Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

[VinylGuy]

Absolutely no reason for him to say "haaaaayyyuuhhhuunnnnd" when he could simply say..."hand."

Goes to museum
"There's absolutely no reason for Van Gogh to paint the sky that way"

good post

[oneway23]

Absolutely no reason for him to say "haaaaayyyuuhhhuunnnnd" when he could simply say..."hand."

Goes to museum
"There's absolutely no reason for Van Gogh to paint the sky that way"

Settle down, Schlockpusher. I'm certain you've got the resilience to persevere through a slight criticism of Pearl Jam.
I was you, at one time. It's OK. You'll come through the other side.

[guitar_davey]

Gigaton is such a tough album to use as a benchmark, because if you lose crowd favorite DOTC, and whatever one's given 1-2 other highlights are, suddenly it stinks.

No

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Higgs]

Absolutely no reason for him to say "haaaaayyyuuhhhuunnnnd" when he could simply say..."hand."

Goes to museum
"There's absolutely no reason for Van Gogh to paint the sky that way"

Good call, this album is apt to be on par with Van Gogh

There are plenty of people who dislike Van Gogh. They are not wrong. I say that as a person who does like Van Gogh. Art is not science.

I will donate $20 if we can make Rockpusher's title "Opinion Police". Mods?

[RockPusher]

Absolutely no reason for him to say "haaaaayyyuuhhhuunnnnd" when he could simply say..."hand."

Goes to museum
"There's absolutely no reason for Van Gogh to paint the sky that way"

Good call, this album is apt to be on par with Van Gogh

There are plenty of people who dislike Van Gogh. They are not wrong. I say that as a person who does like Van Gogh. Art is not science.

I will donate $20 if we can make Rockpusher's title "Opinion Police". Mods?

The irony of this comment is amazing.

[Higgs]

Thank you! I am pretty amazing.

[RockPusher]

Thank you! I am pretty amazing.

I'm sure you are a unique and pretty snowflake.

[Higgs]

That's me! A snowflake who fell in May.

[RockPusher]

I did have a point to make though: What reason is there for anything in art? Plenty of artists make art that I don't like. That doesn't mean they're doing it wrong. It sounded funny to me for someone to say "There's no reason to [do this thing in art] when you can just [do it without any art]." Yeah, he could just say "hand." And Matt Cameron could adjust his drums to exactly how Ms. Harmless likes. And everyone in the band could take a whole bunch of advice from this forum. And they'd sound like what? Not Pearl Jam.

[RockPusher]

That's me! A snowflake who fell in May.

It literally snowed at my house a few days ago, so hey, why not.

[oneway23]

I did have a point to make though: What reason is there for anything in art? Plenty of artists make art that I don't like. That doesn't mean they're doing it wrong. It sounded funny to me for someone to say "There's no reason to [do this thing in art] when you can just [do in without any art]." Yeah, he could just say "hand." And Matt Cameron could adjust his drums to exactly how Ms. Harmless likes. And everyone in the band could take a whole bunch of advice from this forum. And they'd sound like what? Not Pearl Jam.

I genuinely admire your conviction and dedication, but, if an artist presents a piece of art, it's human nature for said art to be observed, absorbed, assessed, enjoyed, and, yes, occasionally criticized.

I'd prefer to think that all of us here are mature enough to understand that, as human beings, we're likely to see things from different angles, and, I'd hope we all enter into and participate in this discussion with the collective understanding that we're giving opinions here. Art is, after all, subjective.

All of that is to say, it shouldn't be a requirement around here to begin every single post with, "I know this is only my opinion, but..." I'm pretty sure that's a given by now.

[RockPusher]

DO BETTER ART, PEARL JAM

[oneway23]

DO BETTER ART, PEARL JAM

You're finally getting it!

[VinylGuy]

dudes, dudes calm down he just pointed that out because sometimes we get a little feisty with out opinions on something as subjective as music

[Homeboyd]

What’s Trag’s idea of stellar production from PJ?

Anyone know?

Like, which tracks/records?

Vs/Riot Act

Riot Act is the best sounding PJ album by a mile to my ears. Honestly, I usually don't give a shit about production (or maybe I do and don't realize it) but the entire feel of Riot Act elevates a group of songs that are okay/good but rarely much more (and sometimes less). It's easily my favorite album of theirs to listen to from beginning to end.

[mattyv1908]

Long time lurker, recent poster.

As an audiophile who’s preferred listening experience is vinyl on a quality system, playing Dark Matter and Running via streaming service from ITunes left me feeling similarly to the much maligned Trag point of view regarding production.

I finally listened to both tracks in Dolby Atmos on my AirPod 2 Pros and it was a night and day listening experience.

I hope the vinyl version of the album is mastered for the format for sure, but the issues I noticed via streaming on a quality analog setup were alleviated with the AirPod Pros.

Just my anecdotal experience.

Welcome! As there’s no explicit vinyl mastering credit on the 7”, I’m not holding out hope on that front.

I am interested to hear of your experience with the full album in atmos. What sounded different to you with the two singles?

Sorry, long day at work.

I think the faux Atmos experience on the AirPods brings an element of spaciousness that is lacking when listening in either the car or stereo system. I am in 100% agreement with you in regards to the overly compressed nature of what we’ve heard thus far. As a musician who brings a listening element that values quality sounds/tones almost more so than the actual notes being played there’s certain elements to the production that sound like a Line 6 amp compared to a vintage Vox AC30 top boost if you catch my drift. Or if you prefer a golf analogy, it’s like puring a forged iron in the sweet spot compared to hitting a cast iron club. Some won’t notice a difference, but to those who can discern them, they are monumental in the tactile experience that cannot be measured in adjectives. It’s a feeling hard to quantify.

I’m not suggesting that the songs on Dark Matter will ever capture the open air spaciousness of say Of the Girl on vinyl with a top shelf moving magnet cartridge amplified through a tube phono preamp into a quality set of reference grade speakers, but at least they allow for some sound definition amongst the instrumentation taking place.

Hope that helps.

[Higgs]

dudes, dudes calm down he just pointed that out because sometimes we get a little feisty with out opinions on something as subjective as music

Yep. It's fun, isn't it?

[Ms Harmless]

Yes, it's truly a rare case where if you remove the best songs, it's not as good

[Ms Harmless]

I think if you remove one or two songs, Gigaton's still the best thing they've done in 15-20 years. It definitely has raised my expectations of what they could (and should) be capable of on the albums they have left.

this right here