McCready's quote in Spin concerns me....

Hugh Freaking Dillon
Hugh Freaking Dillon Posts: 14,010
edited November 2009 in The Porch
About halfway through the article, he is being asked about how PJ basically sabotaged their own career with no videos, the TM fiasco, etc, and this is a direct quote:

"We've always tried to subvert the business, But now that we're putting out a record on our own, we're taking on the responsibility of sinking or swimming ourselves. If that means writing a song that sounds like a mainstream radio hit, we're going to do that. And if it means going on TV to promote ourselves, we're going to do that too".

I have nothing against them promoting themselves. I'm not one of those nutjob Pearl Jam "purists" that judge all their decisions at every turn. The only part that didn't sit well with me was "...If that means writing a song that sounds like a mainstream radio hit, we're going to do that.".

Am I reading that wrong? I am taking that as they have no problem deliberately writing a song so it gets on the radio. Or is he just saying if they write a song that HAPPENS to sound mainstream, they won't purposely shelve it for Lost Dogs 2 like they did in the past?

I sure hope he meant the latter. Obviously, it's their band, and their career. I am not going to stand up on my soapbox and tell them what they should or shouldn't do. I just hopefully got the wrong impression that they would have no problem pandering to the masses if they felt like it.
Gimli 1993
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments

  • NoelMichael
    NoelMichael Posts: 1,635
    God forbid they get exposure and more fans...
    9-28-96 Randall’s Island NY; 9-01-00 Camden NJ; 7-05-03 Camden NJ; 10-01-04 Reading PA; 10-03-05 Philly PA; 5-27-06 Camden NJ; 5-28-06 Camden NJ; 6-19-08 Camden NJ; 6-20-08 Camden NJ; 6-24-08 NYC NY; 8-7-08 EV Newark, NJ; 6-11-09 EV Philly PA; 6-12-09 EV Philly PA; 10-27-09 Philly PA; 10-28-09 Philly PA; 10-30-09 Philly PA; 10-31-09 Philly PA; 5-15-10 Hartford CT; 5-18-10 Newark NJ; 5-21-10 NYC NY; 6-21-11 EV NYC NY; 6-22-11 EV NYC NY; 6-25-11 EV Philly PA; 7-1-11 EV StL MS; 9-3-11 E Troy WI; 9-4-11 E Troy WI
  • 12345AGNST1
    12345AGNST1 Posts: 4,906
    What do you think the fixer is?
    5/28/06, 6/27/08, 10/28/09, 5/18/10, 5/21/10
    8/7/08, 6/9/09
  • Hugh Freaking Dillon
    Hugh Freaking Dillon Posts: 14,010
    NoelMichael wrote:
    God forbid they get exposure and more fans...

    that has nothing to do with it. there is a massive difference, IMHO, if they decided to write a song simply to get on the radio, as opposed to writing a song that happened to sound radio-friendly, you'd be ok with that?

    doesn't that reek of Nickleback-itis?

    anyway, I had a question. Did I misread the quote?
    Gimli 1993
    Fargo 2003
    Winnipeg 2005
    Winnipeg 2011
    St. Paul 2014
  • Hugh Freaking Dillon
    Hugh Freaking Dillon Posts: 14,010
    12345AGNST1 wrote:
    What do you think the fixer is?

    so you think it was written SPECIFICALLY for the radio? or that it was written, and later decided "hey, that would probably work on radio".

    completely different.
    Gimli 1993
    Fargo 2003
    Winnipeg 2005
    Winnipeg 2011
    St. Paul 2014
  • PissBottleMan
    PissBottleMan Union City, TN Posts: 4,155
    edited November 2009
    Good question.

    To me, it sounds like they put up certain barriers and deliberately wrote (and released) songs that they knew wouldn't be seen as mainstream songs. I like Nothing As It Seems as much as the next guy, but releasing it as the first single? Really?

    They have songs that could have been considered mainstream in their catalog, but chose not to release them as singles.

    They're different people and have different priorities now.

    I also think they took an online class through The University of Phoenix on effective marketing strategies.

    ;)

    PBM
    Post edited by PissBottleMan on
    "We paced ourselves and we didn't rush through it and we tried to be as creative as our collective minds would let us be over some course of time instead of just trying to rush through a record"

    Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
  • 12345AGNST1
    12345AGNST1 Posts: 4,906
    edited November 2009
    Johnny Sitar wrote:
    12345AGNST1 wrote:
    What do you think the fixer is?

    so you think it was written SPECIFICALLY for the radio? or that it was written, and later decided "hey, that would probably work on radio".

    completely different.

    It was definitely written for the radio. I dont care what the band has said about it (or if they even said anything about it being a radio song). They 100% made that song for radio, the production on it alone just gives it away. I mean, it was in that cheesy target commercial. My friend who doesnt care for pearl jam kept singing the chrous to the song and told me he loves the song.

    I honestly could care less what they do. if they wanna make a radio song (the fixer), then let them. Sure that target commercial is flat out cheesy but it doesnt bother me one bit.

    edit: and I have that article and loved reading that part. I think they should become popular with the youth again, they deserve it. Hell they could put their song in a mtv show and it wouldnt even bother me. The whole "sellout" thing is so incredibly stupid to me.
    Post edited by 12345AGNST1 on
    5/28/06, 6/27/08, 10/28/09, 5/18/10, 5/21/10
    8/7/08, 6/9/09
  • decides2dream
    decides2dream Posts: 14,977
    PissBottleMan wrote:
    Good question.

    To me, it sounds like they put up certain barriers and deliberately wrote (and released) songs that they knew wouldn't be seen as mainstream songs. I like Nothing As It Seems as much as the next guy, but releasing it as the first single? Really?

    They have songs that could have been considered mainstream in their catalog, but chose not to release them as singles.

    They're different people and have different priorities now.

    I also think they an online class through The University of Phoenix on effective marketing strategies.

    ;)

    PBM


    THAT...made me laugh!
    :mrgreen:



    as to the rest of your post, i agree. i think what mike is saying is they purposely self-sabotaged in the past, and they are no longer choosing to actively do that. ince now they are 100% in control of their work, they're going to do it all on their own terms...and sure, that includes releasing music that is radio-friendly, b/c sure...why not? it is entirely their careers, their work, their control.
    Stay with me...
    Let's just breathe...


    I am myself like you somehow


  • flyinwhole313
    flyinwhole313 Posts: 1,651
    I would agree that the quote sounds scary to an extent, but at this point in my own life, if it sounds good, I'll listen...Popular or not. Once it starts to suck, e.g. Zep's "In through the out door" or "Coda", I will look back and say "What a fucking run they had..." At this point, it will be at least 20 years before a shitty album, as we haven't gotten one yet. These guys have made a good chunk of the soundtrack to the most important years of my life. If they stopped pumping out the "Got Some" type tracks, and gave us ONLY "The Fixer" type tracks, I would start to get worried, but as of now, you have at least another 2 years to start worrying about that...
  • PissBottleMan
    PissBottleMan Union City, TN Posts: 4,155
    decides2dream wrote:
    as to the rest of your post, i agree.

    :shock: :o

    D2D agrees with my post? I have to write this date down!

    :D:D:D

    PBM
    "We paced ourselves and we didn't rush through it and we tried to be as creative as our collective minds would let us be over some course of time instead of just trying to rush through a record"

    Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
  • nfanel
    nfanel Posts: 2,558
    12345AGNST1 wrote:
    edit: and I have that article and loved reading that part. I think they should become popular with the youth again, they deserve it. Hell they could put their song in a mtv show and it wouldnt even bother me. The whole "sellout" thing is so incredibly stupid to me.
    +1
  • Hugh Freaking Dillon
    Hugh Freaking Dillon Posts: 14,010
    I just want to be clear. I could care less what they do. I think the fact that I put "concerns" is misleading. I should have put something like "alarms" me. Because to me, whatever they do is fine, but I just found it odd to come from them, that's all. I don't hold them to some higher standard than other bands. If they want to release songs they feel are radio-friendly, by all means.

    I just thought it would be weird to think that PJ would write a song with radio in mind. That was all.
    Gimli 1993
    Fargo 2003
    Winnipeg 2005
    Winnipeg 2011
    St. Paul 2014
  • Hugh Freaking Dillon
    Hugh Freaking Dillon Posts: 14,010
    12345AGNST1 wrote:
    Johnny Sitar wrote:
    12345AGNST1 wrote:
    What do you think the fixer is?

    so you think it was written SPECIFICALLY for the radio? or that it was written, and later decided "hey, that would probably work on radio".

    completely different.

    It was definitely written for the radio. I dont care what the band has said about it (or if they even said anything about it being a radio song). They 100% made that song for radio, the production on it alone just gives it away. I mean, it was in that cheesy target commercial. My friend who doesnt care for pearl jam kept singing the chrous to the song and told me he loves the song.

    I honestly could care less what they do. if they wanna make a radio song (the fixer), then let them. Sure that target commercial is flat out cheesy but it doesnt bother me one bit.

    edit: and I have that article and loved reading that part. I think they should become popular with the youth again, they deserve it. Hell they could put their song in a mtv show and it wouldnt even bother me. The whole "sellout" thing is so incredibly stupid to me.

    I agree, and have stated many times myself, that the whole "sellout" thing is non-existent. It is their livelihood. If they "sold out", then I sell out every day I come to work. All of us do.

    Their promotion of Backspacer doesn't bother me at all either.
    Gimli 1993
    Fargo 2003
    Winnipeg 2005
    Winnipeg 2011
    St. Paul 2014
  • decides2dream
    decides2dream Posts: 14,977
    Johnny Sitar wrote:
    I just want to be clear. I could care less what they do. I think the fact that I put "concerns" is misleading. I should have put something like "alarms" me. Because to me, whatever they do is fine, but I just found it odd to come from them, that's all. I don't hold them to some higher standard than other bands. If they want to release songs they feel are radio-friendly, by all means.

    I just thought it would be weird to think that PJ would write a song with radio in mind. That was all.


    i think 'alarms me' sounds a lot more freaky than 'concerns me'...personally. ;)
    at most, i would think 'surprises me' the most fitting, but that's just me. and also, for me, it really doesn't even surprise me. it's close to 20 years since they've started out. i think they've remained pretty true to their basic ideals, but sure....we all gorw and change. i know i have. i expect nothing less or more from pj.

    and i agree with you entirely about the whole 'sellout' bs.
    Stay with me...
    Let's just breathe...


    I am myself like you somehow


  • katellis
    katellis Posts: 535
    edited June 2015
    --
    Post edited by katellis on
  • PissBottleMan
    PissBottleMan Union City, TN Posts: 4,155
    Johnny Sitar wrote:
    I just thought it would be weird to think that PJ would write a song with radio in mind. That was all.

    It's a valid question. I say that because I bought into the mystical "us against them" philosophy in the early years. When, in fact, I bought into an illusion.

    If they didn't want radio to play their songs, they would release an album and sell copies out of the trunk of their car. They don't and never have.

    They've always released singles and promoted albums...they're just doing it more openly now.

    Did it rub me the wrong way? Yeah, for a while. It was like realizing that Santa Claus is, in fact, my dad. I don't hate my dad. Well, maybe I do, but for different reasons. ;)

    PBM
    "We paced ourselves and we didn't rush through it and we tried to be as creative as our collective minds would let us be over some course of time instead of just trying to rush through a record"

    Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
  • decides2dream
    decides2dream Posts: 14,977
    PissBottleMan wrote:
    decides2dream wrote:
    as to the rest of your post, i agree.

    :shock: :o

    D2D agrees with my post? I have to write this date down!

    :D:D:D

    PBM




    have i really been that disagreeable all these years? :lol:
    i honestly thought that more often than not...we were in agreement. tho no code trumps yield for me. :D
    eh well, the beauty of a convenient memory i guess...;)
    Stay with me...
    Let's just breathe...


    I am myself like you somehow


  • pandora
    pandora Posts: 21,855
    katellis wrote:
    wow, when i read the thread title i thought this was going to be some quote about the band breaking up or not touring anymore or something! dont scare me like that! :shock:
    me too thats the first thing I thought
    just let them keep doing what they do for whatever reason
  • PissBottleMan
    PissBottleMan Union City, TN Posts: 4,155
    decides2dream wrote:
    have i really been that disagreeable all these years? :lol:

    Yes. :lol:
    decides2dream wrote:
    tho no code trumps yield for me. :D

    No.

    PBM
    "We paced ourselves and we didn't rush through it and we tried to be as creative as our collective minds would let us be over some course of time instead of just trying to rush through a record"

    Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
  • 12345AGNST1
    12345AGNST1 Posts: 4,906
    Johnny Sitar wrote:

    I agree, and have stated many times myself, that the whole "sellout" thing is non-existent. It is their livelihood. If they "sold out", then I sell out every day I come to work. All of us do.

    Their promotion of Backspacer doesn't bother me at all either.

    it better not, you have BONO as your avatar. :D
    5/28/06, 6/27/08, 10/28/09, 5/18/10, 5/21/10
    8/7/08, 6/9/09
  • decides2dream
    decides2dream Posts: 14,977
    PissBottleMan wrote:
    decides2dream wrote:
    have i really been that disagreeable all these years? :lol:

    Yes. :lol:
    decides2dream wrote:
    tho no code trumps yield for me. :D

    No.

    PBM



    eh well then...... :evil:
    bring it!
    :twisted:
    :mrgreen:
    Stay with me...
    Let's just breathe...


    I am myself like you somehow


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