Red Mosquito

What I really like about Man of the Hour is the way it is able to both eulogize the subject and capture the complexity of an actual relationship with another human being--the misfires, the talking past each other, the frustration, the way you can't always understand the totality of another person and what they mean to you until you are separated by a distance you can never close. And the way in which your memory of them grants them a certain degree of immortality. There's simply more going on in Man of the Hour than any of these other songs (even though I like a few of them more), and what's happening is considerably more sophisticated.

None of this changes that McParadigm is probably correct--none of these songs really capture the immediacy of the experience. They're all attempts to make sense of what happened--the experience, the relationship, the impact on your life--after the fact. They're debriefings.

stip wrote:well I think the biggest reason that song was played during the 9-11 Telethon with Neil was that Neil plays on it. I'm in the same boat. It's a lovely song but it's never elicited a powerful emotion reaction from me.

"I have wished for so long/How I wish for you today" is one of my favorite lyrics in EV's portfolio. But it always seems to resonate with me in circumstances not related to death or loss--it's just a pure, unfiltered sentiment of care for someone else, too generic in language (like most of "Long Road") for it to be specifically tethered to any one type of experience.

"Man of the Hour" is my single favorite song that Eddie has written on his own. Wonderful, accomplished stuff that in my opinion is fitting competition for any of the world's great songwriters.

Kevin Davis wrote:
"Man of the Hour" is my single favorite song that Eddie has written on his own. Wonderful, accomplished stuff that in my opinion is fitting competition for any of the world's great songwriters.

plus, you know, waves!

I'm going to see Neutral Milk Hotel tonight. That record was pretty good for the immediate aftermath. Maybe because it gets thoroughly unhinged at times by an undefined inward-focused something, but has real tenderness at its core. It's a little broken, a lot cathartic, the lyrics are almost Astral Weeks-level abstract painting, and sometimes it almost feels like the music is as affected by you as you are by it. Like you're having a conversation with it about something neither of you actually has the words to express.

there's no pearl jam song that comes to mind about 'losing a loved one' adequately to me. there are, however some lines and moments within various songs that seem proper though.
(so basically mcp is right, guys)

stip wrote:well I think the biggest reason that song was played during the 9-11 Telethon with Neil was that Neil plays on it. I'm in the same boat. It's a lovely song but it's never elicited a powerful emotion reaction from me.

Apparently Ed was really wanting to play "Gimme Some Truth," but Neil convinced him it wasn't the time or place, so they played "Long Road" instead.

For me, it's Light Years. My grandmother passed away in 2003 and I can really relate to some of the lyrics.

With heavy breath, awakened regrets
back pages and days alone that could have been spent, together
but we were miles apart

I grew up in Illinois and my parents and I moved out to Vegas in '95. We'd go back once a year/every other year/every few years to see the rest of the family. In '99 my grandparents moved to Southern California, so it was easier to see them, but there was still time apart. Then, I believe in '01, they moved to Vegas. At the end of '02 my grandmother became sick, was diagnosed in February of '03 and died that December.

I was just 22 when she passed away. She helped raised me when I was a kid and my mom and I lived with my grandparents until we moved out west. I am so thankful for that time, because of how young I was (and she was) when she passed. But, I feel like I didn't have enough time with her.

Ever since she passed, I haven't been able to listen to Light Years. I tried to once years later and was a mess, I don't think I'll ever be able to listen to it again.

Slightly off topic...I know a lot of people hate Riot Act, but that album helped me get through that period in my life.

Welcome back

"We were but stones, your light made us stars"

That line is absolutely hitting hard the past few days.

bodysnatcher wrote:

stip wrote:well I think the biggest reason that song was played during the 9-11 Telethon with Neil was that Neil plays on it. I'm in the same boat. It's a lovely song but it's never elicited a powerful emotion reaction from me.

Apparently Ed was really wanting to play "Gimme Some Truth," but Neil convinced him it wasn't the time or place, so they played "Long Road" instead.

Apparently?

Iholdthepain wrote:

bodysnatcher wrote:

stip wrote:well I think the biggest reason that song was played during the 9-11 Telethon with Neil was that Neil plays on it. I'm in the same boat. It's a lovely song but it's never elicited a powerful emotion reaction from me.

Apparently Ed was really wanting to play "Gimme Some Truth," but Neil convinced him it wasn't the time or place, so they played "Long Road" instead.

Apparently?

It was apparent, yes.

gardenparty wrote:how about "the end"

not dead yet

Really think 4/20/02 deserves to be part of this conversation and more than any song in the catalog grapples with the immediate anger that accompanies loss and grief.

And, lack of lyrics aside, I can't help but think of Arc in this context.

McParadigm wrote:I'm going to see Neutral Milk Hotel tonight. That record was pretty good for the immediate aftermath. Maybe because it gets thoroughly unhinged at times by an undefined inward-focused something, but has real tenderness at its core. It's a little broken, a lot cathartic, the lyrics are almost Astral Weeks-level abstract painting, and sometimes it almost feels like the music is as affected by you as you are by it. Like you're having a conversation with it about something neither of you actually has the words to express.

Oh my god this show. Apparently I have to double down on this choice, because when they kicked into the title track I started crying, and it took me three more songs to get to where I didn't have to keep wiping my eyes. It was this totally unexpected moment of just incredibly physical catharsis, lost inside the enormity of the sound.

you pussy

crap, I added songs and forgot that this resets polls.

cutuphalfdead wrote:you pussy

My original handle on the board.

Strat wrote:"We were but stones, your light made us stars"

That line is absolutely hitting hard the past few days.

My father-in-law was the best bloke I ever had the pleasure to know. This line more than any other reminds me of him. 7 years on and I still miss him like hell.

I think it probably matters too whether or not you write your own songs. Nobody's words will be able to compete with your own, when it comes to something like great loss, and once you have that direct everything else feels a little incomplete

I doubt that's true, but I can't argue that point until after I read 101 dalmations