Red Mosquito

digster wrote: The whole idea behind S/T's marketing push is "we're rocking again, we're not going to make weird art records anymore" - which is just kind of marketing gobbledygook, as Binaural and Riot Act aren't really anywhere near the extreme of being weird art records. And it doesn't really matter, as long as the results are good, and while I may think S/T is a step down from the previous records, it's still a good record in hindsight. But being around during the push of that record, it was just clearly a different approach then they'd taken before.

tragabigzanda wrote:i kind of can't get behind this concept anymore, because S/T now feels to me like "back when they were still great," and the real drop off started with BS.

tragabigzanda wrote:i kind of can't get behind this concept anymore, because S/T now feels to me like "back when they were still great," and the real drop off started with BS.

liebzz wrote:Just going to note that they clearly changed their focus after Riot Act, but I don’t see things as decline per se. I think if self-titled as a change in direction and it was a fresh approach, a decline in both Backspacer and Lightning Bolt, and then Gigaton as the triumph of this approach, so a return to the quality they provided pre-Backspacer, and really even before that. Gigaton is to me the album they were reaching for after Riot Act. To be determined how Dark Matter fits into this narrative or possibly creates a new turn.

Monkey_Driven wrote:Maybe it's better to look at the PRAMG as the Post-Epic/Sony era instead.

Strat wrote:maybe who cares

liebzz wrote:

Monkey_Driven wrote:Maybe it's better to look at the PRAMG as the Post-Epic/Sony era instead.

I mean, yes. Without the benefit of a record label back then, I think they were reaching for ways to stay both independent and relevant. Pearl Jam, the album, largely accomplished that in the media as their return to form, while Backspacer brought them that “crossover” appeal into adult rock with Just Breathe. I don’t know that there’ll be any true return after those final rattles in the real mainstream since their brand of rock music has come and gone, but one never knows.

VinylGuy wrote:

tragabigzanda wrote:i kind of can't get behind this concept anymore, because S/T now feels to me like "back when they were still great," and the real drop off started with BS.

yeah, agreed.

Ill rank from BS onwards and in no particular order:

Got Some
The Fixer
Speed Of Sound
Johnny Guitar
Sirens
Yellow Moon
My Father Son
Who Ever Said
Dance
Quick Escape
7 O clock
Take The Long Way
River Cross