Song of the Moment: Breakerfall

[Leatherhead]

Breakerfall is awesome. Have loved it from the first time I heard it. There's so much to hear. I've said this about fast Binaural songs before, but they're just so good, so much room to breathe, so many nuggets of awesomeness to listen for. Pretty much everything in this song I'm really into. The bass, the guitar, the drums, the vocals, the lyrics, love it all. That guitar riff is just amazeballs, bass line is super cool, Eddie's vocals have some attitude to them, I'm not sure what that attitude is, but I dig it. Matt's drum fills on the snare are particularly awesome to listen to and his work during and coming out of the bridge is particularly nice to hear every time I listen to the song, it's almost like the drums have fallen off the tracks, still rolling along, but derailed until Matt finds that snare drum again and is like " there we go!" Pearl Jam in space, love it.

Wow that's a lot of posts in the time it took me to type this.

[LoathedVermin72]

Also it's weird because PJ usually has amazing openers.

Once, Go, Last Exit, Sometimes, Life Wasted all PERFECT for the albums they opened...honestly so is Brain of J, Cant Keep, and Gonna See My Friend...all of them tell you what album you will be listening to, work as good first songs, and set the tone. Getaway is a step below that but still good. PJ has a 9/10 perfect record with openers and this is the one total black mark because besides sounding bad (IMO) it doesn't even set the tone for the right album because the strengths of Binaural are nothing like this song.

Breakerfall is better than Once, Life Wasted, Gonna See My Friend and Getaway. I'd even entertain an argument that it's better than Sometimes, too.

I disagree on many levels, as I think it's a worse song than all of those, but even if you liked it better than GSMF and Getaway as a song (Better than Once? Really?) it doesnt work as an intro to Binaural because Binaural does not sound like this song after the first 3 songs which are very out of place on the album.

Who says all of an album has to sound like its opening tracks?

The opening track is essentially setting the tone of the album, it has an important role to fill to make the album sound like a cohesive work. Which Binaural does not.

It can be. Doesn't have to be. That's a pretty restrictive view of album structure.

[chewm]

The only openers that are better than Brealerfall are Brain of J, Last Exit, Sometimes and Life Wasted (yup).
I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one who thinks so but Pearl Jam has very weak album openers.

[LoathedVermin72]

The only openers that are better than Brealerfall are Brain of J, Last Exit, Sometimes and Life Wasted (yup).
I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one who thinks so but Pearl Jam has very weak album openers.

I think I disagree with your PJ taste more than anyone else here

[mikejasond]

Also it's weird because PJ usually has amazing openers.

Once, Go, Last Exit, Sometimes, Life Wasted all PERFECT for the albums they opened...honestly so is Brain of J, Cant Keep, and Gonna See My Friend...all of them tell you what album you will be listening to, work as good first songs, and set the tone. Getaway is a step below that but still good. PJ has a 9/10 perfect record with openers and this is the one total black mark because besides sounding bad (IMO) it doesn't even set the tone for the right album because the strengths of Binaural are nothing like this song.

Breakerfall is better than Once, Life Wasted, Gonna See My Friend and Getaway. I'd even entertain an argument that it's better than Sometimes, too.

I disagree on many levels, as I think it's a worse song than all of those, but even if you liked it better than GSMF and Getaway as a song (Better than Once? Really?) it doesnt work as an intro to Binaural because Binaural does not sound like this song after the first 3 songs which are very out of place on the album.

Who says all of an album has to sound like its opening tracks?

The opening track is essentially setting the tone of the album, it has an important role to fill to make the album sound like a cohesive work. Which Binaural does not.

It can be. Doesn't have to be. That's a pretty restrictive view of album structure.

Well all of their other openers worked in this way. Just like a concert, making the opener any old song CAN work but it works best if it fits. Like they could close their shows with Satan's Bed if they want but it will be anti-climactic, they can open with any song they want to...but they have certain songs that work best.

I dunno I feel like Binaural-Riot Act is Pearl Jam at their absolute flattest. Tons of repetitive riffs, and yet every song sounds like an aimless drone somehow.

Its not until self-titled where I think they adjusted their song to mesh well with Cameron and sound like a more lively band.

[stip]

Also it's weird because PJ usually has amazing openers.

Once, Go, Last Exit, Sometimes, Life Wasted all PERFECT for the albums they opened...honestly so is Brain of J, Cant Keep, and Gonna See My Friend...all of them tell you what album you will be listening to, work as good first songs, and set the tone. Getaway is a step below that but still good. PJ has a 9/10 perfect record with openers and this is the one total black mark because besides sounding bad (IMO) it doesn't even set the tone for the right album because the strengths of Binaural are nothing like this song.

Breakerfall is better than Once, Life Wasted, Gonna See My Friend and Getaway. I'd even entertain an argument that it's better than Sometimes, too.

I disagree on many levels, as I think it's a worse song than all of those, but even if you liked it better than GSMF and Getaway as a song (Better than Once? Really?) it doesnt work as an intro to Binaural because Binaural does not sound like this song after the first 3 songs which are very out of place on the album.

Who says all of an album has to sound like its opening tracks?

The opening track is essentially setting the tone of the album, it has an important role to fill to make the album sound like a cohesive work. Which Binaural does not.

It can be. Doesn't have to be. That's a pretty restrictive view of album structure.

Well all of their other openers worked in this way. Just like a concert, making the opener any old song CAN work but it works best if it fits. Like they could close their shows with Satan's Bed if they want but it will be anti-climactic, they can open with any song they want to...but they have certain songs that work best.

I dunno I feel like Binaural-Riot Act is Pearl Jam at their absolute flattest. Tons of repetitive riffs, and yet every song sounds like an aimless drone somehow.

Its not until self-titled where I think they adjusted their song to mesh well with Cameron and sound like a more lively band.

i love you so much

[LoathedVermin72]

[Leatherhead]

it doesnt work as an intro to Binaural because Binaural does not sound like this song after the first 3 songs which are very out of place on the album.

Yea, this is really silly. Take away Binaural's opening 3 tracks and the album drops immensely.

[chewm]

The only openers that are better than Brealerfall are Brain of J, Last Exit, Sometimes and Life Wasted (yup).
I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one who thinks so but Pearl Jam has very weak album openers.

I think I disagree with your PJ taste more than anyone else here

Yeah, I tend to disagree a lot with you (Even if we probably both think that the last albums are the worst) I guess that most of the rockier-punkier side of Pearl Jam isnt my thing.

[Jorge]

Also it's weird because PJ usually has amazing openers.

Once, Go, Last Exit, Sometimes, Life Wasted all PERFECT for the albums they opened...honestly so is Brain of J, Cant Keep, and Gonna See My Friend...all of them tell you what album you will be listening to, work as good first songs, and set the tone. Getaway is a step below that but still good. PJ has a 9/10 perfect record with openers and this is the one total black mark because besides sounding bad (IMO) it doesn't even set the tone for the right album because the strengths of Binaural are nothing like this song.

Breakerfall is better than Once, Life Wasted, Gonna See My Friend and Getaway. I'd even entertain an argument that it's better than Sometimes, too.

I disagree on many levels, as I think it's a worse song than all of those, but even if you liked it better than GSMF and Getaway as a song (Better than Once? Really?) it doesnt work as an intro to Binaural because Binaural does not sound like this song after the first 3 songs which are very out of place on the album.

Who says all of an album has to sound like its opening tracks?

The opening track is essentially setting the tone of the album, it has an important role to fill to make the album sound like a cohesive work. Which Binaural does not.

It can be. Doesn't have to be. That's a pretty restrictive view of album structure.

Well all of their other openers worked in this way. Just like a concert, making the opener any old song CAN work but it works best if it fits. Like they could close their shows with Satan's Bed if they want but it will be anti-climactic, they can open with any song they want to...but they have certain songs that work best.

I dunno I feel like Binaural-Riot Act is Pearl Jam at their absolute flattest. Tons of repetitive riffs, and yet every song sounds like an aimless drone somehow.

Its not until self-titled where I think they adjusted their song to mesh well with Cameron and sound like a more lively band.

i love you so much

[chewm]

I still would.

[Leatherhead]

Its not until self-titled where I think they adjusted their song to mesh well with Cameron and sound like a more lively band.

This is crazy. Everybody knows Pearl Jam is where Cameron's drumming in PJ took a bit of a nosedive.

[EJ]

I dunno I feel like Binaural-Riot Act is Pearl Jam at their absolute flattest. Tons of repetitive riffs, and yet every song sounds like an aimless drone somehow.

Ok, second account of someone. Its time to step away from the keyboard.

[mikejasond]

Its not until self-titled where I think they adjusted their song to mesh well with Cameron and sound like a more lively band.

This is crazy. Everybody knows Pearl Jam is where Cameron's drumming in PJ took a bit of a nosedive.

To me hearing Life Wasted and World Wide Suicide is like a breath of fresh air.

[digster]

I think having those songs like Breakerfall at the start of Binaural is vital. More than many of their other records, Binaural goes into some relatively uncharted terrain, and going from songs like Thin Air and Soon Forget to Grievance to Sleight of Hand is quite a bit of ground to cover. Binaural grounds you with a bit of intensity at the start to prepare you for the breadth of songwriting that's coming. Evacuation works like a bridge; it's connected to those early songs in the wiry punk energy, but it's already starting to look at things a bit askew.

[Leatherhead]

Its not until self-titled where I think they adjusted their song to mesh well with Cameron and sound like a more lively band.

This is crazy. Everybody knows Pearl Jam is where Cameron's drumming in PJ took a bit of a nosedive.

To me hearing Life Wasted and World Wide Suicide is like a breath of fresh air.

I like both of those songs a lot, but I'd take Binaural's drumming and Breakerfall over those any day.

[digster]

And for all the debate about whether PJ can or cannot do pop, Breakerfall is a hell of a little pop song. The opening couplet "there's a devil on a ledge, she's got nowhere to turn, because all the love that she had was just wood that she burned" is such a great opening line and an awesome hook.

[mikejasond]

I think having those songs like Breakerfall at the start of Binaural is vital. More than many of their other records, Binaural goes into some relatively uncharted terrain, and going from songs like Thin Air and Soon Forget to Grievance to Sleight of Hand is quite a bit of ground to cover. Binaural grounds you with a bit of intensity at the start to prepare you for the breadth of songwriting that's coming. Evacuation works like a bridge; it's connected to those early songs in the wiry punk energy, but it's already starting to look at things a bit askew.

Then they should have committed to this, not just tacked on a subpar rock song at the beginning to trick you into not turning off the album, especially when songs like Thin Air, Light Years, and even Soon Forget IMO are much stronger. Even Grievance and Sleight of Hand I like.

[stip]

And for all the debate about whether PJ can or cannot do pop, Breakerfall is a hell of a little pop song. The opening couplet "there's a devil on a ledge, she's got nowhere to turn, because all the love that she had was just wood that she burned" is such a great opening line and an awesome hook.

*there's a girl

[stip]

Its not until self-titled where I think they adjusted their song to mesh well with Cameron and sound like a more lively band.

This is crazy. Everybody knows Pearl Jam is where Cameron's drumming in PJ took a bit of a nosedive.

To me hearing Life Wasted and World Wide Suicide is like a breath of fresh air.

it was like falling in love all over again, like a few months ago when I had a McDonald's hamburger for the first time in years.