Admit it, Ed has regressed as a songwriter/lyrcist

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Comments

  • BTW, The lyrics to just breath are incredible. Prolly why its such a popular song. Also the lyrics to Getaway, infallible and LB are top notch. They fit the music so well. I thought the new songs sounded great last night.
  • smanchac1smanchac1 Posts: 2,256
    Into the wild was brilliant. Every song had great lyrics, depth and real emotion. That album has such strong emotion for me I tend to avoid hearing it as it brings me to a time I would rather forget.

    Uke songs was very hit and miss for me. Half the songs were great.. The other half were very cheesy "lullabye" type songs that i have a hard time believing anyone who loves pj can love those songs.

    His lyrics recently (2003-now) aren't worse than before. They are just plainer. Easier to be understood without having to decipher the hidden message. To us, growing up or just falling in love with such brilliant and complex music makes us feel that the song writing has "regressed" or gotten worse, but the truth is, he's just being simpler with the choice of words and delivery of those words.

    Now I think I've covered the lyric part.. Musically he has only improved.

    Try playing "Guaranteed", "Just Breathe", "The End" or "Future Days" on the guitar and watch how fast your hand wants to fall off. They are very hard musically. JB honestly has like two guitar parts being played at the same time. That in itself is impressive.
  • Target and Mary,

    If you can do so much better than Eddie and PJ, go ahead. Start a band, write some great songs and prove us all wrong. But I have a hunch, you cant, you wont.

    I guess any time an artist puts their art out there to the masses its going to get judged but you two are just negative, glass half empty people who cant do, so you judge.

    Sirens has incredible lyrics. Target, if you cant read and understand them, Im sure there are a a few people on here who can explain them to you.

    Now, i dont think you have to love every song but your opinions are just so negative. Especially when your wrong or you have your facts wrong. Ed wrote SBM like over 10 years ago. Most those Uke songs I heard back in like 99 or 2000.

    But please, do me a favor and prove me wrong, write, produce and perform any song better than whats on LB. Please. Ill wait to hear your single drop.

    Oh, come on, are you really going to take that stance? In order to be critical of art I have to be able to create art as good or better than that which I am being critical of? I'm all for engaging in conversation over things and while I can be prone to hyperbole (I'll openly admit to that) I can't entertain such a sophomoric reply. If anything this just proves my point that Ed can write average songs and because they're under the Pearl Jam moniker certain people will just eat them up. If someone, anyone, else wrote a song like 'Sleeping By Myself' and released it no one would pay any attention to it and people would most likely mock it for being boring, but since it's Eddie Vedder ..well then..it's genius and I obviously just don't "get it".
  • I'm not into the eddie lyrics about family and how great things are with them and how hard it is to be apart from them I just can't relate to any of them. As he said he has to sit down and find times between his kids to write rather than spending 3 days on the beach or where ever. Vs to Yeild are for me his best PJ lyrics then it all peaked at ITW
    Speaking as a child of the 90's
  • 'The End' is just a simplified version of Travis-picking ...if you want to see a song that will make your hands fall off here's a better example:

    Halfway to Jackson
  • Target and Mary,

    If you can do so much better than Eddie and PJ, go ahead. Start a band, write some great songs and prove us all wrong. But I have a hunch, you cant, you wont.

    I guess any time an artist puts their art out there to the masses its going to get judged but you two are just negative, glass half empty people who cant do, so you judge.

    Sirens has incredible lyrics. Target, if you cant read and understand them, Im sure there are a a few people on here who can explain them to you.

    Now, i dont think you have to love every song but your opinions are just so negative. Especially when your wrong or you have your facts wrong. Ed wrote SBM like over 10 years ago. Most those Uke songs I heard back in like 99 or 2000.

    But please, do me a favor and prove me wrong, write, produce and perform any song better than whats on LB. Please. Ill wait to hear your single drop.

    Oh, come on, are you really going to take that stance? In order to be critical of art I have to be able to create art as good or better than that which I am being critical of? I'm all for engaging in conversation over things and while I can be prone to hyperbole (I'll openly admit to that) I can't entertain such a sophomoric reply. If anything this just proves my point that Ed can write average songs and because they're under the Pearl Jam moniker certain people will just eat them up. If someone, anyone, else wrote a song like 'Sleeping By Myself' and released it no one would pay any attention to it and people would most likely mock it for being boring, but since it's Eddie Vedder ..well then..it's genius and I obviously just don't "get it".

    yeah, that's the same bullshit that Tim Bierman spewed on PJradio. It's nonsense.
    Gimli 1993
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  • Target,

    Read my previous posts, I hate SBM. Think its the worst thing PJ ever put on a record. But you opened yourself up when you made such a BS topic. You have your freshman type opinion and I have mine. I think your wrong. Not the end of the world but I think your wrong.

    Mary can only relate to living an alternative lifestyle in Ireland. NIN forever man. haha. I m just bustin balls but all your posts crack me up.

    I think some of PJ "fans" have regressed.
  • F5AgainstOneF5AgainstOne New Hampshire, USA Posts: 1,462
    Target and Mary,

    If you can do so much better than Eddie and PJ, go ahead. Start a band, write some great songs and prove us all wrong. But I have a hunch, you cant, you wont.

    I guess any time an artist puts their art out there to the masses its going to get judged but you two are just negative, glass half empty people who cant do, so you judge.

    Sirens has incredible lyrics. Target, if you cant read and understand them, Im sure there are a a few people on here who can explain them to you.

    Now, i dont think you have to love every song but your opinions are just so negative. Especially when your wrong or you have your facts wrong. Ed wrote SBM like over 10 years ago. Most those Uke songs I heard back in like 99 or 2000.

    But please, do me a favor and prove me wrong, write, produce and perform any song better than whats on LB. Please. Ill wait to hear your single drop.
    ^Not the best argument...
    The inability for one person to write a song does not make another songwriter's product into gold.
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  • Target and Mary,

    If you can do so much better than Eddie and PJ, go ahead. Start a band, write some great songs and prove us all wrong. But I have a hunch, you cant, you wont.

    I guess any time an artist puts their art out there to the masses its going to get judged but you two are just negative, glass half empty people who cant do, so you judge.

    Sirens has incredible lyrics. Target, if you cant read and understand them, Im sure there are a a few people on here who can explain them to you.

    Now, i dont think you have to love every song but your opinions are just so negative. Especially when your wrong or you have your facts wrong. Ed wrote SBM like over 10 years ago. Most those Uke songs I heard back in like 99 or 2000.

    But please, do me a favor and prove me wrong, write, produce and perform any song better than whats on LB. Please. Ill wait to hear your single drop.
    ^Not the best argument...
    The inability for one person to write a song does not make another songwriter's product into gold.

    Agreed, it's a juvenile response as is the name calling.
  • Just stating my opinion. Just like all the other negative people on here. If your going to rip someones talent then you should be able to produce something better. Im just following the vibe around here of very intelligent posts.
  • I enjoy Ed's recent lyrics about family, mortality, and such. Like many other fans out there, I have spent 20+ years growing older with this band and as they and their priorities have changed, so have mine. My days of focusing on angst and aggression have shifted into growing up and being a parent. And clearly, some members of the band feel the same way and wish to express it. I think it's unfair to say that Ed is regressing simply because the tone and focus of his lyrics has changed through the years. It's what happens. People grow up, they have kids, other things become more important than raging against the world. It doesn't take anything away from the sheer power and greatness of the earlier songs, it just a different entity altogether.
    And no, I don't just consider myself a blanket follower of all things PJ. I'm just a follower of good music, plain and simple. And frankly, as of right now, there are quite a few songs on Lightning Bolt that aren't doing it for me, just like Backspacer. But that doesn't take anything away from the gems on the album.
  • Target,

    Read my previous posts, I hate SBM. Think its the worst thing PJ ever put on a record. But you opened yourself up when you made such a BS topic. You have your freshman type opinion and I have mine. I think your wrong. Not the end of the world but I think your wrong.

    Mary can only relate to living an alternative lifestyle in Ireland. NIN forever man. haha. I m just bustin balls but all your posts crack me up.

    I think some of PJ "fans" have regressed.
    Why do you keep calling me mary, marcus is Irish for mark you dope. Also nin are one of many many bands I listen too would you like to hear some fantastic underground music from this part of the world if so check out

    http://asiwyfa.bandcamp.com/
    http://axisof.bandcamp.com/
    http://lafaro.bandcamp.com/
    http://adebisishank.bandcamp.com/
    http://girlbanddublin.bandcamp.com/
    http://notsquares.bandcamp.com/

    Actually I would suggest everyone too
    Speaking as a child of the 90's
  • DiRtyFranK38DiRtyFranK38 Posts: 3,131
    have you read the lyrics to any of the other LB songs?
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  • What we are seeing here is an OP who is trying to dress up their opinions as fact

    As far as I am concerned this is a very strong album

    I assume that when discussing things like music (or art in general) I don't need to preface every single thing with "I think" ...but I guess I do. :fp:

    These are my opinions.
  • Im sorry i thought Marcus was short for Mary. Just based on your posts. My bad.
  • have you read the lyrics to any of the other LB songs?

    My original post was being critical of his lyrics on the songs he writes the music for (namely 'Sleeping By Myself' and 'Future Days' on this album).

    Ed is at his best when he's angry and that comes out on a lot of the harder songs on this release.
  • No, you said he has regressed as a song writer. So your saying your taking that back now or you just dont like the lyrics to the slower songs?

    So songs like Smile and parting ways are bad? Just wondering?
  • Just stating my opinion. Just like all the other negative people on here. If your going to rip someones talent then you should be able to produce something better. Im just following the vibe around here of very intelligent posts.


    That makes absolutely no sense ...who determines the quality of the pieces outside of the individual being critical? How are we going to determine what is 'good' or 'not good'? Album sales? Well, by that measure Taylor Swift is good because she sells a lot of albums and Pearl Jam isn't because they don't sell many albums anymore.

    I could write a song that *I* think is better than 'Sleeping By Myself' and really, beyond my opinion, does it really matter? I don't think my opinion will sway you or anyone else and hope that it wouldn't, to be honest. My argument is that Ed, in certain contexts, has regressed as a songwriter and have offered up what I believe to be points that support my argument. Don't agree? Fine. But don't sit there and pretend that your argument has any rational basis to it at all.
  • No, you said he has regressed as a song writer. So your saying your taking that back now or you just dont like the lyrics to the slower songs?

    So songs like Smile and parting ways are bad? Just wondering?


    Here ..let me refresh your obviously poor short memory:

    Let's be realistic. Ed hasn't written a good acoustic song in years. The acoustic tracks that he wrote on Lightning Bolt are just atrocious college-dorm-room G-D-C strumming stinkers. His lyrics are just god awful going back to Backspacer. 'Just Breathe', 'The End', 'Future Days', 'Sleeping By Myself' ...all of them are just plain bad. Even as songs qua songs they just aren't very good ...at all.
  • It does, write a better song and perform it. I want to see how great your song is. I will judge it and then trash it so everyone can see. Is that not fair?

    And I hate SBM.
  • PJammer4lifePJammer4life Los Angeles Posts: 2,578
    The chord progressions are simple no doubt(No War, Future Days etc) and the happy love song lyrics sometimes feel strange from his usual dark love lost lyrics..but still some kick ass lyrics..(i.e. easy come easy go easy left me long ago)
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  • Im having fun. This is great.
  • teemanteeman Posts: 337
    This thread is like congress: I don't agree with either side but am fascinated watching them battle it out!

    OP, you're entitled to your opinion. I disagree respectfully, and really don't like the "admit it" at the front of your post. I find it condescending to those who do like the music. However, you get some of those points back for using the word "maudlin."

    Those criticizing the OP, I totally disagree with the whole "start a band" argument. What if I don't like a 300 million dollar blockbuster film? Should I go out and make my own? Same thing with songwriting. I can't write a song worth a damn, but I sure know what I like and don't like!

    For what it's worth, I like Just Breathe and The End, less into SBM and Future Days, love Into the Wild, like Ukulele Songs, and am really digging Lightning Bolt so far.
  • It does, write a better song and perform it. I want to see how great your song is. I will judge it and then trash it so everyone can see. Is that not fair?

    And I hate SBM.

    Really? If you don't care about my opinion then why would I care about yours? Are you the arbiter of quality? If you are ...get in touch with Ed and tell him to put the acoustic down.
  • I am Ed
  • Im having fun. This is great.

    Me, too. This is a nice reminder as to why I couldn't ever teach at the high school level.
  • I am Ed

    Then put the acoustic down, Ed.
  • teeman wrote:
    This thread is like congress: I don't agree with either side but am fascinated watching them battle it out!

    OP, you're entitled to your opinion. I disagree respectfully, and really don't like the "admit it" at the front of your post. I find it condescending to those who do like the music. However, you get some of those points back for using the word "maudlin."

    Those criticizing the OP, I totally disagree with the whole "start a band" argument. What if I don't like a 300 million dollar blockbuster film? Should I go out and make my own? Same thing with songwriting. I can't write a song worth a damn, but I sure know what I like and don't like!

    For what it's worth, I like Just Breathe and The End, less into SBM and Future Days, love Into the Wild, like Ukulele Songs, and am really digging Lightning Bolt so far.

    It was meant to be a bit insulting/jarring ...that usually stirs up the pot and gets people thinking (well, some, anyway).
  • fox_mulderXfox_mulderX Posts: 1,134
    Target and Mary,

    If you can do so much better than Eddie and PJ, go ahead. Start a band, write some great songs and prove us all wrong. But I have a hunch, you cant, you wont.

    I guess any time an artist puts their art out there to the masses its going to get judged but you two are just negative, glass half empty people who cant do, so you judge.

    Sirens has incredible lyrics. Target, if you cant read and understand them, Im sure there are a a few people on here who can explain them to you.

    Now, i dont think you have to love every song but your opinions are just so negative. Especially when your wrong or you have your facts wrong. Ed wrote SBM like over 10 years ago. Most those Uke songs I heard back in like 99 or 2000.

    But please, do me a favor and prove me wrong, write, produce and perform any song better than whats on LB. Please. Ill wait to hear your single drop.

    Oh, come on, are you really going to take that stance? In order to be critical of art I have to be able to create art as good or better than that which I am being critical of? I'm all for engaging in conversation over things and while I can be prone to hyperbole (I'll openly admit to that) I can't entertain such a sophomoric reply. If anything this just proves my point that Ed can write average songs and because they're under the Pearl Jam moniker certain people will just eat them up. If someone, anyone, else wrote a song like 'Sleeping By Myself' and released it no one would pay any attention to it and people would most likely mock it for being boring, but since it's Eddie Vedder ..well then..it's genius and I obviously just don't "get it".

    I'm with you. I hate the lazy argument of 'let's see you do better'.
  • tcadd94tcadd94 North Jersey Posts: 611
    teeman wrote:
    This thread is like congress: I don't agree with either side but am fascinated watching them battle it out!

    OP, you're entitled to your opinion. I disagree respectfully, and really don't like the "admit it" at the front of your post. I find it condescending to those who do like the music. However, you get some of those points back for using the word "maudlin."

    Those criticizing the OP, I totally disagree with the whole "start a band" argument. What if I don't like a 300 million dollar blockbuster film? Should I go out and make my own? Same thing with songwriting. I can't write a song worth a damn, but I sure know what I like and don't like!

    For what it's worth, I like Just Breathe and The End, less into SBM and Future Days, love Into the Wild, like Ukulele Songs, and am really digging Lightning Bolt so far.

    I agree. I thought the forum was to express your ideas, opinions, and feelings about all things PJ with the greatest fans in the world, not to beat up on people whose ideas differ from yours.
    I've been fortunate enough to see Pearl Jam live.

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