Skip to main content

November 7, 2018: Quadrophenia Effect

Hi Brad and Brad,

I am so stoked that next week's episode is the Yield review!  Thank you for reading my email this week and for the kind words about my emails.  I've really enjoyed listening to SPT and interacting with you both.  There will probably be plenty for me to write about next week after listening to Episode 67, so I will be anxious to hear your thoughts on Yield.

Just to disclose how big of a nerd I have been regarding this band, I will admit that I keep a running list of email topics should something not come to me organically.  One of those topics that i have had written down for weeks, maybe months, are the first two tracks of an album and how they compliment one another.  I've heard BradB say more than once that Pearl Jam is really good at the opening of their albums in the first two tracks.  On a few of these albums, the first two compliment each other so well that the second track really hits you after listening to the first.  For some context, I have some examples that I have always loved from the following albums and artists.

News of the World (Queen) - We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions
Eye in the Sky (Alan Parsons Project) - Sirius, Eye in the Sky
Tiny Music (Stone Temple Pilots) - Press Play, Pop's Love Suicide
The Colour and the Shape (Foo Fighters) - Doll, Monkey Wrench

and probably my all-time favorite:

Quadrophenia (The Who) - I Am the Sea, The Real Me
It's so awesome how much different The Real Me hits you, after you've been relaxed by I Am the Sea.  There's a similar "Quadrophenia Effect" from No Code with Sometimes and Hail, Hail.  I love that you guys touch upon how Hail, Hail really hits you in the face after listening to Sometimes.  It really gives extra life to the beginning of the song.  The first time I listened to No Code I got that shockwave after Sometimes and really fell for Hail, Hail.  Hail, Hail still stands really well on it's own, but Sometimes pushes it even further.  It's a lot like when you listen to some of the classic rock stations and they will normally play certain tracks from albums like Sirius/Eye in the Sky, We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions, Time/Great Gig in the Sky (I had to slip some Pink Floyd in for Blazek) and Heartbreaker/Living Loving Maid.  It's too bad I haven't heard this done for Sometimes/Hail, Hail, personally, but it's so hard to imagine one without the other.

Forced to endure, what I could not forgive,

Chris

P.S.  BradB: I listened to Opus Eponymous by Ghost this afternoon and liked it.  I'll probably check out some more of their stuff.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

October 17, 2010: RIP Mozart for Guitar

Hi Brad and Brad, I first want to mention that I can't remember the last time I laughed as hard as I did while listening to you two and Clint Wells go on about spoonfuls of flour and uncooked spaghetti.  I almost had to pull my car over as I was driving home during that part of the episode!   Since Eddie Van Halen passed away on October 6th, I've been listening to a lot of Van Halen.  I didn't really get into them until 10-15 years ago, but I consider them to be one of my favorite bands of all-time.  Eddie was truly an innovator on shredding guitar solos and may be my favorite lead guitarist ever.  I saw Mike's comment on Pearl Jam's Twitter feed referencing how he began playing guitar shortly after their first record came out.  He goes so far to say "it sounded like Eddie was from another planet" and "Eddie was like Mozart for guitar.  Changed everything and he played with Soul." I know the guys have covered Van Halen here-and-there and I looked
Post a Comment
Read more

December 26, 2020: Someday at Christmas

Hi Brad and Brad, First, I hope you guys have had a Happy Holidays.  Secondly, I really enjoy your solo episodes.  They have a deejay format to them which also feels personable in getting to know each of your lives and what has influenced you to be who you are now. I hadn't taken the time to get to know Someday at Christmas until after listening to BradB's recent episode.  Pearl Jam does a great job in covering the song, and I prefer Stevie Wonder's version over the Jackson 5.  Especially, after reading the lyrics and reading some interpretations of the song.  At the time the song was released, the Vietnam War was still underway.  The lyrics seem to voice opposition to the war itself, but also express the hope for racial and economic equality.  Unfortunately, that message still resonates strongly.   Stevie Wonder was one of the artists that shaped my musical interests when I was a teenager.  I'm very glad the guys chose to cover this song for a Christmas single and have
Post a Comment
Read more

December 31, 2020: Low Light

Hi Jessi and Kate, I have been way behind on my podcasts the last several weeks.  The main reason is because myself and a friend started our own podcast!  It's not Pearl Jam themed , however it's consumed a decent amount of my week preparing for each recording.  So we now have a hit on the Dink-O-Meter for both of you.  First Jessi and now Kate!  I can't remember if I have proposed the Dink-O-Meter to you yet, but I have it as a three-tiered system: Dinky: Just your average dinky, will only skip if streaming Rinky-Dinky: Automatic skipper, even when listening to vinyl Stinky-Dinky: It's like nails on a chalkboard to you Based on Jessi's response to Parachutes, I have that somewhere between Rinky-Dinky and Stinky-Dinky.  I would have to let Jessi be the final judge on that.  For Kate's remarks to Low Light, I have it somewhere between Dinky and Rinky-Dinky, however I'm inclined to believe it's closer to Dinky because I wasn't able to note as many hot
Post a Comment
Read more