Red Mosquito

hey McP i'm curious about someone like you - what is your expectation continuum for the new record? like what would you be satisfied with at this point in their career? and what do you see as the realistic ceiling?

i'll hang up and listen for my answer.

Hmmmm.... someone on the pit very recently asked if BOB produced this thing. That dimi dude that seems to know stuff replied that he did not. If true, it’s all been worth it.

Maybe you guys did it!?!?

scrub beat me to it but it’s worth repeating

I try to be mostly positive around here. But I can't think of better news for the band and this new record than BOB not being involved. If that ends up being true...

Easy guys, it might be self-produced which could be worse.

I remember BOB being interviewed on pj radio years ago. The Rob, or whoever the host was/is had asked him if there were any current bands he’d like to work with, and he said The National. I laughed really hard when he said it because I was like, nah you’ll fuck it up. They also had their own guy they worked with for a little while too.

Fantastic news if true!

Porn_Break wrote:Hmmmm.... someone on the pit very recently asked if BOB produced this thing. That dimi dude that seems to know stuff replied that he did not. If true, it’s all been worth it.

Maybe you guys did it!?!?

scrub beat me to it but it’s worth repeating

While this would be very welcome, I'm skeptical - and I've never seen dimi (if it is indeed the right dimi) have inside info about that kind of stuff, only tour dates which he is obviously fed with the approval of management.

O'Brien produced Can't Deny Me which came out in 2018 so they were recording new material with him as recently as then. I'm not sure if I buy that they scrapped a bunch of already-completed sessions and started afresh with a new producer (or no producer) in 2019.

Has there been a PJ album in which the producer wasn’t announced prior to its release?

evenslow wrote:hey McP i'm curious about someone like you - what is your expectation continuum for the new record? like what would you be satisfied with at this point in their career? and what do you see as the realistic ceiling?

I mean the only album I think is bad is Lightning Bolt. But I do feel that every album post-Riot Act replaces a little more of the band’s artistic ambition with an ever-growing attempt to be reactive to the fans, and figure out what it is that will keep them buying stuff. I’d like an album that is driven by its own creative energy, and not a tick box list of “here’s your punk song” “here’s your building epic” etc.

tragabigzanda wrote:guys i think there are better odds of this being a strong album than i've been banking on these last few years...

based on recent live footage, i don't think there's any world where I'm bowled over by Ed's vocals. But this moody climate stuff harkens to the band's creative sweet spot: some artistic intention, some vagueness/obtuseness, some experimentation. If the production is at all leaning towards the live feel of Riot Act rather than the flat shitfest of LB, I think we could all be (relatively) pleasantly surprised here.

This!

McParadigm wrote:

evenslow wrote:hey McP i'm curious about someone like you - what is your expectation continuum for the new record? like what would you be satisfied with at this point in their career? and what do you see as the realistic ceiling?

I mean the only album I think is bad is Lightning Bolt. But I do feel that every album post-Riot Act replaces a little more of the band’s artistic ambition with an ever-growing attempt to be reactive to the fans, and figure out what it is that will keep them buying stuff. I’d like an album that is driven by its own creative energy, and not a tick box list of “here’s your punk song” “here’s your building epic” etc.

I don't know that I'm 100% on board with this take but I agree far more than I disagree. And I can appreciate what you're getting at. The final sentence really rang true for me. I think to that point, things started dipping when Ed started writing songs specifically for live sets.

durdencommatyler wrote:

McParadigm wrote:

evenslow wrote:hey McP i'm curious about someone like you - what is your expectation continuum for the new record? like what would you be satisfied with at this point in their career? and what do you see as the realistic ceiling?

I mean the only album I think is bad is Lightning Bolt. But I do feel that every album post-Riot Act replaces a little more of the band’s artistic ambition with an ever-growing attempt to be reactive to the fans, and figure out what it is that will keep them buying stuff. I’d like an album that is driven by its own creative energy, and not a tick box list of “here’s your punk song” “here’s your building epic” etc.

I don't know that I'm 100% on board with this take but I agree far more than I disagree. And I can appreciate what you're getting at. The final sentence really rang true for me. I think to that point, things started dipping when Ed started writing songs specifically for live sets.

i can see what he's saying. they have gotten increasingly paint-by-number, especially on LB.

more than anything, i'm looking for something that is tied together thematically in sound with a real point of view and not merely a collection of songs.

evenslow wrote:

durdencommatyler wrote:

McParadigm wrote:

evenslow wrote:hey McP i'm curious about someone like you - what is your expectation continuum for the new record? like what would you be satisfied with at this point in their career? and what do you see as the realistic ceiling?

I mean the only album I think is bad is Lightning Bolt. But I do feel that every album post-Riot Act replaces a little more of the band’s artistic ambition with an ever-growing attempt to be reactive to the fans, and figure out what it is that will keep them buying stuff. I’d like an album that is driven by its own creative energy, and not a tick box list of “here’s your punk song” “here’s your building epic” etc.

I don't know that I'm 100% on board with this take but I agree far more than I disagree. And I can appreciate what you're getting at. The final sentence really rang true for me. I think to that point, things started dipping when Ed started writing songs specifically for live sets.

i can see what he's saying. they have gotten increasingly paint-by-number, especially on LB.

more than anything, i'm looking for something that is tied together thematically in sound with a real point of view and not merely a collection of songs.

Team you, buddy.

As melodramatic as that stuff can sometimes be, I've always felt the thematic angle was one of the bands' big strengths.

evenslow wrote:

durdencommatyler wrote:

McParadigm wrote:

evenslow wrote:hey McP i'm curious about someone like you - what is your expectation continuum for the new record? like what would you be satisfied with at this point in their career? and what do you see as the realistic ceiling?

I mean the only album I think is bad is Lightning Bolt. But I do feel that every album post-Riot Act replaces a little more of the band’s artistic ambition with an ever-growing attempt to be reactive to the fans, and figure out what it is that will keep them buying stuff. I’d like an album that is driven by its own creative energy, and not a tick box list of “here’s your punk song” “here’s your building epic” etc.

I don't know that I'm 100% on board with this take but I agree far more than I disagree. And I can appreciate what you're getting at. The final sentence really rang true for me. I think to that point, things started dipping when Ed started writing songs specifically for live sets.

i can see what he's saying. they have gotten increasingly paint-by-number, especially on LB.

more than anything, i'm looking for something that is tied together thematically in sound with a real point of view and not merely a collection of songs.

So, Binaural essentially.

For me, Backspacer is the one that's hurt the most by the whole "collection of songs" - ness. Though some of that stuff is a bit outside what you'd expect and less "paint-by-numbers" than perhaps LB, the songs just don't sit well together at all for. I have a hard time listening to it as an album though I really enjoy most of the songs.

Lightning Bolt may not be as creative or out-of-box but the songs hang together better for me, even if it also still lacks many thematic elements. It might a case of the devil you know but I also think that many of those songs are really good versions of that thing they do. Much like S/T, I think the thing that hampers LB the most is the production.

You guys think a new PJ album will get Farmer John posting again? That would be cool.

pearl jam's most recent recorded work = the star wars sequel trilogy

hope this next one is at least rogue one