PJ Lacking Desire To Be The Best?

SJD3232

P-Town-P-Jam-Fan said:

Music is art, its subjective and not a competition. Totally disagree with this thread

100% agree. Well said.

SJD3232

Walking the miles said:

rummy said:

I love PJ and appreciate that they pull out a significant portion of their back-catalog on all of their tours. However, let's not kid ourselves - they still play a lot of hits:

15 most-frequently played songs during LB tour (according to PJdb.net):

1 Porch (81 plays - 93% of shows)
2 Mind Your Manners (66 plays - 76% of shows)
3 Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town (63 plays - 72% of shows)
3 Lightning Bolt (63 plays - 72% of shows)
3 Alive (63 plays - 72% of shows)
6 Sirens (61 plays - 70% of shows)
7 Better Man (60 plays - 69% of shows)
8 Do The Evolution (59 plays - 68% of shows)
9 Even Flow (58 plays - 67% of shows)
10 Given To Fly (57 plays - 66% of shows)
11 Corduroy (55 plays - 63% of shows)
12 Rearviewmirror (47 plays - 54% of shows)
13 Black (44 plays - 51% of shows)
14 Rockin' In The Free World (43 plays - 49% of shows)
15 Jeremy (38 plays - 44% of shows)

But three of those fifteen are from the most recent album. Normally you play the hits from your newest album, so I'd remove those from the list. I'm pretty sure Bruce always plays "Born to Run" pretty much all the time.
I'm happy they're playing, and I'm proud of their live shows. Why am I proud?, I don't know, but I am.
And I also think the last two albums are their best in awhile.

I think self titled was the last "good" album. Definitely better than Backspacer and LB, even though I love both of them. However, I do respect your opinion

Walking the miles

Appreciate that. I like the S/T album as well. I think that was the start of their "come back", commercially. Shit! I like it all, but some of those middle albums didn't resonate with a lot of people.

pjalive21

Walking the miles said:

Appreciate that. I like the S/T album as well. I think that was the start of their "come back", commercially. Shit! I like it all, but some of those middle albums didn't resonate with a lot of people.

Outside of the fan base IMO the Binaural into Riot Act era almost made this band ghosts in the eyes of the average person

and S/T and so on there was a resurgence...I agree with you

Tim Simmons

I think the bands removal from the spotlight has as much to do with commercial radio and how people listened to music as much as it did with the albums PJ made in addition to their self imposed reluctance to put themselves out there.

Suziemay

I don't think they care to be the "best", nor do I want them to care. I think they are doing what they want and seem happy doing it. What I enjoy the most about Pearl Jam is seeing the band rock out on stage and having a good time. I've also enjoyed being part of a community as a result of my fandom. PJ fans are for the most part, a'ight. There are some crazies (you know who you are ) but for the most part, having Pearl Jam in my life has brought me more joy than I could have ever imagined.

PJ_Soul

I do sometimes wonder if they really care anymore. Or, I sometimes wonder if Jeff, Stone, and Eddie care. I do still feel like Mike and Matt care plenty. Of course, I'm just wondering because of my own observations of their behaviour, interviews, and recent music output for PJ (Jeff, at least, still obviously cares about music.... I'm just not as convinced when it comes to PJ). I don't actually know shit though. I hope I'm wrong. Or, if I'm right, I hope it's just temporary.
I do not think they are a nostalgia band at all.

FrankY59

dmaradona10 said:

There's only one "best around" and that is Joe Esposito!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBktYJsJq-E

Whenever I see this link I have to watch it in its entirety. Never gets old...

buck502000

This thread is rubbish and needs to be banished to the depths of mordor

vaggar99

it's definitely next to impossible to replicate the success of a band's younger years. But, l actually loved Backspacer. The album left me optmistic about the future of the band.

Then we had to wait 4 long years for Lightning Bolt and it came out sounding like an album the band didnt really want to make but were kind of forced to make. I hope this pattern doesn't continue, but I'm not optimistic.

jerparker20

buck502000 said:

This thread is rubbish and needs to be banished to the depths of mordor

+1

KC138045

Weston1283 said:

Tim Simmons said:

Abe Froman said:

I don't think nostalgia acts sell out 2 shows at Wrigley in 11 minutes and 2 shows at Fenway in 6 minutes.

Huh? Sure they could. Rolling Stones sell out stadiums all the time. So will Guns and Roses. Granted, PJ is still more vital than those bands, but don't mistake a rabid fanbase for being of the moment still.

But yes, I don't think TGAF. They just make and play tunes and that's great.

This. Pearl Jam is without a doubt, in my opinion, the best live band out there and the only band I would spend the kind of money I do to see.

But, if you look outside of our rabid fan base, they just arent really in the mainstream much anymore, which I am fine with. I like the way they do things, and I think them having a smaller but rabid fan base allows them to make each night more special and feel less obligated to perform to a large, mainstream audience.

And, like I already said, if they played outdoor summer shows at places with cheap lawn seats, it would REALLY help draw a younger audience.

This^^^^ when i tell people I'm going to go see Pearl Jam I get the same questions.
They're still making records?
They're still going on tour?

They're out of the mainstream and I like it. Look at what is considered mainstream/popular music these days and a lot of it is just trash. Just watch the grammy's or I heart radio awards.

pjalive21

vaggar99 said:

Then we had to wait 4 long years for Lightning Bolt and it came out sounding like an album the band didnt really want to make but were kind of forced to make. I hope this pattern doesn't continue, but I'm not optimistic.

IMO I thought they put a lot of effort into LB and in the interview with Ed in the car you could tell it was quit the process for them so I dunno if it was a forced thing

PP193448

Why the hell did I waste my time reading this thread??? This is lacking to be the best thread...

Zod

my2hands said:

Nostalgia acts don't put out #1 records with Mind Your Manners as a lead single...

I don't think it's as hard to get a #1 album as it used to be (if your an established act with a dedicated fan base). Album sales have slumped. If you're an established band with a dedicated fan base, you have a core group of fans that will buy your album opening week. The trend with established rock bands is to pop up around #1 during the first week, and completely fall off a cliff after that (because all the fans bought it the first week).

Even Disturbed had a #1 album last year and only had to move 80,000 copies to do it. As long as you're not releasing the same week as Adele/Taylor Swift you can probably score a #1 these days (assuming you have a dedicated fan base).

AC/DC who everyone agreed in this thread is a nostalgia act has had their last two albums come out at #1, mostly because they have a plethora of dedicated fans who buy it first week.

Not to knock PJ, but it's not cultural importance that got Lightning Bolt to #1, it's their dedicated fan base buying the album during the first week.

wnh1977

PP193448 said:

Why the hell did I waste my time reading this thread??? This is lacking to be the best thread...

Go read one of the several threads about Eddie's hair.

PP193448

wnh1977 said:

PP193448 said:

Why the hell did I waste my time reading this thread??? This is lacking to be the best thread...

Go read one of the several threads about Eddie's hair.

Those are much worse. Not even worth time Clicking to open those. You are entitled to your opinions but expect so many more to disagree with you on this thread.

DPrival78

jsvajgl said:

I think it would be interesting to see them pushed a little, such as working with Rick Rubin on their next record, for example.

i can get behind this.. or just some other producer. i don't think brendan o'brien has done them any favors with the last two albums. they haven't been bad, but they have been pretty safe imo.

my2hands

I don't want Rick Rubin anywhere near a pearl jam studio

Tim Simmons

Agreed