Lightning Bolt: the official album thread

[klvitalogy]

There's probably no middle ground on this one - you'll either think it's too cheesy or you won't.

[sward]

Ok Canadians. Try this.

Create a new account in Rdio.

Make your address American.

Play Sirens.

Or wait until Thursday.

Didn't work for me.

Hmm. I know its an extra step but probably have to use a dns service like unblock.us (which I have set up all the time). Sorry didn't realize you'd need that as well.

[hailroad]

Hate Matt's drums in the intro. I enjoy guitar effects and fills that come in and out of the song, but, I think this would have been much better with a heavier guitar sound and ditched the acoustic.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

is this the shorter radio edit you guys are listening to? or was that just a rumor that it was going to be shortened for the single?

[McParadigm]

That solo is cheesy as fuck. Totally can picture richie sambora playing it.

Old man rock. ya.

That acoustic guitar part could have easily been the basis for something much more....ahh.....I mean....

Even with the move away from the Neil Young/Who approach, I never quite saw this coming.

It's so....

uhhhh

Its basically Turning Mist on steroids. Turning mist as if stone, eddie, jeff and matt ran it thorugh their systems after mike wrote it...

I don't know Turning Mist. This sounds to me like Phil Collins, Brendan O'Brien, and Bon Jovi were in the room during the writing process, and the band were more than happy to go with whatever they came up with.

Whatever quality it was that drew me personally to Pearl Jam...this is what they sound like with that particular quality completely removed. It's the same guys playing the song, but there's none of what made their music matter to me left. So I guess I don't have an opinion on this song. I'm not sure I ever will.

[Jaeti]

Hate Matt's drums in the intro. I enjoy guitar effects and fills that come in and out of the song, but, I think this would have been much better with a heavier guitar sound and ditched the acoustic.

Agreed.

[wilkins]

Bon Jovi with a GnR solo, definitely not the best thing they've ever done, BOB. Man, he really needs to go away.

5:40 long.

[McParadigm]

Bon Jovi with a GnR solo, definitely not the best thing they've ever done, BOB. Man, he really needs to go away.

5:40 long.

THIS is the song he was referring to????

[klvitalogy]

is this the shorter radio edit you guys are listening to? or was that just a rumor that it was going to be shortened for the single?

This version runs 5:40

[guitar_davey]

The guy who did the video after the listening party was pretty bang on, at least on that part.

[sward]

Thing is for me..I am seeing and listening to this no different than I would say Betterman. That song is poppy but the lyrics take the gloss off it. This one has a narrative in the lyrics where I can get behind the lyrical content which is a little more boy/girl/love instead of boy/girl/turmoil.

The solo though...I can't get behind it.. That is just cheese.

Anyway, liking the song a lot after a few listens and Ed steals the show. I can even forgive the one time he enunciates here as Hee-Uh. (pet peeve)

[guitar_davey]

Ok Canadians. Try this.

Create a new account in Rdio.

Make your address American.

Play Sirens.

Or wait until Thursday.

Didn't work for me.

Hmm. I know its an extra step but probably have to use a dns service like unblock.us (which I have set up all the time). Sorry didn't realize you'd need that as well.

Thanks man! Got hooked up anyway.

[oneway23]

So, for some unknown reason, I'm only getting a 30 second sample when I pull Sirens up on Rdio.

OFFER OR REQUEST FOR BANNED OR COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE MATERIAL DELETED. PLEASE DO NOT REPOST. -THE MANAGEMENT

[Jaeti]

If you've heard all the LB audio that's available to this point and are optimistic, I think you'll pretty much remain optimistic after hearing this. If you're pessimistic, this isn't going to turn things around.

[Strat]

Thing is for me..I am seeing and listening to this no different than I would say Betterman. That song is poppy but the lyrics take the gloss off it. This one has a narrative in the lyrics where I can get behind the lyrical content which is a little more boy/girl/love instead of boy/girl/turmoil.

The solo though...I can't get behind it.. That is just cheese.

Anyway, liking the song a lot after a few listens and Ed steals the show. I can even forgive the one time he enunciates here as Hee-Uh. (pet peeve)

Its so over produced though. Like, you can't really pick out the separate instrumentation because its all just up there and all together. no space. Its like listening to that Aerosmith Armageddon song....

It doesnt even sound like a band playing the song...

[WtOB?]

hmm.. yeah not sure about this one.

[Kevin Davis]

Cheesiness is increasingly becoming a word I think needs to be defined with examples before being used.

In a broad sense, I think "cheesy" (or "corny," or any of its many synonyms) typically refers to something that feels emotionally phony despite the fact that it is manipulated and manufactured to be just the opposite. Think of those big Nashville ballads sung from the perspective of dads giving their daughters away to be married, or soldiers coming home from the war in pine boxes while the entire town of Pissville, Kentucy stands by saluting, unable to decide if their tears are tears of grief or tears of pure American pride. Really just listen to a pop country station for a half hour and you'll have a pretty good understanding of the term.

To use a more relevant example, I would cite the difference between hearing "Future Days" with all the accompaniment from Wrigley, and hearing the unadorned inner-ear monitor thing that leaked, with just Eddie and the guitar. The latter is a naked and honest sentiment (albeit not a particularly exciting one, and not a particularly great song), but when you bring in the piano, the strings, etc. you get this feeling of someone behind the curtain really trying to sell that emotion, to put it across in a theatrical, unduly dramatic way. That's where the manipulation comes in, and I think where most people get off the wagon.

Do you listen to any music where you *know* you're being manipulated in this way, but it works?

All the time.

[Monkey_Driven]

I feel like this may be a tune that is much better live without the production.

[harmless]

This is a structurally interesting, heavily produced pop song. But it really isn't Bon Jovi.

I think I like it quite a lot, but wow, I'm going to really decide once I stop laughing.

It could've done with a thick wall of guitars, for sure. Some Binaural, Light Years-esque guitars would've really helped it.

[sward]

Thing is for me..I am seeing and listening to this no different than I would say Betterman. That song is poppy but the lyrics take the gloss off it. This one has a narrative in the lyrics where I can get behind the lyrical content which is a little more boy/girl/love instead of boy/girl/turmoil.

The solo though...I can't get behind it.. That is just cheese.

Anyway, liking the song a lot after a few listens and Ed steals the show. I can even forgive the one time he enunciates here as Hee-Uh. (pet peeve)

Its so over produced though. Like, you can't really pick out the separate instrumentation because its all just up there and all together. no space. Its like listening to that Aerosmith Armageddon song....

It doesnt even sound like a band playing the song...

Ah yes..it is over-produced. Can't argue that one. Being more sparse and intimate would definitely make this one a winner across the board.