Challenge the recency bias/new albumitis: Rerank Dark Matter

[stip]

Said differently, the original thread shows 9% of voters scoring it at 3 stars or lower. But the re-rank puts that at more like 32%, as of right now.

I was one who went from a 4 to a 3, but the 4 was coming from a place of listening regularly while the 3 comes from a place of not having listened for a while. So maybe the takeaway for me is that it's an album that creates an experience more than it leaves an impression.

The last few PJ albums have been weird. It's reasonable to expect some of that first-wave enthusiasm to fade, but you hope that that is where some of that "deeper connection" stuff takes over -- that point at which passion gives way to "getting to know each other well enough to spend a life together." I haven't felt that with a PJ album in a while, probably not since S/T. Maybe it's just a stage-of-life thing.

I don’t think it is just a stage of life thing, at least for me.

That deeper connection to the material of a rock band is largely informed by the band members’ personalities, and the extent to which those personalities are reflected in the music. It’s what leads to thrilling micro dynamics of interplay — little moments where the guys veer off-script of the macro composition and into unplanned territory.

There’s virtually none of that on the last three albums, with a few specific exceptions. You remove Eddie’s voice from the proceedings, and there’s little going on that couldn’t be reasonably ascribed to any number of studio musicians. In contrast, the last RHCP albums are filled with these moments, and it rewards repeated listens towards deeper discovery or enjoyment of those moments.

Dark Matter and LB are extreme examples of the problem, because the production obliterates the microdynamics of band interplay. But even on Gigaton, there’s a “places, parts everybody!” element to the compositions that undermines some of the more interesting numbers like Alright or SBWM.

Looseness and improvisation are so important in rock music. The band has really lost touch with those aspects.

how are you thinking about personalities in this context?

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Kevin Davis]

Man I relate to that so much — in general, not just as it pertains to Pearl Jam

[basically_infirmed]

that's very well put

[Matters]

Well now I wanna go listen to Army Reserve.

[daft twat]

I just want to go listen to more Dark Matter in concert.

[Matters]

React Respond and Setting Sun are the live standouts for me.

[coptheriotact]

still a 1 for me, cant make it through the whole album

some songs were decent live though

[Matters]

still a 1 for me, cant make it through the whole album

some songs were decent live though

Damn a 1? That’s pretty rough. Even Lightning Bolt gets a 2 from me.

DM is still a 4 but more likely to move down to a 3 than up to a 5.

[jtmack20]

I wish 3.5 was an option. With this scale I'd bump it up on the strength of the live performances, but down if it's just the studio album itself.

This thread is about the album, and not the tour cycle

I'd say it's a strong 3.49 then. I like most of the songs, but there's something missing here. The production robs it of a certain kind of character that defines the group's strongest albums.

I think this sums it up for me as well. Its very impressive for album 12, and I do like some of the songs alot, but I wish I liked it more than I do. I dont like the drum sound at all, and some of the songs people love (Waiting for Steve, Setting Sun) are just OK for me.

[lvc]

3 stars.

Most of the songs are pretty good, but I really dislike the way it sounds and don't find myself revisiting it very often as a result (in fact I'm not sure I've played it at all since last summer). Last time I ranked the albums I had it second from the bottom, ahead of only Lightning Bolt.

This is pretty much my opinion as well. I like the writing and I like the playing but the way it's mixed is just baffling in the way that nothing is audible. All that sound and I barely hear anything. It makes me sad.

[stip]

3 stars.

Most of the songs are pretty good, but I really dislike the way it sounds and don't find myself revisiting it very often as a result (in fact I'm not sure I've played it at all since last summer). Last time I ranked the albums I had it second from the bottom, ahead of only Lightning Bolt.

This is pretty much my opinion as well. I like the writing and I like the playing but the way it's mixed is just baffling in the way that nothing is audible. All that sound and I barely hear anything. It makes me sad.

I do get this critique. I even hear it (SoF is maybe where this is the worst?). But the energy carries me through

[Kevin Davis]

There’s virtually none of that on the last three albums, with a few specific exceptions. You remove Eddie’s voice from the proceedings, and there’s little going on that couldn’t be reasonably ascribed to any number of studio musicians.

I just listened to "Rose of Jericho" (from Earthling) in the March Madness thread and immediately thought of this post. In the Watt/Ghenea vice grip, Eddie's "Earthlings" band and Pearl Jam sound virtually identical, reducible to three discernible elements -- Eddie's voice, overly processed drums, and a sort of generalized "loud rock music noise" in the middle.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Birds in Hell]

In the Watt/Ghenea vice grip, Eddie's "Earthlings" band and Pearl Jam sound virtually identical, reducible to three discernible elements -- Eddie's voice, overly processed drums, and a sort of generalized "loud rock music noise" in the middle.

Spot on.

Ed may as well be singing over a beer commercial.

[ridleybradout]

Ok, I was holding out posting this in respect for trag's upcoming Dark Matter remix (which I still hope gets completed one day as it will be a totally different beast anyway) but it's been almost a year now, so here it is.

This is a stereo mixdown of the 7.1 Dolby Atmos bluray version of Dark Matter (converted using Logic) that I found posted in a comment on redacted.sh last year. Some of you may have come across it there or elsewhere too.

It is light years ahead of the 'regular' stereo mix - better separation, more dynamic, and with some of the Wattish sheen taken off (though the drums still don't sound as good as they should).

Between this version and the Apple Dolby Atmos mix, I don't think I've actually listened to the 'original stereo' mix since it first came out. I just went back to it after reading the above comments and it hurt my ears - it sounds like a 90's MP3 downloaded from Napster

So enough is enough - download this version and never look back

[Monkey_Driven]

This is fantastic!

[coptheriotact]

Ok, I was holding out posting this in respect for trag's upcoming Dark Matter remix (which I still hope gets completed one day as it will be a totally different beast anyway) but it's been almost a year now, so here it is.

This is a stereo mixdown of the 7.1 Dolby Atmos bluray version of Dark Matter (converted using Logic) that I found posted in a comment on redacted.sh last year. Some of you may have come across it there or elsewhere too.

It is light years ahead of the 'regular' stereo mix - better separation, more dynamic, and with some of the Wattish sheen taken off (though the drums still don't sound as good as they should).

Between this version and the Apple Dolby Atmos mix, I don't think I've actually listened to the 'original stereo' mix since it first came out. I just went back to it after reading the above comments and it hurt my ears - it sounds like a 90's MP3 downloaded from Napster

So enough is enough - download this version and never look back

thanks for all the hard work! ill try this album one more time.

[coptheriotact]

There’s virtually none of that on the last three albums, with a few specific exceptions. You remove Eddie’s voice from the proceedings, and there’s little going on that couldn’t be reasonably ascribed to any number of studio musicians.

Eddie's "Earthlings" band and Pearl Jam sound virtually identical, reducible to three discernible elements -- Eddie's voice, overly processed drums, and a sort of generalized "loud rock music noise" in the middle.

yep spot on

[stip]

really enjoying this. gonna take a few listens for my ears to not be attuned to the dissonance of difference, but I love alternate mixes. curious what folks down on the official DM mix think.

Thank you, as always RB