Red Mosquito

PryTo wrote:Hi everyone. Long time lurker, new to the board. (I'll recount my story of being kicked out of the Ten Club for criticizing the dog leashes another time. Nice to be here.) Vs. was the album that sold me on PJ. Like many folks, I heard and enjoyed the first record, but it wasn't in my top ten that year. There was a lot of incredible music coming out at that time and Ten was overproduced and blatantly commercial to my ears. Vs. was a game changer. It's hard to appreciate now what a radical departure this record was for them, what a huge left turn. I always thought part of it had to do with their self consciousness over Kurt Cobain's critiques of them as jock rock metal heshers. They basically did away with most of the sing-songy commercial material that weighed down Ten. (Daughter aside, but a "feminist" song from a band of bros was a left turn in its own regard.) What remained was less commercial, less accessible, far more raw, and just a whole lot more interesting.

I love the opening one-two punch of "Go" and "Animal," but the songs that still get me today are "Dissonant" and "Glorified G," mainly because they're really sort of anti-commercial and weird songs. This was light years from the lighters-aloft anthem rawk of "Ten." I also have a lingering fondness for "Rats," because, well, that bass line, but also because that song and "Dirty Frank" are really the only two songs that demonstrate what a huge influence the Red Hot Chili Peppers were on the young PJ. They never really pursued this sound, but "Rats" and "Dirty Frank" are sort of remnants of an influence that they basically chose to ignore. That's probably a good thing in retrospect, but I think the RHCP influence on the band gets forgotten.

And yeah, Dave A. just eats this material alive. It's widely discussed, but this is one of those bands where the different drummers almost completely impact the overall sound. Can't think of too many bands where changing the drummer had as much impact, unless you're talking about Kenny Jones/Keith Moon or something.

Today, Vs. is not my favorite PJ record but it was a head-spinner at the time, a massive step up that forever made me take them seriously as musicians, as artists, as a band capable of tremendous power. Even more amazingly was how they took the greatness of Vs. to yet another level on Vitalogy. A rare feat, indeed.

There's a reason why we still discuss a band whose current output consists primarily of cringeworthy dad rock, and that's the undeniable greatness of records like "Vs." People can and do debate the merits of everything from "No Code" to "Lightning Bolt," but you'd be hard pressed to find any PJ fan who doesn't appreciate "Vs."

Rick Rubin ???

'Indifference' feels like a song that has always existed - it just happened to flow through PJ in 1993.

Got Some wrote:

PryTo wrote:Hi everyone. Long time lurker, new to the board. (I'll recount my story of being kicked out of the Ten Club for criticizing the dog leashes another time. Nice to be here.) Vs. was the album that sold me on PJ. Like many folks, I heard and enjoyed the first record, but it wasn't in my top ten that year. There was a lot of incredible music coming out at that time and Ten was overproduced and blatantly commercial to my ears. Vs. was a game changer. It's hard to appreciate now what a radical departure this record was for them, what a huge left turn. I always thought part of it had to do with their self consciousness over Kurt Cobain's critiques of them as jock rock metal heshers. They basically did away with most of the sing-songy commercial material that weighed down Ten. (Daughter aside, but a "feminist" song from a band of bros was a left turn in its own regard.) What remained was less commercial, less accessible, far more raw, and just a whole lot more interesting.

I love the opening one-two punch of "Go" and "Animal," but the songs that still get me today are "Dissident" and "Glorified G," mainly because they're really sort of anti-commercial and weird songs. This was light years from the lighters-aloft anthem rawk of "Ten." I also have a lingering fondness for "Rats," because, well, that bass line, but also because that song and "Dirty Frank" are really the only two songs that demonstrate what a huge influence the Red Hot Chili Peppers were on the young PJ. They never really pursued this sound, but "Rats" and "Dirty Frank" are sort of remnants of an influence that they basically chose to ignore. That's probably a good thing in retrospect, but I think the RHCP influence on the band gets forgotten.

And yeah, Dave A. just eats this material alive. It's widely discussed, but this is one of those bands where the different drummers almost completely impact the overall sound. Can't think of too many bands where changing the drummer had as much impact, unless you're talking about Kenny Jones/Keith Moon or something.

Today, Vs. is not my favorite PJ record but it was a head-spinner at the time, a massive step up that forever made me take them seriously as musicians, as artists, as a band capable of tremendous power. Even more amazingly was how they took the greatness of Vs. to yet another level on Vitalogy. A rare feat, indeed.

There's a reason why we still discuss a band whose current output consists primarily of cringeworthy dad rock, and that's the undeniable greatness of records like "Vs." People can and do debate the merits of everything from "No Code" to "Lightning Bolt," but you'd be hard pressed to find any PJ fan who doesn't appreciate "Vs."

Rick Rubin ???

Does Rubin not like Vs? It would be fun if he'd produce a PJ record. He's got a pretty solid track record and he doesn't seem to be a yes man.

McParadigm wrote: Put simply, room noise is for people who can get a keeper of a performance without a bunch of repair work. Hint hint.

I usually just take it all as it comes, especially around these parts, but I have to begrudgingly agree wholeheartedly with this point.

Got Some wrote:Was working at target part time as a teenager when this came out. Got called to the audio section as the shipment of CDs arrived a day early and the manager new I was a massive fan.

I got to take my copy straight out of the box the day before release and listen to it that night non stop.

I never get tired of hearing people's stories like these.

I bought Vs the day it came out and I still consider it to be my favourite album of all-time from any artist. My friend and I took the city bus from school to the mall and we both bought the CD. I headed home and was completely riveted for 45 minutes. While I had previously heard Animal from the MMVAs, it was Daughter and RVM that grabbed me the most. There was something in the hook of the Daughter chorus that was instantly lodged in my brain (a picture kept will remi-e-iend me). So while some songs have aged poorly (I'm looking at you Leash), there are others that I've grown to appreciate more over time (WMA). Ultimately it's an album that can still capture my attention start to finish despite not getting the number of plays it used to. I'll have to revisit it soon after reading through this thread and when I do it'll instantly be October 1993 all over again.

these are all nice stories. Now someone else actually listen to the fucking album!

I did. It's awesome.

I listened too. It sounds raw and spontaneous. Those special bits before Go and after Blood give this album life.

the go intro is maybe my favorite moment on the record. Actually it probably isn't. But it's so good

It sets it up beautifully. I can't imagine the song without it. You press play and just get the floor tom with snare dum-dum-dum-dum dum-dum-dum-dum. It would be too much too soon.

I bet if you changed the thread title to "Post-Ten Cash Grab" it'd be fifteen pages already.

all I want to do is read other people's song by song reactions, and instead I have nothing but that stupid thread

I don't have the time to sit and listen and type. 2 yr old boys don't allow for that. Or anything for that matter. I listened in the car. I drove over the speed limit. I was pumped and it was only 5am. Vs did a better job than coffee.

Stip, because I like you so much, I will see if I can actually sit down and listen and type out my thoughts on each track tonight. I make no promises though. I may get distracted by the moon or girls or the chat room.

My reaction to every song would be "wow I've heard this a million times over the last 15-20 years. great song, but nothing to add. Refer to whatever I said before."

LetMeSleep wrote:I don't have the time to sit and listen and type. 2 yr old boys don't allow for that. Or anything for that matter. I listened in the car. I drove over the speed limit. I was pumped and it was only 5am. Vs did a better job than coffee.

I have to get up early in the morning to do it. What has become of us?

On the plus side, my wife and I managed to pull off having sex today!

Hooray. Little victories rule the world nowadays

stip wrote:these are all nice stories. Now someone else actually listen to the fucking album!

Not sure I'll get to the entire thing, but I listened to "Go" today on headphones. Here are my thoughts:

“Go” – Everyone is correct that the weird “room noise” intro is fantastic. It really sounds like the band is just doodling around, not even playing a song. Then it’s like, psyche! And the song kicks into fifth gear. Compare this beginning to the “Master/Slave” opener of “Ten,” an atmospheric, highly produced piece of “art” slash music. The beginning of “Go” was a declaration that things were going to be different this time around.

It’s easy to forget that PJ could have done what I expected them to do, take the easy way out. That’s what most bands who hit it big do – double down on the elements that made them successful. What most bands would have done would be to make “Eleven” and basically write a bunch of ballads a la “Black” and “Jeremy.” PJ didn’t do that and “Go” was a declaration of intent: We’re not going the easy route here.

Whomever wrote the riff, it’s one of the band’s all time best, so serpentine. It perfectly sets the mood for the vocals. Speaking of which:

Vedder gives a phenomenal vocal performance, but it’s the lyrics that really sell it. I don’t buy for a second that this song is about his car breaking down. That’s either one of those “Journalists will print anything we say” examples or an after-the-fact rationalization based on embarrassment or something. “Go” was about a relationship that was walking a tightrope. Best line: “Once passive, servile, now you’re getting sharp.” I love how his voice wavers on the last word. But also, how many big, dumb rock bands use words this way? (This IS the shit that killed hair metal.) It’s also an observation that really struck a nerve with me. I’m happily married now, but I sure had a lot of relationships in those days that were like this: She was so nice, and passive and then things changed and she began to get sharp in her voice, her body language, etc. But she was also getting sharp in that she was getting wise to the situation: That things were changing. Fuck, I love that line. It captures so much. And what comes after it is almost as good: "Moving oh so swiftly, with such disarm. I pulled the covers overhead, should have pulled the alarm. Turned to my nemesis . . ." I always wondered if that was turned to my nemesis (who was standing next to me) or I turned into my nemesis. I like the latter, so that's the interpretation I'll go with. Vedder simply does not write the vaguely anymore -- he just spells it all out for you and there is little to interpret or ponder. And this entire series of rhymes is just spectacular: sharp, disarm, alarm. Again, this was a big, dumb rock band that was working with a pretty sharp, interesting vocabulary.

As for the guitar solo, well, someone wrote it on here earlier, but Mike McCready (assuming this is him) never had a signature sound. I’ve never heard anything that he’s played – ever – where I was like, “Yep, that’s Mike McCready.” He’s competent for sure, but hardly the guitar god some make him out to be. The solo here is passible, nothing special at all. The main riff to the song is far better.

The ending comes crashing to a wonderful close with Dave A. pounding the snare for all it’s worth and the band locked in like a wrench. And bam, it’s over. Opening volley vollied. Declaration of intent fully declared. Still the band’s best opening song ever, mainly because of the context – we could have repeated ourselves, but we’re going to get more raw and less commercial and even more urgent. No sophomore slump here. And in case there were any doubters, it was followed up immediately by “Animal.”

Where have you been, PryTo? I await further write ups.

Btw Dave A had the riff and Stone jumped on it. Came from a lull in the studio (apparently how LTRP came about too. Ho hum)