Red Mosquito

Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:

Sarah. wrote:Christ, why did they put that piano shit at the end of FD?

I'm aware you might have already talked about this...

yeah, there is a lot of hate on this board for the one playing the piano, though it has a lot more to it then just his piano playing on that song

Sarah. wrote:

Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:

Sarah. wrote:Christ, why did they put that piano shit at the end of FD?

I'm aware you might have already talked about this...

yeah, there is a lot of hate on this board for the one playing the piano, though it has a lot more to it then just his piano playing on that song

I don't hate Future Days. It's cheesy and over done, and it has everything thrown at it to see what sticks, but it's not awful. But that bookend piano

It's like dressing up in your best clothes, hair done and face full of makeup and then realising (after you've got to the party), that you've got your skirt stuck in your knickers.

theplatypus wrote:Goddamn "Infallible" sucks.

harmless wrote:

theplatypus wrote:Goddamn "Infallible" sucks.

No, there's loads to like about it. Sometimes when I'm playing it through in my head, the chorus sounds like I thought it had sounded on the soundcheck, really dark and gritty. But otherwise it's good.

KurtLeon wrote: Like this, the dong is great.

theplatypus wrote:

KurtLeon wrote: Like this, the dong is great.

All hail the dong

McParadigm wrote:"Should be darker!" is just about the last thing on my mind when I'm going over all the reasons that song sucks.

Sarah. wrote:Christ, why did they put that piano shit at the end of FD?

I'm aware you might have already talked about this...

harmless wrote:

McParadigm wrote:"Should be darker!" is just about the last thing on my mind when I'm going over all the reasons that song sucks.

What else is your mind full of, regarding this song?

It might help a bit, going in, if I say that hearing the sound clip on the vignette didn't do much for me to begin with. It reminded me of something that might open a Genesis song...say, No Son of Mine....only not remotely as quirky, interesting, or atmospheric as that implies. The thumpity-thump progression by itself feels to me like lifeless implied melodrama...the kind of backing they might put to an army/navy/marines ad going into movie theaters that leans heavily on helicopters, guys leaning over other guys' shoulders while they look at screens, and big broad tank shots.

I mentioned in another thread that, while Yield has plenty of overdubs, each individual instrument is extremely unmanipulated. Guitars, bass, drums, vocals… They all vary slightly throughout each performance, and even individual snare hits are inconsistent in their pitch and volume. This is not unique by any means to Pearl Jam records, even if we narrow the focus to just their peers. It's an extension of the base purpose of recording, from day one: to capture, in a shareable way, the sound of musicians performing a piece.

Here, the entire performance has been controlled and processed into clinical and sterile precision. There's an underlying message, or assumption, that exactness equals quality, and it steals a human warmth that used to exist in the band's music.

a huge amount of this album was close mic'd, direct plugged, or only had the bare minimum of room sound included so that Brendan could manipulate to his heart's content after-the-fact

Still, if it had been used as a backdrop for some creative or interesting sonic breath and sparkle, or been granted some really interesting percussion (beyond just the kit), it could have resulted in a decent piece. The base idea could potentially have been the basis for something that, if they'd worked on it during Binaural, would have sat in the aesthetic space between NAiS and Sleight of Hand. Instead, to my ears, the song sounds like they took their second choice for lead-in music to Inside Job, turned it up to wup-wup levels, and then built it into a song that wants so badly to be your friend it doesn't dare reveal any distinguishing personality or emotion. Ed's vocals during the verse do their best to undercut whatever (already two dimensional) personality or attitude the plodding music has, the music IS plodding, and the chorus has but a single life goal: be memorable. Not, be memorable because you did something special or worth remembering. Just...be memorable. Be easy enough to be catchy. Be memorable for being memorable. Like being famous for being famous.

Musically, the shift into the chorus on Swallowed Whole conveys wonder. The band shuffles sideways in the second half of Mind your Manners, introducing a modicum of hope in with the already well-established frustration. Father's Son twists and twitches...hell, even Future Days at least sounds contemplative and warm. With Sirens and Infallible, the music and melody don't convey anything to me other than: "Big."

McParadigm wrote:

harmless wrote:

McParadigm wrote:"Should be darker!" is just about the last thing on my mind when I'm going over all the reasons that song sucks.

What else is your mind full of, regarding this song?

It might help a bit, going in, if I say that hearing the sound clip on the vignette didn't do much for me to begin with. It reminded me of something that might open a Genesis song...say, No Son of Mine....only not remotely as quirky, interesting, or atmospheric as that implies. The thumpity-thump progression by itself feels to me like lifeless implied melodrama...the kind of backing they might put to an army/navy/marines ad going into movie theaters that leans heavily on helicopters, guys leaning over other guys' shoulders while they look at screens, and big broad tank shots.

I mentioned in another thread that, while Yield has plenty of overdubs, each individual instrument is extremely unmanipulated. Guitars, bass, drums, vocals… They all vary slightly throughout each performance, and even individual snare hits are inconsistent in their pitch and volume. This is not unique by any means to Pearl Jam records, even if we narrow the focus to just their peers. It's an extension of the base purpose of recording, from day one: to capture, in a shareable way, the sound of musicians performing a piece.

Here, the entire performance has been controlled and processed into clinical and sterile precision. There's an underlying message, or assumption, that exactness equals quality, and it steals a human warmth that used to exist in the band's music.

a huge amount of this album was close mic'd, direct plugged, or only had the bare minimum of room sound included so that Brendan could manipulate to his heart's content after-the-fact

Still, if it had been used as a backdrop for some creative or interesting sonic breath and sparkle, or been granted some really interesting percussion (beyond just the kit), it could have resulted in a decent piece. The base idea could potentially have been the basis for something that, if they'd worked on it during Binaural, would have sat in the aesthetic space between NAiS and Sleight of Hand. Instead, to my ears, the song sounds like they took their second choice for lead-in music to Inside Job, turned it up to wup-wup levels, and then built it into a song that wants so badly to be your friend it doesn't dare reveal any distinguishing personality or emotion. Ed's vocals during the verse do their best to undercut whatever (already two dimensional) personality or attitude the plodding music has, the music IS plodding, and the chorus has but a single life goal: be memorable. Not, be memorable because you did something special or worth remembering. Just...be memorable. Be easy enough to be catchy. Be memorable for being memorable. Like being famous for being famous.

Musically, the shift into the chorus on Swallowed Whole conveys wonder. The band shuffles sideways in the second half of Mind your Manners, introducing a modicum of hope in with the already well-established frustration. Father's Son twists and twitches...hell, even Future Days at least sounds contemplative and warm. With Sirens and Infallible, the music and melody don't convey anything to me other than: "Big."

Heathen wrote:

stip wrote:yeah, I think both of those songs can clearly be said to be something new for the band. Every other song on here has roots in the established catalog.


The reviews for Lbolt are pretty good, but not great (with a few exceptions). The text often seems to be stronger than the number. It's looking like Backspacer will review higher, which says a lot about what people are looking for out of pearl jam.


Also, Sirens and Future Days tend to do quite well in the reviews.

I don't know how RM's reaction to the record stacks up to the main board, but it certainly seems once again that (assuming the pit and RM are aligned) that what the world wants from pearl jam and what we want from pearl jam may be too very different things.

The world isn't this unified thing with a clear, definite opinion of Pearl Jam. And it sure is bigger and more diversified than the mind of a couple dozens journalists.

McParadigm wrote:"Should be darker!" is just about the last thing on my mind when I'm going over all the reasons that song sucks.

harmless wrote:NAIS has the most pretentiously wanky and ill-fitting soloing in the catalogue.

Also, there's tons of percussion going on in Infallible (not just kit).