Red Mosquito

Coach wrote:

stip wrote:

drunk on ego wrote:

E.H. Ruddock wrote:Since I left work I went swimming, had dinner with friends, had a whiskey, and came home. WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN DOING?

I (re)subscribed myself to this board

welcome (back) to the board

Thnx

Been lurking for quite some time. Fun to read all speculations (that are mostly based on not much ) on the new album. Pretty siked here myself, but kinda cynical too. Have the same feelings about OTE and SBM. FD is pretty cheesy, but it's ok for me now. Probably just press the stop button (edit: pick up the needle) after Yellow Moon.

The hating on FD & SBM could be us setting ourselves up for a fall.

It's a lot of pressure to put on the songs we haven't even heard yet.

dimejinky99 wrote:The hating on FD & SBM could be us setting ourselves up for a fall.

It's a lot of pressure to put on the songs we haven't even heard yet.

And hating on 2 songs that we haven't heard yet is still pretty silly

dimejinky99 wrote:The hating on FD & SBM could be us setting ourselves up for a fall.

It's a lot of pressure to put on the songs we haven't even heard yet.

I've basically decided that pendulum, infallible, yellow moon and my fathers son are going to be badass. And that getaway and let the records play are gonna be cool.

i may be in trouble

stupidmop wrote:

dimejinky99 wrote:The hating on FD & SBM could be us setting ourselves up for a fall.

It's a lot of pressure to put on the songs we haven't even heard yet.

I've basically decided that pendulum, infallible, yellow moon and my fathers son are going to be badass. And that getaway and let the records play are gonna be cool.

i may be in trouble

Big trouble:)

dimejinky99 wrote:The hating on FD & SBM could be us setting ourselves up for a fall.

It's a lot of pressure to put on the songs we haven't even heard yet.

I know, and I hope you're right..... I really like Cant Keep, but I just cant see SBM turning out anything like that. Probably because Cant Keep was one of the few Uke songs I actually liked to begin with.

As for Future Days: to me its one of those songs that you're only going to like if you're in a part of your life where you can relate to those kinda cheesy lyrics..... luckily for me, I'm in just that position at the moment.

The music is pretty bland though, at least in the live version anyway..... and don't even get me started on O'brians dreadful keyboard crap (There was actually a time when I hoped so hard it would hurt for him to produce when a new Pj record was announced.)

It should make a nice song for Eds solo shows at the very least.

Arrogant Blue wrote:

dimejinky99 wrote:The hating on FD & SBM could be us setting ourselves up for a fall.

It's a lot of pressure to put on the songs we haven't even heard yet.

I know, and I hope you're right..... I really like Cant Keep, but I just cant see SBM turning out anything like that. Probably because Cant Keep was one of the few Uke songs I actually liked to begin with.

As for Future Days: to me its one of those songs that you're only going to like if you're in a part of your life where you can relate to those kinda cheesy lyrics..... luckily for me, I'm in just that position at the moment.

The music is pretty bland though, at least in the live version anyway..... and don't even get me started on O'brians dreadful keyboard crap (There was actually a time when I hoped so hard it would hurt for him to produce when a new Pj record was announced.)

It should make a nice song for Eds solo shows at the very least.

The advantage we have now is that we know SBM is on there, we know its not a lot different from the uke version (as in the rocking, which would be bad ass) and we know we can't do anything about it! My plan is to give it a listen and enjoy it (or not) on that alone and go from there. It's no different to me than any of the random songs here and there that I might skip.

But I refuse to say I hate it until I hear the band treatment. Rather than grumble about why they bothered including it and setting it up for fail might as well give it the benefit of the doubt for now.

I am feeling pretty positive about all of it. I go back and forth on Future Days and suspect I will enjoy it where it is situated on the album, and really enjoy Mind Your Manners and Lightning Bolt, which both come across as sounding like they could fit on a modern day Yield. Sleeping By Myself sounds like it could have that Soon Forget vibe which a song like that usually makes their albums... Unlike Backspacer this already feels like a full on Pearl Jam album. I'm not at all pessimistic about this.

sward wrote:

Arrogant Blue wrote:

dimejinky99 wrote:The hating on FD & SBM could be us setting ourselves up for a fall.

It's a lot of pressure to put on the songs we haven't even heard yet.

I know, and I hope you're right..... I really like Cant Keep, but I just cant see SBM turning out anything like that. Probably because Cant Keep was one of the few Uke songs I actually liked to begin with.

As for Future Days: to me its one of those songs that you're only going to like if you're in a part of your life where you can relate to those kinda cheesy lyrics..... luckily for me, I'm in just that position at the moment.

The music is pretty bland though, at least in the live version anyway..... and don't even get me started on O'brians dreadful keyboard crap (There was actually a time when I hoped so hard it would hurt for him to produce when a new Pj record was announced.)

It should make a nice song for Eds solo shows at the very least.

The advantage we have now is that we know SBM is on there, we know its not a lot different from the uke version (as in the rocking, which would be bad ass) and we know we can't do anything about it! My plan is to give it a listen and enjoy it (or not) on that alone and go from there. It's no different to me than any of the random songs here and there that I might skip.

But I refuse to say I hate it until I hear the band treatment. Rather than grumble about why they bothered including it and setting it up for fail might as well give it the benefit of the doubt for now.

I hear ya man..... I think that's pretty much the position most of have when it's all said and done.

I also want to make it clear this is my favorite band, but I don't think there's anything wrong with letting your favorite band know when you think they're pissing in the wind, based on your own personal opinions...... and please don't ever think I'm of the opinion I could ever do ANYTHING better than the band, that would just be plain stupid.

I've been reading this site for a long long time, and the reason I prefer it to the other one is it seams like you can have good conversations while critiquing the band based on those said personal opinions. The reason I decided to finally start posting was so I could give my gf a break from hearing about pearl jam, since she's pretty much the only person I can talk to about them, heh..... I'm sure some of you can relate to that.

Basically, even the PJ songs I like least, I still love.... and I'll admit OTE is probably my favorite song they've put out in the last 10 years or so (and that's saying ALOT). Therefore, I can't help holding it against poor SBM, to no fault of it's own, for being in the wrong place at the wrong time..... only because in a small way, it's still a recycled song on a new album coming so long after the previous one.

But, when it's all said and done, I will take your approach when I hear it for the first time, and even if I don't care for it: I will probably still spin that fucker about a thousand times before I'm dead and gone

Hahah. Agreed. Hey, I don't love everything the band does. Though I guess I usually lean on not critiquing. I don't begrudge the opinions realistically. More that I find some of them so bent towards negativity that its not really sounding objective any more. Anyway, I can't stand going on the Pit and browse this site daily because this forum is most definitely full of more thoughtful comments than any other. In my opinion. Positive or negative. As glad I am that PJ is still around, I am thankful this site exists

jdopj wrote:I don't mind FD as much as everyone else, but considering the "theme" that this album seems to have, FD's positioning on the album makes sense and could make it less objectionable.

The "I believe" part of the song actually is quite nice and sticks in your head a bit.

Well said and I agree. That part of the song is ridiculously nice.

I'm not entirely sure what I make of all of the reviews I've read so far. When people say things like "I was more into Backspacer the first time I heard it" it deeply worries me.

The negativity to Sleeping By Myself seems well reasoned - nostalgia should be put aside by people who enjoyed listening to it on Ukelele Songs. If it is a recycling of a previous song and not a reinterpretation, and they're just fleshing things out (or unnaturally inflating it) I am certain it seems like a barrel scraping exercise. It certainly leads to one of two theories:
1) PJ seem to feel obligated to include these soppy love ballads on their albums these days and that very much may be attributable to their changing target demographic, it's more AAC / MOR than social injustice and youth rebellion - it really seems an easy stick to beat them with but the more this increases to be a fixture on records the closer it becomes to being the straw that broke the camel's back. I can't stand Come Back, Parachutes, Just Breathe etc. and it's not just because the guys do a poor Bon Jovi impression - it's a bad fit.
2) Like Backspacer, PJ did not produce a set of 20 tracks for this record and pick the winners for the final cut. It was 4/5 leftover tracks coupled with some rather forced sounding, unimpressive new creations (Force of Nature, Amongst the Waves, Speed of Sound - plodding and unimaginative). Let the Records Play, Sleeping By Myself and Getaway all sound like they're stock tracks in the same vein - PJ creating tracks in second gear. No innovation and no true desire.

I also read that quote by Ed regarding simplifying their music for the live circuit and I can see that the band are aware of the lack of reaction to post-2000 tracks when they're played live. If that results in writing the likes of Supersonic hoping it's the new Animal or Come Back hoping it's the new Black then PJ are definitely out of new ideas and have jumped the shark. It's not now that is the breaking point, but as far as I am concerned with this record they are on their very last chance to keep me interested. Otherwise,I won't be returning until we get pre-2006 unreleased material following the band calling it a day.

You're worried that people who instantly loved Backspacer needed more time with this one? How much PJ have you instantly loved? Just interested.

OmegaprimeVKM wrote:I'm not entirely sure what I make of all of the reviews I've read so far. When people say things like "I was more into Backspacer the first time I heard it" it deeply worries me.

The negativity to Sleeping By Myself seems well reasoned - nostalgia should be put aside by people who enjoyed listening to it on Ukelele Songs. If it is a recycling of a previous song and not a reinterpretation, and they're just fleshing things out (or unnaturally inflating it) I am certain it seems like a barrel scraping exercise. It certainly leads to one of two theories:

that's certainly fair. I love the uke version. If this feels like it improves it, fleshes it out, changes it then I may very well like this version and not care. If it feels redundant, a bad fit for the album, and especially if I am enjoying everything else I hear I can see coming to resent its presence. But gone felt very different from the gone demo (which was officially released via xmas single before the album version). The same is true of speed of sound and we know how can't keep was transformed. Those all gave me confidence that this would be worth it. The negative reviews about it are discouraging, but I wonder if it will effect me less since I didn't have resentment going in.

Also, from what we've heard it sounds like BoB really loved Sleeping By Myself and wanted it on the album, more than the band being insistent that this song show up or a desperate need to get to 12 songs.

OmegaprimeVKM wrote: 1) PJ seem to feel obligated to include these soppy love ballads on their albums these days and that very much may be attributable to their changing target demographic, it's more AAC / MOR than social injustice and youth rebellion - it really seems an easy stick to beat them with but the more this increases to be a fixture on records the closer it becomes to being the straw that broke the camel's back. I can't stand Come Back, Parachutes, Just Breathe etc. and it's not just because the guys do a poor Bon Jovi impression - it's a bad fit.

It certainly sounds like there is no shortage of social injustice/social commentary songs on this album. same with S/T. It's not like come back or parachutes, by being love songs of a type, somehow derailed the albums they were in. It was a nice break, actually. That may be the case on LB as well. And I get you don't like these songs and want to be dismissive, but none of these songs sound like bon jovi.

OmegaprimeVKM wrote: 2) Like Backspacer, PJ did not produce a set of 20 tracks for this record and pick the winners for the final cut. It was 4/5 leftover tracks coupled with some rather forced sounding, unimpressive new creations (Force of Nature, Amongst the Waves, Speed of Sound - plodding and unimaginative). Let the Records Play, Sleeping By Myself and Getaway all sound like they're stock tracks in the same vein - PJ creating tracks in second gear. No innovation and no true desire.

Why? Because they are fast songs? Getaway may have been the most universally liked songs in the initial reviews we got. One of the nice things about reading those reviews is that the only songs that sound like retreads are actually the ones we've heard so far.

OmegaprimeVKM wrote: I also read that quote by Ed regarding simplifying their music for the live circuit and I can see that the band are aware of the lack of reaction to post-2000 tracks when they're played live. If that results in writing the likes of Supersonic hoping it's the new Animal or Come Back hoping it's the new Black then PJ are definitely out of new ideas and have jumped the shark. It's not now that is the breaking point, but as far as I am concerned with this record they are on their very last chance to keep me interested. Otherwise,I won't be returning until we get pre-2006 unreleased material following the band calling it a day.

Yes, I am quite positive that upon completing the writing of supersonic the band was absolutely convinced they had just reproduced animal.

harmless wrote:You're worried that people who instantly loved Backspacer needed more time with this one? How much PJ have you instantly loved? Just interested.

That really read to me like someone who has decided they don't like the album before they heard it and are just going on record talking about how much they hate what they just imagined in their head. It was the pitchfork equivalent of a review.

Guys... I like Future Days.

There, I said it.

harmless wrote:You're worried that people who instantly loved Backspacer needed more time with this one? How much PJ have you instantly loved? Just interested.

Indeed - Actually I have instantly liked most of what I still like now.

I think most of the people who liked Backspacer also preferred a lot of the earlier material too, they were just not as negative as others about Backspacer. No one listened to Backspacer first and then got into Pearl Jam.

Just so you know - I have a deep dislike of Backspacer and that's with me thinking that Unthought Known, Got Some and The End are fantastic tracks. It's just the fact that we have 70% of the album as simply not up to scratch.

Stip - there's no chance in hell I'm responding to your individual nitpicking of my posts each time I state my interpretation of why Backspacer is a poor album - It simply is and my opinion is subjective and thus valid. I feel like I wasted my money buying it. I won't be changing my mind.

i wonder if you're instant like is unusual for the band. Ten, Vitalogy, and maybe Backspacer were really the only albums I liked almost instantly, and possibly not vitalogy.

southp wrote:Guys... I like Future Days.

There, I said it.

I like it too, its a nice song

I also don't remember the last time this band were about youth and resistance. If they were, it's been a long time. To me they've by abd large had a much more mature outlook than their music biz peers, and yes, an adult one. that's how they've bucked every trend for years now. They have no demographic, they play what they like without us needing to like it.