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A Guided Tour of Binaural: Light Years |
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Written by stip
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Thursday, 15 July 2010 18:39 |
Light Years
As much as I am a booster of the Light Years demo, Light Years fits Binaural better then I think Puzzles and Games would have, and the things that I think detract from Light Years musically help it fit in on Binaural (which is why judging an album is different than judging the collection of songs that make it up (I’ll put something up about the Binaural b-sides and what not after we’ve worked through the record and say more then).
Pearl Jam has dealt with death before this, probably most movingly on Long Road. The music there is simple and beautiful, and even the dramatic swells are peaceful. The song invites us to accept and make our peace with the one thing we cannot change, and it ends (for me) with an image of two people holding hands facing a setting sun, understanding and okay with what is inevitably going to come. Light Years is not that song. We know that primarily from the music. If this was a song about coming to terms with death it would sound very different. There’s something off kilter and discordant, hesitant and resistant, about the music, even as it picks up urgency throughout the song. Eddie’s voice is even a little petulant, like a child (or someone small) railing against what he acknowledges is the basic unfairness of loss. Fitting for this record, the song is cold and isolating rather than warm and inviting, dominated by unfairness and regret rather than a calm, peaceful acceptance.
Lyrically Eddie begins the song shaken—all the things he can do and has done, all the facets of life he has mastered, none of these things are of any use to him in the face of death, they cannot undo the enormity of that kind of permanent loss. The second verse is equally personal, tinged with the regret and guilt that always confronts us with the death of someone we cared about. Did I spend all the time I could with them? Did I get everything out of that relationship I could have? Did I give everything to that person I could have? The answer is always no. It has to be. But knowing the truth of that and feeling the truth of it are two very different things, and where Long Road makes its peace with that tension, the subject of Light Years is (appropriately enough for Binaural) trapped by their guilt, haunted by the time not spent and opportunities lost (he’ll return to these themes a decade later on The End). In Light Years we’re left wondering whether we’ll spend forever in the dark now that we’re deprived of the departed’s light. It’s rare that we fully appreciate how much someone illuminates our life until we have to see things without them.
There are moments of promise in Light Years, just like there was the fleeting hope in Evacuation that worry could be strength with a plan. There’s the plea to make sure you live life now, to make every moment count with the ones that you love, but its advice being given too late, delivered with a plaintive sadness that comes from knowing you’ve missed your chance. It’s followed by the bridge that has its soaring notes and high moments, but the whole thing remains somewhat strangely discordant, almost like it’s too late for this person. Light Years becomes a cautionary tale in the end, the music promising to take us places the singer can’t go (the music elevates Eddie here, rather than Eddie elevating the music or both climbing together) and offering the possibility of salvation and redemption in its warning. One light is extinguished, but not all lights need go out.
As an aside the Light Years/your light made us stars connection is pretty clever (the last time the implications of a title were explored like that in a song was on Tremor Christ). Light years are the distance between stars, the amount of time it takes for light to travel between them. Although we can measure it, it’s a speed, and therefore a distance, that is completely beyond anything we’re capable of. Something that is light years away might as well not even exist, for all practical purposes. At the same time, we discover who we are, what shines best and brightest in us, through our relationships and connections to other people (echoes of Faithful)—we need them discover ourselves. Our own light comes from them. The question becomes whether that light can still illuminate us when the distances between us become impossibly vast.
Other songs in this series:
Overview/Breakerfall
Gods Dice
Evacuation
Light Years
Nothing As It Seems
Thin Air
Insignificance
Of The Girl
Grievance
Rival
Sleight of Hand
Soon Forget
Parting Ways
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Grunge Report Radio, 7/15/2010 |
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Written by Brandon Rector
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Thursday, 15 July 2010 05:07 |
The July 15th episode of Grunge Report Radio will be talking about Pearl Jam's rumored hiatus/retirement.
On the latest edition of Grunge Report Radio Brett and Duncan talk about Pearl Jam’s future, Soundgarden’s upcoming Lollapalooza performance, and more. Duncan also has some choice words for Mr. Mustache who bashed Grunge Report Radio’s hosts in the comments section last week.
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Best of the Oughts, Sweet Sixteen |
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Written by Brandon Rector
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Wednesday, 14 July 2010 11:18 |
The Avocado is OUT! Binaural is clearly on top of this tournament. The Best of the Oughts Tournament is down to the Sweet Sixteen.
Will the ten-year anniversary of Roskilde give LBC the edge over fan-favorite Unthought Known? Can Insignificance prove significant, or will Undone hold it together? Will Parting Ways deal a deathblow to Fatal? Only you can decide. Vote now.
Light Years vs. Can't Keep
Insignificance vs. Undone
Love Boat Captain vs. Unthought Known
Fatal vs. Parting Ways
Nothing As It Seems vs. Down
Just Breathe vs. Grievance
Sleight of Hand vs. I Am Mine
Of The Girl vs. Sad
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Written by Brandon Rector
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Tuesday, 13 July 2010 09:30 |
Yes, we've all poured over the transcript of Ed's tourtured Portuguese and had a little panic attack at the thought the time between Pearl Jam shows might be measured in months instead of days.
OK, now it's time to calm down a little bit. Sure, it sounded a little scary, but as TwoFeetThick happily pointed out, we have no idea what "a long time" means, and Tacoma Rock City brings us some good news. It seems that Pearl Jam's publicist, Nicole Vandenburg, had this to say on the matter:
(It's) nothing serious. He says that at the end of all tours, meaning that the tour is over. I think the remarks got a bit lost in translation.
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A Fond Farewell to Europe |
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Written by Brandon Rector
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Monday, 12 July 2010 07:35 |
Eddie obviously finished out his time in Europe with a little surfing off the Portugal coast. God, that water looks nice.
There are rumors that Pearl Jam will be taking some time off so that Matt can tour with Soundgarden (which in turn, spur rumors that we might get more side project tours), but there also rumors that Pearl Jam will be hitting South America before the year is out.
Official sources are pretty quiet right now, but don't lose heart. Whether it's more touring or the release of an EP or a Vs. reissue, surely there is more great news in our future. Until then ...
... peace!
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July 10: Pearl Jam in Oeiras |
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Written by Brandon Rector
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Saturday, 10 July 2010 00:00 |
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July 9: Pearl Jam in Bilbao |
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Written by Brandon Rector
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Friday, 09 July 2010 00:00 |
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Best of the Oughts, Round 2 |
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Written by Brandon Rector
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Thursday, 08 July 2010 11:56 |
The Best of the Oughts Tournament continues at Red Mosquito. Each album has been brutalized! A-sides like The Fixer, World Wide Suicide, and fan-favorite Reign 'Oer Me have been eliminated. To keep your favorite song in the running, you have to vote!!
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A Guided Tour of Binaural: Evacuation |
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Written by stip
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Thursday, 08 July 2010 05:57 |
Evacuation
Evacuation is the most understated call to arms in Pearl Jam’s catalog. The music starts off sounding fairly urgent, attempting to approximate the sound and energy of a siren (they get this sound right during the fade out of the song—listen for it, and imagine how much different evacuation would sound if this was the dominant note), but not quite reaching it. The whole thing is fairly muted—like it wanted to explode but couldn’t find the powder. That’s the central tension that seems to be running through Evacuation. The song prophesizes some imminent collapse, and the chorus pleads for us to run away, to abandon a sinking ship—yet it sounds like the project is hardly worth it. Why bother? This is one of the things that I suspect puts people off from the song, and one of the things that makes it interesting. Eddie hardly sounds like he cares whether or not we get out. There’s something perfunctory about all this., going through the motions because you know you’re supposed to but not believing in your own agency
The lyrics have the same tension. They call for us to pay attention (to take heed and change direction, to take stock, to plant seeds of reconstruction, no time this time to feign reluctance). Something is definitely wrong. Things are definitely collapsing around us. There’s no time to wait for things to get better, and it would be naive to put off acting until everything is perfect (its like you’re waiting for a diamond shore to wash your way) He encapsulates this nicely in the final verse:
There was a solemn man who watched his twilight disappear (in the sand)
Altered by a fallen eagle, a warning sign
He sensed that worry could be strength with a plan
It sounds like a call to arms. But the problem is there is no sense of what is wrong. No sense of what that plan might be or what it could address. Something is seriously wrong, but there is no sense of what it is, or even who to blame. There may not be a more substance free ‘political’ song in their catalog. The album artwork is revealing here. You have a head surrounded by two bullhorns—the doodles convey the sense of the bullhorns about to blare something right into this guys ears—too close and too loud to be understood. The warning will probably come across as more annoying than helpful.
And so there is something almost tired about Evacuation. It wants to be urgent. It wants to get us on our feet and in the streets, but it doesn’t know how to do it. The screaming is exhausting, and the worry is just enervating because there is no plan, and no strength. Just a sense that we need to get out even though there is no place to go, and nothing to do when we get there.
Other songs in this series:
Overview/Breakerfall
Gods Dice
Evacuation
Light Years
Nothing As It Seems
Thin Air
Insignificance
Of The Girl
Grievance
Rival
Sleight of Hand
Soon Forget
Parting Ways
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All That's Sacred, Episode #59 |
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Written by Brandon Rector
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Wednesday, 07 July 2010 09:01 |
Episode #59 is now available.
The first episode on the new biweekly schedule and it's a special one. Original Pearl Jam drummer Dave Krusen was gracious enough to spend some time with me recently recalling his influences, the early days of the band, and his premature departure. Dave was very thoughtful and candid and a great interview. As a longtime fan, it was enlightening to hear from this little-known band member who was there at the very beginning.
Enjoy #59.
Then head to our forums to discuss it!
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