Worst Gigaton song

General Pearl Jam discussion.
Post Reply

Pick one

1. Who Ever Said
2
1%
2. Superblood Wolfmoon
27
15%
3. Dance of the Clairvoyants
1
1%
4. Quick Escape
2
1%
5. Alright
5
3%
6. Seven O'Clock
10
6%
7. Never Destination
24
13%
8. Take the Long Way
23
13%
9. Buckle Up
28
16%
10. Comes Then Goes
6
3%
11. Retrograde
35
19%
12. River Cross
17
9%
 
Total votes: 180

User avatar
Obbster
Banned from the Pit
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue July 23, 2013 3:45 pm
Location: Glasgow, Scotland

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by Obbster »

SBWM. The worst.
"It's chowdah! Chowdah!! I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you! Especially those of you in the jury!"
User avatar
ABNorman
The Beef
Posts: 4475
Joined: Thu January 03, 2013 10:16 pm

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by ABNorman »

Pretty easily Never Destination. SBWM is better than 2 or 3 other songs on this for sure.
User avatar
stip
The worst
Posts: 42946
Joined: Thu December 13, 2012 6:31 pm

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by stip »

theplatypus wrote:"Superblood Wolfmoon" is just an utterly inept song in a dozen different ways. It's not only the worst song on Gigaton by some distance but one of the worst things they've ever done.
maybe you're one of the worst things they've ever done. Have you thought about that?
User avatar
stip
The worst
Posts: 42946
Joined: Thu December 13, 2012 6:31 pm

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by stip »

reconstruction_ seeds wrote:
theplatypus wrote:"Superblood Wolfmoon" is just an utterly inept song in a dozen different ways. It's not only the worst song on Gigaton by some distance but one of the worst things they've ever done.

I'm not good at breaking down what goes on in a song but maybe you can help me understand this song better. if i compare this to sonething like green day's when i come around, for example, they're both fun tunes (though i dont like when i come around) with vocals that could be either loved or hated but sbwm doesn't sound limited to the same riff throughout the song and has a guitar solo which perfectly fits the energetic pace of the song. Would you hate sbwm if the vocals were done by one of your favorite singers? The song is wordy but but for someone who doesn't mind the style it has plenty of hooks in the lyrics and there's enough guitar highlights in it to keep my focus. I get it though, if the guitars were busier in when i come around i would still despise the song because i hate the vocals.

If nothing else, sbwm adds variety to the album in a fun/Hitchiker kind of way?

The lyrics are generally very good, and there are really nice quickfire melodies he delivers them with. I like the rave up energy, and since the song itself is someone grappling with and rejecting their own sense of entitlement the slightly bratty quality to it works well. The main riff is pretty basic, but there is a harshness to it that gives it a little edge and there are a bunch of great little moments throughout where the rest of the band is coloring in the spaces really well.

It doesn't embrace a traditional v-c-v-c song structure despite feeling like a simple song, so it can end up playing like a mini highlight reel rather than a full fledged song. But I really dig most of those highlights. I listen to this constantly and I don't really find myself listening to the song as much as I find myself excited for the next part, if that makes sense.
Ms Harmless
She / Her
Posts: 13605
Joined: Sun January 26, 2020 12:10 pm
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
Location: Warwickshire, UK

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by Ms Harmless »

the single most frustrating thing about SBWM is the lyrics, not because they're bad but because the speaker of the song delivers them like "listen up! this story is really important!", almost with the urgency and force of something like "Corduroy" (my favourite ever PJ song), but I *still* have no idea what the song is about; I was hoping that our speculations and theories as to the story here would arrive at something, but they never did
User avatar
ABNorman
The Beef
Posts: 4475
Joined: Thu January 03, 2013 10:16 pm

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by ABNorman »

The fact that there are any votes for Buckle Up is a damned travesty.
User avatar
Anders
NEVER STOP JAMMING!
Posts: 23453
Joined: Fri July 12, 2013 9:11 pm
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lowenan
Location: Oslo, Norway

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by Anders »

ABNorman wrote:The fact that there are any votes for Buckle Up is a damned travesty.
:heartbeat:
User avatar
Jorge
NYUCK NYUCK NYUCK
Posts: 36491
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 3:35 pm
Location: Buenos Aires

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by Jorge »

reconstruction_ seeds wrote:
theplatypus wrote:"Superblood Wolfmoon" is just an utterly inept song in a dozen different ways. It's not only the worst song on Gigaton by some distance but one of the worst things they've ever done.

I'm not good at breaking down what goes on in a song but maybe you can help me understand this song better. if i compare this to sonething like green day's when i come around, for example, they're both fun tunes (though i dont like when i come around) with vocals that could be either loved or hated but sbwm doesn't sound limited to the same riff throughout the song and has a guitar solo which perfectly fits the energetic pace of the song. Would you hate sbwm if the vocals were done by one of your favorite singers? The song is wordy but but for someone who doesn't mind the style it has plenty of hooks in the lyrics and there's enough guitar highlights in it to keep my focus. I get it though, if the guitars were busier in when i come around i would still despise the song because i hate the vocals.

If nothing else, sbwm adds variety to the album in a fun/Hitchiker kind of way?
I don't find SBWM fun, mostly just a jumbled mess of half-written hooks that the band trudges through haphazardly. The lyrics are whatever
Anders wrote:I do not have a «neoliberal assessment of geopolitics», so please stop writing that I do.
User avatar
stip
The worst
Posts: 42946
Joined: Thu December 13, 2012 6:31 pm

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by stip »

I think the first three songs really set the stage for the themes of the rest of the album. That in the face of grief, confusion, anger, frustration, and a palpable sense that the world isn't giving you what you need, that it's not really about you. It's about us. And that a large and complex world isn't going to make sense just because you need it to. The only way through it is together.


Listen to SBWM and imagine the singer working through that process
User avatar
scrub12
AnalLog
Posts: 1941
Joined: Thu January 03, 2013 4:56 am

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by scrub12 »

Retrograde. I find it completely forgettable. I even listened to it a few more times last night and nothing is sticking.
User avatar
Stardog Champion
likes rhythmic things that butt up against each other
Posts: 754
Joined: Sun January 06, 2013 6:05 pm

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by Stardog Champion »

Never Destination. It feels generic to me. There's nothing there that really stands out for me. I at least enjoy the solo and some of the lyrics for SBWM.
User avatar
LoathedVermin72
The Master
Posts: 33839
Joined: Sun May 25, 2014 9:32 pm

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by LoathedVermin72 »

theplatypus wrote:"Superblood Wolfmoon" is just an utterly inept song in a dozen different ways. It's not only the worst song on Gigaton by some distance but one of the worst things they've ever done.
yes
User avatar
LoathedVermin72
The Master
Posts: 33839
Joined: Sun May 25, 2014 9:32 pm

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by LoathedVermin72 »

The verses on Seven O’Clock are also in that territory for me
User avatar
Monkey_Driven
The Master
Posts: 28035
Joined: Wed January 02, 2013 3:36 pm
Location: Mushroom Kingdom

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by Monkey_Driven »

durdencommatyler wrote:Buckle Up
Stop!
User avatar
stip
The worst
Posts: 42946
Joined: Thu December 13, 2012 6:31 pm

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by stip »

LoathedVermin72 wrote:
theplatypus wrote:"Superblood Wolfmoon" is just an utterly inept song in a dozen different ways. It's not only the worst song on Gigaton by some distance but one of the worst things they've ever done.
yes
I particularly love its Springsteen influences!
User avatar
7 Years and Maybe Longer
A Return To Form
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon January 13, 2020 1:55 am

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by 7 Years and Maybe Longer »

Not voting in this one for now.

For the first time in a long time there is no obvious clunker for me. Strong album front to back and don't want to skip any. This could change after further listens.
Ms Harmless
She / Her
Posts: 13605
Joined: Sun January 26, 2020 12:10 pm
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
Location: Warwickshire, UK

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by Ms Harmless »

nothing bad! nothing bad! nothing bad! nothing baaa-yaa-yaa-yaa-yaa-yaa-yaaaaaad
User avatar
evenslow
Stone's Bitch
Posts: 9164
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 6:47 pm
Location: unnamed mental hospital

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by evenslow »

my candidates are SBWM and Retrograde. but here's the thing - the final 1m50s of Retrograde is actually sublime. so it's like 2/3 a piece of shit and 1/3 incredible.

i guess that means i'm voting for SBWM, which i don't hate.

or maybe i'm voting for the first 2/3 of Retrograde, which is genuinely pretty damn bad.
Spoiler: show
Image
Strat wrote:Alas, we are RM
User avatar
Strat
Waiting for HVAC Repairman
Posts: 35407
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 3:48 pm
Location: Twin City Kisses

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by Strat »

SBWM is so ridiculously fun and catchy as hell. The twists and turns of the song are just a riot.

You people are INSANE
User avatar
7 Years and Maybe Longer
A Return To Form
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon January 13, 2020 1:55 am

Re: Worst Gigaton song

Post by 7 Years and Maybe Longer »

evenslow wrote:my candidates are SBWM and Retrograde. but here's the thing - the final 1m50s of Retrograde is actually sublime. so it's like 2/3 a piece of shit and 1/3 incredible.

i guess that means i'm voting for SBWM, which i don't hate.

or maybe i'm voting for the first 2/3 of Retrograde, which is genuinely pretty damn bad.
Spoiler: show
Image
Agree on Retrograde. It gets off to a rough start, but the ending redeems it somewhat.
Post Reply