Red Mosquito

since I'm not sure I actually answered your question, Lament, I don't think it is one of the great power ballads because it isn't even a power ballad. Except that it is.

Birds in Hell wrote:

harmless wrote:How many people who think this is an "80s power ballad" read the reviews which said it was an 80s power ballad?

I read the reviews that said it was an 80s power ballad and I still don't think it sounds much like an 80s power ballad.

I don't know, guys, it just sounds like a Pearl Jam song to me. I didn't find it out of character at all.

To me, Love Boat Captain is way more out of character than this is. I'm going to wait and see how it works live before listening to the album version.


That being said Sirens is still a 3 outta 5. It's an average Pearl Jam song.

dimejinky99 wrote:Fuck!!

I knew there was a reason spenno liked Sirens.

They didn't drop the tuning in the video!!!




Time enough fella, time enough:)

He's right you know

stip wrote:

Lament wrote:

stip wrote:guys, I like the song, but power ballad is definitely the genre it is coming out of. It's just that they may have found the beating heart of that style

Do you honestly think it ranks as one of the great power ballads? I mean, I will be the first to admit that there are a handful of power ballads I love the fuck out of, and they are all a billion times better than Sirens to me.

no, I think it takes all the excess of a power ballad and kinda tries to write one without that excess, while still leaving just enough to still make it a power ballad. I think it is about the core of that genre--they kinda wrote a template song that you can then customize with the usual accessories, which they didn't,, looking instead if this shit could work if you went sincere instead of huge.

And this is actually a very Pearl Jam thing to do. They've always pilfered genres and applied class and restraint to them. So in some ways, accusations of "boring" are interesting because some of those people want it to be as bombastic as a rock ballad and it isn't.

durdencommatyler wrote:

Birds in Hell wrote:Thing is, singles are necessarily a public thing; you're very likely going to end up inadvertently hearing the song on the radio or seeing the video on TV or YouTube anyway.

I don't really get avoiding Sirens, particularly if you've already heard Mind Your Manners.

No reason other than precious preference. It's just about hearing as little as possible before the album comes out. If I happen to catch it in a commercial or on the radio or whatever, I won't be upset.

I just don't see what difference it makes. What do I gain from hearing it now that I won't by waiting? So I'm choosing to wait. There's nothing to "get."

No, that's fair enough, it's entirely up to you (of course).

stip wrote:since I'm not sure I actually answered your question, Lament, I don't think it is one of the great power ballads because it isn't even a power ballad. Except that it is.

Ok. I think I get what you're saying. I happen to think there is some excess on it (and just don't find it to be a particularly good song to start with), but I see where you're coming from.

Birds in Hell wrote:

durdencommatyler wrote:

Birds in Hell wrote:Thing is, singles are necessarily a public thing; you're very likely going to end up inadvertently hearing the song on the radio or seeing the video on TV or YouTube anyway.

I don't really get avoiding Sirens, particularly if you've already heard Mind Your Manners.

No reason other than precious preference. It's just about hearing as little as possible before the album comes out. If I happen to catch it in a commercial or on the radio or whatever, I won't be upset.

I just don't see what difference it makes. What do I gain from hearing it now that I won't by waiting? So I'm choosing to wait. There's nothing to "get."

No, that's fair enough, it's entirely up to you (of course).

But you're right, too. It's just stupid honestly. It's me being too precious. It's a bad habit. But as Peter Cetera will contest, it's a hard habit to break.

My brother just nailed exactly what Sirens reminds me of...

durdencommatyler wrote:Or maybe we could get Pete to talk Laura Burhenn into covering it in DC. I'll listen to her version right. Now.

Absolutely not.

cutuphalfdead wrote:

durdencommatyler wrote:Or maybe we could get Pete to talk Laura Burhenn into covering it in DC. I'll listen to her version right. Now.

Absolutely not.

Pretty please?

Lament wrote:My brother just nailed exactly what Sirens reminds me of...

Soundgarden have really gone downhill.

Lament wrote:My brother just nailed exactly what Sirens reminds me of...

To be fair, that solo has everything in common with Pearl Jam at this point.

What's your take on the Rippers' drummer, harmless?

Lament wrote:What's your take on the Rippers' drummer, harmless?

**Bracing for a PJ drummer discussion**

Lament wrote:What's your take on the Rippers' drummer, harmless?

I'm not sure whether that was a joke question, but one of the things that lifts this away from 80s rock ballad here is that I think Matt is doing some pretty uncharacteristic things for a rock ballad. His drums aren't sanitised to hell to sound like a drum machine with tones of reverb on, and he actually opens his hi-hats and smashes crash cymbals through most of the song. Even when the hats are closed, they're not fully closed. If Bryan Adams had written this song, Mickey Curry would have had the hats closed and all ride cymbal in the choruses, and I have a lot of respect for Bryan. He was my rock-God before Ed Ved came along. Anyway, the 16th-notes in the rising progession pre-chorus' hat is also not typical of a rock ballad. It is very like they've take Mike's favourite style and made it Pearl Jam. And I just don't think this is anything they haven't done before, in my experience, even if maybe they haven't done it with this genre. What is 'Around the Bend' if not a completely obvious country song, other than that very Pearl Jam minor chord progression on the words "around the bend"? Without that little depressing end to that section, the song would die.

harmless wrote:I have a lot of respect for Bryan. He was my rock-God before Ed Ved came along.

Sometimes I forget how much the British love Bryan Adams.

Lament wrote:

Tass Man wrote:

harmless wrote:How many people who think this is an "80s power ballad" read the reviews which said it was an 80s power ballad?

ya i did not get that impression at all..

after everyone was saying 80's power ballad, i was expecting to hear "To Be With You" or something.... if anything, it seems more 90's to me than 80's

To Be With You was a hit in 1992.

ok... but if a song encapsulates what an 80's power ballad is, that would surely be one of them, regardless if it "missed" by a couple of years

Lament wrote:

harmless wrote:I have a lot of respect for Bryan. He was my rock-God before Ed Ved came along.

Sometimes I forget how much the British love Bryan Adams.

durdencommatyler wrote:

Lament wrote:

harmless wrote:I have a lot of respect for Bryan. He was my rock-God before Ed Ved came along.

Sometimes I forget how much the British love Bryan Adams.

My first gig ever was the 92 Wembley gig for the "Waking Up the Neighbours" tour.

Tass Man wrote:

Lament wrote:

Tass Man wrote:

harmless wrote:How many people who think this is an "80s power ballad" read the reviews which said it was an 80s power ballad?

ya i did not get that impression at all..

after everyone was saying 80's power ballad, i was expecting to hear "To Be With You" or something.... if anything, it seems more 90's to me than 80's

To Be With You was a hit in 1992.

ok... but if a song encapsulates what an 80's power ballad is, that would surely be one of them, regardless if it "missed" by a couple of years

See, to me that's a weird choice. Isn't the entire thing an acoustic guitar, hand claps, and group vocals? It's actually decidely anti-80's power ballad to me. Sirens has more hallmarks of an 80's power ballad than To Be With You does.