basis of our convictions and righteousness. Thirty years later and we demonstrably haven't. What happened? What lessons can be drawn from our failures? What does it say about our legacy? What obligations do we still have to the people trying to do what we (and the generations proceeding us) have failed to do.

Lightning Bolt and Gigaton are thoughtful explorations of the failures of Gen X to live up to its purported values, and try to figure out what comes next.
This is a wonderful post, Stip. What Trag describes, It's the history of rock n' roll...It's the Stones vs. their parents Gene Krupa generation. It's the Clash vs. The Who at Shea. This cycle never ends. Each generation holds the potential to change the world, they're gifted with the vigor of youth. A few continue to carry their lives holding onto those ideals, most get older, weighed down by practical responsibilities, and , that idealism gets washed away by the pragmatism of daily life.
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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Strat
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Strat »

tragabigzanda wrote:
Strat wrote:
stip wrote:It's the difference between living ethically and authentically within a system vs. standing in opposition to a system that makes ethical and authentic living impossible. Most of us start out in a place where we embrace the later, but as our lives continue and we decide that a certain point what matters most is just that we live, we transition to the later.

And hopefully find a way to do it that diminishes harm, expands opportunity, and adds to the aggregate happiness in the world while leaving space for those who will follow to make their own choices.
Young people are dumb. Old people are tired.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE BLUE BLOOD COURSING THROUGH YOUR VEINS?!
YYYYYYYYYYYYYEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH IM A LUVA!
guitar_davey
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by guitar_davey »

stip wrote: 30 years ago we (our generation) were going to transform society on the basis of our convictions and righteousness. Thirty years later and we demonstrably haven't. What happened? What lessons can be drawn from our failures? What does it say about our legacy? What obligations do we still have to the people trying to do what we (and the generations proceeding us) have failed to do..
All the answers will be found
In the mistakes that we have made
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stip
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by stip »

guitar_davey wrote:
stip wrote: 30 years ago we (our generation) were going to transform society on the basis of our convictions and righteousness. Thirty years later and we demonstrably haven't. What happened? What lessons can be drawn from our failures? What does it say about our legacy? What obligations do we still have to the people trying to do what we (and the generations proceeding us) have failed to do..
All the answers will be found
In the mistakes that we have made
it's a great lyric. And what Pearl Jam does really well, and doesn't nearly get enough credit for, is run with the exploration of an idea like that over an entire album(s). It should color and contextualize each song, but we tend to judge and evaluate them as individual moments devoid of the way in which they are in conversation with each other.
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VinylGuy
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by VinylGuy »

Guys the world changed. Nobody going to see Idles at whataver festival gives a damn. They get those expensive tickets to take pics for the gram and buy expensive shit
BONE FUCKIN´ TOMAHAWK.
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oneway23
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by oneway23 »

VinylGuy wrote:Guys the world changed. Nobody going to see Idles at whataver festival gives a damn. They get those expensive tickets to take pics for the gram and buy expensive shit
Jenny Ortega probably gets paid to post that pic, too
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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Strat
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by Strat »

oneway23 wrote:
VinylGuy wrote:Guys the world changed. Nobody going to see Idles at whataver festival gives a damn. They get those expensive tickets to take pics for the gram and buy expensive shit
Jenny Ortega probably gets paid to post that pic, too
Go on after some lip synced chicks.
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by elliseamos »

liebzz wrote:
E.H. Ruddock wrote:I bet the Grateful Dead would be tops on that spotify list if spotify had all of those bootlegs that GD fans listen to. They don't listen to studio shit at all. But they'll talk your ear off about minute 3:37 of Drums and Space from the 83 Philly show.
This is the way.
There's plenty of live dead on there.

I thought Neil took his music down?
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McParadigm
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by McParadigm »

Strat wrote:
stip wrote:It's the difference between living ethically and authentically within a system vs. standing in opposition to a system that makes ethical and authentic living impossible. Most of us start out in a place where we embrace the later, but as our lives continue and we decide that a certain point what matters most is just that we live, we transition to the later.

And hopefully find a way to do it that diminishes harm, expands opportunity, and adds to the aggregate happiness in the world while leaving space for those who will follow to make their own choices.
Young people are dumb. Old people are tired.
Old people are dumb AND tired
(patriotic choking noises)
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stip
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by stip »

McParadigm wrote:
Strat wrote:
stip wrote:It's the difference between living ethically and authentically within a system vs. standing in opposition to a system that makes ethical and authentic living impossible. Most of us start out in a place where we embrace the later, but as our lives continue and we decide that a certain point what matters most is just that we live, we transition to the later.

And hopefully find a way to do it that diminishes harm, expands opportunity, and adds to the aggregate happiness in the world while leaving space for those who will follow to make their own choices.
Young people are dumb. Old people are tired.
Old people are dumb AND tired
lawns are in good shape, though
guitar_davey
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by guitar_davey »

stip wrote:
guitar_davey wrote:
stip wrote: 30 years ago we (our generation) were going to transform society on the basis of our convictions and righteousness. Thirty years later and we demonstrably haven't. What happened? What lessons can be drawn from our failures? What does it say about our legacy? What obligations do we still have to the people trying to do what we (and the generations proceeding us) have failed to do..
All the answers will be found
In the mistakes that we have made
it's a great lyric. And what Pearl Jam does really well, and doesn't nearly get enough credit for, is run with the exploration of an idea like that over an entire album(s). It should color and contextualize each song, but we tend to judge and evaluate them as individual moments devoid of the way in which they are in conversation with each other.
So true. You could even argue that they've run with the exploration of ideas over their entire career. It's why I'm still with them after all this time -- I try to consider all of their music in that context.
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stip
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by stip »

guitar_davey wrote:
stip wrote:
guitar_davey wrote:
stip wrote: 30 years ago we (our generation) were going to transform society on the basis of our convictions and righteousness. Thirty years later and we demonstrably haven't. What happened? What lessons can be drawn from our failures? What does it say about our legacy? What obligations do we still have to the people trying to do what we (and the generations proceeding us) have failed to do..
All the answers will be found
In the mistakes that we have made
it's a great lyric. And what Pearl Jam does really well, and doesn't nearly get enough credit for, is run with the exploration of an idea like that over an entire album(s). It should color and contextualize each song, but we tend to judge and evaluate them as individual moments devoid of the way in which they are in conversation with each other.
So true. You could even argue that they've run with the exploration of ideas over their entire career. It's why I'm still with them after all this time -- I try to consider all of their music in that context.
thats the central premise of the book :)
guitar_davey
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Re: Dark Matter (song)

Post by guitar_davey »

stip wrote:
guitar_davey wrote:
stip wrote:
guitar_davey wrote:
stip wrote: 30 years ago we (our generation) were going to transform society on the basis of our convictions and righteousness. Thirty years later and we demonstrably haven't. What happened? What lessons can be drawn from our failures? What does it say about our legacy? What obligations do we still have to the people trying to do what we (and the generations proceeding us) have failed to do..
All the answers will be found
In the mistakes that we have made
it's a great lyric. And what Pearl Jam does really well, and doesn't nearly get enough credit for, is run with the exploration of an idea like that over an entire album(s). It should color and contextualize each song, but we tend to judge and evaluate them as individual moments devoid of the way in which they are in conversation with each other.
So true. You could even argue that they've run with the exploration of ideas over their entire career. It's why I'm still with them after all this time -- I try to consider all of their music in that context.
thats the central premise of the book :)
Excellent callback. :thumbsup:
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