Lightning Bolt: The Official Album Thread

[knee tunes]

SW is really good.

you are correct

[Angus]

I remember being pretty offended by all the criticism Riot Act got. I've always loved it.

[harmless]

Hahahaha Sirens is still my favourite song on it.

[liebzz]

I am not a professional music critic nor do I listen to a tremendous volume of music all year round, but I can say with full confidence that there was not a single album I enjoyed listening to more this year than Lightning Bolt.

[VinylGuy]

Man I wish we still had all the riot act era postings on this board

The Binaural ones should be really funny to read today.

[Lament]

SW is really good.

I think this is the only song from the album I've listened to in the past month. I still really enjoy this song a lot.

[stip]

Man I wish we still had all the riot act era postings on this board

The Binaural ones should be really funny to read today.

i wasn't on RM until Riot Act. But man, the board was not a fan of that album. S/T was hailed as a miracle precisely because it didn't sound like Riot Act.

[digster]

Riot Act doesn't really seem at all like an album that would make sense immediately.

S/T, I remember everyone totally bought into the promotion of that record; it was going to be THE angry, intense anti-Bush record that people had been clamoring for, it was going to be their Return To Rock.

[stip]

Yeah, but the riot act backlash existed right up into the S/T launch. That's beyond immediately. And the 'return to rock' push as something essential and vital needs there to be a binaural and especially Riot Act backlash to make sense.

Obviously history has been much kinder to those two records.

[stip]

Ellie (her pet name is monkey) just came into my office and asked to listen to earl jam (which means lightning bolt). And when mind your manners came on she started jumping around yelling 'mind your monkey'. It was pretty great

[digster]

I remember even by 06 the tide was beginning to turn, but I remember fans really wanted a loud, intense record at the time Riot Act came out. I know I did; it took a while for me to sort of mature a bit to understand why such a muted response made sense, also.

[stip]

same here.

[epilogue]

Riot Act was the last time Pearl Jam and I were in the exact same place at the exact same time. It was the album I needed from them then. Gorgeous record. There was only a minor disconnect between me and S/T. The largest was Backspacer. LB is closer to S/T in those terms.

[stip]

Riot act has the largest disconnect for me. It is also the first time I felt like I NEEDED an album from them.

[Lament]

Riot Act was the last time Pearl Jam and I were in the exact same place at the exact same time. It was the album I needed from them then. Gorgeous record.

That album brings back late fall/early winter of 2002 so vividly every time I put it on. Rain soaked, gray days that felt like Can't Keep & Thumbing My Way & All or None sound. I loved the album instantly.

[digster]

Riot Act is really the only album they've done that I can think of that has that kind of context attached to it, at least for me. I wanted S/T to be the album they said it was (which, to be honest, it wasn't), but I didn't really bring any baggage into the last two records.

[stip]

S/t was the only other record I came into with specific needs, in part because riot act didn't meet them

[VinylGuy]

i dont i ever need an album from them because i didnt liked the previous one. There was a time were i needed them to rock more, to be more invested live with the audience...and the 2005 tour blew me away.
But in studio they have been always my favorite band i guess...when RA came out i loved it.

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

I loved "Riot Act" on first listen and I still love it. "S/T" was the first time I said, "what the fuck is this crap?". It seems like the more Bon Jovi-ish they get, the more people like them. Just a reflection of prevailing (poor) taste.

[knee tunes]

I loved "Riot Act" on first listen and I still love it. "S/T" was the first time I said, "what the fuck is this crap?". It seems like the more Bon Jovi-ish they get, the more people like them. Just a reflection of prevailing (poor) taste.

I don't think Riot Act sounded anything like Bon Jovi