Let's Talk about Binaural - Released May 16 2000

My favourite Pearl Jam album. I love the albums since this was released but I don't think they've come as close to anything as sublime.

darthvedder said:

Definitely took a long time for me to "get" this album. Definitely a headphone album. Definitely a head-scratcher as to why they left off Letter To The Dead and Fatal.

Definitely had a blast going to 7 shows on the Binaural tour. Definitely love the 2000 bootlegs and Touring Band 2000.

Agree, put your headphones on, close your eyes and just...listen

awesome

Ledbetterman10 said:

I actually have somewhat of a humorous story from Binaural release day. I was 16 at the time and I was cited for underage drinking at a Red Hot Chili Peppers/Foo Fighters concerts the week before. So I was grounded from doing anything, including driving to and from school....my mom picked me up. I also wasn't going to be able to buy the album. But...one day after school my mom had to stop in CVS to pick up a prescription and I bolted for the Blockbuster video next door, bought the album, and secretly listened to it on my headphones (I was even grounded from my bedroom stereo) for the next few weeks.

Wow, your mom was strict about groundings! I got grounded all the time, but I found thst if i just lay low for a day or two and didn't mention it and didn't act like I was dealing with a punishment, my mom simply forgot all about it. Basically, you're only grounded if you act like you're grounded, haha
(I have a feeling this might not work with all moms though)

there is no masterpiece when dealing with the one word the vast majority does not want to hear at a live show: evacuation.

Ledbetterman10 said:

PJ_Soul said:

Ledbetterman10 said:

I actually have somewhat of a humorous story from Binaural release day. I was 16 at the time and I was cited for underage drinking at a Red Hot Chili Peppers/Foo Fighters concerts the week before. So I was grounded from doing anything, including driving to and from school....my mom picked me up. I also wasn't going to be able to buy the album. But...one day after school my mom had to stop in CVS to pick up a prescription and I bolted for the Blockbuster video next door, bought the album, and secretly listened to it on my headphones (I was even grounded from my bedroom stereo) for the next few weeks.

Wow, your mom was strict about groundings! I got grounded all the time, but I found thst if i just lay low for a day or two and didn't mention it and didn't act like I was dealing with a punishment, my mom simply forgot all about it. Basically, you're only grounded if you act like you're grounded, haha
(I have a feeling this might not work with all moms though)

You gotta remember that I was 16 years old and caught with beer in my car in broad daylight. That entails serious grounding. Trust me, I've had the half-assed groundings that you've had many times over. But this time, there was nothing I could do but do the time.

I stole my mom's car and crashed it into a van when I was 15, and she still forgot about the grounding within two days, lol......Mind you, she also took me to the police station and demanded that they charge me for auto theft. The cops talked her down to a charge of driving without a lisence. I guess all moms are different.

I was just talking with fans at the Rosemont theatre Thursday about Binaural and how awsome it is. I like that you don't hear it's songs on the radio. Of the girl is one of my favorites. Love hearing everyones stories about it. I just turned 5 when it came out!

hedonist said:

pearlgirl52 said:

I was just talking with fans at the Rosemont theatre Thursday about Binaural and how awsome it is. I like that you don't hear it's songs on the radio. Of the girl is one of my favorites. Love hearing everyones stories about it. I just turned 5 when it came out!

Oh god. I was 35.

(despite that "whoa!" moment ^^^, still loving this thread )

It really is so cool how music and those who love it can mesh, and cross all boundaries and lines.

Hah! Did not mean to make you feel old! Our love of PJ knows no age!

So many great memories of this record. It was the first PJ album I bought on release day (I'd only discovered them less than two years earlier). I've bought every record since then on release day. It was also released on the 2 year anniversary of meeting the woman who is now my wife, so there is a significance that way as well.

And I also saw PJ live for the very first time two weeks after it was released (The May 29th London show), and they opened the show with 5 consecutive Binaural songs. The very first song they played that night was 'Of The Girl'. A song that hadn't really grabbed me after listening to it the previous two weeks on the album. However, hearing the song live took it to a completely different level for me, and made me 'get it' in a way I hadn't before I'd heard it live. It then became one of my favourite songs.

Over time, Yield has probably become my favourite PJ album, but I definitely have a real fondness for Binaural, as I really associate it with discovering Pearl Jam. I've been hooked on them ever since.

Was 18. Binaural was the first Pearl Jam record I ever bought on release day, having become a fan in 1998 post-Yield. I went to a place called Edward's Records World on my second-period spare and was the first person they sold a copy to.

"Nothing As It Seems" was -- and still is -- one of my favourite songs of all-time, PJ or otherwise. It means a tremendous amount to me. "Sleight Of Hand" is another treasured fave.

The ensuing so-called Binaural era made a big impression on me. I spent hours on these Boards (then called Synergy) making new cyber-friends, being way too honest about my life, and worshipping the greatness of one of my inspirations, Jeff Ament. Good times.

The record brought me through one of the tough stages of my life, culminating in my first PJ show in October of 2000.

Love Binaural. Nice thread.