Lightning Bolt: the official album thread

[Lament]

Not so 'harmless', huh guys?

Four harmless references without a post from him.

I'm worried...

[verb_to_trust]

He's busy alternating weeping with joy then anger while listening to Sirens.......then joy.........then anger......then joy......then anger

[bodysnatcher]

If you watch the Lightning Bolt EPK in Quicktime, start zooming out and you'll see that the entire video takes place within Brendan O'Brien's pupil asshole

[flannelking]

Lightning Bolt is a great song. Thought so ever since Wrigley and the studio version did not disappoint.

i agree. i can see it hitting my top ten or 15. i'm in the no leak club so i haven't heard the studio version. haven't heard sirens yet in any form. mym was very good, i thought.

[Sgt. Crackpot]

had a weird dream last night about the lack of media/promotion the band has done for the record, with the truth being that Eddie was actually killed a month or so ago, and that all the promotion he's been in so far was done before the fact... and they weren't going to announce his death until the day of or the day before the album released.

also, he was killed by a guy who climbed down his chimney.

How the hell did harmless get down Ed's chimney?

That's just silly.

I don't know, but apparently there was a peephole gloryhole drilled into the brick pointing into Eddie's bedroom.

Care to explain, harmless?

[bodysnatcher]

guys, harmless isn't here to defend himself...

SO, STEP IT UP.

[mastaflatch]

poor harmless, he can't get over











































































whelmed.

[bodysnatcher]

is there a way we can get the data on how many posts harmless as on specific days? for instance, the day MYM and Sirens was released, the day the album leaks, is released, he gets his vinyl?

[Lament]

I'll take a stab at being harmless and defending his actions...

Some of you guys don't know this, but I'm kinda looking forward to this album. It's ok if you didn't know, I'm not very open about it. I've been keeping my excitement to myself. Anyways, it seemed like the right thing to do, sneaking in to Ed's house. Unfortunately when I got inside, I saw things that no man should ever see. It wasn't my intention to kill Ed, but it had to be done.

Also, I did listen to his copy of LB. It's pretty good. Nothing special. But not bad. Better than Backspacer or S/T, but not anything else. They really seemed be back on the right track though. I'm kinda bummed that there won't be an 11th record.

[LemonyLlama]

I'll take a stab at being harmless and defending his actions...

Some of you guys don't know this, but I'm kinda looking forward to this album. It's ok if you didn't know, I'm not very open about it. I've been keeping my excitement to myself. Anyways, it seemed like the right thing to do, sneaking in to Ed's house. Unfortunately when I got inside, I saw things that no man should ever see. It wasn't my intention to kill Ed, but it had to be done.

Also, I did listen to his copy of LB. It's pretty good. Nothing special. But not bad. Better than Backspacer or S/T, but not anything else. They really seemed be back on the right track though. I'm kinda bummed that there won't be an 11th record.

You did this alarmingly well.

[Sgt. Crackpot]

I'll take a stab at being harmless and defending his actions...

Some of you guys don't know this, but I'm kinda looking forward to this album. It's ok if you didn't know, I'm not very open about it. I've been keeping my excitement to myself. Anyways, it seemed like the right thing to do, sneaking in to Ed's house. Unfortunately when I got inside, I saw things that no man should ever see. It wasn't my intention to kill Ed, but it had to be done.

Also, I did listen to his copy of LB. It's pretty good. Nothing special. But not bad. Better than Backspacer or S/T, but not anything else. They really seemed be back on the right track though. I'm kinda bummed that there won't be an 11th record.

This... wow... dark stuff. Cut to the bone.

[mastaflatch]

Spoiler: show

[bodysnatcher]

I'll take a stab at being harmless and defending his actions...

Some of you guys don't know this, but I'm kinda looking forward to this album. It's ok if you didn't know, I'm not very open about it. I've been keeping my excitement to myself. Anyways, it seemed like the right thing to do, sneaking in to Ed's house. Unfortunately when I got inside, I saw things that no man should ever see. It wasn't my intention to kill Ed, but it had to be done.

Also, I did listen to his copy of LB. It's pretty good. Nothing special. But not bad. Better than Backspacer or S/T, but not anything else. They really seemed be back on the right track though. I'm kinda bummed that there won't be an 11th record.

[Lounge Lizard]

The guy that announced the LB leak on Twitter responded to me with a link to the Pirate Bay.
It turned out to be the partial leak we've all had for weeks now.

[Lament]

The worst part is that while I stand by what I did, and the situation absolutely demanded it, it probably could have been avoided...

When Ed first caught me rummaging through his belongings for LB, he was more curious than angry. I explained to him who I was, and that I was from RM, and he was actually really cool about it all. He said he accidentally walked in on Bruce taking a dump a few years ago while trying to steal a working copy of Wrecking Ball. I said "Well, at least you weren't in the bathroom, right?" and then I laughed.

But Ed didn't laugh. He got real quiet and serious and said "Actually...I wish you had." I didn't know how to react, so I froze. Ed took a few steps towards me and put his hand on mine. "Shh...it's gonna be ok," he whispered into my ear. And I believed him. He walked over to the stereo and put on this crazy 65+ minute spacerock jam session he had recorded with Neil Young, Jeff, and Jack Irons during the Merkinball sessions. "You like Merkinball?" Ed asked.

"Of course I do, Ed."

"Well, this an outtake I like to call Workingballs. Yours."

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't believe what was happening. But it all felt so right. Ed laid me down on his bed and touched me in ways I've never been touched before. It was magic. We were two souls merging. I rode high amongst his wave. I could feel like I had a soul that could be saved! It was the most perfect moment of my life.

And then it happened.

The door opened, and I panicked. Surely one of Ed's family members had caught us.

"Don't worry," said Ed. It's gonna be ok. Do you trust me?"

I looked into his eyes. I did. I told him so.

"It's ok," Ed shouted to a shadowy figure in the doorway. "We're ready for you."

What was going on? Who were we ready for? And then, it happened. My worst nightmare.

In walks Brendan O'Brien.

I pleaded "Ed, no, we don't need him! This is perfect!"

"Don't listen to him Ed. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"He's right," Ed told me. "He's right about everything."

I couldn't believe it. This perfect moment, this beautiful piece of space & time was being destroyed by the intrusion of Brendan O'Brien. I begged Ed to send him away. But it was to no avail. Brendan turned off the transcendent outtake we had been listening to and put on a special extended remix of The Fixer. He aggressively got in between us and just started thrusting his midsection into anything that was even remotely close to him.

"Isn't this so much better?" Ed asked.

I wanted to scream out. "Of course it isn't Ed!" But I couldn't. It was too late. Gone was the gentle lover's touch I had known just moments earlier, replaced by the most blatant, awkward thrashing of naked bodies I'd ever seen.

And that's when I saw it.

In the corner of the room, propped up against the wall, were Ed's throwing axes. Without thinking I grabbed them and swung. I was going to take out O'Brien once and for all. I swung with all my might. It was going to be the most glorious moment in history!

As my axe approached O'Brien at full speed, Ed dove in front of him and absorbed the blow.

I couldn't believe what I had just done.

Brendan ran out of the room cursing something wicked. I stood there, silently. I thought about the early days, when I was young and thus amazed. But suddenly, the channel changed as I stared into a puddle of Ed's blood.

I quickly regained my faculties. I knew I had to get out, and get out fast. But I wasn't going to leave without what I came for. Just then I noticed a CDR on the dresser. "Lightning Bolt - Final Master" was scrawled across it in Ed's handwriting. I grabbed the CD and left. I thought my heart would beat right out of my chest. I heard the garage open as I was exiting through the window. Ed's family was home. I had barely made it out. But I had. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Ed.

As I sat in the Seattle airport, I tried to make sense of my actions. The world had become a blur, and I could no longer make any sense of it. Right then I remember the CDR. I had stashed it in my jacket pocket. I pulled it out and put it in my laptop. As I placed on my headphones, I was about to play Lightning Bolt for the first time.

Like I said before. It's not bad. Better songs and production than both S/T and Backspacer. My Father's Son is really good, and so is Infallible. The last three songs on the record are kinda weak, but I could see myself playing this regularly for a few months. There's a little too much Brendan O'Brien cheese on it, but the quality of the more elite songs on the album transcend that flaw in a way they didn't on Backspacer.

[Lament]

And on that note. I should probably quit.

Not just RM, or Pearl Jam, or the internet. But life itself.

[Kevin Davis]

I've been thinking about going to bed for the last two hours but I know now that there was a reason I was destined to stay up until 2:26 AM screwing around on the internet.

[Vindicator]

......That just happened.

[stip]

Bravo. Now I need to explain to my what is so funny at 4 in the morning

[stip]

I really wish I made that hall of fame thread now