Red Mosquito

enimmi wrote:New interview with Ed in Rolling Stone.

(not my photos)

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Eddie Vedder Q&A

On Pearl Jam's new LP and hate-watching the VMAs
By Brian Hiatt

Eddie Vedder is really trying to take better care of himself. “I quit drinking and smoking all the time,” he says with a laugh. “I’m currently not drinking – because it’s 11:00 in the morning.” Sober or not, Vedder sounds pretty riled for a 48-year-old father of two on Pearl Jam’s 10th album, Lightning Bolt, which ranges from Vitalogy-style punkiness to unabashed balladry. “We’ve got a situation in the band,” says Vedder, “where, hopefully, we can explore the possibilities of the whole spectrum.”

Given all the time between records, and all the band members’ side projects, is Pearl Jam itself now a side project for you guys?

I could see, perhaps, where that assumption is made. But we’re more of a group than ever, and the space in between is healthy. It’s a big part of everybody’s life, to be playing music, at all times. And at the same time, it’s important to us to be part of our families, to not be absent fathers.
Also, actually putting out the record is a little bit of a shock to the system. That’s what we remember as being traumatic. Probably, when you take longer between records, there’s more importance placed on the records. Maybe the next thing you do is put out another one in the next year – just put it out, and not have a buildup.

Are you still trying to make the greatest Pearl Jam record ever?

I say this in the least-competitive way possible, but we’re trying to make not just the best Pearl Jam record, but just the best record. It’s about getting to the next level of communication, or just trying to crack a code into some higher phase of playing music. Because when we’re making a record, I’m more of a listener than a player. That whole time, you’re staying in this weird, objective place, like you’re writing from a hot-air balloon, looking at the landscape and trying to zero in. You’re trying to create a giant crop circle, and that’s the mystery behind it. Like, how would you make that if you were on the ground?

The new record has a lot of lyrics about mortality.

They say to write what you know, I think that’s maybe one thing that we all know [laughs]. It’s living while you’re alive, and living to the day you die, and being cognizant of the end, and you might lead a more appreciative life, if that’s part of your approach.

I thought maybe you were just getting old.

Yeah. Well, no! I’m probably in better shape than in many, many years. But, you know, they say that your kids make you young – I say they’ll make you tired, trying to keep up with them. I used to think getting through adolescence was going to be the hard part. It’s watching other people get old, dealing with other people’s mortality. A lot of us live in denial, given how we treat our bodies. So to extend it, you start treating yourself a little better.

You hurt some nerves in your back that affected your hand last year, and you had to cancel some dates. Is that related to this revelation?

That was a major inconvenience that, when I look back, was really minor. But, you know, in the middle of it, I didn’t know if I would play guitar again. I could picture sitting there with [guitarists] Mike [McCready] or Stone [Gossard] calling out chords. “No, go to a B-minor! Go to a B-minor-7!”

The new song “Infallible” seems to be about American decline, questioning whether we’re really progressing as a culture.

Well, I wouldn’t want to limit it to just our country [laughs]. But if you’re a casting director, you’d say, “Well, wow, this country certainly fits the part.” You know, we legalized gay marriage in the state of Washington at the same time we legalized pot, and it was a great reason to celebrate! But then, the Supreme Court made it more difficult for minorities and less fortunate people on the economic scale to vote. That was a huge step backward. We could’ve made two big strides forward. Instead, we’re just, you know, prone, doing the splits.

With the solo ukulele record you put out in 2011, and Pearl Jam's hit "Just Breathe," it seems like you've opened the door for a bit of, not softness, but...

Sentimentality. For years, it was playing word games and expressing those emotions, but doing it in such a way that was cryptic and where Mark Arm from Mudhoney would still have some modicum of respect for me. But nowadays, it's more like sitting down and writing a song, and whatever comes out, comes out.

The new album also has the power ballad "Sirens," which sounds big - dare I say "commercial"?

You've already said it! You want to say something else? You want me to double-dare you? [Laughs] You know, a lot of these songs were written in the middle of the night, and you're the only one awake, it seems, for miles. There’s no one criticizing what you’re writing.

On another note, there's no doubt that rock isn't the cultural force it once was.

Oh, so you saw the MTV awards.

Wait, you saw the MTV awards?

I was able to fast-forward through them, yes.

I take it you're not into much new pop music, then.

These pop songs almost feel like tabloid journalism, in a way. It's crap that people seem to like. And I don't know if it has meaning. I don't know if one of the pop songs of the summer has any fiber in it. People are consuming it, and is it healthy? I don't know. Maybe it's some kind of way of taking themselves away from their problems. Maybe there's some healthy property or some restorative property that I'm not receiving. It seems like it has a really high fructose content.

As unpleasant as it often was for Pearl Jam back in the Nineties, shouldn't more good young rock bands be shooting for the pop charts?

Bono talked a lot about, you know, “We can't let rock & roll become a niche.” I thought, “Well, that's kind of crazy. I have more faith in it than that.” But I can definitely see his point. When there’s a pop song that seems a little bit better than others, it's usually one that has some real guitar, real drums in it. I still feel like the best stuff has natural elements.

You're about the same age now that Neil Young was when he made Harvest Moon In 1992. Does that feel right?

No, I’ll always be younger than that. Just on achievement levels alone.

Can you imagine pushing into your seventies, like the Stones and Paul McCartney?

It’s actually really rare. The more you look at it, you realize how rare it is, and how difficult it is. I first saw the Stones in 1981, and at that point they were elder statesmen. But we’re lucky to see these old poets being able to read their work in their own voice, you know? I mean, they came from the same generation that said, “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” It reminds you to be open to the possibilities.

Lighting Bolt isn't a record you'd expect from Pearl Jam. Mind Your Manners and Sirens aren't particularly representative of the variety of the record which in a way is surprising.
Pearl Jam need to be given credit , for trying to mix the cards on the table and getting a bit out of their comfort zone after 2, at the end of the day, »in the norm« records. Quite a bit.
Their comfort zone is however well represented. The title track is an example of rock in the vein of Pearl Jam, written, sung and played very well. The start of Gateway is another straight rock piece with a great hook and great sounds but also very familiar. With My Father's Son things start to change and they keep changing for a good part of the record with the almost funk-rock of Infallible to the post modern bluesy Let The Record Play to the subtle sounds of Pendulum. It's a record that doesn't have much of a linear flow, certainly less than it's predecessors. Now one thing is clear in all of this. Pearl Jam is way pass their prime as far as their studio output is concerned and the best thing to come out of a studio from them in the last decade comes from Eddie Vedder – that masterpiece that was the Into The Wild OST echoes of which can be heard here in various songs like Sleeping By Myself already recorded for Ukulele Songs which even in it's full band version sounds like a frontman's solo track just like the 2 ballads that close the record; Yellow Moon and Future Days.
All things considered Lightning Bolt isn't the record that will have anybody scream at a miracle and isn't comparable to the classics but it's still a very respectable record.
It reminded me of U2's No Line on the horizon. Not because Pearl Jam is trying to play like Bono & co (god spare us that) but because the band comes from one of the more direct (and bland) records of their career and have tried to change sounds and structures in part of the songs while still remaining recognizable. Lightning Bolt does something similar. Not at the levels of that blowing away masterpiece that No Code was but it does it's job with excellent results. Time will tell if it will age well.

Lighning Bolt – song by song

Gateway: Straight rock with standard flow all written by Vedder. Great guitar sounds – reminiscent of many of the band's classics – even too much – without the punk attitude of the single. Vedder talks about finding a refuge “It’s ok/Sometimes you find yourself/Having to put all your faith/In no faith”.

Mind Your Manners: You already know this one. It's a nice punk number but again not unlike many things they've done before by the band that never hid their love for the likes of the Dead Kennedys and Bad Religion

My Father's Son: A weird rock number with an almost fluctuating flow , dominated by the bassline by Ament, who has written the music for it,. It wouldn't seem like PJ, and it's a good thing, if it wasn't for Vedder's voice who tells a story of complicated relationships with parents who's inheritance has to be abandoned. “From the moment I fail/I call on DNA/Why such betrayal? /I gotta set sail”

Sirens: Another one you're already familiar with. I've read of people who are crazy about it and people who are bored wih it comparing it to Nickelback (come on let's be serious). A track based on a 12 string and especially the mind blowing performance by Vedder

Lightning Bolt: Written completely by Vedder starts as a mid tempo, reminiscent of many of the band's classics. The initial guitar line sounds a little like Wishlist but faster then the song gets faster especially by the time it reaches the it's pure rock chorus. Great track even if nothing new by the band's standards. The 1st tittle track in the band's history.

Infallible: Another one with a weird flow, syncope like almost. Written by Vedder with Gossard and Ament with a beautiful opening in the chorus. There's even the Tenori-on used like a sequencer by Brendan O'Brien – but you can barely hear it. Vedder sings about the human presumption By thinking we’re infallible/We are tempting fate instead”

Pendulum: Another Vedder/Gossard/Ament collaboration. A ballad with a rarefied qnd layered sound with the instruments sounding almost far back. Vedder's voice also moves further back when he hits the high note. He sings of the human condition this time about it's constant oscillating like a pendulum. Easy come and easy go/ Easy left me a long time ago

Swallowed whole: electro-acoustic rock. At times it reminds of the previous record. A REM like power pop with an electric 12 string joining in the acoustic while Vedder sings about being part of something bigger, the nature

Let The Records Play: Neil Young meats the Black Keys Blues rock with distorted guitars. Again sounds and flows you wouldn't expect from PJ. God's a DJ? “When the Kingdom comes/He puts his records on/And with his blistered thumb hits play”.

Sleeping By Myself. Transformed into an acoustic guitar driven folk rock – sounds fuller and better than the Ukulele Songs version. The ukulele makes an appearance at the end though.

Yellow Moon: A rather traditional ballad based on an acoustic guitar joined by an electric. The band plays it safe in it's comfort zone.

Future Days: Another ballad that starts with a piano then a guitar doing apreggios enters and is later joined by even a violin. A love song, the relationship between the 2 like redemption in a song that sounds like it comes straight from Ed's solo work, could be on a solo record.

Mine wrote:This are a couple of quotes from the Italian RS interview with Stone

regarding songwriting/in response why it took them so much time to resume "spreading their blessing"

Stone wrote:Each of us brings in a package of demos. We go in the studio, mostly without Eddie, and we start to improvise together on those demos. We end up with a Cd with 14 to 15 tracks that we give to Eddie. The we go back in the studio and redo everything 2 to 3 times. At the end of all this we play the songs for Brendan. The songs take shape in this way, like a dialogue, then without realising it we're in LA recording the definitive versions. This time it took as longer.

Than he specifies the process does change from song to song :

Stone wrote:Sometimes the lyrics come 1st. I like this method because the lyrics can push the arrangements in directions that are completely new, making you do things you wouldn't normally do. Mostly what comes 1st is the music, the melody, that while it takes shape brings the lyrics along.

about touring/family

Stone wrote:You miss your family a lot on tour. Being away from a 6 year old daughter seems like forever. When i can i take her with me.

Ours is a spacial case. We can choose, and we do, to do only 3 week per leg long tours. We try not to overdo it: It's only rock and roll, the safety of the universe is not in question here. It's more important to take care of ourselves. This is probably why the band lasts as long, because we're still having fun.

On continuing with the band in the future/about keeping the band together as old men with gray hair like the Rolling Stones and others

Stone wrote:I don't see why we should stop touring at 60. Maybe at some point we'll say : "Ok, this was nice, but that's it!" As of now we have no intention to.

Oh the introduction to the interview reads something like this:

What makes Pearl Jam special, as they confirmed to the Italian Rolling Stone, is their public, Italians especially. All those fans that have always followed them as if they were a religion and after 4 years of wait are dying to hear the new record Lightning Bolt

melonhead4 wrote:We had several years waiting for this moment. This morning thanks to Universal we have heard for the first time the "Lightning Bolt" by Pearl Jam in full. And the sensations generated after a couple of tracks have been really good. From the outset we can say that we have a robust album, in which we find most modular moments. The beginning contains the usual rockers points, but then the disc eccentric surprises us with scenes ('Infallible') and unexpected (a "Sleeping By Myself" completely distinct from the version known by all).

For that you may be getting an idea of what is coming here I leave you with a few lines we have dedicated to each of the topics. Toca thank our partner Iñaki Eizaguirre for helping decipher this intrinsic outline of textures and sounds. Soon, and the more leisurely drive, we will write an extensive review of the album.

1 - 'Getaway' - Without being so angry you could guess, 'Getaway' is a great start to the album. Cerebellum under skin pop rock. Fists and pure energy in a song where the lyrics shines its rawness. "I've got my own way to believe, mine is mine and yours will not take it's place". The more alienated and pissed Vedder shows his anger over the letter that the melody of their peers.

2 - 'Mind Your Manners' - The Album energetic hoot known to us all. And a perfect first single, 'Mind Your Manners' is the scourge rocker par excellence. Punk insistent to the Dead Kennedys with a surprise sharp guitars that conspire erected and the only issue close to 'Got Some' (etc ...) the album.



3 - 'My Father's Son' - Ament under a spotlight. This is how we could describe it. The lower the absolute protagonist of this entertaining theme reminiscent of a point halfway between 'Big Wave' and 'Habit'. Ups and downs of tension that are only resting point in the minute 1:50 with a melody slow boil. It operates from 2:15 with Vedder in grace.

4 - 'Sirens' - second single from the album and one of those songs that have earned tracks. In its way the piece appears to be a 'Come Back' but more accelerated and extended. Basic first seems too rigid. But with a second generation hoot see I have a dear, that makes it special. And it gets touching a chord with Mr. Vedder with the highlights framed in the choruses.



5 - 'Lightning Bolt' - Topic winning study much about their live version. Very reminiscent of 'Unthought Known' from the previous album, but in a less fixed and adjustable. The apparent initial sound go desfragmentándose body with unusual elements in which the gear is removed electrical (minute 1:50). Vedder's vocal outbursts hard to sing the chorus - 'Lightning Bolt' - are more typical of a punk theme than anything else. 'Always something and never nothing' = momentazo exalted with some notorious keyboards described towards the end of the topic.

6 - 'Infallible' - Home rhythmic guitar quickly engaging Vedder's vocals. It is a modular halftime located halfway between 'Tremor Christ' and 'You Are' with a burst of chorus that recalls the way they operate some hair cuts Incubus (a hair, nothing else). Eddie grows in intensity reaching to a little loose to 3 minutes, which gives all the attention to a small and delicate mini guitar solo. Of comings and goings, 'Infallible' is undulating to return to the initial pace towards the end.

7 - 'Pendulum' - The eccentricity of the disk. Restful pose and lowered, 'Pendulum' is characterized by showing nightly atmosphere starring percussion near the tribal. 'Easy come and easy go' Vedder sings just before touching the sky in a very cinematically backdrop "noir". In its own way seems to move to the alleys of the 60 Seattle, concealed at all times by a blanket described in black and white. It looks to have been engendered by drummer Matt Cameron.

8 - 'Swallowed Whole' - Pearl Jam recover upbeat rhythm with this topic. Quite what REM, 'Swallowed Whole' is one of those songs moved by bright guitar lines and battery of a color painting Cameron melody of the topic. McCready Solazo towards the end of it, just before Vedder's voice resounds cyclically shouting 'Down, down, down' with his very heart.

9 - 'Let The Record Play' - The intro reminds hair garage band tone guitar / drums but always watching from a sharp and defined. Continues the optimistic path that starts ticking 'Swallowed Whole'. The riff Eddie's voice fits the singer gets to play with the different verses of the same.

10 - 'Sleeping By Myself' - One of the surprises of "Lightning Bolt". Completely different version to the original. The core of the song completely fits the band, giving the melody a degree of prominence even greater than that enjoyed Eddie's voice in the interpretation known to all. It's brilliant that the "Ukulele Songs", with a more extensive vibration cheerful and inexorable. The guitar arrangements are appearing consecutively.

11 - 'Yellow Moon' - For us the most great song on the disc. An instant classic Pearl Jam that starts with a chord progression similar to 'Low Light'. Vedder's voice enters in a unsettling stretching. The warmth of the subject reaches the zenith both in the moments that Vedder exclaims 'Born To Rise' as in the various sequences featuring the solazos of McCready. These somewhat reminiscent of Pink Floyd, like the whole somewhat stylistic refers to 'Parting Ways' (or even 'Long Road'). It seems the perfect song to start the next concert tour of Pearl Jam. Total Joya. Peta Mike completely after 3 minutes.

12 - 'Future Days'. The keyboard sensitive Brendan introduces us to the last song. Very suitable for closing "Lightning Bolt", 'Future Days' is one of those beautiful dark ballads that have a heart as bright. The lone voice gradually Vedder will aupa watching from the side, and the ubiquitous rhythmic line marked by an acoustic guitar