Lightning Bolt: The Official Album Thread

[McParadigm]

stip, what are you doing?

[matt reeder]

So one song out of 12 makes it sound like Coldplay?

At least that's a first. Everyone else has been comparing it to an 80s power ballad.

"Sirens" is the most obvious example. Actually, every song but "Getaway", "My Fathers Son", "Mind Your Manners" and "Lightning Bolt" sounds like something Coldplay could do a lot better.

[Rangi Guy]

So one song out of 12 makes it sound like Coldplay?

At least that's a first. Everyone else has been comparing it to an 80s power ballad.

"Sirens" is the most obvious example. Actually, every song but "Getaway", "My Fathers Son", "Mind Your Manners" and "Lightning Bolt" sounds like something Coldplay could do a lot better.

[BoltofLightning]

Yeah, Coldplay always uses a lot of violin-bowed guitars in their songs.

[matt reeder]

Yeah, Coldplay always uses a lot of violin-bowed guitars in their songs.

That's insignificant. Coldplay also uses a lot of instruments Pearl Jam doesn't. The point here is that Pearl Jam has completely lost the thread - they don't sound like Pearl Jam anymore. I'm fine with bands evolving - in fact, I encourage it. Pearl Jam isn't evolving though. Not really. There's nothing here that they could not have done better 10 years ago, and there are a lot of very disturbing signs.

The biggest problem is that they don't sound like Pearl Jam. They sound like somebody else.

[stip]

that's fine that you don't like it. I just do not hear this coldplay comparison at all. Thousands of pages of discussion at this point at this is a first.

[evenslow]

The biggest problem is that they don't sound like Pearl Jam. They sound like somebody else.

You're thinking of Vitalogy/ST PJ with MYM, Backspacer PJ with LB, Uke Songs/ITW with SBM and SW, Binaural PJ with MFS and Pendulum, etc.

(The above was copy/pasted from a stock ticker).

[BurtReynolds]

it's Coldplayesque in spirit. big, dumb, pseudospiritual, kinda fake, kinda successful...

[matt reeder]

It's the arrangements. Most of the songs are MOR soft rock with Eddie Vedder singing. Remove his voice and substitute Chris Martin - would any of you actually like this? Actually, Coldplay do this a hell of a lot better. There's little memorable about much of this album. Even the PJ albums I didn't get at first (No Code, Binaural) at least had something stand out about them right from the beginning. My favorite song on this by far was "Mind Your Manners", and it sounds like nothing else on the album.

I could have said Train or Matchbox 20. It sounds like that too, but I'm less familiar with those groups save for the hits.

It's amazing to see so many of you really liking this. I need to give it some more time but man...this is pretty bad.

Edit: Burt nailed it.

Edit2: I don't have any desire to listen to Ukelele songs. I never have, and I might never listen to it.

[Thejambi]

Yeah, Coldplay always uses a lot of violin-bowed guitars in their songs.

That's insignificant. Coldplay also uses a lot of instruments Pearl Jam doesn't. The point here is that Pearl Jam has completely lost the thread - they don't sound like Pearl Jam anymore. I'm fine with bands evolving - in fact, I encourage it. Pearl Jam isn't evolving though. Not really. There's nothing here that they could not have done better 10 years ago, and there are a lot of very disturbing signs.

The biggest problem is that they don't sound like Pearl Jam. They sound like somebody else.

A lot of this album sounds like early PJ to me. More so than the return to form that was S/T.

[harmless]

I'm surprised you named "Lightning Bolt" as one of the songs that don't sound like Coldplay.

[harmless]

Probably because you like it.

[matt reeder]

Yeah, Coldplay always uses a lot of violin-bowed guitars in their songs.

That's insignificant. Coldplay also uses a lot of instruments Pearl Jam doesn't. The point here is that Pearl Jam has completely lost the thread - they don't sound like Pearl Jam anymore. I'm fine with bands evolving - in fact, I encourage it. Pearl Jam isn't evolving though. Not really. There's nothing here that they could not have done better 10 years ago, and there are a lot of very disturbing signs.

The biggest problem is that they don't sound like Pearl Jam. They sound like somebody else.

A lot of this album sounds like early PJ to me. More so than the return to form that was S/T.

If we're talking Ten-era, that's actually a pretty legit comparison. But there's nothing going on here that's as interesting as say, "Oceans" or "Garden", and nothing as memorable as "Alive".

I'm pretty sure all of you other than Stip are going to hate this within 6 months.

[stupidmop]

It's the arrangements. Most of the songs are MOR soft rock with Eddie Vedder singing. Remove his voice and substitute Chris Martin - would any of you actually like this? Actually, Coldplay do this a hell of a lot better. There's little memorable about much of this album. Even the PJ albums I didn't get at first (No Code, Binaural) at least had something stand out about them right from the beginning. My favorite song on this by far was "Mind Your Manners", and it sounds like nothing else on the album.

I could have said Train or Matchbox 20. It sounds like that too, but I'm less familiar with those groups save for the hits.

It's amazing to see so many of you really liking this. I need to give it some more time but man...this is pretty bad.

Edit: Burt nailed it.

Edit2: I don't have any desire to listen to Ukelele songs. I never have, and I might never listen to it.

It's all eddies lame ass generic pop melodies wedged in everywhere. Hopefully he gets all of that out of his system before the next one.

[evenslow]

True story: Matchbox 20 turned down an offer to play 'Of the Earth' for Jimmy Fallon Pearl Jam Week.

[Thejambi]

It's the arrangements. Most of the songs are MOR soft rock with Eddie Vedder singing. Remove his voice and substitute Chris Martin - would any of you actually like this?

I hate when people do this.

[matt reeder]

I'm surprised you named "Lightning Bolt" as one of the songs that don't sound like Coldplay.

Probably because you like it.

You could definitely make the comparison, particularly in the lyrics. The arrangement doesn't really sound like Coldplay though. And for the record, I don't really like "Lightning Bolt" yet - I could just see myself liking it after hearing it on a few bootlegs.

[evenslow]

It's all eddies lame ass generic pop melodies wedged in everywhere. Hopefully he gets all of that out of his system before the next one.

[stupidmop]

It's all eddies lame ass generic pop melodies wedged in everywhere. Hopefully he gets all of that out of his system before the next one.

I got icon'd! My work is done.

[WaitingForBluey]

The biggest problem is that they don't sound like Pearl Jam. They sound like somebody else.

Hmmm, that's interesting because I'm pretty sure that the band I saw in both Brooklyn and Philly was Pearl Jam... and I'm equally sure that they were playing songs from Lightning Bolt that sounded like Pearl Jam as well... if anything, this argument may hold for Backspacer (and specifically at Philly 2 I thought the 3 BS songs didn't fit very well) but I'm not feeling that with LB. The new songs fit in quite nicely with the rest of the set.