Pearl Jam/Eddie Vedder

bakerfall wrote:

And I agree with you on the break. I still love them and I"ll still see them, but my days of doing 6+ shows a tour are over. Too much money, too much bullshit, too much crappy Ed voice, not enough good new songs.

That was the feeling I took away from the two Manchester shows in June, that the days of multiple gigs in a row, just wouldn't be of any benefit to me to as a fan anymore, Vedders voice is shot, and his drinking is getting worse (3 bottle of wine on top of medication for one of the recent gigs...not good) and the tickets aren't getting any cheaper!

Haha, in regards to the Neil Jam stuff, that was my appearence in PJ20, during the Dublin clip. I'm also on the bonus disc from Dublin '10 and Berlin '10.

Klown wrote:

bakerfall wrote:

And I agree with you on the break. I still love them and I"ll still see them, but my days of doing 6+ shows a tour are over. Too much money, too much bullshit, too much crappy Ed voice, not enough good new songs.

That was the feeling I took away from the two Manchester shows in June, that the days of multiple gigs in a row, just wouldn't be of any benefit to me to as a fan anymore, Vedders voice is shot, and his drinking is getting worse (3 bottle of wine on top of medication for one of the recent gigs...not good) and the tickets aren't getting any cheaper!

While Ed does get drunk on stage fairly often, usually at least one of those wine bottles is gatorade.

Klown wrote:

bakerfall wrote:

And I agree with you on the break. I still love them and I"ll still see them, but my days of doing 6+ shows a tour are over. Too much money, too much bullshit, too much crappy Ed voice, not enough good new songs.

That was the feeling I took away from the two Manchester shows in June, that the days of multiple gigs in a row, just wouldn't be of any benefit to me to as a fan anymore, Vedders voice is shot, and his drinking is getting worse (3 bottle of wine on top of medication for one of the recent gigs...not good) and the tickets aren't getting any cheaper!

Haha, in regards to the Neil Jam stuff, that was my appearence in PJ20, during the Dublin clip. I'm also on the bonus disc from Dublin '10 and Berlin '10.

I'm not in PJ20 at all, but I have about 30 min of facetime on the Showbox DVD

Haha, nice one, that's an incredible show and captured them perfectly in the small setting. To be fair, the '03 tour just makes for great viewing, might even pop an '03 show in tonight to watch!

That's the great thing about PJ, their music is so diverse, everyone loves something different. Riot Act would be a top 3 album for me, of theirs, and Binaural would be at the bottom.

Entire performance seems to be up there...

Since it sounds like many of you aren't familiar with Pearl Jam you have to understand where the band is coming from. Forgive me for writing a novel here but I'll break down the history of PJ. Lyrically and musically, Ten is not their best record. As someone who has seen the band multiple times I can tell you even they get board with that record. Ten ultimately drew a backlash from some of Pearl Jam's peers who were members of the whole indie rock scene. Even though it's a good record, It was considered kind of a sellout record. It is mid tempo, straightforward, arena rock. It is their most commercially successful record simply because the record company made videos for it's songs and played them in rotation on MTV all the time. The band quit doing videos or trying to promote their music. Following Ten, Pearl Jam completely turned their backs on mainstream rock and the whole scene. Every record (following their first couple) fit into a completely new genre. Each one would become a sharp contrast to the last. Each time a new album came out (they've been doing it 20 years) fans were polarized. Many fans didn't understand why the new stuff sounded nothing like the old stuff. However, the band gradually built up a hardcore following unlike any other band (except maybe the Grateful Dead). I've been to hundreds of their shows. Mainstream music fans are often shocked to see a band they haven't heard on the radio or mtv for 18 years or so are able to sell out arenas in 5 minutes and then play for 3 hours. Most bands eventually just become unpopular. Pearl Jam was proactive and ahead of their time. They simply refused to participate in the corporate game. They started making decisions based on what they want to do and became a self-made machine. They are actually on an indie label now. Their records challenge the listener by pushing boundaries artistically. Aside from Radiohead or maybe Neil Young, few artists have pushed themselves to keep evolving to this extreme. One cool thing about the band being able to sell out arenas still is that they have used this to help other bands. There is a history of bands, who Pearl Jam personally picked to tour with them, who got a lot of exposure from being seen in arenas all over the world opening for Pearl Jam. Why was this significant? These bands got enough exposure to where they didn't have to ever resort to compromising their music or hastling with mtv or radio to get heard. Among these are Kings of Leon, My Morning Jacket, Death Cab For Cutie, Ben Harper, Supergrass, Sleater Kinney, the STrokes, Sparta, etc. They are really the protectors of grass roots music making. They've also brought older artists on tour who are great but never got the exposure they deserved. Among these are Social Distortion, Mudhoney, SOnic Youth, Bad Religion, Iggy Pop, the Buzzcocks, Queens of the Stoneage, etc. I'll list their albums here and give you my impression of each in a nutshell.

1. Ten
Mid tempo arena rock with a classic touch. Songs are highly emotional though. Vedder was never a natural born rock star. He has always expressed discomfort over the way the songs were mixed and the way the songs were promoted.
2. V.S.
More aggressive with some interesting sounds thrown in but not a radical departure.
3. Vitalogy
Complete F U to the music scene. It was Mostly recorded in single takes with no editing. There's Very raw punk rock tunes and ZERO guitar solos. There's weird, off the wall, dark stuff here also. Very negative views in the songs about fame and false image fill many songs, but there are also a few hauntingly beautiful ballads. The song Immortality is about Cobain and closes the record.
4. No Code
This is the equivalent of their "WHite Album". There are so many sounds here. There's 70's punk rock tunes with screaming, tribal sounding drum based rythm songs with vocal harmonies, a slide guitar bluesy Red Misquito, folk ballads, spoken word poetry, an r & b ish tune, etc. This album blew me away, but people who wanted PJ to be a grunge/rock band really said WTF when it first came out.
5. Yield
This album has very tight and focused songs which have easy appeal, but there are also some intricately composed things what don't have traditional hooks such as Given to fly. There's a couple beatle-ish tunes and some fast rockers as well, but the record doesn't sound anything like the records that came before it. The lyrics here were the most profound and introspective PJ lyrics I had ever heard at this point, and the band members all wrote songs for the album.
6. Binaural
Darker than yield. There's a more art-rock feel. There's ballads, atmospheric pink floydish tunes, ambient songs, a couple quick rockers. The only all out long rockers here are very political, but they are very cool. These songs make you think. I had to give it a few listens before I could form an opinion about it.
7.Riot Act
This is a very Alt-Folk-Rock record. There are some rockers that go down like a storm but there's also ballads, unusually structured songs, a song using a drum machine, a lot of haunting organ playing, a spoken word track, a track of just the band's voices singing a beautiful almost Pakastani sounding thing, and generally a lot of odd but cool stuff
8. Pearl Jam
This record is probably my single favorite. It holds up the best over multiple listens. It's not as experimental as the few that came before. It's just damn good straight ahead aggressive rock, but it has a more focused and evolved edge. Even the ballads on this one are slightly up tempo. Every song here is just awesome. Both the fans of Pearl Jam's linear music and the fans of their experimental stuff loved this one b/c it's just a real fun rock record. There's even one rocker that's just about surfing. There's no false bravado that you associate with all the post grunge rock bands trying to be all dark and in pain.
9. Backspacer
This one comes close to being my favorite PJ records. It's their shortest at only 30 min. Every track is good. It's mostly got a new wave feel with a couple punk tunes and ballads thrown in. It is short and tight but the musicianship is still amazing. Lyrically, this is without a doubt the best record I've heard in maybe 5 years or so period. Willie Nelson recently covered a song off this one. This is the record Pearl Jam has always had in them but had previously been too embarrassed to put out. The band has always had appealing, tight songs like this, but they used to either only play them live or only release them as b-sides. It's a record that's upbeat enough you can just half listen to it to for fun, but it's also a record deep enough to get lost in if you're sitting on your bed with headphones on. It's full of both heartfelt sadness and hope. It is the sound of a band who seems to have the energy of teenagers. They sound like they are more comfortable here with their legacy than ever before.

badradio81 wrote:

Since it sounds like many of you aren't familiar with Pearl Jam you have to understand where the band is coming from.

I stopped reading after that, I knew what was coming.


I love the hate that is flowing through this 'review' of Binaural, sarcastic or not, it's a great read.

http://www.gremmie.net/featured/so-you-just-bought-binaural

Quote :

Congratulations! You just purchased Pearl Jam’s second worst studio album. Hope you didn’t pay more than your time is worth because you’re in for 52 minutes of mostly disappointment.

First thing’s first. Flip over to the tracklist on the back, get a Sharpie from the junk drawer in the kitchen, and put a thick, black line through the following songs: God’s Dice, Evacuation, and Parting Ways. You won’t be listening to them more than once. Why? Because God’s Dice is Pearl Jam knocking off cheapo, mid-90′s punk, Evacuation is the band letting Matt Cameron contribute out of fear his departure would perpetuate their already Spinal Tapian drummer’s chair, and just FUCK Parting Ways; it’s the exit music for a daytime Soap Opera. And not one of those classy joints like Days of Our Lives. I’m talking D-Grade, the WB, Baywatch Nights bullspit. And Breakerfall….did I not mention Breakerfall? We’ll leave that one alone for now, but I got my eye on you, with your chintzy Jerry Lee Lewis cosplay.

You’ll notice the cover staring at you. That’s the Eye of Providence. It’s encircled by two stains; the kind you see recessed into the coffee table of a guy who never had a woman buy him coasters. And they’re orange which I can only assume means this person drinks orange Gatorade. The description of the photo inside the case says it has something to do with Outer Space, but if I wanted my Pearl Jam to have Sci-Fi in it I’d go back writing fan fiction. I had this one short story where Ed was Han Solo and Boom was Princess Leia and they got really friendly with some Wookies…but I digress. So, the cover is the Eye of Providence with coffee stains. On the left hand side there’s some Japanese writing, so I guess it’s Japanese Outer Space? So where’s Godzilla? Or Space Godzilla I guess? Oh, it’s just the Japanese version of Binaural? Are you sure? Ok. Would be cooler if Godzilla was on it fighting the Eye of Providence. Who would win? Nevermind. After you’re done listening to the album, there’s a good chance that it will be your first coaster anyway and you’ll be able to make your own stains around the Eye of Providence. No, not like that kind. You’re gross.

So start with track four, Light Years, because I take back what I said about Breakerfall. Skip it. “She can blame the world/ or pray till dawn”? I remember when I had my first beer, except I didn’t try and write a song shortly thereafter. Light Years is not about space travel, although the more I write about the Sci-Fi themes of this album, the clearer it becomes. Light Years was the second single from Binaural, but it didn’t have a cool b-side like, for example, Wishlist had with “U”. Still, it wails and the lyrics tell short, poignant non-sequiturs. A demo version of the song trickled out after Binaural came out called Puzzles and Games. You can find it here, and if you’re drunk while reading this you can find it h————-e—————r—————-e.

If you haven’t gotten laid in a while then the next track, Nothing As It Seems, can be your wingman. It’s bluesy, swaying riff, and Ament’s “something maybe two-toned” lyrics are the perfect foil for your dalliance with that half-in-bag, town bicycle. But take it from me, you’re gonna want to “get there” before the second to last chorus because that shit ends abruptly leaving only the sound of your saggy, naked thighs chafing against the deafening sound of an unimpressed 20-something named Jill.

If you got a girl who’s into Dave Matthews Band and you want to “Crash” into her sexhole, but either you don’t own the CD or you used it as a beer coaster at your frat house, you can use Thin Air as a viable substitute. It might not get you all the way to home base, but you won’t have to use your pitching wedge to score a touchdown in her hoop. I’m not good with sports metaphors.

Insignificance and Grievance are a lot like my ex-wife: they’re defiant, they sound good at parties, they got huge tits, and they’re surprisingly lucid when you’re drunk.

Of the Girl and Sleight of Hand might sound ethereal and a little boring at first, but 10 years from now you’ll come to appreciate them because they’re moody and meandering, and you’ll convince yourself that those qualities make for good music. You’ll be wrong, of course.

Rival is the “No Way” of Binaural. The studio version sounds great and fans clamor for it to be played live, but it rarely is because it becomes exposed as a overly simplistic riff they just happen to put cool lyrics to (see also: Tremor Christ). But it’s a good song. Heavy hitting and scornful, just like my dear mother.

If, like goof and I, you only ever heard Ed sing the word “horny” to you in your dreams, then you’ll love Soon Forget. This ukulele song might sound like Blue, Red, and Grey by Pete Townsend, but the theme is different. Ed took the protagonist from that song, but instead of relishing in the good life, pokes fun that he “counts his money every morning/ the only thing that keep him horny.” And that before long he’s “lying dead/ clutching benjamins/ never put the money down.” Ed’s funny. I mean – “Ed’s funny?” Is the same chap who also wrote “Once” and “Alive”?

If you wait long enough after skipping Parting Ways you’ll hear, “Writer’s Block” which ironically is 30 seconds of Ed fluidly typing on an Underwood. During the Binaural sessions Ed said he struggled with severe writer’s block and had trouble coming up with good lyrics (see also: Breakerfall, God’s Dice, Sleight of Hand, and Of the Girl). Goof and I admire his good sense of humor here. It’s pretty funny to see someone so earnest acknowledge his hard time by recording himself blowing off steam. It’d be like if Tiger Woods was having trouble sexting pictures of his Benetton flavored dong to toothy strippers and to cut loose by cramming a softball into his ass.

What did I tell you? I’m no good with sports metaphors.

Just want to BUMP this thread back up
PJ has been my favorite band for the past 8ish years. Definitely worh checking out their albums and hitting a live show.

FrankieG wrote:

Just want to BUMP this thread back up
PJ has been my favorite band for the past 8ish years. Definitely worh checking out their albums and hitting a live show.

So guys. I know Ten, Vs., and Vitalogy, Backspacer, and all the songs that are on the Rearviewmirror comp.
What is the next best stuff I should check out next?

DeathoftheCool wrote:

FrankieG wrote:

Just want to BUMP this thread back up
PJ has been my favorite band for the past 8ish years. Definitely worh checking out their albums and hitting a live show.

So guys. I know Ten, Vs., and Vitalogy, Backspacer, and all the songs that are on the Rearviewmirror comp.
What is the next best stuff I should check out next?

I can't speak as a Pearl Jam expert on when to check out what, but I really like No Code.

StitchesOnTheRadio wrote:

DeathoftheCool wrote:

FrankieG wrote:

Just want to BUMP this thread back up
PJ has been my favorite band for the past 8ish years. Definitely worh checking out their albums and hitting a live show.

So guys. I know Ten, Vs., and Vitalogy, Backspacer, and all the songs that are on the Rearviewmirror comp.
What is the next best stuff I should check out next?

I can't speak as a Pearl Jam expert on when to check out what, but I really like No Code.

Thanks Shelby! I was thinking about checking No Code out, especially since Brian has been talking about how it might be an influence for the next album

StitchesOnTheRadio wrote:

DeathoftheCool wrote:

FrankieG wrote:

Just want to BUMP this thread back up
PJ has been my favorite band for the past 8ish years. Definitely worh checking out their albums and hitting a live show.

So guys. I know Ten, Vs., and Vitalogy, Backspacer, and all the songs that are on the Rearviewmirror comp.
What is the next best stuff I should check out next?

I can't speak as a Pearl Jam expert on when to check out what, but I really like No Code.

No Code is a fine place to start. If you're already familiar with the first three albums, I'd grab Merkinball, No Code and Yield and then listen to them in that order. Merkinball is just a 2 song EP recorded at the same time as Neil Young's Mirror Ball but the songs are among PJ's best. There's also a ton of live material to dig into if you're looking for more.

DeathoftheCool wrote:

FrankieG wrote:

Just want to BUMP this thread back up
PJ has been my favorite band for the past 8ish years. Definitely worh checking out their albums and hitting a live show.

So guys. I know Ten, Vs., and Vitalogy, Backspacer, and all the songs that are on the Rearviewmirror comp.
What is the next best stuff I should check out next?

I have to agree with the other posters, No Code is a good next step. Nothing is wrong with going in order they were released. (No Code, Yield, Binaural, Riot Act, Self-titled) It would really show you the progression from Vitalogy to Backspacer.

Personally, my favorite album is Riot Act, which is normally the least favorite of most people... You really can't go wrong with any album though.

Does anybody know anything about the new album?

Jack wrote:

Does anybody know anything about the new album?

According to a recent interview with McCready, the album is being mixed now. It has been "almost finished" for a while if you can believe other interviews. McCready also said it's going to be better than Backspacer (which wouldn't take much). I think it's also been revealed that Brendan O'Brien is producing again.

There are rumors of a fall tour but I've heard that's going to be a couple weeks in both November and December with the album out by then.

Backspacer was cool. I liked the ballads and Got Some. Got Some rips. I like dat.
What do people consider the best PJ albums after Ten, Vs. and maybe Vitalogy?

Why do people not like Backspacer?! I LOVE Backspacer. It's just a ripping rock 'n' roll record from start to finish (well, not Just Breathe and The End, but you get the point). The Fixer, Speed Of Sound, Force of fucking Nature?

Jack wrote:

Why do people not like Backspacer?! I LOVE Backspacer. It's just a ripping rock 'n' roll record from start to finish (well, not Just Breathe and The End, but you get the point). The Fixer, Speed Of Sound, Force of fucking Nature?

Most of my problems with Backspacer are with the lyrics and Ed's delivery. I don't mind the production or the more poppy sounding songs but I can't get past the vocals/lyrics on a lot of it. Ed even said he didn't spend a lot of time on the lyrics and they went with whatever songs came together easiest. There are a few good tracks (Force of Nature for sure) but also some that are absolute throwaways (Johnny Guitar, Supersonic). Compared to their other material, most of the album just isn't very memorable at all.

I just don't think they have a bad album, period. Every single one earns its place in the PJ catalog, in my opinion. And I get defensive about Backspacer because I feel like it doesn't get the credit it deserves for being a back-to-basics solid rock album.

Sweet, I haven't heard that album news yet!

I don't like Backspacer. I was totally into it the first couple months. But then I was at the 4 Philly shows to close the spectrum and 2 at MSG the following year and they played the album too much. Just Breathe was the first song in the 1st encore every show. I have grown tired of them. It usually takes me another record to fully go back and love older records.

Ahhhh No Code's so great. Have we discussed whether or not "see me on the flip side" on Off He Goes was a probable inspiration for 45?

Goddammit that new song is so good! Fast and loud!!!

I actually just decided that I would only go to the Voodoo festival and no other Pearl Jam date in the fall but I really really like this new song...

It's surprising (since I wasn't expecting this sound) but I wasn't blown away by the actual song. Sounds kind of like Spin The Black Circle on first listen.

Great new song! So excited fo the tour. (Gonna try to hit 5 shows? )