Match GA: I Got Shit vs. Hard to Imagine

[stip]

GA

[stip]

Hard to Imagine. I'm just bored with I Got Shit. It's too melodramatic for me, and lacks the in the moment theatrics of a song like Black. Black is about a particular moment of desolation. I Got Shit is just wallowing in a sad bit of unrequited love. It was really moving to me once, but I prefer the subtle things happening in Hard to Imagine, though it isn't a favorite.

[CopperTom]

Hard To Imagine

[Birds in Hell]

I Got Shit, easy.

[LetMeSleep]

I Got Shit. HTI is good but feels half finished.

[Norah]

I Got Shit, easy.

yup

[hlniv]

I Got Shit. HTI is good but feels half finished.

This.

Of course, if we want to re-surface the whole studio vs. live argument, it might drive some debate. Hard to Imagine when played properly live and with Mike's solo in the end, I think trumps the live I Got Shit. However, when the songs are considered in all possible environments, I think the quality and unqiueness of the Merkinball track towers above the half-finished HTI demo. Edge to I Got Shit

[stip]

Hard to Imagine is meant to feel a bit unfinished and incomplete by design, like a thought you can't quite articulate

Having said that, I too prefer the more robust live versions

[javiselerrante]

HTI is way better than IGS, though I got shit last PJ concert in BA, exactly one year ago...

[darth_vedder]

I Got Shit, easy.

[bodysnatcher]

I Got Shit. I always thought HTI was a bit overrated.

[Coach]

I Got Shit. The best thing they ever did was that collaboration with Neil.

[chewm]

Love both, but HTI is special for me.

[epilogue]

Yep.

Hard to Imagine, for me too.

[dimejinky99]

Tough one.

[William Bloke]

Hard to Imagine.

The whole "Things were different then..." section just gets me every time. Love it.

[brisjam]

Hard to Imagine.

The whole "Things were different then..." section just gets me every time. Love it.

It is a brilliant two odd minutes at the end of HTI...

But gotta go I got Id

[dimejinky99]

To me, Hard to imagine is like the birth of a second secret life for Pearl jam.
The first in a long line of 'discarded' tracks/holy grails, that had they been on albums or even released as singles, would have Pj at a U2 level now. The cast offs and B sides often, very often, being more interesting but also having more potential than those chosen for records.
That's just my take though.

[EJ]

To me, Hard to imagine is like the birth of a second secret life for Pearl jam.
The first in a long line of 'discarded' tracks/holy grails, that had they been on albums or even released as singles, would have Pj at a U2 level now. The cast offs and B sides often, very often, being more interesting but also having more potential than those chosen for records.
That's just my take though.

Yeah, kinda agree. I think I finally discovered HTI in like 1998. I was pretty blown away. How could they not include this one on an album? Would've really fit on Vs. It comes off much better in a live setting I think. Conversely, the studio version of I Got Id, sounds a million times better than it does in concert.

I picked I Got Id here, but would be just as happy if HTI advanced.