Red Mosquito

spike wrote:ed and the gang aren't doing anything performance wise in the video that they don't normally do, it just seems hammy because of the ridiculous camera work and because the fixer is a pretty silly song.

team spike

when did the PJ20 doc process commence? i think it was well under way around the time this video was made, and perhaps crowe's warts and all concept made the band too unselfconscious.

I'm interested to see if a video for MYM drops. If the Foos released MYM then they'd leather up in studs and all. I can't see PJ doing this but it would be fun to see.

Listened to MYM 3 times today and I can appreciate the performance. But I still don't like it. And if I wanted to hear that style if song, I'd play some NWOBHM.

spike wrote:

stip wrote:Eddie is this weird mixture of painful earnestness and then over the top rock star gestures

this is, was, and always will be vedder's MO. i think you're letting the goofy, in your (or rather, his) face camera angles affect your opinion of eddie in this video too much.

that's certainly possible. But the thing is eddie doesn't usually look canned or awkward when he does this kinda stuff. He looks terrible here. So maybe it is all just cameron crowe's shitty video.

Then again, for better or worse, he is a professional filmmaker. He's done this stuff. And no one is going to defend this is as a good video. it wouldn't shock me if he went in kinda mocking the whole enterprise to begin with.

Whether it is intentional or just poorly done, I still can't imagine that the band took this seriously

you should watch the video again, harmless. You made me go back and watch it again. Someone needs to share my pain

Good night, RM

Yeah, it'd be nice to think the video is a big joke but I think it was all too real. The awfulness isn't completely the band's fault, but they did participate in it and surely could have prevented it being so lame.

The band themselves in the video just look like they are doing what they did at every show in 2009. Stone jumping around with his new little long hairs and all. If they are smirking to themselves or making a joke of themselves and the video then they were doing that to every show in 2009 too.

stip wrote:

spike wrote:

stip wrote:Eddie is this weird mixture of painful earnestness and then over the top rock star gestures

this is, was, and always will be vedder's MO. i think you're letting the goofy, in your (or rather, his) face camera angles affect your opinion of eddie in this video too much.

that's certainly possible. But the thing is eddie doesn't usually look canned or awkward when he does this kinda stuff. He looks terrible here. So maybe it is all just cameron crowe's shitty video.

Then again, for better or worse, he is a professional filmmaker. He's done this stuff. And no one is going to defend this is as a good video. it wouldn't shock me if he went in kinda mocking the whole enterprise to begin with.

Whether it is intentional or just poorly done, I still can't imagine that the band took this seriously

you have a point about the eddie awkwardness, and it can easily be chalked up to the fact that he knew cameras were on him in what appears to be a completely contrived situation. not exactly the wheelhouse of a notoriously camera shy performer who only appears in his element when feeding off a crowd - an actual crowd.

WtOB? wrote:Yeah, it'd be nice to think the video is a big joke but I think it was all too real. The awfulness isn't completely the band's fault, but they did participate in it and surely could have prevented it being so lame.

The band themselves in the video just look like they are doing what they did at every show in 2009. Stone jumping around with his new little long hairs and all. If they are smirking to themselves or making a joke of themselves and the video then they were doing that to every show in 2009 too.

I'm not talking about what they're doing on stage, though. Sure, they're just playing a gig. It's almost certainly the directing of the 'acting', as well as the camerawork, the setup, the canned crowd, the whole concept, that's ridiculous.

WtOB? wrote:Yeah, it'd be nice to think the video is a big joke but I think it was all too real. The awfulness isn't completely the band's fault, but they did participate in it and surely could have prevented it being so lame.

The band themselves in the video just look like they are doing what they did at every show in 2009. Stone jumping around with his new little long hairs and all. If they are smirking to themselves or making a joke of themselves and the video then they were doing that to every show in 2009 too.

let's not forget that they shot a staged performance video for "i am mine" back when they were still cool, and that came across fairly flat too. that song is a heavier song, and the performance matched that. the fixer is an up tempo, sing along song, so naturally, the band's performance was more lively to match its music - and i think their energy comes across awkwardly when not in the context of an actual show being played on an actual stage.

basically, burn the fixer video. burn it dead.

spike wrote:

stip wrote:

spike wrote:

stip wrote:Eddie is this weird mixture of painful earnestness and then over the top rock star gestures

this is, was, and always will be vedder's MO. i think you're letting the goofy, in your (or rather, his) face camera angles affect your opinion of eddie in this video too much.

that's certainly possible. But the thing is eddie doesn't usually look canned or awkward when he does this kinda stuff. He looks terrible here. So maybe it is all just cameron crowe's shitty video.

Then again, for better or worse, he is a professional filmmaker. He's done this stuff. And no one is going to defend this is as a good video. it wouldn't shock me if he went in kinda mocking the whole enterprise to begin with.

Whether it is intentional or just poorly done, I still can't imagine that the band took this seriously

you have a point about the eddie awkwardness, and it can easily be chalked up to the fact that he knew cameras were on him in what appears to be a completely contrived situation. not exactly the wheelhouse of a notoriously camera shy performer who only appears in his element when feeding off a crowd - an actual crowd.

Yep. One thing we're forgetting is that Ed is, and always was, shy. He finds it easier to be in front of several thousand people than probably 50 people. I find it hard to believe he suddenly became a cocky, arrogant Rock God of the Uber-Epic variety at the time of Backspacer.

agreed, i think he was suffering through a good amount of direction in this video - like you already mentioned - and it just didn't work. he's at his best when lost in the moment and the mayhem of the music.

for instance, i know this skit was meant to be uber corny, but he was still awkward.

WtOB? wrote:I just don't think they are self-aware enough to actually know how cheesy that vid was. They released a whole album pretty much as cheesy as it and there was a lot of other very cheesy things going on in 2009 too, are you suggesting they were all making fun of themselves too? I certainly don't think they were taking themselves as seriously as they once did, but I don't think they were actively making fun of themselves. I just think they got old and out of touch and thought it was cool.

This. The promotion matched the album.

and how bad was he in singles?

why am i so into discussing this? maybe i'm just trying to figure out why eddie went from super cool to dork in my mind.

spike wrote:

WtOB? wrote:Yeah, it'd be nice to think the video is a big joke but I think it was all too real. The awfulness isn't completely the band's fault, but they did participate in it and surely could have prevented it being so lame.

The band themselves in the video just look like they are doing what they did at every show in 2009. Stone jumping around with his new little long hairs and all. If they are smirking to themselves or making a joke of themselves and the video then they were doing that to every show in 2009 too.

let's not forget that they shot a staged performance video for "i am mine" back when they were still cool, and that came across fairly flat too. that song is a heavier song, and the performance matched that. the fixer is an up tempo, sing along song, so naturally, the band's performance was more lively to match its music - and i think their energy comes across awkwardly when not in the context of an actual show being played on an actual stage.

The difference was that the Riot Act videos didn't have a "live" audience and they work much better as a result. I still like all those videos.

Blenheim Augustine wrote:

spike wrote:

WtOB? wrote:Yeah, it'd be nice to think the video is a big joke but I think it was all too real. The awfulness isn't completely the band's fault, but they did participate in it and surely could have prevented it being so lame.

The band themselves in the video just look like they are doing what they did at every show in 2009. Stone jumping around with his new little long hairs and all. If they are smirking to themselves or making a joke of themselves and the video then they were doing that to every show in 2009 too.

let's not forget that they shot a staged performance video for "i am mine" back when they were still cool, and that came across fairly flat too. that song is a heavier song, and the performance matched that. the fixer is an up tempo, sing along song, so naturally, the band's performance was more lively to match its music - and i think their energy comes across awkwardly when not in the context of an actual show being played on an actual stage.

The difference was that the Riot Act videos didn't have a "live" audience and they work much better as a result. I still like all those videos.

no they suck because eddie has short hair

spike wrote:and how bad was he in singles?

why am i so into discussing this? maybe i'm just trying to figure out why eddie went from super cool to dork in my mind.

Why Eddie Went From Super Cool to Dork in my Mind: the story of Pearl Jam's latter years

spike wrote:and how bad was he in singles?

why am i so into discussing this? maybe i'm just trying to figure out why eddie went from super cool to dork in my mind.

It's a fascinating transition.

harmless wrote:

spike wrote:and how bad was he in singles?

why am i so into discussing this? maybe i'm just trying to figure out why eddie went from super cool to dork in my mind.

Why Eddie Went From Super Cool to Dork in my Mind: the story of Pearl Jam's latter years