Sunday, January 31, 2010

#429: Vitalogy- Pearl Jam

Listened to: MP3

Opening with sounds which remind one of Bitches Brew and going into a song which sounds like a Strokes track, Pearl Jam starts off their third album immediately showing how it isn’t a god damn thing like the last two, which, is both a blessing and a shame. The more Motorhead-esque feel is nice, but the first two tracks lack the real grunge magic that was present on Ten. Ok, and track three sounds like a slow Motorhead. “Tremor Christ” finally takes us somewhere a little more unique, though it kinda sounds like Eddie went from trying to be Lemmy to trying to be a heavier Tom Waits. “Nothingman” is, thank god, a really good track. After four average tracks, Vedder bares his soul on this one, and the track’s sound, though not written by him, seems to foreshadow Vedder’s great solo achievement, the soundtrack to Into The Wild. “Whipping” comes in after that with a Hives vibe, but finally Eddie’s back to being Eddie. This is the evolution you hoped to see Pearl Jam go to. A real grunge-punk fusion. Hell, this track could come out today and work. Honestly, if you had cut three of the first four tracks you could really start this album off right. Hell, “Pry, To” is a minute long, but it’s still unique, and adds to the feel of the album, and isn’t trying to emulate anybody, god bless it. “Curduroy” is more complex than Ten era PJ, but still has that feel. It’s almost as if as the album progresses they’re finding their sound. I gotta be honest, I’m actually liking this album, other than the beginning. “Bugs” has been described as Tom Waits-esque, but I’m sure Nick Young, a die-hard Waits fan, will agree this track has nothing on Mr. Waits. The reviewer who said some of the experimental tracks don’t work was most assuredly referring to this one. Also, it makes me think of Shutter Island. I don’t know why, but now I wish Shutter Island would just come out already. “Satan’s Bed” sounds sorta like a good song, but kinda empty. It sounds like the demo to a really good Pearl Jam song, you know? Like, something’s missing.

“Better Man” is one of the best tracks on the album. See, what makes tracks like this and “Nothingman” great is that it comes from somewhere personal. The other day in my Advanced filmmaking class we asked my professor what we should write about, and he said “Write something true. That’s the only way to ensure you make something great is to write something true”. The same goes for music. Plus, for you youngins too small to remember, though the media would like to portray the sounds of R.E.M., Nirvana and Ten-age PJ as what 90’s radio sounded like, this was the true sound of the majority of 90’s radio. Though “Jeremy” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” are THE “Songs of the 90s”, this is what most of the songs from the 90’s sounded like. “Aye Davanita” is a fu little experiment. A bit of a throwaway, but it’s at least not emulating Waits or Motorhead. It’s its own original suckage, which is better than rip-off suckage.

“Immortality” is believed by many to be about the suicide of Kurt Cobain, and though Vedder denies it, it’s hard to believe him. This track is basically a direct lament of the loss of a love-hate partner in the musical world. Hell, Wikipedia points it our best. When Vedder described “Immortality”, he said:

“No, that was written when we were on tour in Atlanta. It's not about Kurt. Nothing on the album was written directly about Kurt, and I don't feel like talking about him, because it [might be seen] as exploitation. But I think there might be some things in the lyrics that you could read into and maybe will answer some questions or help you understand the pressures on someone who is on a parallel train…”

And then later said he and Kurt were on parallel trains. So if it’s not about Kurt, I wish it were. It would be a damn good eulogy.

The album ends with “Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me”, the longest and most experimental track on the album. It kinda reminds me of the track “Suicide Underground”, which is the last track on The Virgin Suicides soundtrack, except the music on “Suicide Underground” is more enjoyable.

So, the album’s inconsistent, but good. Sure the experiments sometimes fail, but maybe all the experiments were their as a safety net for emotionally naked songs like “Better Man”, “Immortality”, and “Nothingman”. If those songs failed, Vedder could just write them off as failed experiments. As the late David Foster Wallace always lamented, it’s very difficult to be sincere in the modern world. Wallace’s sincerity safety net was through self-consciousness in his writing voice, and hiding behind post-modernism, while Vedder hid behind experimental suck fests like “Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me” and “Bugs”. Thankfully, the three true tracks were well received, which gave Vedder the freedom to be himself, which I’m still thankful for. So, while it’s not the greatest, the album is worth a listen.



-Mike

See you guys tomorrow for the start of a new month, with #233: Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel. Now I’m off to say goodbye to my best friend. He ships out at noon today. I’ll miss you, buddy.

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