digster wrote:stip wrote:
Release Me's point is that the melodic underpinning of those early songs were stronger (i'll defer to people who know more about songwriting/construction to say whether or not that's true). I'm not sure the thematic substance of the songs matter. Every rock hit in that era once grunge took off was dark. And the wordless moaning was catchy as hell.
That's the point I was trying to make; the mountain moved to Mohammed, not the other way around. The fact that the songs became mainstream hits doesn't mean that they were written in the style or format of mainstream hits. It's just that what was popular shifted. That's seemingly different when their recent work, when there seems to have been an effort to incorporate a more mainstream, accessible approach into their songwriting (i.e. trying to write a smash). It's up to each person to decide how successfully they did that, but I think it's a different form of writing.
stip wrote: For what it's worth, I think the real key is that the earlier/later songs were generally more extroverted and the 'mid period' ones were more introverted. Those aren't the words I think I've used in the past (hlniv used those terms, I think) but they get to what I see as the key difference.
I think this is just an eye of the beholder thing; I personally see as little ground between Lightning Bolt and Ten as I do between No Code or Yield and Ten.
The thing is, it was fashionable back then to write dark and moody songs. Jeremy was as accessible a song as any on radio in that era. 5 minute plus songs were not the anomaly they are now. PJ was accused of riding Nirvana's coattails to success and not being alternative enough. They were said to be a classic rock band disguised as a grunge outfit. They were definitely the least grunge of all the big bands. They were the most accessible and secured the most radio hits too.
Comparing songs from that era with LB songs directly is really missing the point. The melodic underpinnings are similar in my opinion and Ed is once again given the canvas to shine, whether you think that's a good idea these days is a separate point. Ed was more on the backburner in the middle records as far as his vocals go. He was also very restrained and not the in your face singer he used to be. He's attempted to be that once more even though there are differences in his voice and the songs themselves like you said.
In my opinion, this is not an effort to unnaturally alter their songwriting to become something they never were. It's just an opposing direction to the middle period where an effort was made to actually be less radio friendly. If anything, that was the drastic shift in this band's career.
This a never-ending debate which can rage on forever but hopefully in another thread. I actually like this song and feel guilty for hijacking it's thread.
Pearl Jam is the only band I'll spend money on.
