Red Mosquito

stip wrote:wnat is your ranking, given your journey

Can't really include Dark Matter yet due to proximity bias, but I think it's very strong. The Platonic ideal that casts Lightning Bolt and Gigaton as draft 1 and draft 2.

Yield (a great band finally sounding moderately well adjusted as people plus Jack Irons on the kit)
Riot Act (on the strength of how it captures the band sans any production agenda--it's like you just got to hang out in the studio with them)
No Code (the second most concise artistic statement the band created: eff off and leave us alone)
Vitalogy (the most concise artistic statement the band created)
Binaural (because of how the bootlegs reveal the songs and because of its closing trilogy)

Vs. > Ten

Lightning Bolt > Backspacer = Pearl Jam

Gigaton (I like an EP's worth of it)

blueviper wrote:

Matters wrote:What is the greatest Pearl Jam story ever told?

That weird long winded post (I think copied from the Pit)

I can’t find it.

Good try tho

Which song is Mike McCready’s masterpiece?
I think there are 4 good answers.

Matters wrote:Which song is Mike McCready’s masterpiece?
I think there are 4 good answers.

it kinda depends what you mean. he wrote the music to "given to fly", but there's also songs like "reach down" where his solos literally effect your heart rate.

with that said, the only answer is Yellow Ledbetter.

thats an interesting question

Ledbetter, Given to Fly, or Alive probably. He didnt write the song but the solo is a defining moment.

But obviously the answer is sirens

what are your 4, matters?

State of Love and Trust

Matters wrote:Which song is Mike McCready’s masterpiece?
I think there are 4 good answers.

damn, great question....

Reach Down, Alive, River Of Deceit and Dotc or Brain of J.

but he has so many really.

stip wrote:thats an interesting question

Ledbetter, Given to Fly, or Alive probably. He didnt write the song but the solo is a defining moment.

But obviously the answer is sirens

I love you

stip wrote:what are your 4, matters?

Even Flow (live)
Alive
Yellow Ledbetter
Given to Fly

I’m leaning towards Given to Fly. The way his guitar sounds on the recording is so unique. Maybe his most innovative moment.

Mike's highlight moments are Alive, Black, and Yellow Ledbetter.

Not enough Brain of J. mentions. I mean it won MM.

Are there any other songs besides Alive that could legitimately considered both Mike’s AND Stone’s masterpieces?

River of Deceit is another good choice for Mike but it’s tough for me to conclude that Mike McCready’s masterpiece is NOT a Pearl Jam song.

In terms of songwriting, having not written much for the band, and then having three of Yield's first four songs (and having those songs be Brain of J, Faithfull and Given to Fly) feels like a highlight (I guess you can make a similar argument for Present Tense). For solos, I'd say All or None or Immortality; Mike has a lot of solos I think are cool and fun, but those are the two that manage to emotionally move me.

stip wrote:thats an interesting question

Ledbetter, Given to Fly, or Alive probably. He didnt write the song but the solo is a defining moment.

But obviously the answer is sirens

But isn't Upper Hand kind of the aesthetic ideal of what Sirens was trying to be?

Upper Hand and Sirens are pretty different, to me; I still love Sirens on its own merits

RockPusher wrote:

stip wrote:thats an interesting question

Ledbetter, Given to Fly, or Alive probably. He didnt write the song but the solo is a defining moment.

But obviously the answer is sirens

But isn't Upper Hand kind of the aesthetic ideal of what Sirens was trying to be?

a case could be made

I like the River of Deceit answer, too

Ms Harmless wrote:Upper Hand and Sirens are pretty different, to me; I still love Sirens on its own merits

They are quite different. I was speaking to them both being Pink Floyd-influenced Mike burners that build and release. From where I stand, that genre was perfected with Upper Hand.

Sirens is a song whose passionate lyricism absolutely kills me, so it definitely has merits.