Backspacer: Official Album Thread

General Pearl Jam discussion.
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Everyone loves Backspacer, but how much?

5 Stars:
6
4%
4 Stars:
31
19%
3 Stars:
78
47%
2 Stars:
30
18%
1 Star:
20
12%
 
Total votes: 165

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stip
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

The whole thing doesn't work but part of me kinda likes the sound of the downtuned guitars more than the studio version. There's a lazy bounce to them that might be more interesting than the faux aggression on the album.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by Thejambi »

That Getaway video was truly depressing.
There's the dog. You can't fake that stuff. Confess with your mouth.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

at least they had the good sense to take it out of rotation
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by dimejinky99 »

there was a video for getaway?
Calibrate your enthusiasm
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by Thejambi »

dimejinky99 wrote:there was a video for getaway?
The live performance on the previous page.
There's the dog. You can't fake that stuff. Confess with your mouth.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by harmless »

Ouch, that was atrocious. I was about to listen to Lightning Bolt again after having left it for a good while. Now I'm not.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by harmless »

Yanno, for a long time I argued on RM that they weren't a great live band anymore, and I got a bunch of shit for it. Now I hope we can all agree that it's virtually impossible to ignore.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by Monkey_Driven »

harmless wrote:Yanno, for a long time I argued on RM that they weren't a great live band anymore, and I got a bunch of shit for it. Now I hope we can all agree that it's virtually impossible to ignore.
They still have their moments, but yeah I agree. Modern shows can be pretty painful to listen to after their consistent excellence for so many years.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

I still maintain there is a useful distinction between pearl jam as a live band and pearl jam as band producing live recordings. The former is excellent. The later has definitely suffered, arguably in part due to the approach used in the former.

But since I don't listen to boots much, and there are hundreds of high quality ones I have access to, I'm just not that troubled by it, personally. I'd be devastated if my experience at a live show took a hit, though.

Obviously I'd prefer both were still awesome
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

harmless wrote:Ouch, that was atrocious. I was about to listen to Lightning Bolt again after having left it for a good while. Now I'm not.
maybe it'll give you an appreciation for the studio version.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by harmless »

stip wrote:I still maintain there is a useful distinction between pearl jam as a live band and pearl jam as band producing live recordings. The former is excellent. The later has definitely suffered, arguably in part due to the approach used in the former.

But since I don't listen to boots much, and there are hundreds of high quality ones I have access to, I'm just not that troubled by it, personally. I'd be devastated if my experience at a live show took a hit, though.

Obviously I'd prefer both were still awesome
The problem is, I actually listen hard to a band's playing when I go to a gig. It's most of my enjoyment, and for all that I love the electric atmosphere at a good concert, I can't feel that atmosphere if a band are not playing their asses off. I can't appreciate live Pearl Jam for its atmosphere alone. I used to be able to enjoy a concert if they had an off night, because the rest of what they were doing made up for it: the songs were top shelf, I enjoyed the people in the band and what they said, the band's whole image rocked. They were incontrovertibly a great band by all accounts. Now? They're a passable band, sometimes, so that electric anticipation and orgasmic excitement of seeing them live isn't really there for me anymore.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

pearl jam's passable performances:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review ... ena-659615

Pearl Jam did the Boss proud at the first of two shows at the venue with a varied, marathon-length three-hour set that combined crowd favorites with obscurities to prove that two decades into their career, Pearl Jam is still one of America's best bands.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ ... r-20131207

Seattle rockers Pearl Jam closed out the North American leg of their Lightning Bolt tour last night with a performance for the ages. It had been over four years since the band last staged a concert in their hometown, and the city’s patience was more than rewarded with a three hour and fifteen minute marathon of hits, deep cuts and covers.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ ... z33sW3bgyQ

Seattle rockers Pearl Jam closed out the North American leg of their Lightning Bolt tour last night with a performance for the ages.



http://www.mercurynews.com/music/ci_246 ... ks-oakland
Vedder and crew made up for lost time by delivering an epic night of music



http://newsok.com/concert-review-pearl- ... le/3905773
Pearl Jam’s standard for live performances was high from the beginning of its career, and that ferocious energy is why the near-capacity crowd was essentially in thrall to the band by the third song


those were the first 4 hits when I googled pearl jam concert review. I'm sure some shows are better than others, but the idea that pearl jam is now a marginal live band is something that probably exists here and, apparently, not too many other places.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by harmless »

Yeah, I don't really believe the puff pieces written in the media. They never actually comment on what the band sounded like. I judge that by the gigs, and the videos posted from the gigs afterwards. That PJ sometimes sounds pretty good live is not in doubt. It just doesn't happen nearly often enough anymore; in fact it happens so seldom that a great performance from them now is like a fluke.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

I too enjoy discounting evidence that detracts from sweeping generalizations made by embittered fans
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

harmless wrote:Yeah, I don't really believe the puff pieces written in the media. They never actually comment on what the band sounded like. I judge that by the gigs, and the videos posted from the gigs afterwards.
so the shows you didn't attend and the awesome youtube documentation of them?
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

welcome back Harmless, I'm sure you've missed this :)
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by harmless »

I never said you wouldn't be able to give me 5 links to articles saying they played well, though. I think it's unfair that you're holding me to that thing I didn't say.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by harmless »

stip wrote:
harmless wrote:Yeah, I don't really believe the puff pieces written in the media. They never actually comment on what the band sounded like. I judge that by the gigs, and the videos posted from the gigs afterwards.
so the shows you didn't attend and the awesome youtube documentation of them?
No, the less than stellar shows I have attended (one and a half out of the three I've gone to) and the many many bad performance videos there to be found online.

Stip, this is pretty boring already you already know I have this opinion and nobody wants to see it being dragged out of my dark soul again. What have you got against bitterness, and why would you assume that people are just bitter because they think it's a lot of fun, and completely without reason? Leave me be.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

Then don't post it. I'm responding to a message board statement posted in a public forum that exists to enable discussion about these topics. There are lots of things I don't enjoy talking about, and so I don't post about them.


But I'll leave you alone. Have fun :)
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by harmless »

stip wrote:Then don't post it.
Fine with me :wave:
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