Buby wrote:Lounge Lizard wrote:Buby wrote:Cleverman wrote:I might be dumb, but I have the feeling this will be the best since Riot Act. Considering the last two, that might be a low bar, but it keeps me believing
When did Riot Act set the bar for this one?
It's my 2nd least favorite album (and yes, I really like Backspacer).
Riot Act, Binaural and S/T are in a fierce competition for the lowest spot in my personal ranking list.
Binaural?
Yeah, well, maybe it caught me in a bad time when it came out, I don't know... Something in the overall sound turns me off. NAIS, Of The Girl and Parting Ways are the tracks I can relate to, the rest just aren't working for me.
Here's how I feel.
Breakerfall gets off to a good start and then kind of dissolves into
uninterestingness. It's like when you were a kid and for the first time ever dad brings home a trampoline, you start jumping anticipating hours of endless immeasurable fun ahead... and the thing breaks in 10 minutes leaving you a fuckin wreck inside.
God's Dice is B-side material to me. The riff is lazy, the song tries to invoke some emotion, but it lies in the performance rather than in the music. It sounds like they are trying very hard to sell it for more than it's worth, and I can't help noticing it, and it irks me.
Evacuation reminds me of
Pilate in composition, but it's a weaker melody, a weaker execution, has strained, irritating vocals and on top of all I think the production sucks donkey balls. It sounds shallow, empty in places, leaving too much to be desired instead of satisfying one's musical hunger.
Light Years is a good rock song, but that is exactly my problem with it -- when it comes to Pearl Jam, "a good rock song" is not enough, I want their stuff to be exceptional. If it's a rock song I want it to stand out whether thanks to Ed's superb singing (Go, Leash, Once, EF, GTF, etc) or thanks to interesting guitar work (Rats, DTE, Satan's Bed etc) or thanks to an unusual vibe (WMA, In My Tree, 1/2 Full etc). I don't want average, even when it's good average.
Nothing As It Seems is excellent. Mike nails it. I have nothing to say other than I love it.
Thin Air always sounded to me like one of those songs little boys sing to little girls when they want to show that they learned a few guitar riffs. "Look, Ma, I'm strumming" kind of feel. The only reason to listen to this song is the line
"reaching in, the Sun's fingers clutch the dawn to pass", which I think is genius.
I feel about
Insignificance the same way I feel about Light Years. Plus I really dislike the vocal performance.
Of The Girl is excellent.
Grievance feels unfinished, the sound of it puzzles me greatly. The production is very weak, you can barely hear the base line, and the guitars sound bland. While the opening riff is interesting, the notes somehow feel lonely, unsupported, abandoned even. The parts when the song tries to get rich and loud feel like someone actually forgot to compose them properly, the whole band just sits on one note. There are sudden breaks when you don't want them, like when the lyrics go "pull the innocent from a crowd" I really don't understand what the hell is the band playing at this instance. Just now we had something building up and instead of giving us a climactic conclusion they stop abruptly, switch to ballad mode and go "bla-laam" across the strings. My natural reaction to that is "WTF, you're throwing off my groove!" In short, to my ear the whole song consists of disconnected bits and pieces that are roughly glued together in the hopes of somehow passing the inspection at the end of the line. It could have been one of my favorites, because it's complex and has very interesting parts (and that's what I seek in everything pearl jam), but they just don't fall together well, and it leaves me unsatisfied to a point of not caring at all.
I really can't say anything critical of the music in
Rival (except the piano - was it really necessary? I think not). It's just plodding and uninspiring as a song.
Sleight of Hand gets a lot of praise, and I understand why people might like it. My main turn off with this song is that it's not properly written and composed. The verse is a sort of a melodic narration over the howling guitar background, but in fact it lacks a firm melody. It feels like it's being made up on the go by a musician who is experiencing a creative crisis and is desperately trying all the notes in search of a melody that will finally click. It doesn't, and he kind of says "ah, fuck it" and goes into the chorus, for which he HAS in fact been able to find a melody, and he dwells on it for a while in a kind of a relief knowing that at least this part sounds like he knows what the hell he is doing.
Soon Forget is alright for what it is - a rock singer having a little fun with a ukulele.
As for
Parting Ways, I'm afraid that if I list all the reasons for why everybody has to be in love with this song, I will run out of space. Instead of explaining, I'll just say this:
Behind her eyes there's curtains...
And they've been closed to hide the flames...
Remains...
She knows, their future's burning
But she can smile just the same...
Same...
And though her mood is fine today...
There's a fear they'll soon be
Parting ways...
Standing like a statue,
A chin of stone, a heart of clay
Hey...
And though he's too big a man to say...
There's a fear they'll soon be
Parting ways...
).