V 61: Brain of J vs Rearviewmirror
Posted: Fri March 04, 2016 2:37 pm
vote
Im sorry but you are wrong here. Those things can be said about Brain of j. Those layers of guitar's and the way they play off each other. Stone and Mike actually putting thought into textures and tones. The chord fingerings and little frills. The tuning. How mike and stone are basically holding one chord in the chorus and hitting the pertinent notes off the chord structure while jeff ament hammers home the base notes.stip wrote:BOJ is a great song. I love it. But I think it's been punching the slightest bit out of its weight class. It's a great fast rocker, a classic. But RVM is one of those songs that define what pearl jam is -- one of those songs you heard and thought 'who the hell are these guys and how can anyone make music like this.'
Vote for RVM
Strat wrote:Im sorry but you are wrong here. Those things can be said about Brain of j. Those layers of guitar's and the way they play off each other. Stone and Mike actually putting thought into textures and tones. The chord fingerings and little frills. The tuning. How mike and stone are basically holding one chord in the chorus and hitting the pertinent notes off the chord structure while jeff ament hammers home the base notes.stip wrote:BOJ is a great song. I love it. But I think it's been punching the slightest bit out of its weight class. It's a great fast rocker, a classic. But RVM is one of those songs that define what pearl jam is -- one of those songs you heard and thought 'who the hell are these guys and how can anyone make music like this.'
Vote for RVM
Stones incredible solo. Jacks frantic drumming. its perfect scream and howl.
Everyone plays the same line in RVM (except for some down strike chord accents), jam middle section (which is par for the course of early pj because they didnt know how to write bridge's or outro's) and then a standard emotional climax.stip wrote:Strat wrote:Im sorry but you are wrong here. Those things can be said about Brain of j. Those layers of guitar's and the way they play off each other. Stone and Mike actually putting thought into textures and tones. The chord fingerings and little frills. The tuning. How mike and stone are basically holding one chord in the chorus and hitting the pertinent notes off the chord structure while jeff ament hammers home the base notes.stip wrote:BOJ is a great song. I love it. But I think it's been punching the slightest bit out of its weight class. It's a great fast rocker, a classic. But RVM is one of those songs that define what pearl jam is -- one of those songs you heard and thought 'who the hell are these guys and how can anyone make music like this.'
Vote for RVM
Stones incredible solo. Jacks frantic drumming. its perfect scream and howl.
The sound of the main guitar line in RVM is incredible. Deep and booming with this anxious hollow sound that perfectly compliments the emotional arc of the song. Brain of J sounds good, and plays well, and then what?
Strat from now on erectile dysfunction doctors will prescribe this post instead of Cialis.Strat wrote:Those layers of guitar's and the way they play off each other. Stone and Mike actually putting thought into textures and tones. The chord fingerings and little frills. The tuning. How mike and stone are basically holding one chord in the chorus and hitting the pertinent notes off the chord structure while jeff ament hammers home the base notes.
Stones incredible solo. Jacks frantic drumming. its perfect scream and howl.
evenslow wrote:Strat from now on erectile dysfunction doctors will prescribe this post instead of Cialis.Strat wrote:Those layers of guitar's and the way they play off each other. Stone and Mike actually putting thought into textures and tones. The chord fingerings and little frills. The tuning. How mike and stone are basically holding one chord in the chorus and hitting the pertinent notes off the chord structure while jeff ament hammers home the base notes.
Stones incredible solo. Jacks frantic drumming. its perfect scream and howl.
it doesn't matter how complex or simple something is. It matters how emotionally impactful it is, or how awesome it is to listen to. Both songs sound great. One is more tightly focused, and one is a bit messier, but they're both excellent. But there's so much more to get invested in with RVM, and Eddie's performance is phenomenal.Strat wrote:Everyone plays the same line in RVM (except for some down strike chord accents), jam middle section (which is par for the course of early pj because they didnt know how to write bridge's or outro's) and then a standard emotional climax.stip wrote:Strat wrote:Im sorry but you are wrong here. Those things can be said about Brain of j. Those layers of guitar's and the way they play off each other. Stone and Mike actually putting thought into textures and tones. The chord fingerings and little frills. The tuning. How mike and stone are basically holding one chord in the chorus and hitting the pertinent notes off the chord structure while jeff ament hammers home the base notes.stip wrote:BOJ is a great song. I love it. But I think it's been punching the slightest bit out of its weight class. It's a great fast rocker, a classic. But RVM is one of those songs that define what pearl jam is -- one of those songs you heard and thought 'who the hell are these guys and how can anyone make music like this.'
Vote for RVM
Stones incredible solo. Jacks frantic drumming. its perfect scream and howl.
The sound of the main guitar line in RVM is incredible. Deep and booming with this anxious hollow sound that perfectly compliments the emotional arc of the song. Brain of J sounds good, and plays well, and then what?
The outro for BOJ changing keys up a 1/2 step. Awesome.
Strat wrote:evenslow wrote:Strat from now on erectile dysfunction doctors will prescribe this post instead of Cialis.Strat wrote:Those layers of guitar's and the way they play off each other. Stone and Mike actually putting thought into textures and tones. The chord fingerings and little frills. The tuning. How mike and stone are basically holding one chord in the chorus and hitting the pertinent notes off the chord structure while jeff ament hammers home the base notes.
Stones incredible solo. Jacks frantic drumming. its perfect scream and howl.
- Spoiler: show
This was a really good post.Strat wrote:Everyone plays the same line in RVM (except for some down strike chord accents), jam middle section (which is par for the course of early pj because they didnt know how to write bridge's or outro's) and then a standard emotional climax.stip wrote:Strat wrote:Im sorry but you are wrong here. Those things can be said about Brain of j. Those layers of guitar's and the way they play off each other. Stone and Mike actually putting thought into textures and tones. The chord fingerings and little frills. The tuning. How mike and stone are basically holding one chord in the chorus and hitting the pertinent notes off the chord structure while jeff ament hammers home the base notes.stip wrote:BOJ is a great song. I love it. But I think it's been punching the slightest bit out of its weight class. It's a great fast rocker, a classic. But RVM is one of those songs that define what pearl jam is -- one of those songs you heard and thought 'who the hell are these guys and how can anyone make music like this.'
Vote for RVM
Stones incredible solo. Jacks frantic drumming. its perfect scream and howl.
The sound of the main guitar line in RVM is incredible. Deep and booming with this anxious hollow sound that perfectly compliments the emotional arc of the song. Brain of J sounds good, and plays well, and then what?
The outro for BOJ changing keys up a 1/2 step. Awesome.
It's not about complexity, it's about dynamism. "Brain of J" is also a super simple song. The arrangement is just a bit more exciting, and the performance a bit more unhinged.stip wrote:it doesn't matter how complex or simple something is. It matters how emotionally impactful it is, or how awesome it is to listen to. Both songs sound great. One is more tightly focused, and one is a bit messier, but they're both excellent. But there's so much more to get invested in with RVM, and Eddie's performance is phenomenal.Strat wrote:Everyone plays the same line in RVM (except for some down strike chord accents), jam middle section (which is par for the course of early pj because they didnt know how to write bridge's or outro's) and then a standard emotional climax.stip wrote:Strat wrote:Im sorry but you are wrong here. Those things can be said about Brain of j. Those layers of guitar's and the way they play off each other. Stone and Mike actually putting thought into textures and tones. The chord fingerings and little frills. The tuning. How mike and stone are basically holding one chord in the chorus and hitting the pertinent notes off the chord structure while jeff ament hammers home the base notes.stip wrote:BOJ is a great song. I love it. But I think it's been punching the slightest bit out of its weight class. It's a great fast rocker, a classic. But RVM is one of those songs that define what pearl jam is -- one of those songs you heard and thought 'who the hell are these guys and how can anyone make music like this.'
Vote for RVM
Stones incredible solo. Jacks frantic drumming. its perfect scream and howl.
The sound of the main guitar line in RVM is incredible. Deep and booming with this anxious hollow sound that perfectly compliments the emotional arc of the song. Brain of J sounds good, and plays well, and then what?
The outro for BOJ changing keys up a 1/2 step. Awesome.
Plus nothing in Brain of J is as great as the closing moments of RVM.

There is hope for you yet.LoathedVermin72 wrote:I think this might be the he first time I agree with the finalists. BOJ and Go are maybe the only songs I would choose over Hail Hail and RVM.