Jamming & Song Writing

pirlo21

Now I may be talking absolute shit, because I really don’t know the first thing about song writing and how it’s done.
But it came to mind when I read a quote by Jeff saying that the band are back in the studio, jamming and coming up with ideas and slowly writing new stuff for the next album.
I just started thinking, is ‘jamming’ a method that’s gonna give us the music that we all love Pearl Jam for? Songs that touch us deeply, because we know the guys believe in what their playing and singing.

I mean ‘jamming’ to me is Stone saying “here guys, I got this riff”. Matt coming up with a beat, Jeff sticking a bassline on it, Mike doing a solo and then Eddie adding the lyrics.
Now I know that’s a very basic description, but I really don’t see where the heart and passion comes in that form of song writing.

Now if it’s an individual member, or maybe even two of them, sitting down and shedding blood, sweat & tears thinking carefully about each word and chord. You can understand and visualise the emotion, the connection and belief in the song. Even if then the other members come in and add their contribution.

Like I said, I know I’m probably talking utter crap. But I was just interested in your views. Particularly, those who know a bit, or do a bit, of song writing!

James The Shrimper

I see your point, but for me it doesn't really matter how a song is conceived- it's what it sounds like at the end, and what it sounds like live. Most of Yield was written by the band just throwing in ideas, and that's a great record. Maybe that's the way Pearl Jam likes to write music. And it's worked so far so long may it continue.

alexross42

There's nothing to say that they won't bring something into the fold that they've previously conjured up, whether it be lyrics, licks, riffs etc, and those parts themselves may have been created with the passion and emotion of which you speak.
However, there's nothing to say that writing something spontaneously also cannot have these qualities about them - sometimes when you over think something it becomes distilled and can end up feeling contrived, so working within a spontaneous environment can be one of the best ways to maintain a creative and truthful spark, imho

pirlo21

I'm glad what I said made some sense at least!

And I have to agree that how a song is conceived isn't the important, but the end product.
But the whole song writing process fascinates me. Like how Eddie & Chris Cornell came up with two different versions of Stone's song that became Footsteps & Times of Trouble. Incredible.

BinFrog

You'd be surprised at how many different ways there are for coming up with songs. Trust me, no one particular method of songwriting has more heart or depth to it than other ways. Sometimes great music is written by an individual and brought to the group, and other times it is a full group process. You just never know.

TouringFan2000

back in the day, eddie said on more than one occasion that the band wrote its songs by getting together and jamming. so they're going old school! actually, i think that artists of all kinds change the "ways" they make art from time to time. i wouldn't worry about PJ lacking passion.

on another note ... i wish they'd just let some of their jams survive on the finished disc. i often think, hey, they were just starting to crank on that song ... and then it's over.

BinGnarly

When you jam you feel the music. When all the instruments come together and it sounds amazing the guys are feeling it. Coming from a guitar player I know this feeling. It just clicks and you can almost feel the music rushing threw your body. Thats where it comes from. Then Eddie writes the lyrics and they usually have deeper meaning. I don't think Ed just improvs lyrics. I mean im sure on occasion during a jam he has sang something that he liked on accident and decided to keep it. But I thought I had read somewhere in an interview that Eddie just keeps that lyric book with him and writes lyrics when they come to him and then lays them down on tracks that the band has come up with or one guy has wrote or whatever.

BinFrog

TouringFan2000 wrote:

back in the day, eddie said on more than one occasion that the band wrote its songs by getting together and jamming. so they're going old school! actually, i think that artists of all kinds change the "ways" they make art from time to time. i wouldn't worry about PJ lacking passion.

on another note ... i wish they'd just let some of their jams survive on the finished disc. i often think, hey, they were just starting to crank on that song ... and then it's over.

Like MFC.

butterfly1

What BinFrog said. Different methods work for different folks and at different times in their careers.
One of my favorites is a story Paul Simon told about the inspiration for the song "Mother and Child Reunion". He said he got his inspiration and the name from a menu at a chinese restaurant in NYC that had a chicken and egg dish called, you got it--mother and child.

tmud91087

A lot of times jamming brings out the best music. When you are just fucking around and playing whatever you want you stumble upon some of the coolest riffs or rythms...Sometimes sitting down set out to write something brilliant just makes you try to hard and nothing will come out. Alot of the songs we really love were written by mistake...A guitarist playing something and messing up to stumble upon something great. I think David Grohl mentioned that the Colour and Shape album was mostly mistakes made during his solo jam session.

nocodelover22

Jamming can be a really beautiful and moving process depending on who it's with. If you're just jamming with sum buds who can all play different insturments, it's usually a damn fun time. But if you're with some people you really care about and enjoy a great deal, and they just happen to be in your band, when you find that connection in the music, it's fucking unreal.

dserver

Jamming is a messy process but it allow them to get a basic idea. With that idea they can then decide which direction the song should go and figure out what chords/lyrics need to be added to fit that direction. Unless your Frank Zappa, it would be hard to write a song without some sort of jamming.

NewJPage

TouringFan2000 wrote:

back in the day, eddie said on more than one occasion that the band wrote its songs by getting together and jamming. so they're going old school! actually, i think that artists of all kinds change the "ways" they make art from time to time. i wouldn't worry about PJ lacking passion.

on another note ... i wish they'd just let some of their jams survive on the finished disc. i often think, hey, they were just starting to crank on that song ... and then it's over.

yeah, a bunch of vs. was written like that. i love the jams. bring em on! i remember jeff saying that they wrote a "jazz oddesy" during the avocado sessions, which obviously did not make the cut...but i'd love to hear that!!

Gardenparty

I'm just hoping they "jam" Anything in Between with record on this time. That tune could be huge.

But on the topic at hand. Jamming is a good way to get back into the flow since they've taken some time off (and Roo is just around the corner). Mike just mentioned in the interview he did that writing was being done by bringing in demos and also live jamming. At this point in Pearl Jam they've proven that either way works. It's just whether or not their heads and creative sides are in the right place. It's all about the song man!