Red Mosquito

There's nothing noble about listening to a band making mediocre music in its third decade when there are bands making better music in their first out there. I don't know why people act like there is.

"SURE PEARL JAM IS MAKING GOOD MUSIC RIGHT NOW, BUT THEY ARE ONLY LIKE FOUR YEARS INTO THEIR CAREER. HOW MANY BANDS ARE STILL MAKING RECORDS AS GOOD AS BON JOVI'S THESE DAYS IN THEIR SECOND DECADE?"

Lament wrote:There's nothing noble about listening to a band making mediocre music in its third decade when there are bands making better music in their first out there. I don't know why people act like there is.

There's nothing noble about hanging around that band's message board, trying to convince everyone how terrible they are now. I don't know why people act like there is.

theplatypus wrote:Nobody is contesting "change". They're contesting a shitty change.

It's not contesting change or not contesting change. It is the gleeful smug reflexive viciousness behind so much of it. In the same way that what is repulsive about the pit is not that they like the band. It's how they talk about it.

Farmer John wrote:

Lament wrote:There's nothing noble about listening to a band making mediocre music in its third decade when there are bands making better music in their first out there. I don't know why people act like there is.

There's nothing noble about hanging around that band's message board, trying to convince everyone how terrible they are now. I don't know why people act like there is.

Some of us like talking about when they used to be great. But that's pretty conveniently ignored. For every member who gets accused of just being here to hate Pearl Jam, it's not hard to find a thread where they're basically cumming in their pants over something this band has done before. But that doesn't fit into the narrative that everyone is just here to hate the band.

Cold Concession Confession.

Lament wrote:

Farmer John wrote:

Lament wrote:There's nothing noble about listening to a band making mediocre music in its third decade when there are bands making better music in their first out there. I don't know why people act like there is.

There's nothing noble about hanging around that band's message board, trying to convince everyone how terrible they are now. I don't know why people act like there is.

Some of us like talking about when they used to be great. But that's pretty conveniently ignored. For every member who gets accused of just being here to hate Pearl Jam, it's not hard to find a thread where they're basically cumming in their pants over something this band has done before. But that doesn't fit into the narrative that everyone is just here to hate the band.

This does nothing to negate his point

Lament wrote:

Farmer John wrote:

Lament wrote:There's nothing noble about listening to a band making mediocre music in its third decade when there are bands making better music in their first out there. I don't know why people act like there is.

There's nothing noble about hanging around that band's message board, trying to convince everyone how terrible they are now. I don't know why people act like there is.

Some of us like talking about when they used to be great. But that's pretty conveniently ignored. For every member who gets accused of just being here to hate Pearl Jam, it's not hard to find a thread where they're basically cumming in their pants over something this band has done before. But that doesn't fit into the narrative that everyone is just here to hate the band.

This needs to be a spinoff thread.

BurtReynolds wrote:Cold Concession Confession.

Thank you. I was trying to remember the other name we had for that song

stip wrote:

Lament wrote:

Farmer John wrote:

Lament wrote:There's nothing noble about listening to a band making mediocre music in its third decade when there are bands making better music in their first out there. I don't know why people act like there is.

There's nothing noble about hanging around that band's message board, trying to convince everyone how terrible they are now. I don't know why people act like there is.

Some of us like talking about when they used to be great. But that's pretty conveniently ignored. For every member who gets accused of just being here to hate Pearl Jam, it's not hard to find a thread where they're basically cumming in their pants over something this band has done before. But that doesn't fit into the narrative that everyone is just here to hate the band.

This does nothing to negate his point

would anything?

stip wrote:

Lament wrote:

Farmer John wrote:

Lament wrote:There's nothing noble about listening to a band making mediocre music in its third decade when there are bands making better music in their first out there. I don't know why people act like there is.

There's nothing noble about hanging around that band's message board, trying to convince everyone how terrible they are now. I don't know why people act like there is.

Some of us like talking about when they used to be great. But that's pretty conveniently ignored. For every member who gets accused of just being here to hate Pearl Jam, it's not hard to find a thread where they're basically cumming in their pants over something this band has done before. But that doesn't fit into the narrative that everyone is just here to hate the band.

This does nothing to negate his point

I'm arguing that I don't think anyone is here just to convince people that Pearl Jam is terrible now.

malice wrote:

stip wrote:

Lament wrote:

Farmer John wrote:

Lament wrote:There's nothing noble about listening to a band making mediocre music in its third decade when there are bands making better music in their first out there. I don't know why people act like there is.

There's nothing noble about hanging around that band's message board, trying to convince everyone how terrible they are now. I don't know why people act like there is.

Some of us like talking about when they used to be great. But that's pretty conveniently ignored. For every member who gets accused of just being here to hate Pearl Jam, it's not hard to find a thread where they're basically cumming in their pants over something this band has done before. But that doesn't fit into the narrative that everyone is just here to hate the band.

This does nothing to negate his point

would anything?

No. It's a pretty accurate point.

There's nothing noble about listening to a band making mediocre music in its third decade when there are bands making better music in their first out there.

This is true. But the loss of musical accomplishment is less relevant to me than the loss of interest.

It is the gleeful smug reflexive viciousness behind so much of it. In the same way that what is repulsive about the pit is not that they like the band.

It probably reads like smugness to someone who is still invested in the band as an ongoing musical entity, because there is genuine laughter and enjoyment involved. But it's born of a complicated combination that includes fascination, amusement, disappointment, frustration, and bewilderment. Like dime watching footage of George Lucas making the prequels, maybe.

And most of what has made this whole thing so gloriously entertaining is the fact that they spent a huge portion of their career intensely passionate about the idea of music, the creation of, and the crooks and crannies of the resulting human connection....and have now come to adopt an approach that so completely commoditizes and compartmentalizes that aspect of their careers that it almost feels like they're making fun of it.

There is an underlying cynicism to marketing Mother Love Bone dog collars, or to selling a $25 plastic sippy-cup over the internet that just has a rush job "EV" slapped on it, or to giving interviews where you talk about songwriting like it's something you still do and have every expectation of doing better than ever in the future....when the truth is, you know better. You know exactly how little you're willing to invest in that effort. You know that you can't be bothered to put in more than a handful of work weeks in the studio during a half decade's time, and are willing to let your producer play a lead role in the development of your new album because SOMEone needs to be directing this thing towards cohesion and personality, I guess, and I just can't be bothered to care. You know that these promises of great things no longer serve any purpose other than to convince people to buy your new album, and not notice the man behind the curtain.

The fact that Pearl Jam went from being so thoroughly bright eyed optimistic about music (for such a long period of time) that they were occasionally mocked or admired for it, to being so tired and calculating about their own sonic accomplishments....well, that would be amazing in and of itself. That they still try to hang on to the basic surface qualities of that optimism, because they find it lucrative? Or just because they're that far gone in their plot loss? Well, sorry, but that makes it funny. Really funny. Like some very, very long skit comedy thing that's only just now really getting good.

i mean if everyone who isn't cumming in their pants is by default instead posting gleeful smug reflexive viciousness in an attempt to make everyone hate pearl jam here, i suppose id' agree that it does nothing to negate his point.

the issue for me is that i don't see the conversations that occur in PJ Chat as gleeful smug reflexive viciousness - even when the griping it at its worst (best? I dunno) - I see it as a lot of high expectation that got toppled somewhere along the line and a desire to talk about that.
if that can't be included in the conversations within a pearl forum then where can it be talked about?

or, you know, whatever mcp just posted that's much more articulate than what I posted

You know I kept on wanting to make an analogy about trying to enjoy revenge of the sith while someone keeps screaming in your ear about how much Lucas sucks now, but I didn't want to put that image in peoples heads

The three Lightning Bolt threads are very nearly paged two'ed. No one cares. If people didn't bitch, there would be little traffic here at all. We should all be grateful the Post Riot Act Moneygrab exists to give us something to talk about at all. In a way, this is Oral Hands greatest gift.

Lament wrote:

stip wrote:

Lament wrote:

Farmer John wrote:

Lament wrote:There's nothing noble about listening to a band making mediocre music in its third decade when there are bands making better music in their first out there. I don't know why people act like there is.

There's nothing noble about hanging around that band's message board, trying to convince everyone how terrible they are now. I don't know why people act like there is.

Some of us like talking about when they used to be great. But that's pretty conveniently ignored. For every member who gets accused of just being here to hate Pearl Jam, it's not hard to find a thread where they're basically cumming in their pants over something this band has done before. But that doesn't fit into the narrative that everyone is just here to hate the band.

This does nothing to negate his point

I'm arguing that I don't think anyone is here just to convince people that Pearl Jam is terrible now.

Well, maybe not exclusively.

There is that one guy who seems like his sole purpose is to convince people that the Philly 2009 shows are the worst thing ever. At least is seems that way.

stip wrote:You know I kept on wanting to make an analogy about trying to enjoy revenge of the sith while someone keeps screaming in your ear about how much Lucas sucks now, but I didn't want to put that image in peoples heads

I think you meant to say trying to enjoy the screaming in your ear while someone keeps playing revenge of the sith in front of you, but I grock your lingo.

Farmer John wrote:

Lament wrote:

stip wrote:

Lament wrote:

Farmer John wrote:

Lament wrote:There's nothing noble about listening to a band making mediocre music in its third decade when there are bands making better music in their first out there. I don't know why people act like there is.

There's nothing noble about hanging around that band's message board, trying to convince everyone how terrible they are now. I don't know why people act like there is.

Some of us like talking about when they used to be great. But that's pretty conveniently ignored. For every member who gets accused of just being here to hate Pearl Jam, it's not hard to find a thread where they're basically cumming in their pants over something this band has done before. But that doesn't fit into the narrative that everyone is just here to hate the band.

This does nothing to negate his point

I'm arguing that I don't think anyone is here just to convince people that Pearl Jam is terrible now.

Well, maybe not exclusively.

There is that one guy who seems like his sole purpose is to convince people that the Philly 2009 shows are the worst thing ever. At least is seems that way.

there's another guy here that makes threads about his eddie vedder projector... what's your point?