concept or them of Pearl Jam

there is a definite consept to this album which i think is living in modern america, and perhaps living in the modern western world.

for instance:
life wasted: for me this is about how life is tough and will drag you down but you must persevere "why swim the channel just to get this far?, halfway there, why would you turn around?" this lyric in a way reminds me of a line from shakespeare!!!! something like "i am in blood stepped in so far, that returning were as difficult as go o'er" but this was what macbeth said to justify his killing and what not. thats just useless sidenote!!!

wws: a song about governments taking people for granted. eddie has avoided naming names which allows the songs to remain universal.

It's the same everyday and the wave won't break
Tell you to pray, while the devil's on their shoulder
Laying claim to the take that our soldiers save
Does not equate, and the truth's already out there

love those lyrics.

comatose: this i think is about people with their head in the sand. about people who chose to ignore problems or just don't care about problems that exist in our world today and exist in the very fundamentals of the way in which we live.

severed hand: song apparently about using drugs to achieve some kind of enlightenment in my opinion. "If I don't lose control Explore and not explode
A preternatural other plane With the power to maintain"

marker made of sand: another reference to falling up.... can't figure out what he means by falling up but anywho.... some more lyrics here about war "Now you got both sides claiming 'killing in god's name'. But god is nowhere to be found, conveniently..."

parachutes: is kinda out of place as i feel in places its an ode to ed's new found love for Jill and Olivia. "And love What a different life Had I not found this love with you" there are also small references to war

and eddie seems content and "I don’t want to know your plans
but together share the dawn
and I won’t need nothing else
cause when we’re dead
we would’ve had it all"

seems he's saying if he died now he'd be happy cos he has now what he neeeded all his life.

unemployable: obvious song about unemployment and the pressure it puts on a man with a family. i feel this character is perhaps someone who subsequenty has to join the army to make money and is sent away. perhaps it is his wife singing to him in come back and his wife could be the narrator in army reserve also

Big Wave: a song about eddies love of surfing. perhaps this song would've been more suited to the more introspective lyrics of no code and yield. this song is very cool, especially if you are a surfer. my surfer buddy loves this song, says it describes how he feels when surfing.

Gone: this song fits into the overall theme of the album. its an eddie song in the tradition of "getting the fuck outta a bad situation" like mfc, untitled and rvm. its that feeling we all get from living in the capitalist society of just wanting to get up and leave it all behind and be free. nice thought. impossible.

wasteed reprise: again fits in the theme of life wasted in the modern world.

army reserve: a song about a wife at home waiting for a loved one to return from war. she has to lie to her kids to make them feel all is ok when she knows it's not "Her son's slanted
Always giving her
The sideways eye
The empty chair where dad sits
How loud can silence get?
And mom, she reassures
To contain him
But it's becoming a lie"

it finisheds with a plea from the wife to her husband
Darling you'll save me
If you save yourself

Come Back: kinda conitnues the theme of army reserve. i imagine these are the wifes thoughts as she lies alone and cold in bed. she's trying to hold on but finding it harder and harder. she tells her husband that she has been faithfull to him in every way "I still remain true"

inside job: another more introspective song about mike. mike in interviews and thru the years has always seemed like a very upbeat and happy guy, but it seems these masks his darker interior

Underneath this smile lies everything
All my hopes and anger, pride and shame
Make myself a pact not to shut doors on the past
Just for today I am free

he wishes to not forget his past but to learn from it.

How i choose to feel is how i am

this is the central idea of the album. Mike says that you can control how you feel. this feels in line with the theory about how in a bad situation people can choose to be a victim. kinda feels like a sequel to down.
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Comments

  • keyser_sozekeyser_soze Posts: 205
    bump.... somebody has to have opinion....

    seems i wasted my time writing this
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  • EraserheadEraserhead Posts: 2,937

    seems i wasted my time writing this

    Yep.

    There is no "concept". Just a load of great tunes. Sorry to disappoint you.
    Manchester 04.06.00, Leeds 25.08.06, Wembley 18.06.07, Dusseldorf 21.06.07, Shepherds Bush 11.08.09, Manchester 17.08.09, Adelaide 17.11.09, Melbourne 20.11.09, Sydney 22.11.09, Brisbane 25.11.09, MSG1 20.05.10, MSG2 21.05.10, Dublin 22.06.10, Belfast 23.06.10, London 25.06.10, Long Beach 06.07.11 (EV), Los Angeles 08.07.11 (EV), Toronto 11.09.11, Toronto 12.09.11, Ottawa 14.09.11, Hamilton 14.09.11, Manchester 20.06.12, Manchester 21.06.12, Amsterdam 26.06.2012, Amsterdam 27.06.2012, Berlin 04.07.12, Berlin 05.07.12, Stockholm 07.07.12, Oslo 09.07.12, Copenhagen 10.07.12, Manchester 28.07.12 (EV), Brooklyn 18.10.13, Brooklyn 19.10.13, Philly 21.10.13, Philly 22.10.13, San Diego 21.11.13, LA 23.11.13, LA 24.11.13, Oakland 26.11.13, Portland 29.11.13, Spokane 30.11.13, Calgary 02.12.13, Vancouver 04.12.13, Seattle 06.12.13, Trieste 22.06.14, Vienna 25.06.14, Berlin 26.06.14, Stockholm 28.06.14, Leeds 08.07.14, Philly 28.04.16, Philly 28.04.16, MSG1 01.05.16, MSG2 02.05.16
  • Fetus Jr.Fetus Jr. Posts: 26
    I disagree. Whether they went in saying "let's make an album about these things" or not (which I doubt they did), the album in its finality still has certain messages and an overall feel/theme to it. At least the way I see it. Of course, as with all PJ albums, many or most of the songs are open to interpretation in many different forms.

    I believe it's all about a feeling of being 'reborn' or 'refreshed'. It's about being human. It's about struggle. It's about leaving the past behind, living for today, and hoping for a great tomorrow. It's about love, for one's self, for others, for mother earth, for life, and for the life-giver. It's Pearl Jam, now.
    I traded magic for fact...then I traded back.
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