Red Mosquito

stupidmop wrote:I feel like this 'return' to catchy choruses and shit is more a regression than anything. She's your lightning bolt, your rock and roll, shes true...

They went backwards all the way to ten and then busted through it to the otherside. We're a fraction away from 'what the funk is up' people.

melonhead4 wrote:

Thejambi wrote:

harmless wrote:

Release_Me wrote:

harmless wrote:

Release_Me wrote:

harmless wrote:

stupidmop wrote:I feel like this 'return' to catchy choruses and shit is more a regression than anything. She's your lightning bolt, your rock and roll, shes true...

They went backwards all the way to ten and then busted through it to the otherside. We're a fraction away from 'what the funk is up' people.

I agree. It's not a return. It's something new. Lately they've just wanted to write music which is not intellectually engaging. Lightning Bolt's chorus, however, isn't the best example of that, because "I'm still alive" is no more intelligent than that. Neither is "I'd rather be with an animal." I do think there's more going on in the verses of Lightning Bolt; if there's anything lyrically interesting in that song, it's there.

Completely disagree with it not being a return and something new, or any sort of regression. I've already said why it's a return but it doesn't seem to be registering. What can you do.

As far as the lyrics are concerned, you can take any line out of context and make it look like it's unintelligent. Ed's always merged simple sounding choruses with more complex verses. Wordy, intelligent parts are not reserved for choruses because it's kind of a no brainer to have the easier to sing along to part as the chorus. If you look at I'm still alive in isolation, or even Mind your Manners or She's a lightnint bolt, you can think it's simple and unintelligent. Context is what matters and gives these lyrics their meaning.

I think the reasons you have your opinion are registering. We just don't really agree.

'Big Wave' and 'Supersonic' were pretty much the first songs this band had ever written that I thought were absolute junk, and that's because they didn't have any of this interesting context you speak of. I agree, you can't just take a chorus out of isolation; but if you pick a song's lyrics apart and they seem phoned-in all the way through, you're going to call it a regression even if "directness" was the stated aim. I like The Fixer for *almost* achieving what it set out to do, but what it sets out to do is absolutely nothing like what "Alive" set out to do. The Fixer remains simplistic the entire way through, even with its one or two nods to graves and zombies.

I felt that way about one song on almost every album, not just those two. Bugs, Pilate, Lukin, I'm Open, Help Help, etc. I think those are pretty much the junk on those albums. That's not PJ being direct or a real example of the directness which I was talking about, it's just them trying something which doesn't work because of silliness or inappropriateness, in my opinion. I still enjoy them when in the mood. The Fixer and Backspacer the album itself are trying for something completely different and you can't blame them for not achieving what other songs do when they are not even trying to achieve those things.

I don't even know where to start with this. Not one of those "junk" songs you've listed is actually junk; they're songs you don't like, but the evidence they are objectively "difficult" or "junk" (and especially that they're the same songs Ed is referring to when he talks about weaker middle-period songs) just isn't there. Also, I'm not really blaming any songs for not achieving anything that other songs have. I only compared The Fixer and Alive because you did and I was responding to you. We were talking about songs with "hooks" and according to you, both songs have "hooks". So are you now admitting that The Fixer is trying to do something brand-new? Because I too have acknowledged that, and I still think it ultimately fails to do what it sets out to do, even on its own terms. That's a subjective judgement but it's pretty unfairly reductive to say that I just want it to give me the same tingles as "Alive".

Help, Help is one of the best songs this band has ever written.

I agree...Help Help is my fav off of Riot Act...very underrated....Best outro of all time...I want an album full of help helps and you ares

LikeLukin wrote:

harmless wrote:The bass also sounds really good on Swallowed Whole.

I think the only thing I have never complained about with respect to Pearl Jam is Jeff's playing and bass tone. He has always had it figured out

Jaeti wrote:Ed: " Maybe the next thing you do is put out another one in the next year – just put it out, and not have a buildup."

Probably time to start a thread for album No. 11 and take the conversation over there.

stip wrote:

stupidmop wrote:I feel like this 'return' to catchy choruses and shit is more a regression than anything. She's your lightning bolt, your rock and roll, shes true...

They went backwards all the way to ten and then busted through it to the otherside. We're a fraction away from 'what the funk is up' people.

nonsense. What the funk is up is just a terrible of example of that style of writing. There are terrible examples of the more obtuse stuff you prefer.

harmless wrote:The Big Wave lyrics are terrible.

harmless wrote:If Lightning Bolt is a song about surfing (which it is, partly)

harmless wrote: BW is a "You'd get it if you were a surfer" kind of song.

harmless wrote:

Jaeti wrote:Ed: " Maybe the next thing you do is put out another one in the next year – just put it out, and not have a buildup."

Probably time to start a thread for album No. 11 and take the conversation over there.

There already is one, but they might like to hear this Official News from Ed.

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?

IlluminEddie wrote:

McParadigm wrote:

Release_Me wrote:Ed's always merged simple sounding choruses with more complex verses. Wordy, intelligent parts are not reserved for choruses because it's kind of a no brainer to have the easier to sing along to part as the chorus. If you look at I'm still alive in isolation, or even Mind your Manners or She's a lightnint bolt, you can think it's simple and unintelligent. Context is what matters and gives these lyrics their meaning.

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.

Sounds to me like he's tiptoeing around the fact that he's gotten comfortable with the idea of dumbing down the lyrics.

Yeh, well, these lyrics are certainly not dumbed down, right?

"Nothing man, ohh nothing man... could've been something... nothing man"

"I'd rather be, I'd rather be, I'd rather be with an animal"

"drop the leash, drop the leash, get out of my fucking face"

to me, this doesn't seem too different from...

"She's a lightning bolt, she's your rock and roll, she's true."

...except on the surface there's "what seems to be" a positive vibe conveyed. People here hate when Ed does that sort of thing. It's not the lyrics. It's the underlying vibe of the lyrics.

The irony, of course, is the entire context within the song's lyrics are practically indecipherable and LB (the song) could actually have deep negative connotations at it's heart.

Iowaska_Experience wrote:Did anyone else think that interview sounded totally fake as they were reading it and that we were being massively trolled?

stupidmop wrote:I feel like this 'return' to catchy choruses and shit is more a regression than anything. She's your lightning bolt, your rock and roll, shes true...

They went backwards all the way to ten and then busted through it to the otherside. We're a fraction away from 'what the funk is up' people.

Iowaska_Experience wrote:Did anyone else think that interview sounded totally fake as they were reading it and that we were being massively trolled?

Strat wrote:

Iowaska_Experience wrote:Did anyone else think that interview sounded totally fake as they were reading it and that we were being massively trolled?

Yes, the whole release an album quick without the build up; the mark arm comment; the ridiculous metaphors etc...

All seemed to be well played trolling by an in tuned RMer

Strat wrote:

Iowaska_Experience wrote:Did anyone else think that interview sounded totally fake as they were reading it and that we were being massively trolled?

Yes, the whole release an album quick without the build up; the mark arm comment; the ridiculous metaphors etc...

All seemed to be well played trolling by an in tuned RMer