It's been almost a year since Backspacer...

245

Comments

  • pdalowsky
    pdalowsky Doncaster,UK Posts: 15,235
    i still love it, its a great piece of work.....

    i love the critical analysis here sometimes 'sucks ass'....brilliant, just brilliant....
  • SPEEDY MCCREADY
    SPEEDY MCCREADY Posts: 26,953
    Unthought Known is the best song they have ever written.....

    That said....

    I havent listened to that album in months...

    I am not saying it is a bad album, I just havent listened to it in months

    I havent listened to Riot Act in years....
    I havent listened to Avocado in years.....

    Funny how things change...
    What used to be important....
    Isnt so important anymore.........
    Take me piece by piece.....
    Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
  • BMo-643
    BMo-643 Posts: 220
    I have to say I still dig Backspacer...At first I wasn't much on it...I really liked "Got Some" but then they came with "The Fixer" out the gate and I was skeptical, but after listening to it more and more and hearing it live...I like it...

    The album as a whole is pretty good..The only song that doesn't fit on the album and I wished they hadn't put on there is "Just Breathe" ....Don't get me wrong, I like the song, but its too much like "Into the Wild" and would have been perfect for that album...its just out of place...great song...

    Only song on the album I don't really like is "Johnny Guitar"...I know it has a cult following on here...but I really don't care for it...Favorites on the album...Force of Nature, Amongst The Waves, Supersonic, Gonna See My Friend...

    Great album but you can't say it sucks because its not "Ten" or "Vitalogy" or "V/S"....Those are three of the best albums in music history and those albums are also anywhere from 19 to 16 years old...How much have some of you on here changed in nearly two decades? How much has music changed in 20 years? Can't compare them to each other...Backspacer is a classic modern rock album and it stacks up to the best albums being released right now...bottom line.

    Those of you looking for the next "V/S" are going to be constantly disappointed if you continue to hold your breath and continue to compare everything new to those albums....Be happy the band still cares enough about making great music, is still healthy enough to tour, still like each enough to make albums, and still care enough about their fans to do some of the things they do...
    Cincinnati 06'
    Lollapalooza 07'
    Bonnaroo 08'
    Columbus 10'
    Noblesville 10'
    Alpine Valley 11'
    Alpine Valley 11'
    Music Midtown 12'
    Wrigley Field 13'
    Cincinnati 14'
    Lexington 16'
  • Citizen Zack
    Citizen Zack Posts: 1,763
    It's not 1991 anymore. Times change. People grow older, their priorities shift, their minds expand, their world changes. It's natural and it's also a good thing, believe it or not. And this is evident is Pearl Jam's music. Their early work is brilliant for it's bold, sometimes angry (rightfully so) messages. But that's how we are in our 20s, passionate and anti-establishment. The guys are in their 40s now. They've grown through this stuff, evolved as people just as the world has evolved. Each of their albums seems to coincide with the general feeling of the state of the world at the time of its release. Same with Backspacer. I guess my rambling point is this - I'm not sure why there's always comparisons to Backspacer and Vitalogy. Or "Binaural sucks, just listen to Vs. for proof." Do people really want angst-ridden rock from established, matured, grown-up, over-come-some-tough-times, 40 somethings? And honestly, there's still such amazing messages in their ever-evolving music. Unthought Known is absolutely brillant. Got Some is too, for that matter. And Gonna See My Friend is a really fun, really rocking song. Sure, there's a level of hope (some call it cheesy) that hasn't ever really been consistently present before, but is that such a bad thing? If we were still getting the same type of record over and over for 20 years, would we still be listening?

    By the way - Binaural is one of my favorite albums ever, so don't be fooled by my example

    AND - if you want to make comparisons - look at No Code. I hear a lot of fans claim that is their favorite record (I love it too) but that is a huge shift from Ten-Vs-Vitalogy. HUGE shift. And consciously done. And it was a brilliant move. I think it's basically an f-you record to everyone who wanted to type cast PJ as whatever they wanted to call them in the 90s. It showed versatility and a willingness to shun mass appeal and still put out music that was important to them. I just don't see the concept of Backspacer as much different. It doesn't compare to early work (as it shouldn't) and neither does No Code (as it shouldn't) but there seems to be a double standard there.

    Now I've rambled on so long I'm late to work. Have a good one.
    "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." - Thoreau

    No time to be void, or save up on life, you've got to spend it all
  • Ledbetterman10
    Ledbetterman10 Posts: 17,005
    RW8297 wrote:
    I'm sorry to tell you this but Backspacer sucks ass. It's the worst PJ album. I'ts been a year since released but still can't listen to it.

    Same here but it's no use being a hater. I just ignore Backspacer's existence.
    2000: Camden 1, 2003: Philly, State College, Camden 1, MSG 2, Hershey, 2004: Reading, 2005: Philly, 2006: Camden 1, 2, East Rutherford 1, 2007: Lollapalooza, 2008: Camden 1, Washington D.C., MSG 1, 2, 2009: Philly 1, 2, 3, 4, 2010: Bristol, MSG 2, 2011: PJ20 1, 2, 2012: Made In America, 2013: Brooklyn 2, Philly 2, 2014: Denver, 2015: Global Citizen Festival, 2016: Philly 2, Fenway 1, 2018: Fenway 1, 2, 2021: Sea. Hear. Now. 2022: Camden, 2024: Philly 2, 2025: Pittsburgh 1

    Pearl Jam bootlegs:
    http://wegotshit.blogspot.com
  • rival.
    rival. Chicago Posts: 7,775
    hasn't held up well against the test of time for me. loved it when it first came out... honeymoon was over and it faded away. haven't listened to it in a few months.
  • cincybearcat
    cincybearcat Posts: 16,895
    Well, overall I like Backspacer. I still have it in my car and listen to part of it most days.

    I would group the cd into the following categories:

    Listen to it most days:
    Got Some
    Just Breathe
    Amongst the Waves
    Unthought Known

    Listen to it occasionally:
    Gonna See my Friend
    The Fixer
    The End
    Force of Nature

    Hardly listen to it at all:
    Supersonic
    Johnny Guitar

    Listen to it only to make sure it really is as cheesy and bad as I thought before:
    Speed of Sound
    hippiemom = goodness
  • RW8297
    RW8297 Posts: 1,617
    Ledbetterman10 wrote:
    RW8297 wrote:
    I'm sorry to tell you this but Backspacer sucks ass. It's the worst PJ album. I'ts been a year since released but still can't listen to it.

    Same here but it's no use being a hater. I just ignore Backspacer's existence.

    I didn't mean to be a hater. I don't listen to BS either. I just can't stand opinions like "it's the greatest album ever" or brilliant! I know it's just my opinion and it's not that I miss Ten or Vs times. It's just the fact that these songs are really weak. Look at Riot Act or Pearl Jam. The are tones of excellent tunes. I can't find anything like this on BS. Sad.
  • cincybearcat
    cincybearcat Posts: 16,895
    RW8297 wrote:
    [ Look at Riot Act. The are tones of excellent tunes.


    Probably a different thread...but maybe you could pm me with the location of those excellent tunes on Riot Act....I've been searching for years.
    hippiemom = goodness
  • Paul Andrews
    Paul Andrews Posts: 2,489
    I must really suck ass then - Supersonic is probably my favourite song on the record and I got to see it at Newark - it fucken rocks!!!
    http://longroad.com.au
  • RW8297
    RW8297 Posts: 1,617
    cincybearcat wrote:
    RW8297 wrote:
    [ Look at Riot Act. The are tones of excellent tunes.


    Probably a different thread...but maybe you could pm me with the location of those excellent tunes on Riot Act....I've been searching for years.

    bu$hleaguer, you are, save you, help help, all or none,.. Enough?
    Gotta quit this stupid conversation. Everybody has its own opinion,..
  • pjfanman
    pjfanman Posts: 84
    Great album...easily their best since Yield.
  • FenwayFaithful
    FenwayFaithful Posts: 8,626
    I always thought Backspacer was awful. Just awful, by far the worst Pearl Jam album. Then I heard the songs played live and now I really like 3 or 4 of them. Overall, the album is still really weak, but I appreciate it a little more now.

    People on the board here rip Avocado and Riot Act but put against Backspacer I think they are both far superior.
    "FF, I've heard the droning about the Sawx being the baby dolls. Yeah, I get it, you guys invented baseball and suffered forever. I get it." -JearlPam0925
  • Paul Andrews
    Paul Andrews Posts: 2,489
    Riot Act and Binaural are class acts - love them too. For me there is no 'best album since...' they're all great in their own way and I listen to them equally - I just listen to some more equally than others at times. 8-)
    http://longroad.com.au
  • cincybearcat
    cincybearcat Posts: 16,895
    RW8297 wrote:
    cincybearcat wrote:
    RW8297 wrote:
    [ Look at Riot Act. The are tones of excellent tunes.


    Probably a different thread...but maybe you could pm me with the location of those excellent tunes on Riot Act....I've been searching for years.

    bu$hleaguer, you are, save you, help help, all or none,.. Enough?
    Gotta quit this stupid conversation. Everybody has its own opinion,..

    Missed my sarcasm. ;)
    hippiemom = goodness
  • demetrios
    demetrios Posts: 97,893
    Backspacer feels like an EP to me! Not so much a complete Pearl Jam record as a whole.
  • Electric_Delta
    Electric_Delta Posts: 977
    Times change, bands change, and people change. I don't want every record to be their first. If it were, they'd be Puddle of Mudd.

    Backspacer is great, and as a side note, Binaural is an atmospheric masterpiece.
    Bristow, VA (5/13/10)
  • BinFrog
    BinFrog MA Posts: 7,314
    Man that was a short year. I swear it felt like 9 months.
    Bright eyed kid: "Wow Typo Man, you're the best!"
    Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
  • Paul Andrews
    Paul Andrews Posts: 2,489
    demetrios wrote:
    Backspacer feels like an EP to me! Not so much a complete Pearl Jam record as a whole.

    Yes, I fell this too, we've been spoilt with long PJ records. At 37 mintues it seems to end as you expect it to kick on. But there are plenty of other records that are shorter, just no PJ records.
    http://longroad.com.au
  • michelleelise
    michelleelise Posts: 346
    Wow, I can't believe it's been a year. Our local record store had it a few days early and they were playing it on the sidewalk speakers, I remember just hanging out there on the sidewalk to listen and the anticipation of being able to buy it in a few days.

    I've been playing Supersonic a lot lately in the car :)

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