The ONLY thing I don't love about BS....

Backspacer_Backer

Not looking to complain or criticize, I'm just curious if this bothers anybody else. I love the album, have listened to it nonstop since Friday, and the more I listen, the more I like the ENTIRE record from start to finish.

But as that process goes on, and i familiarize myself with the lyrics, Eddie's apparent new willingness to include religious (even Christian) messages in the music is a turn off to me. I don't mind anybody's religion, I just don't like it in my rock music. That's called Christian rock, and it's something I don't get into. I am glad that Ed is happy with his current life situation, and if that includes being born again or just more comfortable writing about his faith, great for him. For me as a listener, that's the one thing I would change about Backspacer. Too many soul saving and prayer references for my taste.

the wolf

csickels wrote:

Not looking to complain or criticize, I'm just curious if this bothers anybody else. I love the album, have listened to it nonstop since Friday, and the more I listen, the more I like the ENTIRE record from start to finish.

But as that process goes on, and i familiarize myself with the lyrics, Eddie's apparent new willingness to include religious (even Christian) messages in the music is a turn off to me. I don't mind anybody's religion, I just don't like it in my rock music. That's called Christian rock, and it's something I don't get into. I am glad that Ed is happy with his current life situation, and if that includes being born again or just more comfortable writing about his faith, great for him. For me as a listener, that's the one thing I would change about Backspacer. Too many soul saving and prayer references for my taste.

but he does say he will say the prayers that belong to someone else.

and just saying that you have a soul that has been saved does not really make it a reigious or christian thing, in my book.

chris32482

Are you on drugs?

BinFrog

csickels wrote:

Not looking to complain or criticize, I'm just curious if this bothers anybody else. I love the album, have listened to it nonstop since Friday, and the more I listen, the more I like the ENTIRE record from start to finish.

But as that process goes on, and i familiarize myself with the lyrics, Eddie's apparent new willingness to include religious (even Christian) messages in the music is a turn off to me. I don't mind anybody's religion, I just don't like it in my rock music. That's called Christian rock, and it's something I don't get into. I am glad that Ed is happy with his current life situation, and if that includes being born again or just more comfortable writing about his faith, great for him. For me as a listener, that's the one thing I would change about Backspacer. Too many soul saving and prayer references for my taste.

Ummm, last I checked Eddie was vocally non-religious and constantly jabbed at religion in his show banter. C'mon now....you're reaching.

The day Pearl Jam turns into a Christian Rock band is the day I find a new favorite band. Period.

Backspacer_Backer

chris32482 wrote:

Are you on drugs?

umm, no. what, you are a fan of the religious references in Backspacer?

bootlegger10

This is the absolute worst post I've read on this board. Where is there a Christian reference? He says "prayer"? Don't all religions have some sort of prayer? Are you that hateful of religion that you read it into this album? Don't worry, Ed still blastized the cross in Comatose on Tuesday night.

Oh, I get it now. In Just Breathe Ed says he'll see someone on the other side. That's it, Ed is a BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN! Wow, Ed has been anti-Christian for like 18 years in this band, and he says "other side" and all of a sudden he born again. Terrible post. You really must hate Christians.

South of Seattle

csickels wrote:

chris32482 wrote:

Are you on drugs?

umm, no. what, you are a fan of the religious references in Backspacer?

There's religious references all over many of their previous songs.

(Although Amongst the Waves does sound like Creed's Higher)

chris32482

csickels wrote:

chris32482 wrote:

Are you on drugs?

umm, no. what, you are a fan of the religious references in Backspacer?

No, because I wasn't aware of any. Just because someone talks about praying or saving their soul does not make them Christian, or even religious. I've seen people who have never been religious in their life resort to praying when they are faced with hard times. Who or what they're praying to is irrelevant, it's just a way for them to find hope. And as for talking about his soul, what's wrong with that? The soul is not a Christian concept-- it could just mean your consciousness, or your humanity, if you will. Socrates called it the "psyche". it's what makes us who we are.

HeavyHands

Everyone interprets things in their own way, though. Right? What may be "religious" to you may just be "spiritual" to someone else. And those are different things "religious" and "spiritual."

Do you consider Sunny Day Real Estate a band that writes religious or Christian music?

jpoulas

I'm not sure about the religious references, but I think as a whole we need to turn a more critical eye towards this record. I love five of the songs, but many of them get progressively more bland as the album continues. http://www.unfinisheddad.typepad.com/un ... pacer.html

South of Seattle

HeavyHands wrote:

Everyone interprets things in their own way, though. Right? What may be "religious" to you may just be "spiritual" to someone else. And those are different things "religious" and "spiritual."

Do you consider Sunny Day Real Estate a band that writes religious or Christian music?

Nope, but I might consider Jeremy Enigk's solo work to be a bit christian and religious.

CranMalReign

South of Seattle wrote:

There's religious references all over many of their previous songs.

(Although Amongst the Waves does sound like Creed's Higher)

Amongst the Waves does have a very "inspirational", Christian Rock type vibe to it, I'll grant you that. Do I consider it a Christian song or that Ed is born again? Pshaw. He's just mushy happy.

Backspacer_Backer

ok, i'll go song by song on the religious references:

Gonna see my friend: "Gonna take me an Astral Plane"

The Fixer: "I'll say your prayers. I'll take your side. I'll find us a way to make light"

Johnny Guitar: references the original sin "Foriginal sin". Clearly a Christian reference.

Just Breathe: "Hold me till I die, I'll meet you on the other side"

ATW: "I can feel like I have a soul that has been saved" Soul saving? seriously, this is not a gray area

Speed of Sound: "And yet I’m still holding tight to this dream of distant light" this is debateable, but worth considering

South of Seattle

csickels wrote:

ok, i'll go song by song on the religious references:

Gonna see my friend: "Gonna take me an Astral Plane"

The Fixer: "I'll say your prayers. I'll take your side. I'll find us a way to make light"

Johnny Guitar: references the original sin "Foriginal sin". Clearly a Christian reference.

Just Breathe: "Hold me till I die, I'll meet you on the other side"

ATW: "I can feel like I have a soul that has been saved" Soul saving? seriously, this is not a gray area

Speed of Sound: "And yet I’m still holding tight to this dream of distant light" this is debateable, but worth considering

I'd say a few of those are reaching.

Did you like Marker in the Sand from the last album?

Backspacer_Backer

chris32482 wrote:

csickels wrote:

chris32482 wrote:

Are you on drugs?

umm, no. what, you are a fan of the religious references in Backspacer?

No, because I wasn't aware of any. Just because someone talks about praying or saving their soul does not make them Christian, or even religious. I've seen people who have never been religious in their life resort to praying when they are faced with hard times. Who or what they're praying to is irrelevant, it's just a way for them to find hope. And as for talking about his soul, what's wrong with that? The soul is not a Christian concept-- it could just mean your consciousness, or your humanity, if you will. Socrates called it the "psyche". it's what makes us who we are.

having the soul isn't Christian exclusively, or even religious. Having your soul SAVED is a religious or faith based ideal. If not for religion or faith, what would your soul need to be saved FROM?

Backspacer_Backer

South of Seattle wrote:

csickels wrote:

ok, i'll go song by song on the religious references:

Gonna see my friend: "Gonna take me an Astral Plane"

The Fixer: "I'll say your prayers. I'll take your side. I'll find us a way to make light"

Johnny Guitar: references the original sin "Foriginal sin". Clearly a Christian reference.

Just Breathe: "Hold me till I die, I'll meet you on the other side"

ATW: "I can feel like I have a soul that has been saved" Soul saving? seriously, this is not a gray area

Speed of Sound: "And yet I’m still holding tight to this dream of distant light" this is debateable, but worth considering

like i said, i love this album, and yes, i did like marker in the sand. tell me which ones you think are reaching - other than the Speed of Sound one. Every other one is clearly a religious reference.

I'd say a few of those are reaching.

Did you like Marker in the Sand from the last album?

BinFrog

Remember the flood of "Oh my god, GTF has to be about Jesus...it just has to be! Yay Eddie found religion!" posts back in the late 90's, followed by the obligatory link to the Garofalo interview:

http://www.cmj.com/newmm/qanda/veddergarofalo2.html

?



JG: On Elvis's birthday, by the way, p.s.

EV: It's Elvis's birthday, and he would be, I wonder how old. I have to admit, as much as Elvis is good, I'd be less interested in what Elvis had to say these days than what, maybe, John Lennon had to say these days, which might go back to our conversation that there's a big difference between art and entertainment.

JG: Explain more how it applies to John Lennon.

EV: I think John Lennon would be more art and Elvis would be more entertainment. Even though, Elvis kind of had a spiritual side, gospels and all that. But that seemed to be kind of... there was something spiritual going on there but, again, it's about God and not maybe based on reality.

JG: Can I ask what your feelings are about God?

EV: Sure. I think it's like a movie that was way too popular. It's a story that's been told too many times and just doesn't mean anything. Man lived on the planet -- [placing his fingers an inch apart], this is 5000 years of semi-recorded history. And God and the Bible, that came in somewhere around the middle, maybe 2000. This is the last 2000, this is what we're about to celebrate [indicating about an 1/8th of an inch with his fingers]. Now, humans, in some shape or form, have been on the earth for three million years [pointing across the room to indicate the distance]. So, all this time, from there [gesturing toward the other side of the room], to here [indicating the 1/8th of an inch], there was no God, there was no story, there was no myth and people lived on this planet and they wandered and they gathered and they did all these things. The planet was never threatened. How did they survive for all this time without this belief in God? I'd like to ask this to someone who knows about Christianity and maybe you do. That just seems funny to me.

JG: Funny ha-ha or funny strange?

EV: Funny strange. Funny bad. Funny frown. Not good. That laws are made and wars occur because of this story that was written, again, in this small part of time. And now, this is my real concern, and it doesn't have that much to do with God, but what we've done in the last 50 years, which is like my fingernail, and how fast things are moving, and what's going to happen in the next bit. I mean, we're really fucking things up. And now I'm the young guy bitching but I think there is an answer and I hope people educate themselves about technology and what's happening. I think you should educate yourself about...

JG: Who, the you me? Or the you general?

EV: The you general.

BinFrog

HeavyHands wrote:

Everyone interprets things in their own way, though. Right? What may be "religious" to you may just be "spiritual" to someone else. And those are different things "religious" and "spiritual."

Do you consider Sunny Day Real Estate a band that writes religious or Christian music?

No, at least not until he became a born again after their, what, 3rd album?

(Going to see them on Monday!)

bootlegger10

csickels wrote:

ok, i'll go song by song on the religious references:

Gonna see my friend: "Gonna take me an Astral Plane"

The Fixer: "I'll say your prayers. I'll take your side. I'll find us a way to make light"

Johnny Guitar: references the original sin "Foriginal sin". Clearly a Christian reference.

Just Breathe: "Hold me till I die, I'll meet you on the other side"

ATW: "I can feel like I have a soul that has been saved" Soul saving? seriously, this is not a gray area

Speed of Sound: "And yet I’m still holding tight to this dream of distant light" this is debateable, but worth considering

What frame of mind are you in where you can't handle these lyrics? What would be atheist lyrics? How depressing those most be.

Backspacer_Backer

BinFrog wrote:

Remember the flood of "Oh my god, GTF has to be about Jesus...it just has to be! Yay Eddie found religion!" posts back in the late 90's, followed by the obligatory link to the Garofalo interview:

http://www.cmj.com/newmm/qanda/veddergarofalo2.html

?



JG: On Elvis's birthday, by the way, p.s.

EV: It's Elvis's birthday, and he would be, I wonder how old. I have to admit, as much as Elvis is good, I'd be less interested in what Elvis had to say these days than what, maybe, John Lennon had to say these days, which might go back to our conversation that there's a big difference between art and entertainment.

JG: Explain more how it applies to John Lennon.

EV: I think John Lennon would be more art and Elvis would be more entertainment. Even though, Elvis kind of had a spiritual side, gospels and all that. But that seemed to be kind of... there was something spiritual going on there but, again, it's about God and not maybe based on reality.

JG: Can I ask what your feelings are about God?

EV: Sure. I think it's like a movie that was way too popular. It's a story that's been told too many times and just doesn't mean anything. Man lived on the planet -- [placing his fingers an inch apart], this is 5000 years of semi-recorded history. And God and the Bible, that came in somewhere around the middle, maybe 2000. This is the last 2000, this is what we're about to celebrate [indicating about an 1/8th of an inch with his fingers]. Now, humans, in some shape or form, have been on the earth for three million years [pointing across the room to indicate the distance]. So, all this time, from there [gesturing toward the other side of the room], to here [indicating the 1/8th of an inch], there was no God, there was no story, there was no myth and people lived on this planet and they wandered and they gathered and they did all these things. The planet was never threatened. How did they survive for all this time without this belief in God? I'd like to ask this to someone who knows about Christianity and maybe you do. That just seems funny to me.

JG: Funny ha-ha or funny strange?

EV: Funny strange. Funny bad. Funny frown. Not good. That laws are made and wars occur because of this story that was written, again, in this small part of time. And now, this is my real concern, and it doesn't have that much to do with God, but what we've done in the last 50 years, which is like my fingernail, and how fast things are moving, and what's going to happen in the next bit. I mean, we're really fucking things up. And now I'm the young guy bitching but I think there is an answer and I hope people educate themselves about technology and what's happening. I think you should educate yourself about...

JG: Who, the you me? Or the you general?

EV: The you general.

right, the point is - the garafolo interview was done before ed's life changed significantly. this album has several songs with religious references, and GTF didn't actually have any within the lyrics. People just stretched the theme of the song in general.

Backspacer_Backer

bootlegger10 wrote:

csickels wrote:

ok, i'll go song by song on the religious references:

Gonna see my friend: "Gonna take me an Astral Plane"

The Fixer: "I'll say your prayers. I'll take your side. I'll find us a way to make light"

Johnny Guitar: references the original sin "Foriginal sin". Clearly a Christian reference.

Just Breathe: "Hold me till I die, I'll meet you on the other side"

ATW: "I can feel like I have a soul that has been saved" Soul saving? seriously, this is not a gray area

Speed of Sound: "And yet I’m still holding tight to this dream of distant light" this is debateable, but worth considering

What frame of mind are you in where you can't handle these lyrics? What would be atheist lyrics? How depressing those most be.

it's not about atheism. i like all of pearl jam's music (as do, i assume, you.) The vast majority have no religious references.