10th album rumors and speculation

[gardenparty]

You know what's cheesy? The keyboard bridge on "The Fixer." I'd like to blame Boom, but I'm not positive he recorded that.

[harmless]

The strings on "Parting Ways" seemed more like a local/a very PJ way of doing things - call up a couple locals (including Matt's wife) and having them do their thing.

On Backspacer, they hired this guy for the string arrangement. Nothing wrong with being more professional, just at odds with the vision of PJ I have in my head. (Yes, yes, there were strings on Ten.)

You know what's cheesy? The keyboard bridge on "The Fixer." I'd like to blame Boom, but I'm not positive he recorded that.

The piano on UK is also very cheesy in my opinion. Cheeiser than any strings on the whole album.

Every time I hear that piano part I think of Meatloaf.

[harmless]

Backspacer suffers from many bad artistic choices. adding strings isn't one of them.

[tommymtcom]

The Fixer is definitely among pearl jams cheesiest songs, but for some reason I quite like it. Maybe because it owns it's cheesiness, whereas a lot of the other songs on Backspacer seem to be unaware of how cheesy they sound.

[surfndestroy]

Backspacer suffers from many bad artistic choices. adding strings isn't one of them.

The only thing that bothered me about the strings is they acted like it voiced artistic growth. It just made the songs sound like re-hashed Creed to me.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

The Fixer is definitely among pearl jams cheesiest songs, but for some reason I quite like it. Maybe because it owns it's cheesiness, whereas a lot of the other songs on Backspacer seem to be unaware of how cheesy they sound.

its a fun song, and ive enjoyed it everytime ive heard it, both live and studio versions

[bodysnatcher]

If BO'B produces a significantly better sounding album that BS, then I'll fully accept that Backspacer was an experiment. If he delivers something similar, it'll just reaffirm my concern of returning to him

And then we get to wait another 6 years for something else to ruin our PJ hopes!

[Mine]

The strings on "Parting Ways" seemed more like a local/a very PJ way of doing things - call up a couple locals (including Matt's wife) and having them do their thing.

On Backspacer, they hired this guy for the string arrangement. Nothing wrong with being more professional, just at odds with the vision of PJ I have in my head. (Yes, yes, there were strings on Ten.)

You know what's cheesy? The keyboard bridge on "The Fixer." I'd like to blame Boom, but I'm not positive he recorded that.

The piano on UK is also very cheesy in my opinion. Cheeiser than any strings on the whole album.

Every time I hear that piano part I think of Meatloaf.

That's exactly what the problem with it is. It sounds dated in the same way the same sounds from 2-3 synths used on most of pop music from the late 80's through the mid 90's do. I'm not bothered by the fact that there is a piano but by how lazy they were with it. It sounds like if it was a synth patch named power ballad chorus piano aranged by someone with basic keyboard skills.
If that's the result of listening to a producer for the 1st time, it's wasted oportunity.

[harmless]

The strings on "Parting Ways" seemed more like a local/a very PJ way of doing things - call up a couple locals (including Matt's wife) and having them do their thing.

On Backspacer, they hired this guy for the string arrangement. Nothing wrong with being more professional, just at odds with the vision of PJ I have in my head. (Yes, yes, there were strings on Ten.)

You know what's cheesy? The keyboard bridge on "The Fixer." I'd like to blame Boom, but I'm not positive he recorded that.

The piano on UK is also very cheesy in my opinion. Cheeiser than any strings on the whole album.

Every time I hear that piano part I think of Meatloaf.

That's exactly what the problem with it is. It sounds dated in the same way the same sounds from 2-3 synths used on most of pop music from the late 80's through the mid 90's do. I'm not bothered by the fact that there is a piano but by how lazy they were with it. It sounds like if it was a synth patch named power ballad chorus piano aranged by someone with basic keyboard skills.
If that's the result of listening to a producer for the 1st time, it's wasted oportunity.

The saddest thing is that I love the single-note piano playing at the start of that song. It's just that instrumental bit that sucks. Well, it doesn't suck but there should not be someone smashing a piano, and if there is, it should have guitars over it.

[harmless]

Backspacer suffers from many bad artistic choices. adding strings isn't one of them.

The only thing that bothered me about the strings is they acted like it voiced artistic growth. It just made the songs sound like re-hashed Creed to me.

Creed uses strings? I haven't heard enough of their songs to know.

[epilogue]

The Fixer is definitely among pearl jams cheesiest songs, but for some reason I quite like it. Maybe because it owns it's cheesiness, whereas a lot of the other songs on Backspacer seem to be unaware of how cheesy they sound.

I think the reason I like The Fixer so much is that it's got a new wave kinda sound that Pearl Jam doesn't do very often (if ever). So I like the uniqueness of it in that sense.

But my favorite thing about the song is that I think the lyrics are actually really dark. An unstable and delusional voice is singing the song. However that sad and sort of dangerous message is juxtaposed by really upbeat, summer fun music. I love when artist do that. It deepens the listening experience for me.

[harmless]

The Fixer is definitely among pearl jams cheesiest songs, but for some reason I quite like it. Maybe because it owns it's cheesiness, whereas a lot of the other songs on Backspacer seem to be unaware of how cheesy they sound.

I think the reason I like The Fixer so much is that it's got a new wave kinda sound that Pearl Jam doesn't do very often (if ever). So I like the uniqueness of it in that sense.

But my favorite thing about the song is that I think the lyrics are actually really dark. An unstable and delusional voice is singing the song. However that sad and sort of dangerous message is juxtaposed by really upbeat, summer fun music. I love when artist do that. It deepens the listening experience for me.

This was my impression initially and you've just reminded me about it. It's a shame that this impression didn't last for most people. There was a time when we were coming up with all sorts of interesting readings of the themes and concepts. I guess maybe some of us eventually decided that we were sort of forcing interesting ideas onto songs that PJ hadn't thought about that deeply.

[Strat]

What I also love about the fixer is that odd Matt Cameron riff that is very common in his guitar writing. its off beat, unique sort of timing, bouncing around the different parts...

All tied together with a simple up beat melody and Vedders delivery.

Its all very strange and lovely.

[epilogue]

The Fixer is definitely among pearl jams cheesiest songs, but for some reason I quite like it. Maybe because it owns it's cheesiness, whereas a lot of the other songs on Backspacer seem to be unaware of how cheesy they sound.

I think the reason I like The Fixer so much is that it's got a new wave kinda sound that Pearl Jam doesn't do very often (if ever). So I like the uniqueness of it in that sense.

But my favorite thing about the song is that I think the lyrics are actually really dark. An unstable and delusional voice is singing the song. However that sad and sort of dangerous message is juxtaposed by really upbeat, summer fun music. I love when artist do that. It deepens the listening experience for me.

This was my impression initially and you've just reminded me about it. It's a shame that this impression didn't last for most people. There was a time when we were coming up with all sorts of interesting readings of the themes and concepts. I guess maybe some of us eventually decided that we were sort of forcing interesting ideas onto songs that PJ hadn't thought about that deeply.

I'm not sure it really matters, though, what PJ intended or thought about in this example. It's still there.

And Ed himself talked about the lyrics being fairly dark and desperate. So, at least that level of thought was put into it. So maybe it is something that was discussed by the band. Look at Can't Keep. Ed imagined that as a punk song initially. And we've heard them all talk about leaving certain songs off of albums because they don't fit for whatever reason.

It's not impossible that there was a good amount of thought put into it. Maybe not. Like I said, it doesn't change anything here. But it is possible.

[epilogue]

What I also love about the fixer is that odd Matt Cameron riff that is very common in his guitar writing. its off beat, unique sort of timing, bouncing around the different parts...

All tied together with a simple up beat melody and Vedders delivery.

Its all very strange and lovely.

I agree. The song is quirkier than it is cheesy, to my ears. I'm always liked it. It's not upper echelon PJ for me. But it's a damn fun song that I enjoy listening to for a lot of reasons.

EDIT: I just checked. I have it ranked #119 out of 172.

[Strat]

The Fixer is definitely among pearl jams cheesiest songs, but for some reason I quite like it. Maybe because it owns it's cheesiness, whereas a lot of the other songs on Backspacer seem to be unaware of how cheesy they sound.

I think the reason I like The Fixer so much is that it's got a new wave kinda sound that Pearl Jam doesn't do very often (if ever). So I like the uniqueness of it in that sense.

But my favorite thing about the song is that I think the lyrics are actually really dark. An unstable and delusional voice is singing the song. However that sad and sort of dangerous message is juxtaposed by really upbeat, summer fun music. I love when artist do that. It deepens the listening experience for me.

This was my impression initially and you've just reminded me about it. It's a shame that this impression didn't last for most people. There was a time when we were coming up with all sorts of interesting readings of the themes and concepts. I guess maybe some of us eventually decided that we were sort of forcing interesting ideas onto songs that PJ hadn't thought about that deeply.

I'm not sure it really matters, though, what PJ intended or thought about in this example. It's still there.

And Ed himself talked about the lyrics being fairly dark and desperate. So, at least that level of thought was put into it. So maybe it is something that was discussed by the band. Look at Can't Keep. Ed imagined that as a punk song initially. And we've heard them all talk about leaving certain songs off of albums because they don't fit for whatever reason.

It's not impossible that there was a good amount of thought put into it. Maybe not. Like I said, it doesn't change anything here. But it is possible.

There is this over whelming sense that if someone here (not naming names) doesn't like a song - it is because the band didnt put any effort into it.

[Mine]

The strings on "Parting Ways" seemed more like a local/a very PJ way of doing things - call up a couple locals (including Matt's wife) and having them do their thing.

On Backspacer, they hired this guy for the string arrangement. Nothing wrong with being more professional, just at odds with the vision of PJ I have in my head. (Yes, yes, there were strings on Ten.)

You know what's cheesy? The keyboard bridge on "The Fixer." I'd like to blame Boom, but I'm not positive he recorded that.

The piano on UK is also very cheesy in my opinion. Cheeiser than any strings on the whole album.

Every time I hear that piano part I think of Meatloaf.

That's exactly what the problem with it is. It sounds dated in the same way the same sounds from 2-3 synths used on most of pop music from the late 80's through the mid 90's do. I'm not bothered by the fact that there is a piano but by how lazy they were with it. It sounds like if it was a synth patch named power ballad chorus piano aranged by someone with basic keyboard skills.
If that's the result of listening to a producer for the 1st time, it's wasted oportunity.

The saddest thing is that I love the single-note piano playing at the start of that song. It's just that instrumental bit that sucks. Well, it doesn't suck but there should not be someone smashing a piano, and if there is, it should have guitars over it.

and it would fit the song much better.

[BurtReynolds]

The Fixer is definitely among pearl jams cheesiest songs, but for some reason I quite like it. Maybe because it owns it's cheesiness, whereas a lot of the other songs on Backspacer seem to be unaware of how cheesy they sound.

I think the reason I like The Fixer so much is that it's got a new wave kinda sound that Pearl Jam doesn't do very often (if ever). So I like the uniqueness of it in that sense.

But my favorite thing about the song is that I think the lyrics are actually really dark. An unstable and delusional voice is singing the song. However that sad and sort of dangerous message is juxtaposed by really upbeat, summer fun music. I love when artist do that. It deepens the listening experience for me.

This was my impression initially and you've just reminded me about it. It's a shame that this impression didn't last for most people. There was a time when we were coming up with all sorts of interesting readings of the themes and concepts. I guess maybe some of us eventually decided that we were sort of forcing interesting ideas onto songs that PJ hadn't thought about that deeply.

it would be cool if i got the impression his voice was unstable and delusional, but all I hear is earnestness and happiness. Too much sugar.

But people think of Smile as a happy song, and I think its the opposite. I hear a terrible longing. thats why it works for me.

[harmless]

The Fixer is definitely among pearl jams cheesiest songs, but for some reason I quite like it. Maybe because it owns it's cheesiness, whereas a lot of the other songs on Backspacer seem to be unaware of how cheesy they sound.

I think the reason I like The Fixer so much is that it's got a new wave kinda sound that Pearl Jam doesn't do very often (if ever). So I like the uniqueness of it in that sense.

But my favorite thing about the song is that I think the lyrics are actually really dark. An unstable and delusional voice is singing the song. However that sad and sort of dangerous message is juxtaposed by really upbeat, summer fun music. I love when artist do that. It deepens the listening experience for me.

This was my impression initially and you've just reminded me about it. It's a shame that this impression didn't last for most people. There was a time when we were coming up with all sorts of interesting readings of the themes and concepts. I guess maybe some of us eventually decided that we were sort of forcing interesting ideas onto songs that PJ hadn't thought about that deeply.

I'm not sure it really matters, though, what PJ intended or thought about in this example. It's still there.

And Ed himself talked about the lyrics being fairly dark and desperate. So, at least that level of thought was put into it. So maybe it is something that was discussed by the band. Look at Can't Keep. Ed imagined that as a punk song initially. And we've heard them all talk about leaving certain songs off of albums because they don't fit for whatever reason.

It's not impossible that there was a good amount of thought put into it. Maybe not. Like I said, it doesn't change anything here. But it is possible.

I can buy that. Thing is, I'm not sure they intended cheesy pop album either.

[epilogue]

The Fixer is definitely among pearl jams cheesiest songs, but for some reason I quite like it. Maybe because it owns it's cheesiness, whereas a lot of the other songs on Backspacer seem to be unaware of how cheesy they sound.

I think the reason I like The Fixer so much is that it's got a new wave kinda sound that Pearl Jam doesn't do very often (if ever). So I like the uniqueness of it in that sense.

But my favorite thing about the song is that I think the lyrics are actually really dark. An unstable and delusional voice is singing the song. However that sad and sort of dangerous message is juxtaposed by really upbeat, summer fun music. I love when artist do that. It deepens the listening experience for me.

This was my impression initially and you've just reminded me about it. It's a shame that this impression didn't last for most people. There was a time when we were coming up with all sorts of interesting readings of the themes and concepts. I guess maybe some of us eventually decided that we were sort of forcing interesting ideas onto songs that PJ hadn't thought about that deeply.

I'm not sure it really matters, though, what PJ intended or thought about in this example. It's still there.

And Ed himself talked about the lyrics being fairly dark and desperate. So, at least that level of thought was put into it. So maybe it is something that was discussed by the band. Look at Can't Keep. Ed imagined that as a punk song initially. And we've heard them all talk about leaving certain songs off of albums because they don't fit for whatever reason.

It's not impossible that there was a good amount of thought put into it. Maybe not. Like I said, it doesn't change anything here. But it is possible.

I can buy that. Thing is, I'm not sure they intended cheesy pop album either.

That's fair. I'm sure they didn't intend cheesy. But I wouldn't be surprised if they thought they were going for breezy pop album.