Can't Deny Me

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[RockPusher]

Ed def ran out of good lyrics a long time ago

Hard disagree. Can't Deny Me's lyrics are unsubtle and uninspiring, but there are lyrics all over the last four albums that I adore.

[Leatherhead]

Ed's best lyrics are in Johnny Guitar.

With a leg under a red dress I wish I could see
Further North a warmth alive & lingering

[96583UP]

ever since Writer’s Block it’s all been downhill

[epilogue]

Ed's best lyrics are in Johnny Guitar.

With a leg under a red dress I wish I could see
Further North a warmth alive & lingering

Ick

[epilogue]

ever since Writer’s Block it’s all been downhill

[Strat]

it's funny this song thread got bumped, i was thinking about this song within the last 1-2 days

have been watching that Eddie & Jeff interview with Bill Simmons. Just a nice reminder of how good a guy Ed is.

We shit all over this song when it came out. It was intended to roast DJT. It was well-intended, but the execution far from snapped.

made me think how Ed meant well but at this phase of life / age / career just couldn't bring the musical gusto or vocal delivery necessary to match the strength of the intent with the actual end product

It’s interesting to see how Jeff Tweedy can write clever and subtle lyrics about the Trump era. This could be from either side of the aisle:

I love my country like a little boy
Red, white, and blue
I love my country, stupid and cruel
Red, white, and blue
All you have to do is sing in the choir
Kill yourself every once in a while
And sing in the choir with me
All you have to do is sing in the choir
Set yourself on fire every once in a while
And sing in the choir
With me
With me
I love my country like a little child
Red, white, and blue
I love my country, stupid and cruel
Red, white, and blue
All you have to do is sing in the choir
All you have to do is sing in the choir
All you have to do is sing in the choir
With me
With me

And then you compare that with something like Quick Escape

You really hate anything thats not middle path.

[Strat]

Ed's best lyrics are in Johnny Guitar.

With a leg under a red dress I wish I could see
Further North a warmth alive & lingering

Ick

Nah. Johnny Guitars lyrics are fantastic. Super playful, great wordplay, delivers exactly the intent of the song. Very clever and fun

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Strat]

it's funny this song thread got bumped, i was thinking about this song within the last 1-2 days

have been watching that Eddie & Jeff interview with Bill Simmons. Just a nice reminder of how good a guy Ed is.

We shit all over this song when it came out. It was intended to roast DJT. It was well-intended, but the execution far from snapped.

made me think how Ed meant well but at this phase of life / age / career just couldn't bring the musical gusto or vocal delivery necessary to match the strength of the intent with the actual end product

It’s interesting to see how Jeff Tweedy can write clever and subtle lyrics about the Trump era. This could be from either side of the aisle:

I love my country like a little boy
Red, white, and blue
I love my country, stupid and cruel
Red, white, and blue
All you have to do is sing in the choir
Kill yourself every once in a while
And sing in the choir with me
All you have to do is sing in the choir
Set yourself on fire every once in a while
And sing in the choir
With me
With me
I love my country like a little child
Red, white, and blue
I love my country, stupid and cruel
Red, white, and blue
All you have to do is sing in the choir
All you have to do is sing in the choir
All you have to do is sing in the choir
With me
With me

And then you compare that with something like Quick Escape

You really hate anything thats not middle path.

As it relates explicitly to our current political climate, yes, you are generally right

Not sure why pj/EV circa 91-24 ever hit your heart center.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Monkey_Driven]

Seriously though…

Quick Escape is no Bushleaguer, but also I’m not 21 years old anymore.

At face value, the two songs might appear similar, given that they’re direct affronts to Republican presidents, written from the vantage point of the guy on the left.

But Bushleaguer has a sneaky musical structure, with little bits of creativity woven throughout; the energy never rises above a 6/10, and while Bush’s name is in the title, the lyrics are cryptic enough to make you do a little work to connect all the dots (or even find new meaning with repeated listens).

And then Quick Escape is the exact opposite of all that. Just utterly exhausting, basic, myopic music and lyrics, from top to bottom.

I never got the sense Quick Escape was specifically about Trump. More of a finding a scapegoat for your problems, running away, and then realizing you had it pretty good.

[Jorge]

Myopic music

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[coptheriotact]

i like can't deny me more than quick escape.

i don't ever want to hear either of them again, but i got more enjoyment from the cant deny me thread/era of pearl jam

quick escape will probably be the "cool rarity" at the melbourne shows i attend

i dont care if the lyrics name-drop trump or not.. but the instrumentals are shit on both tracks.

[Ms Harmless]

Seriously though…

Quick Escape is no Bushleaguer, but also I’m not 21 years old anymore.

At face value, the two songs might appear similar, given that they’re direct affronts to Republican presidents, written from the vantage point of the guy on the left.

But Bushleaguer has a sneaky musical structure, with little bits of creativity woven throughout; the energy never rises above a 6/10, and while Bush’s name is in the title, the lyrics are cryptic enough to make you do a little work to connect all the dots (or even find new meaning with repeated listens).

And then Quick Escape is the exact opposite of all that. Just utterly exhausting, basic, myopic music and lyrics, from top to bottom.

I never got the sense Quick Escape was specifically about Trump. More of a finding a scapegoat for your problems, running away, and then realizing you had it pretty good.

I think that’s accurate, but the Trump thing just immediately politicizes it. Is he suggesting that Democrats don’t harvest resources, leverage capitalism, harm the environment? They had to get away because MAGA ruined the planet?

I mean my real problem with the song is the music; it gives me a headache. But the lyrics make things worse.

you can't fit everything that's ruining the planet into a single song, but MAGA is a good example of something ruining the planet

[stip]

i love QE so much. And while it blames trump, in the end it also blames the subjects for scapegoating and externalizing and distancing yourself from your responsibility. it literally goes to mars to make that point.

musically it is fucking awesome

Eddie’s lyrics are much smarter than people often give them credit for. Folks stop at fairly superficial levels because they dont think there are extra layers to imbue with meaning, and Eddie is not a showy writer

[stip]

pearl jam has a lot of songs about running away from your problems, but the point is that this never works. At best it provides a moment to breathe so you can draw strength and perspective and clarity before you reengage. What makes Yield so interesting is that it really wants to escape and knows it cant

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now