Im still bitter about how he destroyed Speed Of Sound on Backspacer. Ed's demo was perfection and Brendon turned it into a cheesy pop song. I often wonder how the Fixer would have turned out with Adam Kasper. I think it would have been a great punk song instead of the cheese that it is. Also brendons idea to turn Sleeping by myself into a country song and put it on Lightning Bolt is a fireable offense!!
Brendon isn't a dictator, it turned out that way because PJ like it that way.
Im still bitter about how he destroyed Speed Of Sound on Backspacer. Ed's demo was perfection and Brendon turned it into a cheesy pop song. I often wonder how the Fixer would have turned out with Adam Kasper. I think it would have been a great punk song instead of the cheese that it is. Also brendons idea to turn Sleeping by myself into a country song and put it on Lightning Bolt is a fireable offense!!
Brendon isn't a dictator, it turned out that way because PJ like it that way.
Digital audio is almost like digital video. It works off of a similar principle. In digital video, the more pixels you have of the source image, the better it will look. In audio, the more samples you have of the source, the better it will sound. Unfortunately we may never know how Pearl Jam's albums were actually recorded. Were they analog or digital? I would hope since they've always been a big supporter of vinyl that they are using a true analog master to press vinyl with. In digital you should want to have the resolution they recorded and/or mastered in. Most of the time that is greater than CD resolution. I was a supporter of the Pono service when it started on KickStarter and I am still a continued supporter of Pono. I've had my player now for close to two and half years and my digital music collection (all CD rips to FLAC and 24 bit high res audio FLAC) has never sounded better. Sure, the player isn't wireless, but I can plug it in to my car stereo. I can't take vinyl in my car. All of the Pearl Jam albums I have in 24 bit audio (Ten, Vs., Vitalogy, Yield, and Lightning Bolt) all sound dramatically better than their CD versions. I keep hoping that they will offer their full studio discography in 24 bit since they do offer a vast majority of their new bootlegs in that format too.
Digital audio is almost like digital video. It works off of a similar principle. In digital video, the more pixels you have of the source image, the better it will look. In audio, the more samples you have of the source, the better it will sound. Unfortunately we may never know how Pearl Jam's albums were actually recorded. Were they analog or digital? I would hope since they've always been a big supporter of vinyl that they are using a true analog master to press vinyl with. In digital you should want to have the resolution they recorded and/or mastered in. Most of the time that is greater than CD resolution. I was a supporter of the Pono service when it started on KickStarter and I am still a continued supporter of Pono. I've had my player now for close to two and half years and my digital music collection (all CD rips to FLAC and 24 bit high res audio FLAC) has never sounded better. Sure, the player isn't wireless, but I can plug it in to my car stereo. I can't take vinyl in my car. All of the Pearl Jam albums I have in 24 bit audio (Ten, Vs., Vitalogy, Yield, and Lightning Bolt) all sound dramatically better than their CD versions. I keep hoping that they will offer their full studio discography in 24 bit since they do offer a vast majority of their new bootlegs in that format too.
This.
I know I was born and I know that I'll die. The in between is mine.
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buck502000
Birthplace of GIBSON guitar Posts: 8,951
Who wants to carry around a yellow Toblerone with wires coming out of it?
Anyone have a Pono they hate?
Mine's silver (a My Morning Jacket LE version) and I'm listening to The Clash's "Combat Rock" in just CD resolution and it is great! The funny part is I actually kinda wish I had a yellow one. Just because it looks so different.
Who wants to carry around a yellow Toblerone with wires coming out of it?
Anyone have a Pono they hate?
Mine's silver (a My Morning Jacket LE version) and I'm listening to The Clash's "Combat Rock" in just CD resolution and it is great! The funny part is I actually kinda wish I had a yellow one. Just because it looks so different.
Yeah I totally agree - I have a silver PJ one (119 was always my favourite number) and think I'm missing out on the full Pono experience not having a yellow one. But the dang thing keeps on rocking and sounding great so am yet to need a replacement.
1. Pono is dead, but i still have mine and it is still awesome. It's good in the car and hooked up to my home stereo or Grado headphones, but can't compete with an iphone for convenience.
2. I somewhat disagree with the above poster re: PJ's 24/96 high res, particularly with Ten. They dynamically crushed the HDTracks version; it's a worse mastering. High res only gives the music an opportunity to sound better. But it won't make a bad master sound better than a well mastered CD.
3. Brendan O'Brien helped this band in the early years and Vs., Vitalogy, and No Code are actually great sounding records. But starting with No Code he started getting sucked into the Loudness Wars and making it painful to listen to PJ loud. Though No Code does still sound good the records start to drop off from there. I love Yield and Binaural musically, but that's where he started leading them down the wrong path from a sonic perspective. I have no inside info, but it feels like he then started to gain a larger influence on the construction of their music. He totally lost me with some of the stuff from Lightning Bolt where i suspect Eddie may have been autotuned for the first time that i noticed (especially on Sirens) ... and then his appearance playing extremely cheesy keys at Wrigley '13. He's been an incredibly important member of the band, but I think they need fresh blood.
He's been an incredibly important member of the band, but I think they need fresh blood.
Good luck with that. At this point BOB may be the only one who CAN get them together to record. Chris Cornell’s death hit them all hard. Add on the inevitable touring that follows, plus being on the road and away from home, and it’s no wonder they are in no hurry to record a new album. Every year with no album means they can pick when and where they want to play.
It’s a nice spot they have now, and they’ve earned it. I wish there were great new songs to talk about, and Pearl Jam were coming to everyone’s city and people were all happy, but it is what it is.
Bridge Benefit 1994, San Francisco 1995, San Diego 1995 1 & 2, Missoula 1998, Los Angeles 2000, San Diego 2000, Eddie Vedder/Beck 2/26/2002, Santa Barbara 2003, Irvine 2003, San Diego 2003, Vancouver 2005, Gorge 2005, San Diego 2006, Los Angeles 2006 1 & 2, Santa Barbara 2006, Eddie Vedder 4/10/08, Eddie Vedder 4/12/08, Eddie Vedder 4/15/08, 7/12/2008, SF 8/28/09, LA 9/30/09, LA 10/1/09, LA 10/06/09, LA 10/07/09, San Diego 10/09/09, Eddie Vedder 7/6/2011, Eddie Vedder 7/8/2011, PJ20 9/3/2011, PJ20 9/4/2011, Vancouver 9/25/2011, San Diego 11/21/13, LA 11/24/13, Ohana 9/25/21, Ohana 9/26/21, Ohana 10/1/21, EV 2/17/22, LA Forum 5/6/22, LA Forum 5/7/22, EV 10/1/22, EV 9/30/23
Why do we assume BOB is responsible for those decisions? Ultimately the buck stops with the band.
Though, to be clear, I don't think any of those songs have egregious issues
Exactly...the band tells him how they want to approach the album. The Fixer demo blows and the changes to the final version were all Ed anyway if I remember right. and the SoS demo is just exactly that, a demo. Finished product isn't great, but that has more to do with the feel of the song than anything else. SBM was a folky song before PJ got ahold of it and Future Days and Sirens are cheesy from the get go.
Sirens music video version where they are playing straight up live sounds so much better than the album version, which sounds like November Rain
Why do we assume BOB is responsible for those decisions? Ultimately the buck stops with the band.
Though, to be clear, I don't think any of those songs have egregious issues
Exactly...the band tells him how they want to approach the album. The Fixer demo blows and the changes to the final version were all Ed anyway if I remember right. and the SoS demo is just exactly that, a demo. Finished product isn't great, but that has more to do with the feel of the song than anything else. SBM was a folky song before PJ got ahold of it and Future Days and Sirens are cheesy from the get go.
Buck does stop with the band, but I think BoB has assumed a role in this band where he plays a big part in arranging the music and pushing/nudging the guys to go a certain way on things. Because of the band's democratic style of writing music, a "non-partisan" producer can play a pretty big role in pushing things one way or another if he knows how to be influential without being dictatorial. On that Lightning Bolt Q&A thing PJ did where fans were flown to Seattle to ask the band questions (and BoB moderated), it sounded like BoB definitely arranged Sirens and pushes the band and Eddie all the time. A good producer can do this. And BoB has done some great work ... but I think PJ needs to get out of their comfort zones a bit more the next time around and some new blood may be a good thing. I actually wish they didn't feel so reliant on the machine of BIG TOURING. They employ A LOT of people and probably feel responsible for those folks and those jobs ... but they seem to write with big arenas and "moderate fans" in mind and the newer music sometimes feels like it was written for the lowest common denominator. I do think that's on the band and not BoB.
Then there's the whole "poorly" mixed, crushed dynamics, recording digitally at bit/sample rates that are too low stuff that BoB plays a role in as well. But that's another story.
Comments
04/13/2003 - Tampa, FL; 10/08/2004 - Kissimmee, FL; 05/16 & 17/2006 - Chicago, IL;
05/19/2006 - Grand Rapids, MI; 05/22/2006 - Auburn Hills, MI; 08/05/2007 - Chicago, IL;
05/03/2010 - Kansas City, MO; 07/19/2013 - Chicago, IL; 04/13/16 - Jacksonville, FL;
04/13/2003 - Tampa, FL; 10/08/2004 - Kissimmee, FL; 05/16 & 17/2006 - Chicago, IL;
05/19/2006 - Grand Rapids, MI; 05/22/2006 - Auburn Hills, MI; 08/05/2007 - Chicago, IL;
05/03/2010 - Kansas City, MO; 07/19/2013 - Chicago, IL; 04/13/16 - Jacksonville, FL;
2. I somewhat disagree with the above poster re: PJ's 24/96 high res, particularly with Ten. They dynamically crushed the HDTracks version; it's a worse mastering. High res only gives the music an opportunity to sound better. But it won't make a bad master sound better than a well mastered CD.
3. Brendan O'Brien helped this band in the early years and Vs., Vitalogy, and No Code are actually great sounding records. But starting with No Code he started getting sucked into the Loudness Wars and making it painful to listen to PJ loud. Though No Code does still sound good the records start to drop off from there. I love Yield and Binaural musically, but that's where he started leading them down the wrong path from a sonic perspective. I have no inside info, but it feels like he then started to gain a larger influence on the construction of their music. He totally lost me with some of the stuff from Lightning Bolt where i suspect Eddie may have been autotuned for the first time that i noticed (especially on Sirens) ... and then his appearance playing extremely cheesy keys at Wrigley '13. He's been an incredibly important member of the band, but I think they need fresh blood.
It’s a nice spot they have now, and they’ve earned it. I wish there were great new songs to talk about, and Pearl Jam were coming to everyone’s city and people were all happy, but it is what it is.
Then there's the whole "poorly" mixed, crushed dynamics, recording digitally at bit/sample rates that are too low stuff that BoB plays a role in as well. But that's another story.