I think the opposite is true,albums like Binaural are the reason why they have such a rabid fanbase.Everyone I know who just has Ten and Vs. wouldn't list PJ in their favourite bands or wouldn't go out of their way to see a PJ show or get a bootleg whereas anyone who owns No Code,Yield,Binaural and Riot Act is completely devoted to the band.
Sleight Of Hand's the best song I've ever heard.
Great post.
Before the Camden 06 shows, I was talking to someone who I thought was a big Pearl Jam fan and asked him what he thought of the new album (Avocado)...
I believe his response was -
"Fuck that shit. They started doing some weird shit after Ten and VS. I haven't liked any of their stuff since."
Camden I '06, Camden II '06, Bonnaroo '08, Camden I '08, Camden II '08, Philly Spectrum II/III/IV '09, MSG I '10, MSG II '10, Made In America '12, Wrigley '13, Brooklyn II '13, Philly I '13, Philly II '13, ...
i'd take of the girl as an opener any day of the week & Parting Ways in one of my all time favorites
i always become more of a fan of an album as time passes. i have to hear it enough to get the nuances of each song. it took me a while (two years?) before i was able to fully apreciate binaural...and i'll still "discover" new songs all the time
what, Pearl Jam is not a copy cat band, they grow, yes this is not for everyone, and mix that with Ed's will to pull back and adjust songs so they aren't radio hits, we get it, but I like Binaural. I like being challenged each time I hear a new PJ song, I don't like every PJ song I ever heard, but don't feel the need to talk about hating, disliking, suckiness of anything they may have ever done on a forum that I would think would be about celebrating what they do and have done.
"Music, for me, was fucking heroin." eV (nothing Ed has said is more true for me personally than this quote)
I've been on the PJ train for a pretty long time - REALLY jumped on in '95. I own at least 400 shows, and various other PJ nonsense. Been to a bunch of shows. And while I know that REAL FANS put Binaural up there towards the top, I wonder which album those REAL FANS find as THEIR least fav.
For me...there was a BIG drop off at Binaural, No Code is an incredible album that took me awhile to really get, Yield was incredible immediately, Riot Act was a breath of fresh air after Binaural and the last album is phenomenal. So...all you smart-ass REAL PJ fans, which album is your LEAST favorite.
If you say anything other than Binaural, then you're just lying.
Let's break it down.
Ten?, nope, the songs are just too damn great.
Vs?, nope-its the heaviest PJ allbum ever (just listen to Indio '93 to see how heavy)-Ambruzzesse was a beast.
VITALOGY? Nope, thematic, great songs, Tremor Christ and Satan's Bed - definitely NOT the worst album. Rock Solid
No Code? Really changed directions here, lotsa folks jumped off the train here. This album keeps giving back though - Red Mosquito would single-handedly keep this album from being on the bottom, but doesn't need to - it's become one of my favs, after years of listening I like it more and more.
Yield? No Way (Pun Intended). Given to Fly, Faithfull, In Hiding, Brain of JFK, Evolution. In my opinion, this is one of the best beginning to end albums PJ has ever released.
Riot Act - I wouldn't consider it one of their best efforts, but it is solid. ANYTHING was welcome after Binaural and this album tried to rock, and succeeded at times. Boom's first record, and that makes it fresh. Absent Binaural, I would say this would be my least favorite though - although there are some good songs. Do the setlist test I mentioned above, exclude 2003 and you'll see that Riot Act songs are played about as often as Binaural's -"You Are" is a really bad ass song though.
PJ(2006) - I was really excited when this album came out. PJ kicks your ass again. I think it's a great album, best thing since Yield, maybe even further back. You'll see in the future that songs like WW Suicide, Life Wasted, Severed Hand, Big Wave, and Inside Job are substantive and will see constant future rotation. We're already two years and tours after this album and they still are:
Setlist Test (This is a random show that I just happened to pull up)
Example: Munich 2007 0612
01 Intro
02 Sometimes (NC)
03 Porch (T)
04 Why Go? (T)
05 God's Dice (B)
06 Given To Fly (Y)
07 Dissident (Vs)
08 Severed Hand (ST)
09 Small Town (Vs)
10 Sad (Dog)
11 Unemployable (ST)
12 Even Flow (T)
13 I Got Shit (Vs Outake)
14 Whipping (Vi)
15 Down (RA)
16 Present Tense (NC)
17 Save You (RA)
18 Rearviewmirror (Vs)
19 Encore Break
20 Inside Job (ST)
21 Do The Evolution (Y)
22 Betterman (Vi)
23 Alive (T)
24 Encore Break
25 No More (Soundtrack)
26 Footsteps (T Outake)
27 Throw Your Hatred Down (Cover)
28 Blood (Vi)
29 Baba O'Riley (Cover)
Ten Songs: 5 songs if you count Footsteps
Vs. 4 songs counting I Got Shit
Vitalogy: 3 tracks
No Code: 2 tracks
Yield: 2 tracks
Binaural: 1 track (God's Dice!)
Riot Act: 2 tracks
S/T (2006): 3 tracks
1 Soundtrack song
2 Covers
I think PJ probably has a better understanding of what their best material is than of us, regardless to how cool we are. I think they demonstrate what their choices are eevery night when they make their setlists. This is just an example, but show to show, no material is less played than Binaural, and that's for a reason.
There's my Binaural rant. It isn't as good and EVERYONE on this board knows it. Make a valid argument on why another album should be on the bottom, and we'll have a discussion then.
I'd rather listen to Benaroya Hall than Binaural. The acoustic Lukin smokes the entire album.
See you guys in Columbia, Va Beach, and hopefully D.C.
I think the Binaural sessions did bring about some great songs (Sad, Fatal, Education, NAIS, Sleight, Insignificance, Greivance, Of The Girl)
Problem is 3 of the above weren't on Binaural, and there in lies Pearl Jam's worst error so far - The final tracklisting was poor, with the first 3 songs sounding like B-Sides. Light Years just seems to not go anywhere (should of stuck with the Demo version).
It gets better from there, but if you place the worst 4 songs at the beginning of the album you're asking for trouble.
Thing is, I think they did it on purpose!
well said, i love the sound on this record, its so fuckin cool, i do think the binaural sessions were really kick ass, but like you said, tracklisting and order of songs are questionable
8.29.00-4.29.03-4.30.03-5.2.03-7.2.03-7.3.03-7.8.03-7.9.03-7.11.03-9.28.04-9.29.04-10.1.04- 10.2.04-10.3.04-5.12.06-5.24.06-5.25.06
...i know all the rules but the rules do not know me, guaranteed...
Binaural has survived more cd changes in my car than any other album.
It is one of my alltime fave albums.
i think id have to say the same thing, either binaural or yield...in fact i never listen to ten or vs, but i love hearing songs off ten and vs live, i just never listen to the actual albums anymore..
8.29.00-4.29.03-4.30.03-5.2.03-7.2.03-7.3.03-7.8.03-7.9.03-7.11.03-9.28.04-9.29.04-10.1.04- 10.2.04-10.3.04-5.12.06-5.24.06-5.25.06
...i know all the rules but the rules do not know me, guaranteed...
do people really care what a baseball writer has to say about binaural?
A fan wrote that comment to a basketball writer. No one is saying Jesus said this. It's just a thought someone had, others share and others disagree with.
do people really care what a baseball writer has to say about binaural?
bill simmons is a very important part of any die hard boston sports fans life and he also loves(d) pearl jam and has written many good things about pj in the past
8.29.00-4.29.03-4.30.03-5.2.03-7.2.03-7.3.03-7.8.03-7.9.03-7.11.03-9.28.04-9.29.04-10.1.04- 10.2.04-10.3.04-5.12.06-5.24.06-5.25.06
...i know all the rules but the rules do not know me, guaranteed...
Comments
Great post.
Before the Camden 06 shows, I was talking to someone who I thought was a big Pearl Jam fan and asked him what he thought of the new album (Avocado)...
I believe his response was -
"Fuck that shit. They started doing some weird shit after Ten and VS. I haven't liked any of their stuff since."
this board needs more Ten through Yield threads. i'm pretty tired of hearing about Binaural and Riot Act.
Mine too, it took over Yield a few years back.
www.myspace.com/lance_gray
www.bonafidedarling.com
i always become more of a fan of an album as time passes. i have to hear it enough to get the nuances of each song. it took me a while (two years?) before i was able to fully apreciate binaural...and i'll still "discover" new songs all the time
I cant rank any of PJs albums in order from best to worst. On any given day
anyone of them could be #1. Today happens to be Yield
obeys,listens, kisses,loves
yep, my three favs. currently, no code is favourite...probably because i listened to it first.
See These Bones
Stop by:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14678777351&ref=mf
For me...there was a BIG drop off at Binaural, No Code is an incredible album that took me awhile to really get, Yield was incredible immediately, Riot Act was a breath of fresh air after Binaural and the last album is phenomenal. So...all you smart-ass REAL PJ fans, which album is your LEAST favorite.
If you say anything other than Binaural, then you're just lying.
Let's break it down.
Ten?, nope, the songs are just too damn great.
Vs?, nope-its the heaviest PJ allbum ever (just listen to Indio '93 to see how heavy)-Ambruzzesse was a beast.
VITALOGY? Nope, thematic, great songs, Tremor Christ and Satan's Bed - definitely NOT the worst album. Rock Solid
No Code? Really changed directions here, lotsa folks jumped off the train here. This album keeps giving back though - Red Mosquito would single-handedly keep this album from being on the bottom, but doesn't need to - it's become one of my favs, after years of listening I like it more and more.
Yield? No Way (Pun Intended). Given to Fly, Faithfull, In Hiding, Brain of JFK, Evolution. In my opinion, this is one of the best beginning to end albums PJ has ever released.
Riot Act - I wouldn't consider it one of their best efforts, but it is solid. ANYTHING was welcome after Binaural and this album tried to rock, and succeeded at times. Boom's first record, and that makes it fresh. Absent Binaural, I would say this would be my least favorite though - although there are some good songs. Do the setlist test I mentioned above, exclude 2003 and you'll see that Riot Act songs are played about as often as Binaural's -"You Are" is a really bad ass song though.
PJ(2006) - I was really excited when this album came out. PJ kicks your ass again. I think it's a great album, best thing since Yield, maybe even further back. You'll see in the future that songs like WW Suicide, Life Wasted, Severed Hand, Big Wave, and Inside Job are substantive and will see constant future rotation. We're already two years and tours after this album and they still are:
Setlist Test (This is a random show that I just happened to pull up)
Example: Munich 2007 0612
01 Intro
02 Sometimes (NC)
03 Porch (T)
04 Why Go? (T)
05 God's Dice (B)
06 Given To Fly (Y)
07 Dissident (Vs)
08 Severed Hand (ST)
09 Small Town (Vs)
10 Sad (Dog)
11 Unemployable (ST)
12 Even Flow (T)
13 I Got Shit (Vs Outake)
14 Whipping (Vi)
15 Down (RA)
16 Present Tense (NC)
17 Save You (RA)
18 Rearviewmirror (Vs)
19 Encore Break
20 Inside Job (ST)
21 Do The Evolution (Y)
22 Betterman (Vi)
23 Alive (T)
24 Encore Break
25 No More (Soundtrack)
26 Footsteps (T Outake)
27 Throw Your Hatred Down (Cover)
28 Blood (Vi)
29 Baba O'Riley (Cover)
Ten Songs: 5 songs if you count Footsteps
Vs. 4 songs counting I Got Shit
Vitalogy: 3 tracks
No Code: 2 tracks
Yield: 2 tracks
Binaural: 1 track (God's Dice!)
Riot Act: 2 tracks
S/T (2006): 3 tracks
1 Soundtrack song
2 Covers
I think PJ probably has a better understanding of what their best material is than of us, regardless to how cool we are. I think they demonstrate what their choices are eevery night when they make their setlists. This is just an example, but show to show, no material is less played than Binaural, and that's for a reason.
There's my Binaural rant. It isn't as good and EVERYONE on this board knows it. Make a valid argument on why another album should be on the bottom, and we'll have a discussion then.
I'd rather listen to Benaroya Hall than Binaural. The acoustic Lukin smokes the entire album.
See you guys in Columbia, Va Beach, and hopefully D.C.
...i know all the rules but the rules do not know me, guaranteed...
...i know all the rules but the rules do not know me, guaranteed...
...i know all the rules but the rules do not know me, guaranteed...
Totally agree. This is my least favorite of their records but I honestly feel PJ is incapable of making a shitty record.
Binaural is my favorite album.
http://www.myspace.com/brain_of_c