Red Mosquito

cutuphalfdead wrote:Time, don't let it slip away.

Raise your drinking glass, here's to yesterday.

I feel filthy.

For the record, I was really hoping the something to share was going to be the Eddie Vedder demos.

Kevin Davis wrote:

cutuphalfdead wrote:Time, don't let it slip away.

Raise your drinking glass, here's to yesterday.

I feel filthy.

Yeah, me too.

That was my theme song for about three or four months when I was fourteen and really into the idea that my best years had passed my by.

I don't talk about this much, but my first musical love, what first drew me to rock and roll, was Aerosmith.

Once Get A Grip came out, I was hooked. I spent the next couple years going through them extensively. I pushed further back to Pump and it just made things worse. My cousin started giving me tapes of their shows from the 70s and soon Mama Kin was my favorite song. But I was too young and stupid to even realize that old Aerosmith was significantly better than new Aerosmith. As much as I loved Toys In The Attic I also loved Blind Man.

It wasn't until 1994 that I kind of get off them, then it became Green Day and Beastie Boys primarily until 1997, while also giving consideration to Smashing Pumpkins and Metallica.

When Nine Lives came out I got it immediately, because it seemed like the right thing to do. And for a few months, I actually really enjoyed it and it rekindled my Aerosmith fandom. That died quickly though. That year my sister gave me a mixtape with Black on it and I went back and bought Ten and discovered what the rest of the world was doing when I was blaring Eat The Rich from my boombox.

Now, I fucking hate Aerosmith. The only song of theirs I still like is Sweet Emotion. And I'm even embarrassed to admit to that.

Now that I'm thinking about it, Get A Grip, Dookie, and Paul's Boutique are probably the three albums that had the most impact on me in my pre-discovering Pearl Jam years.

Birds in Hell wrote:I like Yield an awful lot, certainly more than any of the records that followed, but I do think it's a more conservative album than Vitalogy and No Code.

In a number of ways I think "Yield" is a considerably bolder record than "Vitalogy," whose ambitiousness I feel is frequently overstated because of a few self-consciously arty tracks that claim more of the record's character than they proportionally deserve. I think there's a real "either/or" to the experimentalism on "Vitalogy"--either the tracks are so far into left field that it's difficult to view them as tangible reflections of the band's growth, or they're conventional-sized steps forward down the artistic path they were already laying for themselves. To an extent, "Yield" probably sounds more conservative simply by virtue of being less deliberately confrontational, but I think they were working with a range of sounds, textures, and compositional ideas on "Yield" that were simply beyond their capacity in 1994. "Yield" is kind of a cross between the textural ambition of "No Code" and the more formal songwriting conventions of "Vitalogy" or "Ten" (or, God forbid, "Backspacer"). I can't quite put my finger on it--for me "No Code," "Yield," "Binaural," and "Riot Act" just fit together in a certain mold of record that "Vitalogy" just doesn't quite belong to. I think the band have always had modest experimental urges, and I think on "Vs." and "Vitalogy" they stick out almost to the point of novelty--the songs were either take-no-prisoners rock, heartfelt ballads, or token "weird songs" ("Rats," "Dirty Frank," "WMA," the "Vitalogy" interludes). To me, "No Code" through "Riot Act" sounds like a series of attempts to reconcile the three categories, either juxtaposing the band's most visceral instincts with their most tender ("Off He Goes" into "Habit," "Wishlist" into "Pilate" into "DTE"), creating ballads that feel infused with rock sensibilities ("Light Years," "Sometimes," "Nothing As it Seems"), rockers infused with ballad sensibilities ("Faithfull," "In Hiding"), with everything twisted into its own odd little shape by these recessive experimental instincts that lead to things like "Stupid Mop" when used irresponsibly but which create things like "In My Tree" and "Push Me Pull Me" and "Sleight of Hand" when thrown into a melting pot with the band's other, more conventional impulses.

cutuphalfdead wrote:I don't talk about this much, but my first musical love, what first drew me to rock and roll, was Aerosmith.

Once Get A Grip came out, I was hooked. I spent the next couple years going through them extensively. I pushed further back to Pump and it just made things worse. My cousin started giving me tapes of their shows from the 70s and soon Mama Kin was my favorite song. But I was too young and stupid to even realize that old Aerosmith was significantly better than new Aerosmith. As much as I loved Toys In The Attic I also loved Blind Man.

It wasn't until 1994 that I kind of get off them, then it became Green Day and Beastie Boys primarily until 1997, while also giving consideration to Smashing Pumpkins and Metallica.

When Nine Lives came out I got it immediately, because it seemed like the right thing to do. And for a few months, I actually really enjoyed it and it rekindled my Aerosmith fandom. That died quickly though. That year my sister gave me a mixtape with Black on it and I went back and bought Ten and discovered what the rest of the world was doing when I was blaring Eat The Rich from my boombox.

Now, I fucking hate Aerosmith. The only song of theirs I still like is Sweet Emotion. And I'm even embarrassed to admit to that.

Aerosmith was a hugely important band to me growing up. I never got deep into their catalog but I have a ton of wonderful memories tied to their big hits. I have no misgivings about giving the occasional spin to "Greatest Hits" or "Big Ones" for old time's sake.

And Steven Tyler has way more musical sense than his flamboyant, generally obnoxious singing style would lead one to believe. There's a reason he was prime meat for hitmakers like Desmond Child and all those guys who worked in power ballad factories in the late 1980's/early 1990's, and it wasn't his looks.

This is a good thread and an interesting discussion, despite chud attempting to ruin it by talking about Aerosmith.

Birds in Hell wrote:Great post!

samiad wrote:The problem from this point for me and Pearl Jam, is I wish they would have continued the avant garde type direction they were going in. Instead they opted to play it safe with Yield, which for me is a backwards step of an album. Obviously, they've made some gorgeous music since No Code - but I can't help but want them to push the envelope a little more! I know they're not Radiohead stylistically, and I wouldn't want them to be (I much prefer PJ anyway). But I would LOVE the next record to be more like No Code - or at the very least - to explore new territory.

Very much agreed with this.

So much so. Where did the ever so slight Built To Spill influence go

BULLSHIT THEORY:

I see it as a group of guys who were never really confident enough to commit to any of their stranger ideas, but were pushed that way by, I guess, a fear of being Bon Jovi. Now that they know they will never reach those heights again, they became a group of guys who are a little too confident of their place and their output.

Sort-of related, whenever I listen to Merkinball or the couple of Mike Watt versions of Habit, I get down that Vedder didn't splinter off and push more for a while.

This guy is such a newbie. You can't compare the two bands, first off. And Yield is considered one of their best. Ten like Paublo honey???? Are you fucking pulling my chain, pal?

Lol, welcome to the board, just call me the genius, I know all PJ, you know zip.

Rat, what were your thoughts on the big surprise that happened over at Antiquiet this morning?

Kevin Davis wrote:

Birds in Hell wrote:I like Yield an awful lot, certainly more than any of the records that followed, but I do think it's a more conservative album than Vitalogy and No Code.

In a number of ways I think "Yield" is a considerably bolder record than "Vitalogy," whose ambitiousness I feel is frequently overstated because of a few self-consciously arty tracks that claim more of the record's character than they proportionally deserve. I think there's a real "either/or" to the experimentalism on "Vitalogy"--either the tracks are so far into left field that it's difficult to view them as tangible reflections of the band's growth, or they're conventional-sized steps forward down the artistic path they were already laying for themselves. To an extent, "Yield" probably sounds more conservative simply by virtue of being less deliberately confrontational, but I think they were working with a range of sounds, textures, and compositional ideas on "Yield" that were simply beyond their capacity in 1994. "Yield" is kind of a cross between the textural ambition of "No Code" and the more formal songwriting conventions of "Vitalogy" or "Ten" (or, God forbid, "Backspacer"). I can't quite put my finger on it--for me "No Code," "Yield," "Binaural," and "Riot Act" just fit together in a certain mold of record that "Vitalogy" just doesn't quite belong to. I think the band have always had modest experimental urges, and I think on "Vs." and "Vitalogy" they stick out almost to the point of novelty--the songs were either take-no-prisoners rock, heartfelt ballads, or token "weird songs" ("Rats," "Dirty Frank," "WMA," the "Vitalogy" interludes). To me, "No Code" through "Riot Act" sounds like a series of attempts to reconcile the three categories, either juxtaposing the band's most visceral instincts with their most tender ("Off He Goes" into "Habit," "Wishlist" into "Pilate" into "DTE"), creating ballads that feel infused with rock sensibilities ("Light Years," "Sometimes," "Nothing As it Seems"), rockers infused with ballad sensibilities ("Faithfull," "In Hiding"), with everything twisted into its own odd little shape by these recessive experimental instincts that lead to things like "Stupid Mop" when used irresponsibly but which create things like "In My Tree" and "Push Me Pull Me" and "Sleight of Hand" when thrown into a melting pot with the band's other, more conventional impulses.

I've been trying to respond to this for the last 5 minutes because I want to say something more than "this!" but you've really summed it up quite well.

I think this reconciliation of musical idea that in the past were all mostly present, just more separate and distinct, is what really elevated Pearl Jam for me. I didn't get into Pearl Jam until 97, but I still went in order, Ten through Yield. By the time I got current, and then was around for Binaural and Riot Act, it felt like this band was constantly taking their ingredients and melting them together for some sort of concoction that was constantly progressing while still retaining the same base elements.

It's a shame where they decided to go with it afterwards.

Kevin Davis wrote:

Birds in Hell wrote:I like Yield an awful lot, certainly more than any of the records that followed, but I do think it's a more conservative album than Vitalogy and No Code.

In a number of ways I think "Yield" is a considerably bolder record than "Vitalogy," whose ambitiousness I feel is frequently overstated because of a few self-consciously arty tracks that claim more of the record's character than they proportionally deserve. I think there's a real "either/or" to the experimentalism on "Vitalogy"--either the tracks are so far into left field that it's difficult to view them as tangible reflections of the band's growth, or they're conventional-sized steps forward down the artistic path they were already laying for themselves. To an extent, "Yield" probably sounds more conservative simply by virtue of being less deliberately confrontational, but I think they were working with a range of sounds, textures, and compositional ideas on "Yield" that were simply beyond their capacity in 1994. "Yield" is kind of a cross between the textural ambition of "No Code" and the more formal songwriting conventions of "Vitalogy" or "Ten" (or, God forbid, "Backspacer"). I can't quite put my finger on it--for me "No Code," "Yield," "Binaural," and "Riot Act" just fit together in a certain mold of record that "Vitalogy" just doesn't quite belong to. I think the band have always had modest experimental urges, and I think on "Vs." and "Vitalogy" they stick out almost to the point of novelty--the songs were either take-no-prisoners rock, heartfelt ballads, or token "weird songs" ("Rats," "Dirty Frank," "WMA," the "Vitalogy" interludes). To me, "No Code" through "Riot Act" sounds like a series of attempts to reconcile the three categories, either juxtaposing the band's most visceral instincts with their most tender ("Off He Goes" into "Habit," "Wishlist" into "Pilate" into "DTE"), creating ballads that feel infused with rock sensibilities ("Light Years," "Sometimes," "Nothing As it Seems"), rockers infused with ballad sensibilities ("Faithfull," "In Hiding"), with everything twisted into its own odd little shape by these recessive experimental instincts that lead to things like "Stupid Mop" when used irresponsibly but which create things like "In My Tree" and "Push Me Pull Me" and "Sleight of Hand" when thrown into a melting pot with the band's other, more conventional impulses.

This post is fucking fantastic.

its_not_1974 wrote:

Kevin Davis wrote:

Birds in Hell wrote:I like Yield an awful lot, certainly more than any of the records that followed, but I do think it's a more conservative album than Vitalogy and No Code.

In a number of ways I think "Yield" is a considerably bolder record than "Vitalogy," whose ambitiousness I feel is frequently overstated because of a few self-consciously arty tracks that claim more of the record's character than they proportionally deserve. I think there's a real "either/or" to the experimentalism on "Vitalogy"--either the tracks are so far into left field that it's difficult to view them as tangible reflections of the band's growth, or they're conventional-sized steps forward down the artistic path they were already laying for themselves. To an extent, "Yield" probably sounds more conservative simply by virtue of being less deliberately confrontational, but I think they were working with a range of sounds, textures, and compositional ideas on "Yield" that were simply beyond their capacity in 1994. "Yield" is kind of a cross between the textural ambition of "No Code" and the more formal songwriting conventions of "Vitalogy" or "Ten" (or, God forbid, "Backspacer"). I can't quite put my finger on it--for me "No Code," "Yield," "Binaural," and "Riot Act" just fit together in a certain mold of record that "Vitalogy" just doesn't quite belong to. I think the band have always had modest experimental urges, and I think on "Vs." and "Vitalogy" they stick out almost to the point of novelty--the songs were either take-no-prisoners rock, heartfelt ballads, or token "weird songs" ("Rats," "Dirty Frank," "WMA," the "Vitalogy" interludes). To me, "No Code" through "Riot Act" sounds like a series of attempts to reconcile the three categories, either juxtaposing the band's most visceral instincts with their most tender ("Off He Goes" into "Habit," "Wishlist" into "Pilate" into "DTE"), creating ballads that feel infused with rock sensibilities ("Light Years," "Sometimes," "Nothing As it Seems"), rockers infused with ballad sensibilities ("Faithfull," "In Hiding"), with everything twisted into its own odd little shape by these recessive experimental instincts that lead to things like "Stupid Mop" when used irresponsibly but which create things like "In My Tree" and "Push Me Pull Me" and "Sleight of Hand" when thrown into a melting pot with the band's other, more conventional impulses.

This post is fucking fantastic.

That's kind of what Kevin Davis does.

Kevin Davis wrote:Rat, what were your thoughts on the big surprise that happened over at Antiquiet this morning?

I knew it was all hype. Mixed signals with the J. Cohen tweet..... But the outcome was still pretty good. Good quality Ed demos... some new shit

Rat wrote:Lol, welcome to the board, just call me the genius, I know all PJ, you know zip.

I think Rat speaks for all of us, at one point or another in our lives.

I would say Yield was "experimental" in the way the album was conceived and written as a band, compared to the previous 2 records. It was the start of their current writing process with bringing more fully-realized demos. For more, that's probably not experimental at all... but considering the previous two records, it was definitely a departure from the norm for PJ.

evenslow wrote:

Rat wrote:Lol, welcome to the board, just call me the genius, I know all PJ, you know zip.

I think Rat speaks for all of us, at one point or another in our lives.

haha, I was just joking with him. I love Radiohead.

I like this Rat character.

You don't have to do it now, but if you're ever feeling particularly good about yourself and get the urge to change your name to "The Rat King," I have some avatar ideas for you.