Dark Matter (song)

[96583UP]

no

we need to get it to 200 pages

Will this help?

yes, thank you

[96583UP]

Why 200? Is that the limit?

it’s symbolically very important

if not sacred

to pearl jam fans

just think about it

200

20 - like Pearl Jam Twenty

times 10 - like Pearl Jam Ten

equals 200 - like the amount of money it costs now to buy a parking pass at a PJ ticketmaster show

we need to get there

we need to park this thread in the right space

the 200 space

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[coptheriotact]

Worst mainstream rock drum sound since ‘92

[Rangi Guy]

I haven't listened to this in a while, an my excitement for the new album is diminishing quickly

[Strat]

Look, im Strat. Ive been an apologist for years. Its what i do. I truly love this band warts and all and they have earned the right in my life to do whatever the fuck they want at this point.

I really got excited about this song at first beacuse there was such an energy there.

However, that excitement has worn off and this song just kind of feels like bland rock at this point. Now, i feel that way because new pearl jam allows me a good opportunity to reach back into their catalogue and my history with them and listen to albums i dont reach for daily anymore.

And i do feel that PJ in 2024 shouldnt really be compared to PJ of 1994, i do feel like comparing them to PJ of 2000 is reasonably.

It really amazes me that around the 96-2003 PJ were writing songs that feel so mature for their age, comapre dto something like Dark Matter. DM, while exciting at times, really, for the first time feels like the band TRYING REALLY HARD TO SOUND YOUNG AND AGGRESSIVE.

Look, RM and PJ fans generally dont care for Binaural PJ but this has come up for me the past few days while cranking Binaural on my TT at home.

This was mentioned in the MM forum as well. Binaural era PJ wrote songs that were natural aggressive and menacing without trying too hard. The songs themselves were just.....mean. They didnt need this huge production to make them sound aggressive. They just were.

DM....while some fun interplay and fine riffage....just feels....inautehtnic in some ways. Im not saying PJ are in authentic so please calm down. Im not even saying they dont love these riffs (fuck, i do!) but theres just something about it that leaves me feeling a little ......unexcited.

Part of it is Eds voice. He's doing good with what he has left. No question. However, my personal tastes wonder what it might sound like with Ed singing a register lower and pushing the vocals out front. The last delivery of "FOR SOMEONE ELSES MISTAKE!!" and the band cuts out.....for me.....porbably more impactful if old Ed Ved stepped up to the mic, stared you in the eyes, low register "FOR SOMEONE ELSES MISTAKE".

What we got? i can picture Ed doing a double jump back kick with his hipster sombrero on and barely getting the words out away from the mic.....

So, i am still excited for new PJ but it is unfortunate that they seemed to write more interesting/naturall ggressive/menacing/more mature music in their youth than what they do now.

I love PJ though.

[E.H. Ruddock]

Great post!

[coptheriotact]

I don’t know why they try so hard to unmature

[Strat]

Great post!

Please stop mocking me

[Strat]

im all for old people Rocking.


For the record....

[Monkey_Driven]

I for one could go for more rhythmic things butting into one another

[Rangi Guy]

I just wish that it was more spritzy

[Anders]

This might be the solution.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[spike]

The song Dark Matter is neither especially dark, nor does it matter. Discuss.

[spike]

Look, im Strat. Ive been an apologist for years. Its what i do. I truly love this band warts and all and they have earned the right in my life to do whatever the fuck they want at this point.

I really got excited about this song at first beacuse there was such an energy there.

However, that excitement has worn off and this song just kind of feels like bland rock at this point. Now, i feel that way because new pearl jam allows me a good opportunity to reach back into their catalogue and my history with them and listen to albums i dont reach for daily anymore.

And i do feel that PJ in 2024 shouldnt really be compared to PJ of 1994, i do feel like comparing them to PJ of 2000 is reasonably.

It really amazes me that around the 96-2003 PJ were writing songs that feel so mature for their age, comapre dto something like Dark Matter. DM, while exciting at times, really, for the first time feels like the band TRYING REALLY HARD TO SOUND YOUNG AND AGGRESSIVE.

Look, RM and PJ fans generally dont care for Binaural PJ but this has come up for me the past few days while cranking Binaural on my TT at home.

This was mentioned in the MM forum as well. Binaural era PJ wrote songs that were natural aggressive and menacing without trying too hard. The songs themselves were just.....mean. They didnt need this huge production to make them sound aggressive. They just were.

DM....while some fun interplay and fine riffage....just feels....inautehtnic in some ways. Im not saying PJ are in authentic so please calm down. Im not even saying they dont love these riffs (fuck, i do!) but theres just something about it that leaves me feeling a little ......unexcited.

Part of it is Eds voice. He's doing good with what he has left. No question. However, my personal tastes wonder what it might sound like with Ed singing a register lower and pushing the vocals out front. The last delivery of "FOR SOMEONE ELSES MISTAKE!!" and the band cuts out.....for me.....porbably more impactful if old Ed Ved stepped up to the mic, stared you in the eyes, low register "FOR SOMEONE ELSES MISTAKE".

What we got? i can picture Ed doing a double jump back kick with his hipster sombrero on and barely getting the words out away from the mic.....

So, i am still excited for new PJ but it is unfortunate that they seemed to write more interesting/naturall ggressive/menacing/more mature music in their youth than what they do now.

I love PJ though.

you're almost there

[Ms Harmless]

for what it's worth, I feel like "Break'erfall" is more "old people trying to rock" than Dark Matter (which doesn't mean it's bad, but that pun, yeash)

[WtOB?]

i still dig this song, though since its release it has troubled me that the bridge is the weakest part of the song musically. pearl jam's bridges used to elevate their songs to another level, whilst nowadays they seem to be there because they need a third bit to add to the song. this was most apparent when they didn't even bother to write one for can't deny me. overall though this track still has me looking forward to the full record.

[Birds in Hell]

Look, im Strat. Ive been an apologist for years. Its what i do. I truly love this band warts and all and they have earned the right in my life to do whatever the fuck they want at this point.

I really got excited about this song at first beacuse there was such an energy there.

However, that excitement has worn off and this song just kind of feels like bland rock at this point. Now, i feel that way because new pearl jam allows me a good opportunity to reach back into their catalogue and my history with them and listen to albums i dont reach for daily anymore.

And i do feel that PJ in 2024 shouldnt really be compared to PJ of 1994, i do feel like comparing them to PJ of 2000 is reasonably.

It really amazes me that around the 96-2003 PJ were writing songs that feel so mature for their age, comapre dto something like Dark Matter. DM, while exciting at times, really, for the first time feels like the band TRYING REALLY HARD TO SOUND YOUNG AND AGGRESSIVE.

Look, RM and PJ fans generally dont care for Binaural PJ but this has come up for me the past few days while cranking Binaural on my TT at home.

This was mentioned in the MM forum as well. Binaural era PJ wrote songs that were natural aggressive and menacing without trying too hard. The songs themselves were just.....mean. They didnt need this huge production to make them sound aggressive. They just were.

DM....while some fun interplay and fine riffage....just feels....inautehtnic in some ways. Im not saying PJ are in authentic so please calm down. Im not even saying they dont love these riffs (fuck, i do!) but theres just something about it that leaves me feeling a little ......unexcited.

Part of it is Eds voice. He's doing good with what he has left. No question. However, my personal tastes wonder what it might sound like with Ed singing a register lower and pushing the vocals out front. The last delivery of "FOR SOMEONE ELSES MISTAKE!!" and the band cuts out.....for me.....porbably more impactful if old Ed Ved stepped up to the mic, stared you in the eyes, low register "FOR SOMEONE ELSES MISTAKE".

What we got? i can picture Ed doing a double jump back kick with his hipster sombrero on and barely getting the words out away from the mic.....

So, i am still excited for new PJ but it is unfortunate that they seemed to write more interesting/naturall ggressive/menacing/more mature music in their youth than what they do now.

I love PJ though.

Great post.

The eternal frustration with these guys is they have plenty of potential, it just gets sidetracked into whatever is happening on this song.

[stip]

Look, im Strat. Ive been an apologist for years. Its what i do. I truly love this band warts and all and they have earned the right in my life to do whatever the fuck they want at this point.

I really got excited about this song at first beacuse there was such an energy there.

However, that excitement has worn off and this song just kind of feels like bland rock at this point. Now, i feel that way because new pearl jam allows me a good opportunity to reach back into their catalogue and my history with them and listen to albums i dont reach for daily anymore.

And i do feel that PJ in 2024 shouldnt really be compared to PJ of 1994, i do feel like comparing them to PJ of 2000 is reasonably.

It really amazes me that around the 96-2003 PJ were writing songs that feel so mature for their age, comapre dto something like Dark Matter. DM, while exciting at times, really, for the first time feels like the band TRYING REALLY HARD TO SOUND YOUNG AND AGGRESSIVE.

Look, RM and PJ fans generally dont care for Binaural PJ but this has come up for me the past few days while cranking Binaural on my TT at home.

This was mentioned in the MM forum as well. Binaural era PJ wrote songs that were natural aggressive and menacing without trying too hard. The songs themselves were just.....mean. They didnt need this huge production to make them sound aggressive. They just were.

DM....while some fun interplay and fine riffage....just feels....inautehtnic in some ways. Im not saying PJ are in authentic so please calm down. Im not even saying they dont love these riffs (fuck, i do!) but theres just something about it that leaves me feeling a little ......unexcited.

Part of it is Eds voice. He's doing good with what he has left. No question. However, my personal tastes wonder what it might sound like with Ed singing a register lower and pushing the vocals out front. The last delivery of "FOR SOMEONE ELSES MISTAKE!!" and the band cuts out.....for me.....porbably more impactful if old Ed Ved stepped up to the mic, stared you in the eyes, low register "FOR SOMEONE ELSES MISTAKE".

What we got? i can picture Ed doing a double jump back kick with his hipster sombrero on and barely getting the words out away from the mic.....

So, i am still excited for new PJ but it is unfortunate that they seemed to write more interesting/naturall ggressive/menacing/more mature music in their youth than what they do now.

I love PJ though.

Nice thoughtful post, Strat . I don't think the guitar interplay in Dark Matter is the most exciting thing I've ever heard them do by any stretch, or even within the period you highlight. I think there's a cool, 'future distortion' kind of vibe to it, but it does feel somewhat unadorned. The fact that the playing feels authentically ferocious to me imbues it with its power, not its complexity. I agree with a post earlier that the bridge is also fairly basic is a little bit of a surprise as the bridge is often the most complex interplay in the song and feels like a departure. This feels more like a transition than a bridge.

Having said that, to say that this feels inauthentic, or that there is a 'try hard to sound young' vibe to this song feels off the mark to me. S/T applies that shine to every song, intentionally, sometimes to great effect, sometimes to its detriment. The same is true of Backspacer. And songs like Lukin and Habit are far shriekier than they need to be, to the point that his performance is the weakest part of the song.

The screaming moment you highlight is something that builds throughout the song, as the singer begins to wrap their mind around and can 'see' the dark matter that is the problem. If you track it, the first time Eddie sings 'for someone else's mistake' the delivery is comparatively subdued, almost quizzical. But as he voices that sentiment and tries it on he adds in notes of (out)rage (the second chorus). And coming out of the bridge it's a space he is fully committed to. There is a progression and journey to Eddie's performance. It is not about sounding youthful (that would be way out in front of the mix if that was the goal). It's about real time processing of how terrible things are and getting more and more pissed about it. It's a mature performance in my read, precisely because it avoids self-righteousness, and just as easily could have taken that moment you highlight and make that the base of the song. Likewise Eddie could have stayed in his lower register, which sounds great, and treat this like a Riot Act song, but then it becomes Ghost

Spoiler: show

Dark matter > Ghost but Ghost is still good

. It becomes a different song, not just musically or vocally. The message is different.

We tend to give Eddie a lot of shit for his performances and choices with the venom and judgement that can only come from superfans with extraordinarily high expectations. But we rarely give Eddie the credit (I think) he deserves as a singer and writer. While live performances tend to redefine each song for the experience of hearing it live at a pearl jam show with all that entails, on studio performances Eddie is making choices, often subtle, but choices that give shade and texture and meaning to the songs themselves.

What we got? i can picture Ed doing a double jump back kick with his hipster sombrero on and barely getting the words out away from the mic.....

That's the superfan challenge. But it's really just a thing human beings do with shit we care about. We are eager to fill in any and every blank space in our mind with our greatest hopes and biggest fears, and then project those images we have created back onto what we know and have. That has nothing to do with Pearl Jam, and everything to do with what Strat (all of us) wants/needs/fears Pearl Jam to be.