"Rice and Why I Like It": An Exposition by Jake Schwab

With all this talk in the news about food shortages and price hikes, I thought it only appropriate to twist the subject around to suit our self-serving, blog-centric purposes.

Cast your minds back to the show we played (I'm sure you were there) where Jake told...
...this little story

That was the after-the-fact comment about our invention, but the UBR Shaker has inspired some enjoyable comedy during a few of our recording adventures:

Living Low sessions

And don't forget here:

last part of demo for unreleased Jakesong I'll Mend It

And I won't swear to it, but I think something rice-related hides in the beginning of this song as if it were a bowl of rice to hide in:

first part of demo for It Matters

Is it just me, or is that some good eatin'?

Move alone, move along...

I'm happy to report that, yes, we can let the PJ thing die already.

It was the sine-wave graph, Jake. When I saw it, I realized I was dealing with a man who had nothing left to lose.

On a completely different note, I dug up a picture of a couple of studs from back in the day. The archives are brimming with this kind of stuff.

Facial expressions courtesy of Pearl Jam debate participation

can't we just let the PJ thing die, already?

So I guess I have to come back to this now.

let's address the bullets with bullets:

• Not including Ten, the band has cut 8 studio albums. I can't name a single band who has made 8 albums that are worth listening to front to back.
• ok...it's cheating, but I pull the Beatles card. But really, I can't think of any others. However, the point was that for me, the last 5 studio albums are 100% unlistenable for me. Since albums 2 & 3 I'll say were only 50% and 25% listenable respectively, that means that of all the studio material, I can only listen to about 22% of PJ's material. Compare that to any band where you like 3 songs per album, and its a higher percentage.
• If the band had hypothetically decided to remain pop-friendly and tried to make Ten-like albums over and over again, we'd all be criticizing them for repeating themselves.
• You're probably right, but we'll never know because they are completely incapable of reproducing that magic.
• I can't name a single band who is more exciting, relevant and talented after 17 years of existence than they were in the early days.
• dude...PJ, relevant? I'll ignore that for now. However one thing to think about is what they have put out over that 17 years. if you want to talk about pure stature over time: Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, (I hate to say it) U2, Elvis, Metallica, RHCP, Beck, Radiohead, Weezer, Tool, Sting/the Police, the Doors...they all fit in that category.
  
• If you want to look at an average of albums per time around...as in about one album every 2 years where I enjoy the majority of the work, then look to Ben Folds & Ben Folds Five, Letters to Cleo, STP, Jars of Clay, Alice In Chains, Counting Crows, Duncan Sheik, Cake, Jimmy Eat World, etc.
• I know you probably don't care for a lot of that...but its about me now.
• The Ticketmaster thing was incredibly well-intentioned. Some (or a lot, depending...) of their ideas may be stupid or fail to materialize, but the boys in PJ have supplied a lot of evidence that they're genuinely good guys who want to to do "the right thing" by their fans.
• I know a lot of genuinely good people. It doesn't make them good musicians.

Even my favorite artists cannot put out 100% enjoyable albums time and time again. One of my favorites, Duncan Sheik, I will honestly say that of the 5 studio albums he has released over 10 years, there are 2 i listen to straight through, 2 that I listen to about 50-60% of, and one I listen to 1 or 2 tracks only. (so about 66% is listenable to me). But to argue a different point on this one, I think Daylight was his best (and fourth-released) album, followed by Humming (2nd released). His albums follow a sine-wave pattern of listenability for me (For points 0, pi/2, 3pi/2, 5pi/2). [there's the geek in me coming back out].

STP: again, 5 albums in 9 years (not including Thank You), Core & purple get 100% played, Tiny Music gets 85% played, No.4 & Shangri... get about 50%. (so here about 77% is listenable to me). Here, a steady drop off of listenability for me.

My point was this, if I lose enough interest in an artist and they fail to produce music I like, I don't listen to them anymore. Will Pearl Jam stand the test of time...probably...but if it weren't for ten, we would look at them the way we do cracker or the toadies now...a few hit songs and then just gone. The 90's gave us so many few-hit wonders that I'm amazed this many remained popular after.

I know Brian and I will never fully agree on Pearl Jam...but we do agree that they weren't the best band ever. For now, I'll take what I can get.

Pearl Jam = Fish Being Shot While Swimming In A Barrel

Since Jake's a full-time student, he'll appreciate this metaphor: you get an "A" for Consistency of Opinion!

It's my contention that we agree more than we disagree when it comes to PJ (and in general, too). For example:

• Does at least half of each post-Ten album fall flat? Yes.
• Has the band been guilty of being, musically and vocally, too experimental for their own good? Yes.
• Do I think they're as exciting, relevant, and talented as they were during the Ten days? No.
• Did the Ticketmaster thing leave a sour taste in everybody's mouth? Yes.

That being said, I can also say this:

• Not including Ten, the band has cut 8 studio albums. I can't name a single band who has made 8 albums that are worth listening to front to back.
• If the band had hypothetically decided to remain pop-friendly and tried to make Ten-like albums over and over again, we'd all be criticizing them for repeating themselves.
• I can't name a single band who is more exciting, relevant and talented after 17 years of existence than they were in the early days.
• The Ticketmaster thing was incredibly well-intentioned. Some (or a lot, depending...) of their ideas may be stupid or fail to materialize, but the boys in PJ have supplied a lot of evidence that they're genuinely good guys who want to to do "the right thing" by their fans.

Trying to say that modern PJ sucks compared to old PJ is like saying being old sucks compared to being young. Of course it does - but you take what you can get, and being old is better than the alternative. For me, a working PJ is better than not, because one day they just might turn in Ten, Part Deux, and that would be worth all the goofiness in between. Stranger things have happened.

But even if that never happens, it's clear I have a soft spot for them. They're a living reminder of a time and a wealth of feelings that are long-gone. No doubt, the story of the band is getting frail with age. The pages are worn and dog-eared, the cover is stained, the binding is coming loose...but the book still reads, my friend.

The book still reads.

PJ...my take

So yes...my feelings on PJ are accurate as portrayed by Brian. There's really nothing I can add to this.

I loved ten...its still one of my favorite albums ever. After that there was a steady decline until I think it was no code where I just washed my hands of Pearl Jam and gave up any hope that I would ever again hear music from them that didn't sound like either a drunken pirate song or scream therapy.


In the 9 major albums released since 1991, even by allmusic's ratings, only ten received a 5/5. Did I enjoy the radio singles...of course I did. Even the vs. singles "daughter" and "feminine septuagenarian in back of a horizontal surface in an unfamiliar suburban setting," or something like that. But even with my quick procurement of the new album (at the time), I knew from go...both figuratively and literally (as go is the 1st track) that I wouldn't love it the way I did ten. Are there valid excuses...sure. It doesn't make me like PJ any more because of it.

Ah...and then there was Vitalogy. From the first listen to the album, I liked both tracks with "man" in the title...and not much else. I mean really...spin the black circle?!? how about, "play it on vinyl because it sounds better, or at least it sounds better to say that it does because I'm not that drunk, where's my surfboard, and by surfboard, I mean vodka?" I was losing hope, and the sheep listening to their radios at home kept loving it all because that's what the radio stations told them to do...and the indie fight against ticketmaster, maaaaaaaaannn. All the self-righteous kids at home found the perfect rebellion of sticking it to big business and giving money back to the band...(mind you, this was before napster when the winds of change blew the other way, yet again).

Then came no code. I looked at the track listing for this album for 15 minutes and could not remember how any of the songs went. The vocals sounded like he was holding a vibrator to his throat or his jaw was just wired shut. It was at this point that I had to just cut my losses and give up on their future for me.

If you like them, hey that's great, but don't you dare tell me they were the most prophetic band of our time, or the best band since '90. I honestly believe I enjoy more of Britney's catalog than Pearl Jam's.

...but like I said...I f-ing LOVE ten.

Man, I really like Pearl Jam. Still.

Ya know why? Because they can infuse a song - even acoustic-based material - with such bombast, like THIS(!):

"State of Love And Trust" - MTV Unplugged, 1992

"Immortality" - Benaroya Hall, 2003

...and then break it all down to Mellow Town, like THIS(!):

"Footsteps"

"Dead Man"

Just wanted to say that.

Shutting up about Pearl Jam now.

The Great Pearl Jam Debate

Jake and I have this thing where we argue about Pearl Jam. There's been a long-standing dispute about the merits of the band's "glory-days" output (which, for him, means Ten) compared to everything thereafter, and the previous DMB post got us both back on-topic.

There's one thing we can agree on: you can't deny the power of early-90's PJ, beautifully exemplified by "Once" - the first track off the debut album. Here's the 2004 Brendan O'Brien remix; take a listen:

Allright, so that song is awesome. But, according to Jake, only about half of Vs. was any good, maybe a third of Vitalogy, and...zip. Done. PJ effectively ceased to exist as a working band for him.

Wait a second: you're immune to the unrestrained musical exuberance of "In My Tree"?

The soaring power-pop-punk of "Leatherman?"

"Cropduster"? The best song Neil Young never wrote!?

The hauntingly moving, Matt Cameron-penned "You Are", even?

I could cite more examples, but if you're not sold already, it ain't gonna happen.

PJ may not be as consistent or radio-friendly these days as they once were, but that doesn't mean you can't cherry-pick something worthwhile off each album they've ever done.

(A side-note on the "radio-friendly" thing: PJ are frequently criticized for deliberately "sabotaging" their musical careers by making Vs. so much less populist than Ten. According to my research, this is almost directly attributed to the fact that a lunatic fan stalked Vedder to the degree that she ended up driving her car through his house. I'd be a liar if I told you that my reaction to the whole fame thing wouldn't have been at least similar to his, if not identical. In a situation like that, fame must have felt like an incredible burden of vulnerability.)

Feel free to weigh in on this, people...

"Anyone? Anyone?"

Oh yeah, man - I almost forgot. Here's some critical validation for one of your perhaps-not-so-guilty musical pleasures...

Reflections on DMB

Heard some late-model DMB last night, which got me to thinking: "Now there's a band past its prime."

Just think about it - remember when Under The Table And Dreaming came out, and you're like, "this is IT! THIS is the music I've been waiting to hear!" I can still remember with vivid clarity the unbelievable freshness of that album, its shimmering beauty. The sound, the vibe, the mood was utterly without peer in the popular music spectrum of 1994.

Then, you had Crash in '96, which, while having a few missteps, was still a pretty solid album. 1999's Live at Luther College (recorded in '96) further cemented the legend while showcasing a whole new side of Dave's music; the all-acoustic presentation boasted an eerie musical telepathy between Matthews and Tim Reynolds, a guy who should've been an official, full-time bandmember from day one.

Unfortunately, Before These Crowded Streets signalled the beginning of the end. Lots of un-DMB material - combined with a general sense of wankery - began to reveal cracks in the seams of the band's greatness.

With a few exceptions, pretty much everything the group has done since '98 has disappointed me. In fact, it takes some effort to remember the way the music used to make me feel; I'm stuck with a pair of jaded, can't-go-back-there ears. Auditory virginity is just as impossible to reclaim as the carnal kind; would that it weren't so...

Since I'm one to be helpful, I'll suggest a bunch of stuff Dave couldn't possibly do:

1) Find a way to get Reynolds permanently onboard in the early 90's.
2) Realize that you're a songwriter / rhythm guitarist, not a singer - get somebody else on vocals.
3) Fire the freaking horns guy; this ain't no jazz bar, nor are you running a ska band. (Hey Lillywhite, can we get an alternate mix of "Two Step"? Maybe one without the tuba!?)

With this sterling advice, a Dave Matthews in an alternate universe might make it to 2008 without sucking wind.

Checklist

• What I did this weekend: moved
• Things I'm really good at: sending thinner friends into residential crawlspaces to turn off water valves, but helping friends crawl OUT of crawlspaces afterwards; driving large trucks
• What the weather was like while loading/unloading: sucky/rainy/time-travel to Victorian England
  
• Moving completion status: incomplete
• Status of Robertson Sanitation attempting to empty my overloaded trash receptacle, breaking it, and leaving it for me to disperse the contents into numerous smaller bags: complete
• Status of much-needed credit card's arrival: to be determined
• Status of expressing a giant "meh" about this whole moving thing: complete
• Status of Jake reading over selected Craigslist ads for bassists before I start selling them on The Burn: incomplete with a bullet - yowza!