Song of the Moment: Lightning Bolt

General Pearl Jam discussion.
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Rate Lightning Bolt

5 Stars
34
24%
4 Stars
59
42%
3 Stars
22
16%
2 Stars
8
6%
1 Star
12
9%
Betterman (live)
4
3%
 
Total votes: 139

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harmless
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by harmless »

stip wrote:
Thejambi wrote:Pendulum works so well because of what isn't in the song. It doesn't try to unnecessarily rise or convolute itself. The space is filled by the little contributions of everyone and not dominated by any one. Being simple or understated doesn't make it any less of a strong songwriting effort.

LB on the other hand is the complete opposite. I like it less and less with each listen because so much was thrown into the stew its over







whelming. It's every little Pearl jam trick at once.

lightning bolt has definitely peaked for me.
How do you feel about it now?
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by stip »

I'm leaving it at a 4.5 for now. It'll probably end up at a 4. I still think the song is pretty glorious, but I am starting to agree that there is too much stuff happening at the end, and so some of it gets washed out. I kept assuming that it would be clearer on the album quality mix.

Hard to say with these anthems. They tend to fluctuate the most in my personal rankings. When you haven't heard them in a while the soaring moments hit really hard, but then they run the risk of getting to be too familiar and losing their emotional impact at the end. It can't be ephinel (sp) when it feels familiar. And Lightning Bolt has been played an awful lot this last month.
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by Mine »

Thejambi wrote:Pendulum works so well because of what isn't in the song. It doesn't try to unnecessarily rise or convolute itself. The space is filled by the little contributions of everyone and not dominated by any one. Being simple or understated doesn't make it any less of a strong songwriting effort.
But this is the arrangement not the songwriting. This isn't at all what i was talking about. Especially with PJ the distinction makes sense because of how their songs are credited.
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by Thejambi »

Mine wrote:
Thejambi wrote:Pendulum works so well because of what isn't in the song. It doesn't try to unnecessarily rise or convolute itself. The space is filled by the little contributions of everyone and not dominated by any one. Being simple or understated doesn't make it any less of a strong songwriting effort.
But this is the arrangement not the songwriting. This isn't at all what i was talking about. Especially with PJ the distinction makes sense because of how their songs are credited.
Why are you separating arrangement with the songwriting?
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by digster »

It's absolutely part of the songwriting. Pendulum is a song where the changes occur in terms of the texture of the piece, the parts that fade in and out. It's not in the pop songwriting mold of "here is the verse, now here is the chorus, now here is the bridge", but it's certainly still songwriting. And I agree that there shouldn't be such a sharp delineation between arrangement and songwriting.
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by Mine »

Thejambi wrote:
Mine wrote:
Thejambi wrote:Pendulum works so well because of what isn't in the song. It doesn't try to unnecessarily rise or convolute itself. The space is filled by the little contributions of everyone and not dominated by any one. Being simple or understated doesn't make it any less of a strong songwriting effort.
But this is the arrangement not the songwriting. This isn't at all what i was talking about. Especially with PJ the distinction makes sense because of how their songs are credited.
Why are you separating arrangement with the songwriting?
Why wouldn't I? :?
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by Dr. Van Nostrand »

I think im catching on with this one, listening now and im the most into it I've been so far :ohyeah!:
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by Leatherhead »

I get a cool vibe from this song. It kinda feels like it or parts of it are in space.
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by flannelking »

For me, this song is great when played loud on a great stereo. Otherwise it's not. Volume doesn't change anything on the other tunes for me.
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by harmless »

This song still gives me the feels in several places.
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by Dr. Van Nostrand »

I don't know why i didn't really like this one at first, im loving it now
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by mikejasond »

I really like how he sings the last part of the last verse, especially the cool little melody on "Deciiiiides thaaat"
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by Monkey_Driven »

Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:I don't know why i didn't really like this one at first, im loving it now
That's pretty much how I was too.
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by Juvenal »

It's the verses I'm having a problem with here. They're just not grabbing me. The choruses and bridge are great though.
stip wrote:I wanted to punch you in your god's dice loving balls for not loving lightning bolt.
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by WaitingForBluey »

I'm still really enjoying this one... but I'm always afraid that with each new listen my enjoyment will fade and I'll become indifferent towards it at best... aka the Backspacer effect :?
theplatypus wrote:A solo is when the guitar goes twiddly diddly
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by Thejambi »

bluestate wrote:I'm still really enjoying this one... but I'm always afraid that with each new listen my enjoyment will fade and I'll become indifferent towards it at best... aka the Backspacer effect :?
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by harmless »

So give it a break for a while. This album's good, but it's like the last two in that it still hasn't got plenty of depth or nuance.
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by WaitingForBluey »

harmless wrote:So give it a break for a while. This album's good, but it's like the last two in that it still hasn't got plenty of depth or nuance.
Well, I was just thinking that what the song LB has going for it is that it is surrounded by much better songs than mostly anything on Backspacer, so even if the song LB starts to fade a bit for me, the album itself continues to grow in its reward
theplatypus wrote:A solo is when the guitar goes twiddly diddly
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by stip »

does depth or nuance mean boring songs that every now and then you kind of rediscover because you haven't felt the need to listen to them in several years?


Most of these songs have a lot going on in them, and are dealing with interesting lyrical themes that tie nicely together.
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Re: New Song: Lightning Bolt

Post by WaitingForBluey »

Backspacer may fit the "lack of depth" description... and S/T perhaps the "lack of nuance"... but LB signifies neither of those to me... not even close...
theplatypus wrote:A solo is when the guitar goes twiddly diddly
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