Red Mosquito

Upper Hand is getting to me too. There is something about the lyrics and how they feel, the whole;

And I hope the people are smiling
And I hope that today and every day is grand
Oh, I apologize, so sorry 'bout the timing
But you know, something that I never had was the upper hand


that, for some reason, gets me.

I finally submitted my 5 star ranking. It's been a month and the verdict (for me anyway) is now clear: this is beyond any reasonable doubt the best record since Yield. There's a lot to love about Binaural, Riot Act, and even Avocado, but DM tops them all. Gig showed me there was hope in the post LB world, and that hope was rewarded with this latest collection - big time.

So, my record tiers now stands as follows (with rankings WITHIN each tier):

Masterpieces:
1. Yield
2. Ten
3. DM
4. Vs

Great Records:
1. Riot Act
2. No Code

Good Records:
1. Binaural
2. Vitalogy
3. S/T
4. Gigaton

Eh:
Backspacer

Erase From Memory:
LB

VinylGuy wrote:Upper Hand is getting to me too. There is something about the lyrics and how they feel, the whole;

And I hope the people are smiling
And I hope that today and every day is grand
Oh, I apologize, so sorry 'bout the timing
But you know, something that I never had was the upper hand


that, for some reason, gets me.

We all will have our perspective on seeing different things from the lyrics on this. Just a couple of months ago I lost my mother, and many of the lyrics on this I see through the prism of that, and my parents’ 54 year marriage. This lyric has just felt like losing her but from her perspective. Setting Sun feels like my father calling out for her. These sorts of themes have helped me process it all. Pearl Jam’s music has always kind of been there and reflected back whatever it was I was experiencing at the time, from college (No Code) to my first break up (Yield) to bar study (s/t), marriage (Backspacer), first child (Lightning Bolt), pandemic (Gigaton) - but none weighed so heavily and has been felt so deep as this one. Heavy for me to listen to but nearly impossible so far for me to put down for more than a few days, like a cathartic exercise in embracing whatever it is this is getting me through.

WFS Upper Hand Sof all skipped tonight. That's tragic on a dark matter especially Upper Hand it is so good

liebzz wrote:

VinylGuy wrote:Upper Hand is getting to me too. There is something about the lyrics and how they feel, the whole;

And I hope the people are smiling
And I hope that today and every day is grand
Oh, I apologize, so sorry 'bout the timing
But you know, something that I never had was the upper hand


that, for some reason, gets me.

We all will have our perspective on seeing different things from the lyrics on this. Just a couple of months ago I lost my mother, and many of the lyrics on this I see through the prism of that, and my parents’ 54 year marriage. This lyric has just felt like losing her but from her perspective. Setting Sun feels like my father calling out for her. These sorts of themes have helped me process it all. Pearl Jam’s music has always kind of been there and reflected back whatever it was I was experiencing at the time, from college (No Code) to my first break up (Yield) to bar study (s/t), marriage (Backspacer), first child (Lightning Bolt), pandemic (Gigaton) - but none weighed so heavily and has been felt so deep as this one. Heavy for me to listen to but nearly impossible so far for me to put down for more than a few days, like a cathartic exercise in embracing whatever it is this is getting me through.

Sorry to hear about your mom. And yes I see that on this song and this album too. That’s why I guess most of us are connecting to it. Pearl Jam always does that to me too.

liebzz wrote:We all will have our perspective on seeing different things from the lyrics on this. Just a couple of months ago I lost my mother, and many of the lyrics on this I see through the prism of that, and my parents’ 54 year marriage. This lyric has just felt like losing her but from her perspective. Setting Sun feels like my father calling out for her. These sorts of themes have helped me process it all. Pearl Jam’s music has always kind of been there and reflected back whatever it was I was experiencing at the time, from college (No Code) to my first break up (Yield) to bar study (s/t), marriage (Backspacer), first child (Lightning Bolt), pandemic (Gigaton) - but none weighed so heavily and has been felt so deep as this one. Heavy for me to listen to but nearly impossible so far for me to put down for more than a few days, like a cathartic exercise in embracing whatever it is this is getting me through.

I have experienced the same benchmarks with No Code, LB and Gigaton, and extend my heart to you for this latest Pearl Jam connection. The way this band is there for us is amazing. Good luck pushing through- may many wonderful memories of your mother embrace you.

All the best to you, liebzz. Thanks for sharing

Been a rough few months so thanks for the support. It is yet again the band carrying me through these moments.

liebzz wrote:Been a rough few months so thanks for the support. It is yet again the band carrying me through these moments.

liebzz wrote:

VinylGuy wrote:Upper Hand is getting to me too. There is something about the lyrics and how they feel, the whole;

And I hope the people are smiling
And I hope that today and every day is grand
Oh, I apologize, so sorry 'bout the timing
But you know, something that I never had was the upper hand


that, for some reason, gets me.

We all will have our perspective on seeing different things from the lyrics on this. Just a couple of months ago I lost my mother, and many of the lyrics on this I see through the prism of that, and my parents’ 54 year marriage. This lyric has just felt like losing her but from her perspective. Setting Sun feels like my father calling out for her. These sorts of themes have helped me process it all. Pearl Jam’s music has always kind of been there and reflected back whatever it was I was experiencing at the time, from college (No Code) to my first break up (Yield) to bar study (s/t), marriage (Backspacer), first child (Lightning Bolt), pandemic (Gigaton) - but none weighed so heavily and has been felt so deep as this one. Heavy for me to listen to but nearly impossible so far for me to put down for more than a few days, like a cathartic exercise in embracing whatever it is this is getting me through.

liebzz wrote:

VinylGuy wrote:Upper Hand is getting to me too. There is something about the lyrics and how they feel, the whole;

And I hope the people are smiling
And I hope that today and every day is grand
Oh, I apologize, so sorry 'bout the timing
But you know, something that I never had was the upper hand


that, for some reason, gets me.

We all will have our perspective on seeing different things from the lyrics on this. Just a couple of months ago I lost my mother, and many of the lyrics on this I see through the prism of that, and my parents’ 54 year marriage. This lyric has just felt like losing her but from her perspective. Setting Sun feels like my father calling out for her. These sorts of themes have helped me process it all. Pearl Jam’s music has always kind of been there and reflected back whatever it was I was experiencing at the time, from college (No Code) to my first break up (Yield) to bar study (s/t), marriage (Backspacer), first child (Lightning Bolt), pandemic (Gigaton) - but none weighed so heavily and has been felt so deep as this one. Heavy for me to listen to but nearly impossible so far for me to put down for more than a few days, like a cathartic exercise in embracing whatever it is this is getting me through.

Im glad you have this album for this moment

stip wrote:

liebzz wrote:

VinylGuy wrote:Upper Hand is getting to me too. There is something about the lyrics and how they feel, the whole;

And I hope the people are smiling
And I hope that today and every day is grand
Oh, I apologize, so sorry 'bout the timing
But you know, something that I never had was the upper hand


that, for some reason, gets me.

We all will have our perspective on seeing different things from the lyrics on this. Just a couple of months ago I lost my mother, and many of the lyrics on this I see through the prism of that, and my parents’ 54 year marriage. This lyric has just felt like losing her but from her perspective. Setting Sun feels like my father calling out for her. These sorts of themes have helped me process it all. Pearl Jam’s music has always kind of been there and reflected back whatever it was I was experiencing at the time, from college (No Code) to my first break up (Yield) to bar study (s/t), marriage (Backspacer), first child (Lightning Bolt), pandemic (Gigaton) - but none weighed so heavily and has been felt so deep as this one. Heavy for me to listen to but nearly impossible so far for me to put down for more than a few days, like a cathartic exercise in embracing whatever it is this is getting me through.

Im glad you have this album for this moment

It’s as if they just know.

I legit want a fully acoustic version of this album now

https://youtu.be/cAVSC6pnGmE?si=[yt]tHtlzt4vtVYWUJzL[/yt]

are there a lot of weird tunings on this album? i just watched two videos on how to play 'scared of fear' and 'waiting for stevie' and they are both in alternate tunings

Fattie_Vedder wrote:I legit want a fully acoustic version of this album now

https://youtu.be/cAVSC6pnGmE?si=[yt]tHtlzt4vtVYWUJzL[/yt]

OH wow. Is it me or is this remix better than the studio track?

The only complaint is how processed Eddie's vocals sound on this album, and this remix makes it stand out even more. I wish the album had better, less cheesy/over-produced production .... The songs are so good they deserve a better recording of them.

But this sounds great overall. It makes me like the song a little better

warehouse wrote:are there a lot of weird tunings on this album? i just watched two videos on how to play 'scared of fear' and 'waiting for stevie' and they are both in alternate tunings

Aren't they all in open G (SOF, Wreckage, and Stevie at least)

WaitingForBluey wrote:

warehouse wrote:are there a lot of weird tunings on this album? i just watched two videos on how to play 'scared of fear' and 'waiting for stevie' and they are both in alternate tunings

Aren't they all in open G (SOF, Wreckage, and Stevie at least)

What complicates things is that Mike and Stone are in different tunings on some songs. SOF, Mike is standard tuning if I recall correctly.

Apparently Upper Hand is in Open E Tuning

Now I'm imagining Won't Tell with more of a Elderly Woman arrangement in my head and I think that would be pretty nice

Fattie_Vedder wrote:I legit want a fully acoustic version of this album now

https://youtu.be/cAVSC6pnGmE?si=[yt]tHtlzt4vtVYWUJzL[/yt]