The PLAY MINNESOTA Thread!
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johnny guitar is so good i hope they play it twice0
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AndySlash said:johnny guitar is so good i hope they play it twice1998-06-30 Minneapolis
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Haha thanks Kate1998-06-30 Minneapolis
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
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2025-05-03 NOLA (Jazz Fest)0 -
No love for Johnny and his guitar. Never liked the song. Only other song I dislike more on Backspaced is The Fixer.
I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell.
-Christopher Walken
you're=you are
your=showing ownership
The truth has a well known liberal bias.
-Stephen Colbert0 -
I've always liked Johnny Guitar. And I don't understand the hate for that song
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Well, I'm no fan of Backspacer as a whole; I've always thought that even in it's best moments, it felt very un-Pearl Jam (a thought that calls to mind the question raised in a great film I Heart Huckabees: "how am I not like myself?" How can an album made by Pearl Jam not feel like Pearl Jam? Alas, here is Backspacer).
Anyway, the record was supposed to be "garage rock" and what we got was a collection of rushed, poppier songs that all felt as though they were written to suit a preconceived album as a whole (similar to writing music for a soundtrack), rather than any music that occurred organically in a session and comprised the album. Further, one of the trademarks of PJ's music - the live experience of the song - hasn't been kind to the album either, as some of the more yawnworthy parts of any PJ show tend to be midset renditions of songs like "Speed of Sound" (which I actually don't mind as a standalone track), "Just Breathe," "Amongst the Waves" or "Unthought Known."
Additionally, the album as recorded sounds too polished, too soft, too studio (if that makes any sense) for a Pearl Jam record. Ed's lyrics don't help ("...live my life with the volume full!" What are you, selling Doritos?), and even at his angstiest moments, when typical PJ records really tend to pop (see: "Not For You," "Comatose," "Breakerfall" etc), the "hard" songs come off as flat, emotionless, just plain tired.
So why does "Johnny Guitar" rise above the rest of the sluice? To start, it has none of the sap of songs like "Just Breathe" or "The End," which have their own place in music but should be nowhere near a "garage rock" album. Second, it's the most closely akin to what I believe they were trying to accomplish: it's a tight, quirky track where the drums really drive the song (instead of the half-hearted attempts at melody and guitar on songs like "Amongst the Waves" or the lackluster anthemic aspirations of "Unthought Known"). Say whatever you want about who is doing the drumming on any PJ song, but make no mistake: some of the best PJ moments are on songs where the drums are driving things (e.g. "Why Go," "Whipping," "Mind Your Manners," "Go," "In My Tree" etc).
Finally, "Johnny Guitar" hits the right notes in content that a great garage rock song can. It talks loosely about sex without being gross. It never gets too heavy or aims toward any great question. It just hums along like a car on a back highway in July, getting you someplace by being pleasantly aimless.
There you have it. My backhanded review of Backspacer by way of a direct endorsement of Johnny Guitar as a good song.1998-06-30 Minneapolis
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
2011-09-04 PJ20
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2012-06-27 Amsterdam
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2013-11-24 Los Angeles
2014-07-08 Leeds, UK
2014-07-11 Milton Keynes, UK
2014-10-09 Lincoln
2014-10-19 St. Paul
2014-10-20 Milwaukee
2016-08-20 Wrigley 1
2016-08-22 Wrigley 2
2018-06-18 London 1
2018-08-18 Wrigley 1
2018-08-20 Wrigley 2
2022-09-16 Nashville
2023-08-31 St. Paul
2023-09-02 St. Paul
2023-09-05 Chicago 1
2024-08-31 Wrigley 2
2024-09-15 Fenway 1
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2025-05-03 NOLA (Jazz Fest)0 -
Maybe this is lame or cliché or unpopular or too fanboy but....
I like all their albums....in a certain order, yes..
Does that order change as I grow and evolve as a person, yes..
But, I like all of their albums. They are all good to me. I can put any of them on and get into the music they made in that place in time.0 -
Bump0
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Avocado is such a killer record.
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Bummmmmp0
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Did anyone else fill out the Current's Iconic Voices bracket?0
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Dirty Frank Z said:Did anyone else fill out the Current's Iconic Voices bracket?0
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BUMP!1998-06-30 Minneapolis
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
2011-09-04 PJ20
2011-09-17 Winnipeg
2012-06-26 Amsterdam
2012-06-27 Amsterdam
2013-07-19 Wrigley
2013-11-21 San Diego
2013-11-23 Los Angeles
2013-11-24 Los Angeles
2014-07-08 Leeds, UK
2014-07-11 Milton Keynes, UK
2014-10-09 Lincoln
2014-10-19 St. Paul
2014-10-20 Milwaukee
2016-08-20 Wrigley 1
2016-08-22 Wrigley 2
2018-06-18 London 1
2018-08-18 Wrigley 1
2018-08-20 Wrigley 2
2022-09-16 Nashville
2023-08-31 St. Paul
2023-09-02 St. Paul
2023-09-05 Chicago 1
2024-08-31 Wrigley 2
2024-09-15 Fenway 1
2024-09-27 Ohana 1
2024-09-29 Ohana 2
2025-05-03 NOLA (Jazz Fest)0 -
BUmp0
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Wild clinched bump!0
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Bump0
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50% chance of snow this afternoon bump. Enjoy the game.0
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New Arctic Monkeys bump!0
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