Backspacer: Official Album Thread

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

5 Stars:
7
4%
4 Stars:
30
18%
3 Stars:
78
47%
2 Stars:
30
18%
1 Star:
20
12%
 
Total votes: 165

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Leatherhead
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by Leatherhead »

mikejasond wrote:Also I think the lyrics on this album are MUCH better than the middle albums! Im listening to Amongst the Waves........
Riding high amongst the waves
I can feel like I
Have a soul that has been saved
I can feel like I
Put away my early grave

Gotta say it now
Better loud
Than too late

Riding high amongst the waves
I can feel like I Have a soul that has been saved
I can see the light Coming through the clouds in rays

I gotta say it now
Better loud than too late

:throwup:
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by PHATJ »

Leatherhead wrote:
mikejasond wrote:Also I think the lyrics on this album are MUCH better than the middle albums! Im listening to Amongst the Waves........
Riding high amongst the waves
I can feel like I
Have a soul that has been saved
I can feel like I
Put away my early grave

Gotta say it now
Better loud
Than too late

Riding high amongst the waves
I can feel like I Have a soul that has been saved
I can see the light Coming through the clouds in rays

I gotta say it now
Better loud than too late

:throwup:
I agree. Those are some pretty uninspiring (and juvenile) lyrics. And this is one of the only songs on BS I actually like. :roll:
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stip
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

The better loud than too late lyric is nice. And the verses are very good in amongst the wave. That chorus is nothing special, but Eddie has very few great choruses
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by LoathedVermin72 »

BS has very easily the worst lyrics of any PJ album.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by dimejinky99 »

LoathedVermin72 wrote:BS has very easily the worst lyrics of any PJ album.

I'd disagree.
Calibrate your enthusiasm
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by LoathedVermin72 »

dimejinky99 wrote:
LoathedVermin72 wrote:BS has very easily the worst lyrics of any PJ album.

I'd disagree.
"now johnny he be havin' lots of women" is enough to give the album that distinction alone
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by bada »

...but Johnny did have lots of woman...its truth talk.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by Jorge »

LoathedVermin72 wrote:
dimejinky99 wrote:
LoathedVermin72 wrote:BS has very easily the worst lyrics of any PJ album.

I'd disagree.
"now johnny he be havin' lots of women" is enough to give the album that distinction alone
I thought he was consciously trying to emulate the song's subject, Johnny Guitar Watson. That's kinda what he sounded like
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by LoathedVermin72 »

theplatypus wrote:
LoathedVermin72 wrote:
dimejinky99 wrote:
LoathedVermin72 wrote:BS has very easily the worst lyrics of any PJ album.

I'd disagree.
"now johnny he be havin' lots of women" is enough to give the album that distinction alone
I thought he was consciously trying to emulate the song's subject, Johnny Guitar Watson. That's kinda what he sounded like
That's great and all, but Eddie does not have the flair to pull that off.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by Self »

LoathedVermin72 wrote:
theplatypus wrote:
LoathedVermin72 wrote:
dimejinky99 wrote:
LoathedVermin72 wrote:BS has very easily the worst lyrics of any PJ album.

I'd disagree.
"now johnny he be havin' lots of women" is enough to give the album that distinction alone
I thought he was consciously trying to emulate the song's subject, Johnny Guitar Watson. That's kinda what he sounded like
That's great and all, but Eddie does not have the flair to pull that off.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by Jorge »

"A warmth alive and lingering" is my least-favorite part of those lyrics because it's Ed's weird way of talking about pussy
Last edited by Jorge on Wed April 20, 2016 5:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by McParadigm »

None of that is as bad as what's on Getaway or My Father's Son. Or Sirens, actually. Not by half.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by LoathedVermin72 »

I don't have any major issues with the first two. But, admittedly, I haven't sat down and studied these or anything.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by McParadigm »

MFS / Johnny Guitar is actually a pretty good juxtaposition, because both are character pieces, both are laughably corny, and yet only one actually wants to be laughably corny. And Johnny Guitar, an intentional cheeseball of Black Red Yellow proportions, ends up feeling like it comes from a much more authentic place of empathy with the character than MFS, which just reads like a fan-made comic book about Lex Luthor's son. Instead of offering insight into what could be a relatable or broader undercurrent feeling, MFS strips itself of anything that might resemble deeper understanding (great idea, for a first person song that opens with a declaration of genius), takes itself very seriously while offering the stupidest lines ever, and sounds almost mocking of its subject at times.

MFS is also full of "I feel this way" type statements, which are rarely effective at capturing a character in any sort of 3-dimensional, relatably-human way.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

Totally with McP on this. Johnny Guitar's lyrics are mocking the subject in a loving way. MFS has just awful lyrics (excepting the bridge)


Force of Nature is one of Eddie's best lyrical compositions.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by dimejinky99 »

I kinda think MFS is great all round.


And agreed, Stip. Force of nature is flawless in these ears but it's just perfect lyrically.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

Force of Nature makes VERY poor choices in its opening moments, but it gets sooooo good.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by LoathedVermin72 »

Jorge needs to post a McDonald's burger
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by dimejinky99 »

Force of nature is stand out cos it's a mid tempo rocker but with intent and fluency. Unlike the meandering go nowhere do nothing mid tempo ones on S/T which are more like a series of dirges on a glum parade. Aiming for Springsteen but only reaching meatloaf.
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Re: Backspacer: Official Album Thread

Post by LoathedVermin72 »

FON is a nothing song
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