I don't mean to romanticize it, and the White Album comparison was really just meant as a general reference point -- a high-profile, recognizable example of another band that took a bunch of solo compositions (and performances, in their case) and put them through something of a full-band meat grinder to make something messy and imperfect but beautiful and unique. I certainly don't think "I Am Mine" and "Thumbing My Way" are the musical equivalents of "Dear Prudence" and "Mother Nature's Son" (even though the albums as wholes are equally special to me), nor do I think the circumstances surrounding the creation of the two records were comparable -- the Beatles were writing solo because there were tensions within the group, where Pearl Jam did so because they trusted each other enough to give each other that space (or at least, that is how it has seemed since Yield). But in the end I do think what attracts me to both records, apart from just liking both groups of songs a lot, is loosely the same -- a sort of unity-via-difference, everything-fits-because-nothing-does creative dumping ground. I have a disproportionate fondness for records like that, though -- they engage my brain and senses in a unique way, and in a lot of ways I think I identify with the somewhat directionless urge to just create without regard for final context that these albums embody.McParadigm wrote:I too like the period of solo songwriting, and I agree that things get carried in that wouldn’t otherwise. I also think you’re espousing a romanticized view of that approach, especially with white album comparisons, but we all romanticize the things we love.
So much of the PRAMG/modern Pearl Jam discussion on RM over the last 10-15 years has been centered around what Pearl Jam "needs to do," in regards to their creative process, in order to make good, inspired-sounding records again. Whatever it is, they've landed on something with Gigaton and Dark Matter that works (and, presumably, two different things that work, since very little about the creation of those two albums seems like it was similar in any way). I've surrendered the admittedly arrogant presumption that, if only they went back to a method that 20 years ago resulted in even better records (to me anyway), we'd somehow be getting records now that resonate with me in the same way. I doubt we would, and I'm more than happy with what they're putting out now. But I do miss the distinct creative voices of the other band members -- I'm glad Gigaton brought them back in small ways, and I hope it's not the last we've seen of them.
