Acoustic interpretation of the Ten classic performed in Paris
Best of the Nineties, Sweet Sixteen
Written by Brandon Rector
Thursday, 26 August 2010 17:12
It has been a Long Road to the Red Mosquito's Best of the Nineties Sweet Sixteen! Yield, this is Not For You. Yes, that's right, Yield is completely in the Rearviewmirror. As the leading album, Vitalogy may be headed for Immortality.
State of Love and Trust vs. Last Exit
Alive vs. Indifference
Black vs. Rearview Mirror
Porch vs. Tremor Christ
In My Tree vs. Release
Corduroy vs. Animal
Immortality vs. Long Road
Hail Hail vs. Not For You
There's no need for Indifference, Release your votes.VOTE NOW!
Sorry for abandoning the series last week. Life interrupted, and I only realized my faux pas last night. Perhaps we'll get you all caught up this weekend. - Brandon
If Grievance ends Binaural suddenly we have a very different record on our hands. The fact that it does not (and is followed by 4 of the darkest songs on the record) is significant. On a record that sometimes feels like drowning Grievance is a last gasp, the sound of one last deep breath before going under, possibly for good.
This is one of the best political songs in their catalog—probably their best. Despite knowing that it’s about the WTO protests, it works in part because it is not specifically tied to that moment in time . There are details in the lyrics--Progress laced with ramifications/progress, taste it, invest it all/for every tool they lend us, a loss of independence--that ground it in the politics of that moment, but they’re also describing a process and a power relationship that transcends the WTO and the World Bank. Instead it’s a call for frustrated underdogs to rally around something larger than themselves and to demand more.
Politics is about power, no matter how much we try to obscure that (just like any talk about states rights during the civil war turns back to slavery), and in modern democratic politics there are two sources of power—money and mass. Money dominates, and we accept it because it manages to clothe itself in democratic symbols (we have elections, so the people rule, right?) and because we’ve had a tendency going back 100 years or more to equate markets with freedom, which means that everything that happens reflects people’s choices. The world is a consequence of our individual actions, the results are fair, and we own them. Our world is governed by a theodicy no different in practice than the belief that God has already written everyone’s fates or the divine right of kings. The point of this theodicy is to systematically disarm and in some cases delegitimate the power of mass against money.
Grievance is a war cry, an attempt to awaken within people a reassertion of the power of mass, and with it democracy. Like Insignificance, Grievance requires us to first recognize just how powerless we currently are. It demands that we call our current system, our illusions of freedom, into question. Unlike Insignificance, the characters in this song are agents capable of acting. Insignificance asks us to bear witness. Grievance urges us to act—to see the world for how it really is, and confront it. There is no immediate space for action when bombs are dropping down, when your life is being destroyed by forces far away for whom you and your life is an abstraction. But that's not the case here. The great promise of democratic regime is the possibility that people will use it, the great fear of those with power is what will happen when mass decides to awaken, when they realize that they deserve something more. The sticks come down, but they can only do this as long as we divide ourselves. They can only come down as long as we let them.
As is the case on pretty much every song on Binaural, the music helps tell this story. It starts off somewhat playful and sarcastic, dismissive of illusions. It gets frustrated more than it gets angry. Grievance doesn’t punch its enemy in the face. It grabs its allies by the shoulders and tries to get them to focus. It shakes them awake. We see this in Eddie’s vocal performance too. There isn’t anger in Grievance as much as there is exasperation, which should tell us who the audience is.
The song culminates with its statement of principles. Life derives its meaning from the ability to act. We’re not really free unless we’re agents, and we become agents when we embrace that desire to live. Grievance urges us to remember that it is the act itself, and the hope and faith that create it, that makes anything and everything possible.
If Binaural ends with this thought then we are listening to a record of redemption. But it doesn’t, and so Grievance is an outlier on the record—a reminder of what once was and perhaps might be again someday, but are currently not. Like I Am Mine on Riot Act, it is an ember to preserve, in the hope that one day there can be a new fire.
Sept. 27 – High Dive, Seattle WA.
Sept. 28 – High Dive, Seattle WA.
Oct. 1 – Val Air Ballroom, Des Moines IA. *
Oct. 3 – Double Door, Chicago IL.
Oct. 4 – House of Blues, Cleveland OH. *
Oct. 5 – LC Amphitheater, Columbus OH. *
Oct. 6 – IN-STORE TBC
Oct. 6 – Brown Theater, Louisville KY. *
Oct. 8 – World Cafe, Philadelphia PA. *
Oct. 9 – 930 Club, Washington DC. (early show)
Oct. 10 – Bowery Ballroom, New York NY.
October 11th – IN-STORE TBC
October 12th – Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa OK. *
October 13th – IN-STORE TBC
October 13th – The Pageant, St. Louis MO. *
October 14th – Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO. *
*Supporting Band of Horses.
It’s been pretty busy with the new job so I recruited some help hosting this week’s episode from an old friend of the band. If you’re a newbie, it might require a bit of an explanation but I hope you all will ultimately be more amused than annoyed. :)
ATS #64 is comprised almost entirely of miscellaneous email and vmail listener requests. I really appreciate all the continued correspondence and support. I wish I could stay more engaged in responding to everyone in a timely manner. Please know that I receive and read and hear everything and that it’s all absolutely vital to the success of the podcast. Many, many thanks.
If you’re down south this weekend, I’d be sure to be in Little Rock for a special night with EV and friends benefitting the WM3. If you’re in my neighborhood next week, hope to see y’all at the Hootenanny for a Healthy Gulf on 9/2. And according to Stone in Billboard, this year’s Bridge School Benefit is going to double as the band’s 20th anniversary celebration. Hail hail the lucky ones, indeed. Be sure to check with the folks at the Wishlist Foundation for deets on any pre-party fundraisers for all these gigs.
Jack Irons' new album, No Heads Are Better Than One, is now available in the Ten Club's Goods Section. It's $10.00 with free shipping to the U.S. ($4.50 S&H world wide)
Thanks to TwoFeetThick and All That's Sacred who [simultaneious?] posted this Billboard article in which Stone Gossard confirms Bridge School, announces a possible 2011 South American Tour, and hints at some studio time for Pearl Jam in the very near future.
I'd still call this a rumor, but AntiQuiet is reporting that Mike McCready told their buddy that Pearl Jam is planning on a performance at this year's Bridge School Benefit.
Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready appeared onstage with Star Anna at Spaceland in Silver Lake, CA Wednesday night, and before the show passed on word to a friend of ours that all of Pearl Jam will make a return to the annual benefit concert this year.
The 24th Annual Bridge School Benefit Concert will be held on October 23rd & 24th, a non-profit charity concert held in Mountain View, CA every October at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. The concerts – which most often feature stripped-down acoustic sets from performers – are all organized by Rock legend Neil Young and his lovely wife, Pegi. All the shows’ proceeds benefit the Bridge School, which assists children with severe physical impairments and complex needs.
Eddie Vedder's Better Days is the Starbucks Pick of the Week. The Eat Pray Love Soundtrack has been featured prominently on counters for some time, but now you can pick up a little red card with a code for a free download at iTunes. Stop in on a Starbucks this week!
It’s another slow PJ news week… I think the only things worth noting are actually happening today. First, the tickets for the 8/28 Voices For Justice show benefiting the WM3 in Little Rock, AR and featuring Eddie Vedder are going on sale today at 9AM CDT. Later tonight in LA, Mike McCready will be sitting in with Star Anna during her show at Spaceland. And don’t forget, Mike and Star and friends will be playing the Hootenanny for a Healthy Gulf on 9/2 at Seattle’s Moore Theater.
New albums are here! Brad’s new record dropped last week. Check out my review of the LP and their recent in-store performance at Easy Street Records’ Queen Anne location. They’ll be back onstage opening a few midwest dates for Band Of Horses later in October. Also, the mighty Jack Irons has a new solo album landing on 8/24 and should be available through Ten Club.
Today on ATS #63 we are exploring another theme that was suggested a long, long time ago – a song’s maiden voyage. It’s a cool moment when a new song sets sail for the first time in front of a live audience. The song selection is a nice, varied sampling and spans the band’s entire history. We even manage to play a few songs that have never even been featured on the podcast. It’s hard to believe after all these episodes, but there are still a handful of songs that have never been played on ATS.
In other ATS news, I think we are going to try and go back to a weekly show. I talk about it more on the podcast but the bottom line is I miss doing it weekly. Plus, I got a new job recently and that should make it easier to schedule since I’m no longer on the hunt for new employment. So we’re going to give it a go. I also want to give a huge shout-out to listener Igor Gruda for designing a badass new ATS logo for the Facebook and Twitter sites. Thank you, Igor!
Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy this week’s show.
