Red Mosquito

certainly that was my expectation. now that I know what they're doing with it I don't mind (I like it more than 'tune in to pearljam.com at 10am on Thursday for the next piece of information) I'm fine with it, but the countdown certainly led to oversized anticipation and the inevitable deflation afterwards.

last|soldier wrote:I'm liking both "samples" from that YouTube clip.

Give me something dark, Pearl Jam.

On second listen these two pieces could be of the same track. Either an intro or some isolated tracks (guitar and maybe piano with reverse reverb). They're both the same tempo and it could work. It's something new anyway.

could the ambient intro to the tour announcement be the studio version of this outro?

it sounds very different, but if that's what it is, then we only got more of what we've already heard and possibly a snippet of MYM. I'm optimistic that it's new music and that based on the intro to the tour announcement & OTE that this album will have a little more JAM than backspacer (think they could sell more than 36 minutes of music this time around?)

I'm thinking this next countdown is to album track list and a ten second clip of the song. If MYM isn't til the 17th, this seems kinda likely.

dimejinky99 wrote:So the new album artwork is clip art?

I've a horrible feeling we've been here before

I'm assuming we're either getting a knife and fork tomorrow or we get a slightly more zoomed out image and this becomes a very small part of a larger whole. If it's the former - I'm assuming that this is an aggressive song that when read literally is about parental advice to young children but the lyrics allude to it being about conformity a la Brain of J. The dual nature of the lyrics is similar to other 'hard rock' tracks - Spin the Black Circle, Gonna See My Friend and Go.

elliseamos wrote:

could the ambient intro to the tour announcement be the studio version of this outro?

it sounds very different, but if that's what it is, then we only got more of what we've already heard and possibly a snippet of MYM. I'm optimistic that it's new music and that based on the intro to the tour announcement & OTE that this album will have a little more JAM than backspacer (think they could sell more than 36 minutes of music this time around?)

I have a feeling that parts of the ambient music are looped so it sounds like it is longer than it is when it could be a shorter intro or bridge or it could be a 'reprise' - there's a really nice strummed guitar part that comes in and sits in the mix a lot more nicely than the guitars on Backspacer making me think that the production will sound a bit more organic than 'in your face'. The separation on MYM clip, even at Youtube quality, sounded better than some parts of Backspacer.

Blenheim Augustine wrote:

elliseamos wrote:

could the ambient intro to the tour announcement be the studio version of this outro?

it sounds very different, but if that's what it is, then we only got more of what we've already heard and possibly a snippet of MYM. I'm optimistic that it's new music and that based on the intro to the tour announcement & OTE that this album will have a little more JAM than backspacer (think they could sell more than 36 minutes of music this time around?)

I have a feeling that parts of the ambient music are looped so it sounds like it is longer than it is when it could be a shorter intro or bridge or it could be a 'reprise' - there's a really nice strummed guitar part that comes in and sits in the mix a lot more nicely than the guitars on Backspacer making me think that the production will sound a bit more organic than 'in your face'. The separation on MYM clip, even at Youtube quality, sounded better than some parts of Backspacer.

all good points.

elliseamos wrote:

could the ambient intro to the tour announcement be the studio version of this outro?

it sounds very different, but if that's what it is, then we only got more of what we've already heard and possibly a snippet of MYM. I'm optimistic that it's new music and that based on the intro to the tour announcement & OTE that this album will have a little more JAM than backspacer (think they could sell more than 36 minutes of music this time around?)

I don't think so but ya never know.
Haven't heard that one before. Can't believe they managed yet another disjoined section.

Some additional album cover predictions:

Zooms out


This would be worse than counting down to a tour announcement - but maybe inspired by Ed's work in Eat, Pray, Love.


Zooms out to reveal a special podcast produced by a fan which includes an interview with Tim Beerman.

Heathen wrote:

stip wrote:1. I like the clock countdown for each new piece of information

I felt that was pretty bad. If you're going to do a big countdown buildup, you better reveal the whole damn thing when the time's up, not another countdown to another countdown to another fucking countdown.

Agreed, I've about had it with countdowns.

Let's hope this is the final one.

Kevin Davis wrote:

Heathen wrote:

stip wrote:1. I like the clock countdown for each new piece of information

I felt that was pretty bad. If you're going to do a big countdown buildup, you better reveal the whole damn thing when the time's up, not another countdown to another countdown to another fucking countdown.

Agreed, I've about had it with countdowns.

Let's hope this is the final one.

I see. Oh I see.

but... i don't see X's anywhere?!!

Sgt. Crackpot wrote:

LetMeSleep wrote:I was up at 3am too with a teething toddler but I didn't check my phone until 7 this morning. Arse.

And those 2 tracks aren't that promising to me. The first sounds like a part of a greater song with the guitar track solo'd (isolated). If that is a part/full mix then damn me that's dull. The 2nd could be okay but whoever was talking about Matt's ride cymbal obsession is right. It sounds like a prog drumkit, way too clean and bright.

The ride cymbal sounds like that because Matt's hitting the bell (the little dome part in the centre of the cymbal) which is meant to sound like that.

It sounds better for being played on the bell (the bell is heavy, metalic, and metal bands use a lot of it), but it's still annoying that it's the ride cymbal in the first place. Think, for example, of the smashing cymbals and hi-hats in 'Go'. That's what should happen in a song like that; what does he think he's playing, jazz? Most of the time the answer is probably yes. He's just got a different mind to the kinds of drummers I like.

LetMeSleep wrote:

Sgt. Crackpot wrote:

LetMeSleep wrote:I was up at 3am too with a teething toddler but I didn't check my phone until 7 this morning. Arse.

And those 2 tracks aren't that promising to me. The first sounds like a part of a greater song with the guitar track solo'd (isolated). If that is a part/full mix then damn me that's dull. The 2nd could be okay but whoever was talking about Matt's ride cymbal obsession is right. It sounds like a prog drumkit, way too clean and bright.

The ride cymbal sounds like that because Matt's hitting the bell (the little dome part in the centre of the cymbal) which is meant to sound like that.

Thanks for the info sarge. I guess in my 24 years playing drums it never dawned on me. And I'm not a Zildjian fan, especially the bell or their chinas.

I can't really imagine what Ed will be doing over this. It's interesting and could offer up something new. It doesn't seem a good fit but that's probably my mind being a cynical turd.

It was me that made the comment about ride cymbals being all the rage to Mr. Cameron. It's a weakness to me. I would rather have Dave A's over-obsession with the entire 12 cymbals he had, any day of the week. He had some skillz in terms of finding his way over a lot of different sounds. I'm not sure I've ever heard Matt play a splash cymbal or a china. He seems more keen on rides and cowbells... which... doesn't suit Pearl Jam and never really has. The strangest thing is that he seems more likely to make decisions I like with Soundgarden. To some extent, that's because of their songs being more complex. But this clip seems to suggest that even with a nice, giant, chuggy riff, his head is still in Jazz town when playing with PJ, not Metal town. Slight shame, that.

Having said all that, I like the clips. And my fandom of other bands has relied upon me getting over their slightly lackluster drum sound, including R.E.M, Radiohead and Counting Crows. None of these bands produce drums the way I'd like them to, but I've got used to that and enjoy them for other reasons. Same goes for PJ now.

harmless wrote:

Sgt. Crackpot wrote:

LetMeSleep wrote:I was up at 3am too with a teething toddler but I didn't check my phone until 7 this morning. Arse.

And those 2 tracks aren't that promising to me. The first sounds like a part of a greater song with the guitar track solo'd (isolated). If that is a part/full mix then damn me that's dull. The 2nd could be okay but whoever was talking about Matt's ride cymbal obsession is right. It sounds like a prog drumkit, way too clean and bright.

The ride cymbal sounds like that because Matt's hitting the bell (the little dome part in the centre of the cymbal) which is meant to sound like that.

It sounds better for being played on the bell (the bell is heavy, metalic, and metal bands use a lot of it), but it's still annoying that it's the ride cymbal in the first place. Think, for example, of the smashing cymbals and hi-hats in 'Go'. That's what should happen in a song like that; what does he think he's playing, jazz? Most of the time the answer is probably yes. He's just got a different mind to the kinds of drummers I like.

He does have a different approach - particularly in his rides and cymbals - I'd say the jazz influence is important e.g. time keeping on the ride. I know Stuart Copeland is also big influence and he stays clear of rock cliches and big cymbalfests as well in favour of giving the music more space to just breathe.

harmless wrote:I'm not sure I've ever heard Matt play a splash cymbal or a china. He seems more keen on rides and cowbells... which... doesn't suit Pearl Jam and never really has.

Matt uses both a splash and a china at different points on Binaural.
I'm pretty sure he's never used a cowbell. I think there's cowbell overdubbed in The Fixer, but it's not part of the whole kit and may not even be him playing it.

elliseamos wrote:

could the ambient intro to the tour announcement be the studio version of this outro?

it sounds very different, but if that's what it is, then we only got more of what we've already heard and possibly a snippet of MYM. I'm optimistic that it's new music and that based on the intro to the tour announcement & OTE that this album will have a little more JAM than backspacer (think they could sell more than 36 minutes of music this time around?)

I really like the funky groove Matt's got going on in that song, including the open hi-hat part. My biggest fear for this song is that he simplifies the rhythm for the studio version. That's got potential to really annoy me. I hope it's the same, if indeed this song is on the album.

WtOB? wrote:

harmless wrote:I'm not sure I've ever heard Matt play a splash cymbal or a china. He seems more keen on rides and cowbells... which... doesn't suit Pearl Jam and never really has.

Matt uses both a splash and a china at different points on Binaural.
I'm pretty sure he's never used a cowbell. I think there's cowbell overdubbed in The Fixer, but it's not part of the whole kit and may not even be him playing it.

Fair points, and yeah there was splash and china in Binaural... something as small as that might make it my favourite drumming album from Matt. On the whole I didn't go WTF through any of it, and I usually do. My biggest WTF's have been in You Are ("Why aren't you smashing the hi-hats at this point; closed, ALL THE WAY THROUGH?") and probably Severed Hand (again, closed hi-hats until near the end.

I appreciate Blenheim's point that his influences (namely Copeland) steer clear of rock cliches. Maybe I feel that PJ as a band don't, so it's a mismatch when he does. The Police as an entirety steered away from the cliches; they were heavily influenced by ska (and influenced ska in turn) and maybe I just feel that PJ as a whole are nowhere near as innovative, so I'd rather Matt just did what I expect. Like the bitch that he is.

harmless wrote:That's got potential to really annoy me.

how 'bout this:

Spoiler: show