Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

General Pearl Jam discussion.
User avatar
Jorge
NYUCK NYUCK NYUCK
Posts: 36487
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 3:35 pm
Location: Buenos Aires

Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by Jorge »

What are your favorite (and least favorite) songwriting contributions from each individual band member?
Meaning songs where they're credited as songwriters, whether it's the whole song or just the music.

Here are mine:

Jeff
Best: Sleight of Hand
Worst: He wrote Rats, right? I know a lot of people love it, but I can't stand that song.

Matt
Best: Cropduster. Love that tune.
Worst: The Fixer.

Mike
Best: Present Tense
Worst: Turning Mist

Stone
Best: Strangest Tribe
Worst: Let the Records Play

Ed
Best: Corduroy
Worst: Does No More War count as a Pearl Jam song? Otherwise, probably Gone
Anders wrote:I do not have a «neoliberal assessment of geopolitics», so please stop writing that I do.
User avatar
elliseamos
Mind Your Tanners
Posts: 8900
Joined: Thu January 10, 2013 2:19 am
Location: SOUTH PORTLAND

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by elliseamos »

Jeff
Best: Nothing As It Seems
Worst: Sweet Lew

Matt
Best: Get Right
Worst: The Fixer

Mike
Best: Yellow Ledbetter
Worst: Inside Job

Stone
Best: Of The Girl
Worst: Mankind

Ed
Best: Corduroy
Worst: Speed of Sound
Last edited by elliseamos on Wed November 27, 2013 10:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
BurtReynolds
An enigma of a man shaped hole in the wall between reality and the soul of the devil.
Posts: 45826
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 5:13 pm
Location: 6000 feet beyond man and time.

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by BurtReynolds »

Jeff
Best: Sleight of Hand
Worst: Sweet Lew

Matt
Best: You Are
Worst: The Fixer

Mike
Best: Brain of J
Worst: Inside Job

Stone
Best: Of The Girl
Worst: Amongst the Waves

Ed
Best: Immortality
Worst: Future Days

Boom:
Worst: Love Boat Captain

Dave A:
Best: Go
Last edited by BurtReynolds on Wed November 27, 2013 8:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
RM's resident disinformation expert.
User avatar
elliseamos
Mind Your Tanners
Posts: 8900
Joined: Thu January 10, 2013 2:19 am
Location: SOUTH PORTLAND

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by elliseamos »

i almost went w/ brain of j, too. :thumbsup:
User avatar
BurtReynolds
An enigma of a man shaped hole in the wall between reality and the soul of the devil.
Posts: 45826
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 5:13 pm
Location: 6000 feet beyond man and time.

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by BurtReynolds »

elliseamos wrote:i almost went w/ brain of j, too. :thumbsup:
one of my favorites. Mike was so good back then...
RM's resident disinformation expert.
User avatar
Blaine Ryan
Broken Tamborine
Posts: 431
Joined: Wed November 06, 2013 9:16 pm

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by Blaine Ryan »

Jeff--
Best: "Nothingman"
Worst: "Sweet Lew"

Matt--
Best: "In the Moonlight"
Worst: "Evacuation"

Mike--
Best: "Yellow Ledbetter"
Worst: "Sirens"

Stone--
Best: "Do the Evolution" (it's probably "Alive," actually, but I've just heard that song too many goddamned times)
Worst: "Don't Gimme No Lip"

Ed--
Best: "Immortality"
Worst: "Future Days"
User avatar
Jorge
NYUCK NYUCK NYUCK
Posts: 36487
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 3:35 pm
Location: Buenos Aires

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by Jorge »

I knew someone would say "Evacuation" sooner or later, but I never thought it would be you, BR.

One of my favorite Pearl Jam songs.
Anders wrote:I do not have a «neoliberal assessment of geopolitics», so please stop writing that I do.
User avatar
zatara
A Return To Form
Posts: 110
Joined: Fri March 01, 2013 8:26 am
Location: Athens

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by zatara »

Cameron
best: Cropduster
worst: The Fixer
McCready
best: Brain Of J
worst: Sirens
Vedder
best: Porch
worst: Just Breathe
Ament
best: Nothingman (the most difficult choice, I chose that because we had to pick one)
worst:Sweet Lew
Gossard
best: Rival
worst: Amongst The Waves
Last edited by zatara on Wed November 27, 2013 10:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Norah
Poster of the Year
Posts: 37327
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 2:04 pm
Location: September 2020 Poster of the Month

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by Norah »

The correct answer for Mike is Faithfull.
User avatar
elliseamos
Mind Your Tanners
Posts: 8900
Joined: Thu January 10, 2013 2:19 am
Location: SOUTH PORTLAND

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by elliseamos »

I change my vote for Mike to be Yellow Ledbetter.
User avatar
Blaine Ryan
Broken Tamborine
Posts: 431
Joined: Wed November 06, 2013 9:16 pm

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by Blaine Ryan »

theplatypus wrote:I knew someone would say "Evacuation" sooner or later, but I never thought it would be you, BR.

One of my favorite Pearl Jam songs.
I had kind of a hard time choosing between that and "The Fixer." I don't despise "Evacuation" the way a lot of other fans seem to, but at the same time it's never been a song that particularly resonated with me. I've never liked "The Fixer" all that much either, but in the past few years I've come to appreciate it for the big, dumb pop song that it is. At this particular moment, it seemed like the right call.

On a different note, I did almost choose "Cropduster" as my favorite Matt tune. That's a hell of a song.
User avatar
BurtReynolds
An enigma of a man shaped hole in the wall between reality and the soul of the devil.
Posts: 45826
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 5:13 pm
Location: 6000 feet beyond man and time.

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by BurtReynolds »

I change my best Gossard tune to Rival.
RM's resident disinformation expert.
User avatar
McParadigm
NEVER STOP JAMMING!
Posts: 22393
Joined: Wed January 02, 2013 1:56 am

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by McParadigm »

It's a pretty hilarious exercise, really, since 90% of the time "songwriting" amounts to "dude wrote one riff and a strummy thing, and we worked it out later." Especially with Mike.

The Fixer represents a whole different kind of question mark, since it was birthed by Matt but haters need to aim their loathing straight at King Edward.
(patriotic choking noises)
User avatar
Jorge
NYUCK NYUCK NYUCK
Posts: 36487
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 3:35 pm
Location: Buenos Aires

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by Jorge »

McParadigm wrote:It's a pretty hilarious exercise, really, since 90% of the time "songwriting" amounts to "dude wrote one riff and a strummy thing, and we worked it out later." Especially with Mike.

The Fixer represents a whole different kind of question mark, since it was birthed by Matt but haters need to aim their loathing straight at King Edward.
You seem fun
Anders wrote:I do not have a «neoliberal assessment of geopolitics», so please stop writing that I do.
User avatar
Birds in Hell
10Club Complaint Department
Posts: 16263
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 9:38 pm

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by Birds in Hell »

Jeff's best: Sleight of Hand
Jeff's worst: Yellow Moon

Matt's best: Evacuation
Matt's worst: The Fixer

Mike's best: Faithfull
Mike's worst: Force of Nature

Stone's best: Do the Evolution
Stone's worst: Supersonic

Ed's best: Rearviewmirror
Ed's worst: Future Days, I guess
User avatar
Birds in Hell
10Club Complaint Department
Posts: 16263
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 9:38 pm

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by Birds in Hell »

McParadigm wrote:The Fixer represents a whole different kind of question mark, since it was birthed by Matt but haters need to aim their loathing straight at King Edward.
I seriously dig Matt's demo of the basic idea, Ed really fucked it up.

It's manifestly unfair to blame Matt for the purposes of this exercise but, hey, got to pick something.
User avatar
Self
Polluted
Posts: 4644
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 10:27 am
Location: PM me, I have everything.

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by Self »

For the most part, I have no idea who wrote what.
User avatar
BurtReynolds
An enigma of a man shaped hole in the wall between reality and the soul of the devil.
Posts: 45826
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 5:13 pm
Location: 6000 feet beyond man and time.

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by BurtReynolds »

Birds in Hell wrote:
McParadigm wrote:The Fixer represents a whole different kind of question mark, since it was birthed by Matt but haters need to aim their loathing straight at King Edward.
I seriously dig Matt's demo of the basic idea, Ed really fucked it up.

It's manifestly unfair to blame Matt for the purposes of this exercise but, hey, got to pick something.
I felt like the demo would have made a decent Wellwater song, but I'm not sure it could have ever worked as a PJ song. The Fixer was far worse than I could have imagined, though.
RM's resident disinformation expert.
User avatar
McParadigm
NEVER STOP JAMMING!
Posts: 22393
Joined: Wed January 02, 2013 1:56 am

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by McParadigm »

theplatypus wrote:
McParadigm wrote:It's a pretty hilarious exercise, really, since 90% of the time "songwriting" amounts to "dude wrote one riff and a strummy thing, and we worked it out later." Especially with Mike.

The Fixer represents a whole different kind of question mark, since it was birthed by Matt but haters need to aim their loathing straight at King Edward.
You seem fun
Rank the various songwriters in the band based on the average number of stars their contributions warrant, adjusting scores accordingly based on the level to which you believe the group contributed to the song's quality and to eliminate the production factor.
(patriotic choking noises)
User avatar
stip
The worst
Posts: 42946
Joined: Thu December 13, 2012 6:31 pm

Re: Best and worst songwriting contribution from each member

Post by stip »

Jeff
Best: Nothingman
Worst: Gods dice

Matt
Best: The fixer
Worst: In the moonlight

Mike
Best: Yellow Ledbetter
Worst: Inside Job

Stone
Best: Alive
Worst: Mankind

Ed
Best: Corduroy
Worst: Hitchhiker
Post Reply