Anyone else have a hard time with Sirens?

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  • evsgjamm
    evsgjamm Posts: 2,109
    RoughMix wrote:
    Skip this song every time.
    The lyrics:
    "For every choice mistake I've made
    it's not my plan
    to send you in the arms of another man.
    And if you choose to stay,
    I'll wait,I'll understand."

    If I am reading this correctly...he is going to wait
    and understand if his woman leaves for another guy?
    Kinda wimpy.
    If she leaves for another man, whatever the reason.Time to move on.
    Also,the solo with the reverb.Can't do it.

    You really think that's what this is about? That's a "wimpy" interpretation. Is it not fucking evident that "another man" is referring to God? Coming from an atheist, it's clear as day that's who he's talking about. If she's ready to let go of the man she loves and pass away, and go into Gods arms then he's saying that's not his plan, but if she decides to hold on for a little longer and not give up yet, then he'll understand. Sirens? Emergencies? Near Death? It's obvious what the song is about. To me at least.

    He's not seeing and hearing sirens cuz some chick is about to leave him for some other dude. This isn't written by a frickin teenager.
    Vancouver '03, Paramount Theatre '05, Saskatoon '05, Calgary '05, Edmonton '05, Saskatoon '11, Calgary '11, Calgary '13

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  • aurynsdad
    aurynsdad Posts: 863
    edited November 2013
    deserteddotse wrote:
    While we're on the subject, can someone please explain the Pink Floyd resemblance?
    I sure hell can't hear it...

    There's several spots on LB that seem influenced by PF. Here are a couple that come to mind:

    Sirens: The background effects-laden atmospheric guitar chord bends (I think it's an A chord to a G# or something like that) - a good example is behind "Feel this someday will be over." They are throughout the song though. Sounds kind of like surf guitar, very Floyd. Also, the drumming (only noticeable for me when it's the CD and a good stereo system- the mp3 does not come anywhere near doing this justice) is super symphonic bombast in the style of Nick Mason (most noticeable in the section immediately following the guitar solo, in what is kind of a stealth drum solo). This to me is the most PF aspect to the song. Finally, the guitar solo itself is definitely reminiscent of Comfortably Numb type Gilmour.

    Swallowed Whole: The part preceding the lyrics "With no quiet to be found..." is classic Rick Wright keyboards.
    Post edited by aurynsdad on
    10/31/93 Berkeley (Baba!) • 10/1/94 Bridge School • 9/16/96 Seattle (In My Tree!) • 10/19/96 & 10/20/96 B. School (Alt Corduroy & Alt Porch!) • 10/25/03 B. School • 6/1/03 Mtnview (Crazy Mary! You Are!) • 11/29/13 Portland (All Those Yesterdays! Even Flow!) • 10/25/14 Bridge School (Rain! Fuckin Up! TOTD!) • 5/13/22 Oakland (had to leave early, but W.M.A.! Immortality!) • 5/13/24 Sacramento (Light Years! Picture in a Frame!) • 5/25/24 Bottle Rock (Last Kiss! Maybe It’s Time w/Bradley Cooper!)
  • javis el errante
    javis el errante Buenos Aires Posts: 6,147
    JG108535 wrote:
    I know the band is super proud of the song ,its powerful for sure....but the opening kills me.
    I cant relate the sirens with the rest of the song.

    Mike is killer on this song, esp the solo.....Eds lyrics in the verse are powerful/moving/meaningful
    .....but those damn sirens......"hear the sirens"......ouch


    Heard it live for the first time and was hoping it would convert me......BUZZ KILL

    I know you'll all stone me for this.......but I'm having problems with it like no other Pearl Jam song.


    no, not at all, I love this song, one of the greatest in the album... glad that sirens threads are being bumped...
    ... I am not in the business of being liked anymore ...

  • dlymnfld
    dlymnfld CT Posts: 923
    aurynsdad wrote:
    dlymnfld wrote:
    I hear what your saying saying. The song is an enigma. The first time I heard it I immediately thought of Bon Jovi and was not that impressed. My initial response was "cheese". Mind you I was a teenager in the 80's and saw Bon Jovi several times and they were the biggest band in the world during that time. But after listening to the lyrics, especially "It's a fragile thing, this life we lead. If I think to much I can get overwhelmed by the grace. By which we live our lives with death over our shoulders", I realized this song was far much deeper than a 1980 power ballad. Then I watched Steven Gleason's reaction to the song (he must be extremely impressed by the song as he chose it as the opener for the New Orleans show and correct me if I am wrong but it's been the only other non Pendulum opener except for Long Road) and I loved the song even more. I was at first perplexed on how a song with such powerful lyrics could have such a strange and "cheesy" arrangement then I realized Obrien's method to his madness. With this song they can hook two types of people. The massed who enjoy the song for the poppy ballad but also the people who get swept up in the powerful lyrics like me and Gleason. That being said, yeah I love the song.

    I had the exact same experience with this song, including the same lyric that nailed it for me. It's a wonderful enigma of a song, because it is both "too accessible" and "too inaccessible" at the same time, at least superficially. I liken it to LBC and Inside Job in terms of arrangement experimentation. I also love the Pink Floyd influence. Gonna have to give November Rain a listen, I guess. ...EDIT I don't understand the November Rain solo comparison at all. The only possible similarity I hear is that both are heavily David Gilmour influenced.


    We clearly were influenced the same as the song reminds me of Inside Job, LBC and November Rain. Maybe I like the song so much as I was a teenager for Bon Jovi (The 80's sucked for music in my opinion and Bon Jovi was the best I could ask for next to Tesla and Boston), then GNR came along and I thought they were the second coming and then we all know what happened to music when the 90's came along (thank god). That being said, I think I might crank Use Your Illusion 1 and 2.
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  • Pushin Forward Back
    Pushin Forward Back Posts: 890
    deserteddotse wrote:
    While we're on the subject, can someone please explain the Pink Floyd resemblance?
    I sure hell can't hear it...


    there is no Pink Floyd resemblance at all on any of the new record. Pink Floyd > Pearl Jam all day long and twice on Sundays. Dont compare the 2.
  • jwillmo
    jwillmo Posts: 471
    Love it. Caught my off guard about the third time I listened to it - was in rush hour traffic listening to Sirius PJ Radio when the line "I study your face, and the fear goes away" hit me like a ton of bricks and I just started crying like a little bitch. A tad embarrassing in bumper to bumper I must say.

    I know this kind of music isn't for everyone, and I understand if you don't like it, but for the people who say it's "cheesy", which I don't get at all, can you tell me a love ballad you do like? So I can see an example of what isn't cheesy? Again, those who just don't like ballads at all need not apply. No denying this is a ballad. If you only want PJ to rock out with their cock out, more power to ya. Or not talk about love and shit.
  • Indifference71
    Indifference71 Chicago Posts: 14,932
    I've tried and tried, but I just can't get into this song. And it's not just because it's a ballad…I enjoy plenty of ballads. I really like 'Future Days' but not 'Sirens'. Maybe that will change when I hear it live, but I doubt it.
  • aurynsdad
    aurynsdad Posts: 863
    Pushin Forward Back wrote:
    deserteddotse wrote:
    While we're on the subject, can someone please explain the Pink Floyd resemblance?
    I sure hell can't hear it...


    there is no Pink Floyd resemblance at all on any of the new record. Pink Floyd > Pearl Jam all day long and twice on Sundays. Dont compare the 2.

    If you think the drumming after the guitar solo in Sirens isn't Nick Mason influenced, you're insane (or you're listening to an mp3 on a tin can). It's not an insult to PF to say that something reminds you of them. I'm a huge fan of both bands, and would not want to say one is better than the other.
    10/31/93 Berkeley (Baba!) • 10/1/94 Bridge School • 9/16/96 Seattle (In My Tree!) • 10/19/96 & 10/20/96 B. School (Alt Corduroy & Alt Porch!) • 10/25/03 B. School • 6/1/03 Mtnview (Crazy Mary! You Are!) • 11/29/13 Portland (All Those Yesterdays! Even Flow!) • 10/25/14 Bridge School (Rain! Fuckin Up! TOTD!) • 5/13/22 Oakland (had to leave early, but W.M.A.! Immortality!) • 5/13/24 Sacramento (Light Years! Picture in a Frame!) • 5/25/24 Bottle Rock (Last Kiss! Maybe It’s Time w/Bradley Cooper!)
  • PillowPants
    PillowPants Posts: 4,877
    i had a hard time seeing the people making it a piss break song in dallas.... especially when i saw one stairway just fill with people and then noticing that ed noticed the same thing


    although now looking at the setlist i realize that the band was just on fire and people were holding it in - i bet there was some leakage during GTF ;)

    Pendulum
    Nothingman
    Can't Keep
    Interstellar Overdrive
    Corduroy
    Lightning Bolt
    Mind Your Manners
    Got Some
    Brain Of J.
    World Wide Suicide
    Given To Fly
    Sirens
  • october22
    october22 Posts: 2,533
    I had a strange experience with this song. I first downloaded it when rdio accidentally made it available before LB came out. I heard it once and was literally pissed off. I called my brother and complained about it and threw such a fit that I was actually late for work because I couldn't get over what Pearl Jam "had become." I was being pretty ridiculous.

    Then I watched the Gleason interview and played the song for my mom. I was telling her the lyrics while it was playing and she started crying thinking of my dad. Ever since then, the song has resonated with me very strongly. It was like I had a way in after that time listening with my mother. It has a very deep meaning to me now and the music fits that meaning just as I believe the band intended it to. Maybe that sounds weird but that was my journey with it and I loved it at every show I've been to since.
  • shortstack
    shortstack Posts: 2,339
    JonnyPistachio wrote:
    I think its a bit too long, wordy, and repetitive though.

    zactly!
    JonnyPistachio wrote:
    I find myself singing it sometimes and I dont know why.

    because it is too repetitive
    did you see me? i saw you.
  • JonnyPistachio
    JonnyPistachio Florida Posts: 10,219
    shortstack wrote:
    JonnyPistachio wrote:
    I think its a bit too long, wordy, and repetitive though.

    zactly!
    JonnyPistachio wrote:
    I find myself singing it sometimes and I dont know why.

    because it is too repetitive

    :lol::D true true..
    Pick up my debut novel here on amazon: Jonny Bails Floatin (in paperback) (also available on Kindle for $2.99)
  • cmm6734
    cmm6734 Houston, TX Posts: 569
    Honestly, I love Sirens. I think it is a great song and a great achievement for the band. For me though, the song is such a momentum killer during the concert. I don't say that because it is a slow song or ballad, some slower songs still keep the momentum going, but for some reason, I feel stalled out after I hear Sirens, I really need a "pick me up" type song afterwards.

    Just my 0.02.
    40+ shows, it is never enough!
  • Loujoe
    Loujoe Posts: 12,394
    grown on me and the sentiment behind it means a lot as we take small steps daily toward the grave...
  • MK13579
    MK13579 Posts: 217
    october22 wrote:
    I had a strange experience with this song. I first downloaded it when rdio accidentally made it available before LB came out. I heard it once and was literally pissed off. I called my brother and complained about it and threw such a fit that I was actually late for work because I couldn't get over what Pearl Jam "had become." I was being pretty ridiculous.

    Then I watched the Gleason interview and played the song for my mom. I was telling her the lyrics while it was playing and she started crying thinking of my dad. Ever since then, the song has resonated with me very strongly. It was like I had a way in after that time listening with my mother. It has a very deep meaning to me now and the music fits that meaning just as I believe the band intended it to. Maybe that sounds weird but that was my journey with it and I loved it at every show I've been to since.

    I felt the same way about it especially how it affected my mom, although I initially liked the song. I really LOVED it when I thought about my dad passing. I watched him go, with my mom, and studying his face, the fear of death went away for me. I miss him dearly, but he looked peaceful after half a year suffering the affects of his stroke. I have a post about it, and the song, here:

    viewtopic.php?f=4&t=224355

    Although I didn't go too far into detail the pain he endured before he passed.
  • JWPearl
    JWPearl Posts: 19,893
    Sirens is a nice awakening ballad from PJ it certainly is grounded in warmth, color and sentiment :)
  • josevolution
    josevolution Posts: 32,351
    I have a hard time with real Sirens everytime one passes by flying down the road i know someone is in there that is not feeling good or they are on the way to someone's house or the scene of an accident to pick some poor soul up who's life has been changed ... The song Sirens it's a fucking song that's all it is to me it doen't make or brake LB ....
    jesus greets me looks just like me ....
  • RoughMix
    RoughMix back of a lorry Posts: 385
    evsgjamm wrote:
    RoughMix wrote:
    Skip this song every time.
    The lyrics:
    "For every choice mistake I've made
    it's not my plan
    to send you in the arms of another man.
    And if you choose to stay,
    I'll wait,I'll understand."

    If I am reading this correctly...he is going to wait
    and understand if his woman leaves for another guy?
    Kinda wimpy.
    If she leaves for another man, whatever the reason.Time to move on.
    Also,the solo with the reverb.Can't do it.

    You really think that's what this is about? That's a "wimpy" interpretation. Is it not fucking evident that "another man" is referring to God? Coming from an atheist, it's clear as day that's who he's talking about. If she's ready to let go of the man she loves and pass away, and go into Gods arms then he's saying that's not his plan, but if she decides to hold on for a little longer and not give up yet, then he'll understand. Sirens? Emergencies? Near Death? It's obvious what the song is about. To me at least.

    He's not seeing and hearing sirens cuz some chick is about to leave him for some other dude. This isn't written by a frickin teenager.

    Everyone has their own interpretation.If it pisses you off that someone thinks differently than you.Well fuck you.
    I think your wrong .The song is about loss,death or otherwise.I'm not sure if you mean Ed is an atheist.I don't believe he is.Maybe in his younger days he was disillusioned.But I think that has changed now that he has a family.
    And it doesn't say anywhere that he is "seeing" sirens as you so eloquently stated.I think you are interpreting these lyrics through the mind of a teenager.
    "They don't give a shit Keith Moon is dead,
    is that exactly what I thought I read."
  • jvoorhees
    jvoorhees Langley, BC Posts: 199
    Yeah not a huge fan of when he says "Hear the sirens..." the first couple times.... other then that... love the tune...
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  • goldenboy8167
    goldenboy8167 Posts: 198
    No, it's fucking awesome
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