Red Mosquito

Vote for your favorite

I'm tired of Dissident and Down, but I was bored with God's Dice within a week.

Dissident.

I despise Dissident and I'm not sure why.

Surprised to see "Down" off to an early lead -- I thought for sure it would be between the other two, like all three though I do. I always thought "Dissident" was a pretty, sensitive ballad at heart -- the mid-tempo alt-metal arrangement does its inherent musicality no favors, though I have no difficulty hearing through it. "Always home but so far away, like a word misplaced" is one of my favorite of Eddie's lyrics -- such melancholy packed into such a little phrase.

"Down" and "Gods' Dice" aren't terribly dissimilar, in a conceptual sense -- both are steady-moving, chord driven rockers that almost feel like afterthoughts in their respective song groups ("Gods' Dice" all but literally was one, going from the original "Binaural" tracklist). But "Gods' Dice" packs a lot more musical movement into its small space -- there is a live version (from Australia in '06, on Ridley's comp) where Ed forgets to come in on the first chord, and instead the band just jams on the power chords for a couple bars, and I was really surprised to find how reminiscent the song's main riff is to something Kurt Cobain would have written (I think "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" is the specific song that came to mind), rich with that same kind of raw, unfiltered musicianship that you can tell comes from a place of pure instinct. Eddie then takes the melody somewhere that nullifies the comparison, but I've never been able to unhear that. It's a better song than it lets on, and it lets on plenty. It gets my vote here.

Tricky one. I don't really feel strongly about any of these.

ABNorman wrote:Tricky one. I don't really feel strongly about any of these.

Same here.

Gods' Dice is so fucking good.

Kevin Davis wrote:there is a live version (from Australia in '06, on Ridley's comp) where Ed forgets to come in on the first chord, and instead the band just jams on the power chords for a couple bars, and I was really surprised to find how reminiscent the song's main riff is to something Kurt Cobain would have written (I think "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" is the specific song that came to mind), rich with that same kind of raw, unfiltered musicianship that you can tell comes from a place of pure instinct.

This was Adelaide 2006 and it was just as great in person, one of the few Vedder live mishaps I felt fortunate to see. He stepped up to the mic for the first line and just went blank, turned around and spun his finger in the air as a 'just keep this going' signal to the rest of the band.

Anyway, what Kevin said: Gods' Dice, though Dissident has a wonderful instrumental bridge section. I really don't like Down.

This is going to be a close one! Down is my favorite song from the Riot Act sessions, but Dissident is much better. Gods' Dice is also good, but Dissident has a weight that it can't match.

Dissident sucks.

stip, could we get the apostrophe in Gods' Dice in the right place? C'mon!

Dice by default. the other two songs suuuuuuu*uuuck

Simple Torture wrote:stip, could we get the apostrophe in Gods' Dice in the right place? C'mon!

Done

stip wrote:

Simple Torture wrote:stip, could we get the apostrophe in Gods' Dice in the right place? C'mon!

Done

Double apostrophe, perfect!

PHATJ wrote:

stip wrote:

Simple Torture wrote:stip, could we get the apostrophe in Gods' Dice in the right place? C'mon!

Done

Double apostrophe, perfect!

Classic B

I've come to Pearl Jam relatively late in the game, having a eureka moment and 'discovering them' in 2003 or 04 or thereabouts. It surprises me how many PJ songs even today I don't really know that well. A plus of that is that I still have the pleasure of the occassional inspirado hit when I finally pay a song the attention it perhaps deserved from me in the first place.

Dissident is in that space for me right now. I've just this evening perhaps finally 'got it'.

God's Dice is OK. I chased down that 'laide '06 version just to see if I was missing anything major (and I have to say I definitely prefer the space of that intro rather than the jump-straight-in correct vocals) but it's still just alright with me.

I've always loved Down and enjoy its upbeat positivity. I thought I was a bit over-exposed, but tonight's listen surprised me - song's still damn good.

But Dissident it is. Solid vintage PJ (freshly discovered!) for mine.

Changed vote from Gods' Dice to Dissident.

Still one of my favorite Ed vocal performances.

Dissident has really grown on me over the years. It's probably one of my least favorite songs on Vs (just a hair above Small Town) but whenever I hear it live or on a bootleg it always seems to be a special treat. Plus, the small bit of it that they play acoustically during MTV Unplugged just sounds fantastic.

Dissident and Down are 2 of my favorite songs. I really like Gods' Dice but it isnt even close to these.
Voting for Dissident only because it has a bigger chance to beat the other one.