Red Mosquito

"For starters, it’s a stellar record that will delight old fans and recapture lapsed ones. It’s unlike most of what the band has done in the past while remaining true to what a band like Pearl Jam should sound like 33 years into a career."

A more flattering review than Stereogum, although I took away quite a few positives from that one too.

Bottom paged the link:
https://www.guerrillacandy.com/2024/03/ ... er-review/

I thought the Stereogum review was actually positive. The reviewer posted it on X and said he liked it more than he expected to. Granted, that’s faint praise because he could have been expecting to hate it as much as Trag lol. But the parts of the review that actually discuss the songs definitely comes across as positive. The rest of the review is typical reviewer psycho-babble about modern day Pearl Jam and aging rock stars (neither of which he is particularly keen on).

Homeboyd wrote:I thought the Stereogum review was actually positive. The reviewer posted it on X and said he liked it more than he expected to. Granted, that’s faint praise because he could have been expecting to hate it as much as Trag lol. But the parts of the review that actually discuss the songs definitely comes across as positive. The rest of the review is typical reviewer psycho-babble about modern day Pearl Jam and aging rock stars (neither of which he is particularly keen on).

My takeaway was basically...
1) Plenty of songs that will make PJ fans happy (Scared of Fear, Wreckage, Waiting For Stevie, Got to Give, Setting Sun)
2) Some that could be divisive, people will either love or hate (Something Special, Upper Hand)
3) The 2 singles may be the weakest of the bunch

bluestate wrote:

Homeboyd wrote:I thought the Stereogum review was actually positive. The reviewer posted it on X and said he liked it more than he expected to. Granted, that’s faint praise because he could have been expecting to hate it as much as Trag lol. But the parts of the review that actually discuss the songs definitely comes across as positive. The rest of the review is typical reviewer psycho-babble about modern day Pearl Jam and aging rock stars (neither of which he is particularly keen on).

My takeaway was basically...
1) Plenty of songs that will make PJ fans happy (Scared of Fear, Wreckage, Waiting For Stevie, Got to Give, Setting Sun)
2) Some that could be divisive, people will either love or hate (Something Special, Upper Hand)
3) The 2 singles may be the weakest of the bunch

That review aligns with my expectations

Monkey_Driven wrote:

bluestate wrote:

Homeboyd wrote:I thought the Stereogum review was actually positive. The reviewer posted it on X and said he liked it more than he expected to. Granted, that’s faint praise because he could have been expecting to hate it as much as Trag lol. But the parts of the review that actually discuss the songs definitely comes across as positive. The rest of the review is typical reviewer psycho-babble about modern day Pearl Jam and aging rock stars (neither of which he is particularly keen on).

My takeaway was basically...
1) Plenty of songs that will make PJ fans happy (Scared of Fear, Wreckage, Waiting For Stevie, Got to Give, Setting Sun)
2) Some that could be divisive, people will either love or hate (Something Special, Upper Hand)
3) The 2 singles may be the weakest of the bunch

That review aligns with my expectations

If he’d have said the two singles were standouts I’d be worried…

I don't recall exactly what he said about them but it almost sounded like he was mocking them

bluestate wrote:

Homeboyd wrote:I thought the Stereogum review was actually positive. The reviewer posted it on X and said he liked it more than he expected to. Granted, that’s faint praise because he could have been expecting to hate it as much as Trag lol. But the parts of the review that actually discuss the songs definitely comes across as positive. The rest of the review is typical reviewer psycho-babble about modern day Pearl Jam and aging rock stars (neither of which he is particularly keen on).

My takeaway was basically...
1) Plenty of songs that will make PJ fans happy (Scared of Fear, Wreckage, Waiting For Stevie, Got to Give, Setting Sun)
2) Some that could be divisive, people will either love or hate (Something Special, Upper Hand)
3) The 2 singles may be the weakest of the bunch

All I needed to hear is that there's plenty for existing fans to love...I don't care for either of the two they've put out, so, if those are two of the weakest tracks, I'd say that's quite an achievement

What is bullshit is Stip should be reviewing this not these fools. RM SHOULD GET A GD COPY FOR STIP TO REVIEW!!!!

And we might have one or two left.”

A number of the group’s musician friends, including Chris Cornell, Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley of Alice in Chains and Screaming Trees' Van Conner and Mark Lanegan, have passed away over the years and Eddie insisted people’s lifestyles are no way of knowing who will be “the last man standing”.

Referring to Mick Rock’s famous 1972 photo, he said: “Do you remember that picture of David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed? Who do you think would have been the last man standing? You would not have bet on Iggy Pop. So you never know.”

And Eddie has always felt “secure” within the “brotherhood” of his own band.

He said: “It’s a brotherhood. That was never in doubt.

“There might have been a few speed bumps in the road.

“But we got through those by looking out for each other. In that way, we felt secure.”



Originally published on celebretainment.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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bluestate wrote:I don't recall exactly what he said about them but it almost sounded like he was mocking them

Ah, he also tosses is a quote that they're not relevant: "Many less invested listeners won’t give Dark Matter a second thought beyond it being yet another installment in a body of work whose legacy was already solidified, from a band that remains massive and adored but not relevant."

I feel like Pearl Jam has been described as not relevant for going on 30 years, if not longer...it's like a mandatory thing you always have to say about them. Maybe it gets said about all the surviving rock acts but I'm not sure. I think any rock band that can instantly sell out arenas, stadiums, and headline festivals is almost by definition relevant, such as RHCP, Foo Fighters, U2, Metallica, Guns, Springsteen, Radiohead, Green Day, Rolling Stones, Coldplay, etc. None of those bands is making any real waves with new music but you'd be an idiot to say they weren't still relevant (in my eyes). I will say that it's rather amazing that PJ fits squarely in that group despite having a fraction of the hit songs of most of them. I write all this not because I care one bit if they are considered relevant (I have two young daughters and have to listen to Taylor Swift all day anyways) but it is interesting to me that it seemingly always comes up.

Homeboyd wrote:

bluestate wrote:I don't recall exactly what he said about them but it almost sounded like he was mocking them

Ah, he also tosses is a quote that they're not relevant: "Many less invested listeners won’t give Dark Matter a second thought beyond it being yet another installment in a body of work whose legacy was already solidified, from a band that remains massive and adored but not relevant."

I feel like Pearl Jam has been described as not relevant for going on 30 years, if not longer...it's like a mandatory thing you always have to say about them. Maybe it gets said about all the surviving rock acts but I'm not sure. I think any rock band that can instantly sell out arenas, stadiums, and headline festivals is almost by definition relevant, such as RHCP, Foo Fighters, U2, Metallica, Guns, Springsteen, Radiohead, Green Day, Rolling Stones, Coldplay, etc. None of those bands is making any real waves with new music but you'd be an idiot to say they weren't still relevant (in my eyes). I will say that it's rather amazing that PJ fits squarely in that group despite having a fraction of the hit songs of most of them. I write all this not because I care one bit if they are considered relevant (I have two young daughters and have to listen to Taylor Swift all day anyways) but it is interesting to me that it seemingly always comes up.

It's always mentioned because it is true. No mainstream radio, streaming, etc. relevance since Last Kiss and compared to your list they are much less popular on one of the most used music platforms.

Spotify Monthly Streams
Coldplay -76M
RHCP - 32M
GNR - 30M
Green Day - 30M
Rolling Stones -29M
Radiohead -26M
Metallica - 25M
Foo FIghters - 21M
U2 - 21M
Springsteen -16M
Pearl Jam - 15M

tragabigzanda wrote:Don’t worry team, wotman’s gonna put some fixing on those stats

Was curious about a few others....added

Spotify Monthly Streams
Swift - 102M
Coldplay - 76M
Imagine Dragons - 59M
The Beatles - 35M
RHCP - 32M
Nirvana - 31M
GNR - 30M
Green Day - 30M
Rolling Stones -29M
Radiohead -26M
Metallica - 25M
Foo FIghters - 21M
Kings of Leon - 21M
U2 - 21M
Nickelback 20M
Led Zeppelin 18M
Springsteen -16M
Pearl Jam - 15M
Black Keys -13M
Alice in Chains - 8M
The Who - 8M
Creed - 7M
Soundgarden - 7M

WTF so much Coldplay?

no doubt but it is interesting to me still as it relates to peers of an era. A lot of those streams come from playlists, which Pearl Jam has not had much mainstream value. Pearl Jam has never had the late-career gem album either in the streaming era that most of their peers have had from a popularity perspective.

Leatherhead wrote:WTF so much Coldplay?

Their stats on there are kind of amazing 9 songs with over a billion....a billion views. Pearl Jam's highest is about 500M.

Ledbetterdays wrote:

Homeboyd wrote:

bluestate wrote:I don't recall exactly what he said about them but it almost sounded like he was mocking them

Ah, he also tosses is a quote that they're not relevant: "Many less invested listeners won’t give Dark Matter a second thought beyond it being yet another installment in a body of work whose legacy was already solidified, from a band that remains massive and adored but not relevant."

I feel like Pearl Jam has been described as not relevant for going on 30 years, if not longer...it's like a mandatory thing you always have to say about them. Maybe it gets said about all the surviving rock acts but I'm not sure. I think any rock band that can instantly sell out arenas, stadiums, and headline festivals is almost by definition relevant, such as RHCP, Foo Fighters, U2, Metallica, Guns, Springsteen, Radiohead, Green Day, Rolling Stones, Coldplay, etc. None of those bands is making any real waves with new music but you'd be an idiot to say they weren't still relevant (in my eyes). I will say that it's rather amazing that PJ fits squarely in that group despite having a fraction of the hit songs of most of them. I write all this not because I care one bit if they are considered relevant (I have two young daughters and have to listen to Taylor Swift all day anyways) but it is interesting to me that it seemingly always comes up.

It's always mentioned because it is true. No mainstream radio, streaming, etc. relevance since Last Kiss and compared to your list they are much less popular on one of the most used music platforms.

Spotify Monthly Streams
Coldplay -76M
RHCP - 32M
GNR - 30M
Green Day - 30M
Rolling Stones -29M
Radiohead -26M
Metallica - 25M
Foo FIghters - 21M
U2 - 21M
Springsteen -16M
Pearl Jam - 15M

Right, as I said they've had a fraction of the hits of their peers in that group...which makes it all the more remarkable that they are as popular as they are, relatively speaking. But none of those bands is in the top 100 on Spotify except Coldplay which makes sense as their first album was in 2000 and they are a pop band. But I would still consider each band on that list as more relevant that a huge chunk of the top 100. Anyways, just an observation that was interesting to me.

Homeboyd wrote:

Ledbetterdays wrote:

Homeboyd wrote:

bluestate wrote:I don't recall exactly what he said about them but it almost sounded like he was mocking them

Ah, he also tosses is a quote that they're not relevant: "Many less invested listeners won’t give Dark Matter a second thought beyond it being yet another installment in a body of work whose legacy was already solidified, from a band that remains massive and adored but not relevant."

I feel like Pearl Jam has been described as not relevant for going on 30 years, if not longer...it's like a mandatory thing you always have to say about them. Maybe it gets said about all the surviving rock acts but I'm not sure. I think any rock band that can instantly sell out arenas, stadiums, and headline festivals is almost by definition relevant, such as RHCP, Foo Fighters, U2, Metallica, Guns, Springsteen, Radiohead, Green Day, Rolling Stones, Coldplay, etc. None of those bands is making any real waves with new music but you'd be an idiot to say they weren't still relevant (in my eyes). I will say that it's rather amazing that PJ fits squarely in that group despite having a fraction of the hit songs of most of them. I write all this not because I care one bit if they are considered relevant (I have two young daughters and have to listen to Taylor Swift all day anyways) but it is interesting to me that it seemingly always comes up.

It's always mentioned because it is true. No mainstream radio, streaming, etc. relevance since Last Kiss and compared to your list they are much less popular on one of the most used music platforms.

Spotify Monthly Streams
Coldplay -76M
RHCP - 32M
GNR - 30M
Green Day - 30M
Rolling Stones -29M
Radiohead -26M
Metallica - 25M
Foo FIghters - 21M
U2 - 21M
Springsteen -16M
Pearl Jam - 15M

Right, as I said they've had a fraction of the hits of their peers in that group...which makes it all the more remarkable that they are as popular as they are, relatively speaking. But none of those bands is in the top 100 on Spotify except Coldplay which makes sense as their first album was in 2000 and they are a pop band. But I would still consider each band on that list as more relevant that a huge chunk of the top 100. Anyways, just an observation that was interesting to me.

It also speaks to the dimming of the spotlight and mainstream interest in rock since the 90s.