Pearl Jam - C or D?

I mean, what kind of fucking egomania would possess a group to pull such a stunt, other than to fleece its fans? It isn't as if Beddie Wedder were Frank Zappa, whose boots from different shows one would want to hear (alright, I confess, I would want to hear). Or that PJ is the Grateful Dead, with an exceedingly loyal and devoted fan-base (any valid criticisms of the band's actual music and the fanbase notwithstanding). I mean, it's as if Foreigner or Foghat decided to dump a shitload of live CDs on the market during their respective heights of popularity. And that's just what Pearl Jam is -- the Foreigner or the Foghat of the Nineties.

OK, honestly? I've never heard them. Twenty ghastly seconds of "Jeremy" and then the whole of that same song on a jukebox and that is knowingly it. I feel rather proud of that. Why did anyone like grunge, can someone remind me?

If I want to listen to Blackfoot, I'll go straight to the source.

Sorry for the pun. I see a lot of folks here sticking to the first impression 'Ten' gave them, which turned them off to the band. I can fully understand that, because I for one can't listen to that record anymore without cringing. But, and I stress this, even as my musical tastes evolved (and I, like many of you I'd bet, must thank the grunge-hype for pointing me in that direction in the first place) I found Pearl Jam to remain interesting, both for their music (evolving from archaic bluesrock - yes, high krustyvalue indeed! - to a more substantial indie-oriented sound that wouldn't look too bad on a GBV or Superchunk) as well as their ethos (quite a popular word here, but you gotta appreciate what they do as a major-label act).

As for the bootleg issue. I think one of the reasons why they did it (apart from making obscene amounts of cash at the cost of about $300 per recording) is that, as Pearl Jam always condoned people taping their shows, there were tons of shit quality recordings going around at high prices. So why the hell not help folks out get a decent recording of a show they were at (or missed, after all these years I still never got to actually see them play live because shows still get sold out within minutes) AND make some cash? Makes sense to me.

In conclusion: classic, classic, classic.

Love them or hate them, this is totally untrue. From their first record on up through the most recent, they've always written lots of highly melodic pop tunes. In terms of music science, you just can't fucking dispute that.

I was actually talking to somebody at the TV On the Radio show this past Friday who was wearing a Pearl Jam t-shirt. He was a big fan and said they still put on a good show (not that I'd ever seen them live anyway).

I guess I'll go with classic.

I'll always have a big soft spot for them, and I revisit them every so often with some fondness.

tvotr and pj are not so far away from each other. except pj have more memorable songs. so far.

xpost - I see little similarity between tvotr and pj. I'm with you on the second sentence, though.

That's for sure.

I suppose you could say that about a lot of "rock" bands, though.

I don't know, I think the guy just likes Pearl Jam, amongst many other types of bands and genres of music. We only discussed Pearl Jam when I noticed his t-shirt. The rest of the time, we talked about any number of other bands.

The Gen-X Bruce Springsteen.

Anyway, Ten has its moments, the best of which, you're right Dan, is "Black." I didn't really follow them much after that.

would be a pretty cool cover without the heartbeat gimmick

Ottawa, Quebec City and fucking Hamilton? but no Montreal date.

Eh, there will be more. I mean, I could have sworn there was no Chicago date, either.

"US Tour"

***skips everyplace between NY and Nashville

>:(

so they've finally done their "Eminence Front"

https://youtu.be/hdietlvGkds

Well, that was unexpected.

Weird, for some reason I thought Brendan O'Brien had produced every PJ album (except "Binaural"), but no, just most of them. But not this one.

I dig it.

Kind of Muse-y, tbh. But I like it, too.

lol i love this

cameron sounds like he's having a blast

I dig the many-Vedders coda

wow this was unexpected to say the least

I dig it

that was fun! they might as well stretch out a bit at this point

this is so good wtf

when does the prins thomas discomiks drop

Weird and exhilarating to hear Vedder imitate David Byrne singing atop a Sleater-Kinney track from the last album.

oh man i loooove this!

You know, that album cover made me think of "Grace Under Pressure," but the red wave at the top is actually reminiscent of "Permanent Waves."

I've already cooled on this song after a handful of listens, but still intrigued by the idea of a curveball PJ album in 2020. I'm not sure I ever listened to Lightning Bolt more than one time, if that.

i liked Lightning Bolt a lot
(not as much as avocado tho)

Backspacer got a lot of plays from me, but even that one I haven't spun in years.

No Code/Yield is their real sweet spot imo.

00’s highlight is def Avocado, there’s literally not a bad song on the whole album

weird to realize Eddie Vedder is older than Mick Jagger was when the Stones released Bridges to Babylon.

I heard “Dance of the Clairvoyants” for the first time last night and it’s surprising and I like it, but my brain keeps drawing a lot of parallels to the Killers “The Man” and insists on melding them into one song on mental replay. Just me?

I'd never heard that, but there are some very loose similarities.

Oh, I see that song was based around a Kool & the Gang sample. Cool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8k90kIgG5Q

weird to realize Eddie Vedder is older than Mick Jagger was when the Stones released Bridges to Babylon.

He’s almost as old as Time Out of Mind-era Dylan!

That's a good comparison.

xxxpost

older than Mick Jagger was when the Stones released Bridges to Babylon.

Seems like it could make a good thread. Patterson Hood, David Yow, Steve Albini ...

Lol, I just looked up Mariah Carey, and wiki says "Born March 27, 1969 or 1970 (age 49–50)" wtf?

It’s not polite to ask a lady about her age.

I didn't read beyond her birthday(s), but I'm fairly certain there is more embarrassing information in that wikipedia entry.

"Dance" got me excited about the prospect of a weird late-career PJ album but unfortunately it's largely just boring and shaggy :/

It's rather dull, despite a sharp mix. Without knowing the credits, it sounds like acoustic Eddie Veder songs fleshed out by the band but unable to reject their garrulousness.

Yeah, that sounds right. Real missed opportunity.

Do they credit their songs to individual writers, or just to the band as a whole?

individual writers

I really love it.

I see they just released their eleventh album Gigaton. Had no idea but will play the singles for the heck of it

It's a muddle.

"Comes Then Goes" and "Buckle Up" are the best from a band still trying to sound as if they weren't middle aged since their twenties; they worry themselves to death.

I am deeply biased obv but i really love the album so far.

“Quick Escape” is my current favorite — mainly bc of the unashamed Zeppelin feel of the jangly riff & badass drums.

I don’t think they are trying to NOT sound middle aged imo, they are not that cynical. I think they are more ok with being middle aged than most bands their age; and the varying styles is more just they just like pushing the boat out together :D

I think the new one's excellent. And yes, Quick Escape is totally as if PhysGraf-era Zeppelin were a post-punk group.

how much you love the new album witll depend on how much you believe in vedder, and i've always been a believer.

I believe in him, the arrangements often tangle themselves in knots.

As usual I'm into the non-ballads which makes up about half of Gigaton. "Dance" sounds much better as Track 3 than on its own -- I don't think it was a great lead single choice.

weird to realize Eddie Vedder is older than Mick Jagger was when the Stones released Bridges to Babylon.
He’s almost as old as Time Out of Mind-era Dylan!
― dad genes (morrisp), Friday, February 7, 2020 10:39 AM (one month ago)

This is fucked. Jagger and Dylan felt 55 or older when those records came out. PJ still feels perpetually 40.

As usual I'm into the non-ballads which makes up about half of Gigaton.

I like the slower-paced stuff as well, but Never Destination is a belter and an album highlight for me.