November 11, 2019: W.M.A. (Read on SPT Episode 115)

Hi Brad and Brad,

I thoroughly enjoyed the review of the live performance of Vs. The song that stuck out to me the most was W.M.A. It's a song that I have a tough time enjoying as much as the recorded version, because it was apparent that song can only be delivered in its original form with Dave A. It's not a shot at Matt, but more of a constant reinforcement that each of the drummers have distinct styles and there are songs that best suit each one of them. I also feel this way about In My Tree, but that may be a different email for a different time.

When I logged into Livefootsteps I found that out of the 17 times (not counting tags) it's been played in its entirety, only 5 times was it played by Dave A. live. They played it 3 times with Jack and then didn't play it again until 2008. If you listen to one of the 2008 performances, you get something very different than a strong dose of base and drums. It's mostly rhythm and lead driving the song, which is a nice change. I found a video from their show in Columbia, SC.

If you search a little bit further in time, they perform the same rendition with "local NY" backup singers.

Again very cool, however it doesn't embody what I've appreciated so much about the song and that's Jeff and Dave A.

Forced to endure, what I could not forgive,

Chris

Comments

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

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

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

Search This Blog