backspacer= big let down

fhelewa1

wow....i never thought i would say it, but my favorite band for the last 18 years has grown old and sold out. what happened to break through music? backspacer deffinately has nothing new and exciting. i want my mind to be blown again like it was durring vs., vitology, and no code. the last great album pearl jam released was lost dogs, and all that was old music. all that aside, pearl jam is one of the best live acts around. i will continue spending my hard earned money on 5 sets of tickets at a time, and i will continue collect show posters and all that fun stuff.
seriously though, i cant even listen to the album all the way through. i hear them copying their own music..."man of the hour" and "wish list" riffs stand out pretty heavy.

P.J.
PLEASE DONT TURN INTO BON JOVI AND THE ROLLING STONES.....PLEASE STOP SELLING OUT SO HARD ...PLEASE NEVER PLAY THE SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW....AND PLEASE PLAY STRANGEST TRIBE IN S.D.

please forgive my spelling and type-o's. im a chef, not a writer. :(

Hugh Freaking Dillon

everyone is entitled to their opinion, but could you clarify what "sold out" means to you specifically? This term is thrown around pretty haphazardly in the music biz these days, and I want to know why you think PJ has sold out.

I personally think backspacer has plenty new and exciting. Got Some, Johnny Guitar, Gonna See My Friend. I really could go on. I'll admit a few of the slower ones seem like ITW stuff, but how is none of this new?

CranMalReign

pukin wrote:

I personally think backspacer has plenty new and exciting. Got Some, Johnny Guitar, Gonna See My Friend. I really could go on. I'll admit a few of the slower ones seem like ITW stuff, but how is none of this new?

The faster/punkier tunes... there's not much new there, except for mebbe Johnny Guitar. While I thoroughly enjoy Got Some and Gonna See My Friend, I don't consider their sound very fresh at all.

The slower tunes remind me a lot of ITW.

At first, I was all about Amongst the Waves being so new sounding... then I started picking out "U" and "Army Reserve" in it, so never mind on that one.

What *does* sound new to me, however, is Speed of Sound.

The Fixer is another Unemployable.

Put all that together, and I think, overall, there isn't much at all that's "fresh" on this album, sound-wise. What *is* fresh is the *mood* of the album. The lyrics and tone and outlook is overwhelmingly upbeat and positive, which, on a different level, gives this album a whole different sound/feel for me.

And I love it.

JM151262

People really need to get past the whole "return to VS, Vitalogy, No Code" thought process. This isn't the same band it was 15 years ago. If you're the same person, than frankly that's a shame for you.

They changed. For better or for worse, they changed. Get over it.

And saying "sold out" is such a cop out term these days. If people don't like something that fits into their mold of what Pearl Jam should sound like they just attribute it to "selling out".

Its such an overused term that doesn't even make any sense. If you want to get really technical, they sold out by signing with Sony close to 20 years ago.

deskilla

being in the music industry much more harder these days, it ain't easy back then either, i understand why pearl jam taking different way to have their music heard, i'm sure pearl jam has fanatic hard core fan base. yes they'll be the first in line to get pearl jam music in their hands, but how bout reaching out others?? such as younger audience, to me they never "sold out". this is a new ways of reaching out to people that never knew pearl jam before, i believe if they do the same method like early days... well... they might sell out 4 nights of spectrum just for fanclub show only.

PJ

JM151262 wrote:

People really need to get past the whole "return to VS, Vitalogy, No Code" thought process. This isn't the same band it was 15 years ago. If you're the same person, than frankly that's a shame for you.

They changed. For better or for worse, they changed. Get over it.

And saying "sold out" is such a cop out term these days. If people don't like something that fits into their mold of what Pearl Jam should sound like they just attribute it to "selling out".

Its such an overused term that doesn't even make any sense. If you want to get really technical, they sold out by signing with Sony close to 20 years ago.

Post of the day. I feel like if every album after No Code, sounded exactly like Ten, Vs. Vitalogy. People would complain even more that pearl jam has been selling the same record year after year. I like where this band is going, and I love the MUSIC.

RL200920

I think its far from a let down...

U R A Crazy Breed

you're right! Backspacer is a let down.....


































.......a "let down your hair and just enjoy the fucking music, instead of wishing for the past" type album

DewieCox

What kinda moron still expects breakthrough music 20 years into a bands career?

Music For Rhinos

Yeah dude, it was such a let down...

I was so let down I took my copy back to Target... :roll:

cannotstaylong

U R A Crazy Breed wrote:

you're right! Backspacer is a let down.....


































.......a "let down your hair and just enjoy the fucking music, instead of wishing for the past" type album

Amen. People need to grow up. I love when someone comes on here and makes a bold post like that and then disappears. I find it more constructive when people actually stick around for discussion when they make posts that are clearly to ruffle some feathers.

the wolf

U R A Crazy Breed wrote:

you're right! Backspacer is a let down.....


































.......a "let down your hair and just enjoy the fucking music, instead of wishing for the past" type album

i agree.

polaris_x

fhelewa1 wrote:

please forgive my spelling and type-o's. im a chef, not a writer. :(

i hope you don't use salt and pepper in any new recipes ... god forbid you recreate something you've done before ...

slightofjeff

A deaf chef .. who knew?

stuartrdr

polaris_x wrote:

fhelewa1 wrote:

please forgive my spelling and type-o's. im a chef, not a writer. :(

i hope you don't use salt and pepper in any new recipes ... god forbid you recreate something you've done before ...

Favorite post of the day

Biggest Wave

Although I don't think it's their best work (far from it) I am rather enjoying the album. All of
their stuff takes a while to sink in where I'm concerned and this album is sinking in quite well.

Marcus Maximus

i agree with the statement that the album is a big let down but sold out no.

imissyoualready

I seriously have to leave the board for a while. You all are starting to turn into a bunch of DMB fans with all your whining and bitching.

Wilds

imissyoualready wrote:

I seriously have to leave the board for a while. You all are starting to turn into a bunch of DMB fans with all your whining and bitching.

Look at that. See what you just did there.


Some Cheese with your whine?

CranMalReign

From original post:

fhelewa1 wrote:

backspacer deffinately has nothing new and exciting. i want my mind to be blown again like it was durring vs., vitology, and no code.

...

i hear them copying their own music..."man of the hour" and "wish list" riffs stand out pretty heavy.

And some select responses:

PJ wrote:

I feel like if every album after No Code, sounded exactly like Ten, Vs. Vitalogy. People would complain even more that pearl jam has been selling the same record year after year. I like where this band is going, and I love the MUSIC.

U R A Crazy Breed wrote:

.......a "let down your hair and just enjoy the fucking music, instead of wishing for the past" type album

polaris_x wrote:

i hope you don't use salt and pepper in any new recipes ... god forbid you recreate something you've done before ...

There would be more if the forum let me quote stuff from the first page, too.

My point in all this: The OP said, basically, "There is nothing new here. It's the same sounding stuff they put out before. I want new sound" and everyone is replying as if he said the complete opposite. I think the OP agrees with everyone in that the band should expand and change and explore... I think the OP *disagrees* with everyone on whether this album actually represents expansion, change, and exploration. This thread is confusing.

mattosborne

I'll be kind, but I don't have a lot of tolerance for calling Pearl Jam a sell-out. It's frankly LAUGHABLE and says much more about you than it does Pearl Jam. I'll leave it at that. I won't waste my time typing anymore.

DewieCox

CranMalReign wrote:

There would be more if the forum let me quote stuff from the first page, too.

My point in all this: The OP said, basically, "There is nothing new here. It's the same sounding stuff they put out before. I want new sound" and everyone is replying as if he said the complete opposite. I think the OP agrees with everyone in that the band should expand and change and explore... I think the OP *disagrees* with everyone on whether this album actually represents expansion, change, and exploration. This thread is confusing.

I think you are confused.

slightofjeff

Does that person really hear Man of the Hour somewhere in this album?


Just more proof: Drugs are bad.

CranMalReign

DewieCox wrote:

I think you are confused.

Nah. OP says "they're just doing the same stuff again". Most of the responses say "stop trying to live in the past! They're not going to recreate Ten!" which is exactly what OP does not want.

soulsinging

I'm actually pleasantly surprised. I thought I was going to hate this album. It's nowhere near the greatness of their heyday, but it is a much more engaging listen than their last 2 albums. It has a momentum and energy that is infectious, even if there are a lot of songs that on their own don't do it for me. Very much an album greater than the sum of its parts.

Gern Blansten

Backspacer kicks ass....fucking love it

DewieCox

CranMalReign wrote:

DewieCox wrote:

I think you are confused.

Nah. OP says "they're just doing the same stuff again". Most of the responses say "stop trying to live in the past! They're not going to recreate Ten!" which is exactly what OP does not want.

Whoops!! My bad....I skimmed a little

Cahoots

CranMalReign wrote:

pukin wrote:

The Fixer is another Unemployable.

wrong - wait till you see it live (all of it) its different, its better, its fucking awsome

especially johnny guitar

Cosmo

I can't speak for Pearl Jam... I can only speak for myself...
I am not the same person I was in 1991. I'm hoping that i've grown up a bit... and maybe gotten a little wiser that I was. Like, no expectations means no regrets... and take things as they come... accept them for what they are. Doesn't mean you have to like them.
...
And.. If I had something that I could sell at a Target store, I would... and I think that even the people who call others 'Sell-outs' would, too.

orig_long red

Cosmo wrote:

And.. If I had something that I could sell at a Target store, I would... and I think that even the people who call others 'Sell-outs' would, too.

i'm a writer and i'd sell out in a minute if it meant not having to work for jackass bosses ever again.

just an opinion.

Razor Face

I like it. I mean, everyone's got their own opinion, so if this doesn't do it for you, I hope the next one does, but I really dig the sound. I don't think it's their best and I don't think it's their worst, but I also don't think they settled for mediocrity. They stepped out of their comfort zone here a bit and put things together very differently than normal. I enjoy the string arrangements and the use of more piano. I love the slow tracks on this one, and I think they're the album's high points. I love how they arranged Just Breathe (I was a bit curious how it was going to be done when I watched that itunes preview video), and Force of Nature hits me like a wave every time. (also, I know it's not one of the slower tracks but I love the guitar riff in the middle of Supersonic) My point is, I can't blame you guys for not liking it, it's your call, but I think it's a beautiful album ... even if I'm not crazy about the artwork, ha.