Lightning Bolt: the official album thread

[Lament]

All of this stuff, all of it, is a definite consequence of caring less. Sadly.

It's gonna be a fucking bummer if an album that took this long to make leaves us thinking "Man, I wish they would've just put a little bit more effort into these songs."

[harmless]

Bleh. Definitley a logical extention of backspacer. Maybe it'll sound better when I can hear the guitars and ed isn't midway through a concert. I like bits of it... kinda.

Whyyy are they naming a song after the album or vice versa, when this is the song and the phrase doesn't really sound good anyway.

Haven't listened to future days properly yet, but so far it sounds like a particularly boring ed solo song. Extra boring.

Spoiler: show

RIP PJ

I'm not hearing a lot of "Backspacer" in the new stuff. I wish I was. I like that album. My reaction to the first 3 songs I heard from it (Got Some/Fixer/Supersonic) were positive.
My reaction to the first 3 from this album are all very, very negative. I'm hearing boring music lacking the sense of urgency the band is known for.

To me they sound like they are pressing in these new songs. Ed's energy is there but seems phony and his sincerity obligatory. It's like they said "Oh we need a fast song" and we got MYM. Then we need a ballad because "Just Breathe" is tops on iTunes so here's "Future Days".

I wish the band would just go off in some weird new direction ala No Code. That's an album I love but one that is admittedly tough to access right away (especially in 1996).
Even if what they'd come up with is bad at least it would be "weird bad" and not "boring bad" like "Lightning Bolt" (dear Lord that f*cking title) is shaping up to be.

Also kind of distrurbed with this big merchandising push of the band. Opening up stores before the show. Not to mention I get an email update twice a month now on some article of clothing with their name on it. I'm a big free-market Libertarian guy too so if you're annoying me it must really be bad.

I mentioned backspacer cause it kinda has an 80s vibe to me...but not the good part of the 80s. And it kinda reminded me of amongst the waves and force of nature, but I haven't heard those in forever so I may be way off. But that 80s poppy cheeseball...Idk I don't like that whole sound and I wish they'd stop playing with it. It sounds like they're going for a specific style instead of just writing music, I'm sure they did that on the older albums too but apparently the.music they were inspired by was better. Maybe this is just thier sound now Idk. I bet this is a mike or ed song

As for the bolded part, please baby please baby please. They can't have just stopped knowing how to write interesting music,maybe they're just weeding all the good shit out cause ed thinks thats what it takes to write a catchy song I dunno. Either way

We still have soundcheck song! I think! Let's hope they don't fuck that up. I'm not too optimistic about that right now.

All this new uplifting mid tempo crap just sounds like Foreigner or Survivor or, if I'm really feeling generous, Journey or something like that. Not literally, but its that same fake, polished, silly bullshit. I dont know if they are still trying to rip off The Who or Bruce Springsteen or someone respectable, but it just comes out like 80s corporate rock. That kinda shit should only be enjoyed ironically.

and are we sure the soundcheck song isn't Lightning?

Yeah, we're sure. Totally different tempo, chords, everything.

[harmless]

All of this stuff, all of it, is a definite consequence of caring less. Sadly.

It's gonna be a fucking bummer if an album that took this long to make leaves us thinking "Man, I wish they would've just put a little bit more effort into these songs."

It's a little too late for that. If this album is bad I'll be thinking I wish they'd just quietly break up.

[BurtReynolds]

RIP the Pearl Jams.

I want a better recording of these before I write them off completely but then I'll probably write them off completely.

heh me too.

i dont even hate these songs, I just don't remotely care about this stuff.

[Lament]

All of this stuff, all of it, is a definite consequence of caring less. Sadly.

It's gonna be a fucking bummer if an album that took this long to make leaves us thinking "Man, I wish they would've just put a little bit more effort into these songs."

It's a little too late for that. If this album is bad I'll be thinking I wish they'd just quietly break up.

Maybe they just need to be like The Who post-1982 and tour for the sake of touring (Endless Wire withstanding). Even though they're nowhere near what they were pre-2006, they're still a pretty consistently good time. I don't think I'll ever travel to multiple shows on a tour like I used to (or enjoy it if I did), but I still enjoy seeing them once every year or so.

[harmless]

I really like the verse melody of Lightning Bolt, but it's like some kid set off on a bike which gradually started losing springs and other bike parts I have no idea what to call, till the kid ended up bloody and bruised in a ditch. I mean, hell, if PJ are going to make a terrible album can't they go on a theme like that?

[Lament]

I really like the verse melody of Lightning Bolt, but it's like some kid set off on a bike which gradually started losing springs and other bike parts I have no idea what to call, till the kid ended up bloody and bruised in a ditch. I mean, hell, if PJ are going to make a terrible album can't they go on a theme like that?

It almost felt like it was an interesting enough verse and pre-chorus to just leave the whole chorus out (which is oddly how I felt about World Wide Suicide too). Even if they wanted to keep the chorus in they could have done so without him hollering "LIGHTNING BOLT!" over it and just let Mike do some fills over the main riff.

[harmless]

I really like the verse melody of Lightning Bolt, but it's like some kid set off on a bike which gradually started losing springs and other bike parts I have no idea what to call, till the kid ended up bloody and bruised in a ditch. I mean, hell, if PJ are going to make a terrible album can't they go on a theme like that?

It almost felt like it was an interesting enough verse and pre-chorus to just leave the whole chorus out (which is oddly how I felt about World Wide Suicide too). Even if they wanted to keep the chorus in they could have done so without him hollering "LIGHTNING BOLT!" over it and just let Mike do some fills over the main riff.

Yeah, maybe. That might've given us the boring non-section that was in Unthought Known.

I like that Ed sings in the lower register for some of this. But he gets screechy in the chorus. I can't help thinking that not only does he try to reach notes that he can't sometimes, he also tries to reach notes he wouldn't have attempted to reach when he was younger. Maybe he had a surfing accident and fell into a coma, and when he woke up again, he was psychologically... someone else.

Maybe that's what those avocado zombies were about.

[stupidmop]

Im prefering the chorus to the verses right. At least the chorus has a little bit of character. And with some 'all night' stylings could be cool.

The verses sound like one of the backspacer songs I can't remember cause I haven't listened to them in years. Amongst the waves maybe? Unthought known? I dunno.

All this new uplifting mid tempo crap just sounds like Foreigner or Survivor or, if I'm really feeling generous, Journey or something like that. Not literally, but its that same fake, polished, silly bullshit. I dont know if they are still trying to rip off The Who or Bruce Springsteen or someone respectable, but it just comes out like 80s corporate rock. That kinda shit should only be enjoyed ironically

Definitely and I have no idea why they're going down this road. I thought that sound was gonna be a one time thing for backspacer, something different and then back to bussiness.

IT BOGGLES THE MIND. And makes me quite sad. Just whhhyyyyyyyyy. You used to be interesting guys. Happy doesn't have to = banal. I blame Mike and Eddie.

[WtOB?]

I really like the verse melody of Lightning Bolt, but it's like some kid set off on a bike which gradually started losing springs and other bike parts I have no idea what to call, till the kid ended up bloody and bruised in a ditch. I mean, hell, if PJ are going to make a terrible album can't they go on a theme like that?

It almost felt like it was an interesting enough verse and pre-chorus to just leave the whole chorus out (which is oddly how I felt about World Wide Suicide too). Even if they wanted to keep the chorus in they could have done so without him hollering "LIGHTNING BOLT!" over it and just let Mike do some fills over the main riff.

An instrumental chorus would have been really cool. Or at least, so much better than LIGHTNING BOLT! LIGHTNING BOLT!

[Lament]

An instrumental chorus would have been really cool. Or at least, so much better than LIGHTNING BOLT! LIGHTNING BOLT!

To hammer the point home, they had a set of lightning bolt shaped lights behind them going off while he screeched that.

[harmless]

Im prefering the chorus to the verses right. At least the chorus has a little bit of character. And with some 'all night' stylings could be cool.

The verses sound like one of the backspacer songs I can't remember cause I haven't listened to them in years. Amongst the waves maybe? Unthought known? I dunno.

All this new uplifting mid tempo crap just sounds like Foreigner or Survivor or, if I'm really feeling generous, Journey or something like that. Not literally, but its that same fake, polished, silly bullshit. I dont know if they are still trying to rip off The Who or Bruce Springsteen or someone respectable, but it just comes out like 80s corporate rock. That kinda shit should only be enjoyed ironically

Definitely and I have no idea why they're going down this road. I thought that sound was gonna be a one time thing for backspacer, something different and then back to bussiness.

IT BOGGLES THE MIND. And makes me quite sad. Just whhhyyyyyyyyy. You used to be interesting guys. Happy doesn't have to = banal. I blame Mike and Eddie.

I don't recognise this from anything on Backspacer, even though it's familiar-sounding and definitely a melody I've heard before. I don't think we'll have another Backspacer, if only because MYM sounds like nothing on it. Unless MYM sounds like nothing on this album either...

[harmless]

An instrumental chorus would have been really cool. Or at least, so much better than LIGHTNING BOLT! LIGHTNING BOLT!

To hammer the point home, they had a set of lightning bolt shaped lights behind them going off while he screeched that.

[WtOB?]

An instrumental chorus would have been really cool. Or at least, so much better than LIGHTNING BOLT! LIGHTNING BOLT!

To hammer the point home, they had a set of lightning bolt shaped lights behind them going off while he screeched that.

[stupidmop]

I really like the verse melody of Lightning Bolt, but it's like some kid set off on a bike which gradually started losing springs and other bike parts I have no idea what to call, till the kid ended up bloody and bruised in a ditch. I mean, hell, if PJ are going to make a terrible album can't they go on a theme like that?

It almost felt like it was an interesting enough verse and pre-chorus to just leave the whole chorus out (which is oddly how I felt about World Wide Suicide too). Even if they wanted to keep the chorus in they could have done so without him hollering "LIGHTNING BOLT!" over it and just let Mike do some fills over the main riff.

Yeah, maybe. That might've given us the boring non-section that was in Unthought Known.

I like that Ed sings in the lower register for some of this. But he gets screechy in the chorus. I can't help thinking that not only does he try to reach notes that he can't sometimes, he also tries to reach notes he wouldn't have attempted to reach when he was younger. Maybe he had a surfing accident and fell into a coma, and when he woke up again, he was psychologically... someone else.

Maybe that's what those avocado zombies were about.

I think that's just his personality, when he was angsty/ depressed it was to the point of melodramaticness in interviews and we got recordings of mental patients as songs, and now he's happy he's SUPER HAPPY. And everythings about the ocean and waves and you soul and shit...Except when he's writing acoustic ballads about dying....ok so this didn't really pan out.

[harmless]

I really like the verse melody of Lightning Bolt, but it's like some kid set off on a bike which gradually started losing springs and other bike parts I have no idea what to call, till the kid ended up bloody and bruised in a ditch. I mean, hell, if PJ are going to make a terrible album can't they go on a theme like that?

It almost felt like it was an interesting enough verse and pre-chorus to just leave the whole chorus out (which is oddly how I felt about World Wide Suicide too). Even if they wanted to keep the chorus in they could have done so without him hollering "LIGHTNING BOLT!" over it and just let Mike do some fills over the main riff.

Yeah, maybe. That might've given us the boring non-section that was in Unthought Known.

I like that Ed sings in the lower register for some of this. But he gets screechy in the chorus. I can't help thinking that not only does he try to reach notes that he can't sometimes, he also tries to reach notes he wouldn't have attempted to reach when he was younger. Maybe he had a surfing accident and fell into a coma, and when he woke up again, he was psychologically... someone else.

Maybe that's what those avocado zombies were about.

I think that's just his personality, when he was angsty/ depressed it was to the point of melodramaticness in interviews and we got recordings of mental patients as songs, and now he's happy he's SUPER HAPPY. And everythings about the ocean and waves and you soul and shit...Except when he's writing acoustic ballads about dying....ok so this didn't really pan out.

Yes it does, because even when he writes in ridiculous extremes, he still understands as an older guy that life contains both. So every album from now on will contain raucous angry punk about social justice issues as well as tinkly cute ballads about waves.

[Lament]

Yes it does, because even when he writes in ridiculous extremes, he still understands as an older guy that life contains both. So every album from now on will contain raucous angry punk about social justice issues as well as tinkly cute ballads about waves.

I hope that fucking disastrous "I can't believe we made it to where it all got good" song from PJ20 doesn't find it's way onto this album. But now I kinda think it will. With Brendan O'Brien piano all over it.

[WtOB?]

I really hate Brendan O'brien's newfound place in the band. It's becoming Bob Rock-esque.

[stupidmop]

I really like the verse melody of Lightning Bolt, but it's like some kid set off on a bike which gradually started losing springs and other bike parts I have no idea what to call, till the kid ended up bloody and bruised in a ditch. I mean, hell, if PJ are going to make a terrible album can't they go on a theme like that?

It almost felt like it was an interesting enough verse and pre-chorus to just leave the whole chorus out (which is oddly how I felt about World Wide Suicide too). Even if they wanted to keep the chorus in they could have done so without him hollering "LIGHTNING BOLT!" over it and just let Mike do some fills over the main riff.

Yeah, maybe. That might've given us the boring non-section that was in Unthought Known.

I like that Ed sings in the lower register for some of this. But he gets screechy in the chorus. I can't help thinking that not only does he try to reach notes that he can't sometimes, he also tries to reach notes he wouldn't have attempted to reach when he was younger. Maybe he had a surfing accident and fell into a coma, and when he woke up again, he was psychologically... someone else.

Maybe that's what those avocado zombies were about.

I think that's just his personality, when he was angsty/ depressed it was to the point of melodramaticness in interviews and we got recordings of mental patients as songs, and now he's happy he's SUPER HAPPY. And everythings about the ocean and waves and you soul and shit...Except when he's writing acoustic ballads about dying....ok so this didn't really pan out.

Yes it does, because even when he writes in ridiculous extremes, he still understands as an older guy that life contains both. So every album from now on will contain raucous angry punk about social justice issues as well as tinkly cute ballads about waves.

And doing neither particularly well apparently.

[harmless]

I don't think Brendan joined the band at any point, where are we getting that from? The fact that he added to arrangements? That's nothing to worry about yet, I don't think; it hasn't happened in MYM.

On second listen, I preferred the song. It's more interesting structurally the second time, and even on that horrendous "Lightning Bolt" chorus, it's made more interesting by the fact that there are pushes before the last beat of each bar. So the chorus might be annoying on the same level as Evacuation.