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August 2, 2020: Parachutes: This Dinky Thing (Read on the Porch, Episode 64)

Hi Jessi and Kate,

I have to say that Episode 63 was one of the more entertaining discussions you two have had on a Pearl Jam song.  It certainly brought out a side of Jessi I hadn't seen yet, and I'm curious to know what song does the same thing to Kate, if at all.  Jessi, I am curious as to the other three songs you mentioned that you have no affinity for.  You definitely came out swinging the first 10-15 minutes of going over Parachutes, so much that after listening to you and Kate on Apple Podcasts, I had to go back and watch on YouTube.  The second time around, I ended up taking notes on some blunt, but thought-provoking comments made by each of you.  Here are some of my favorites:
  • Jessi compared Parachutes to a "very bad Beatles song."
  • Jessi: "There are these big massive songs on Avocado and then you get to this dinky thing."
  • Jessi's analogy of Parachutes to when " you go to the fair and you ride on nothing but roller coasters and then you get on a carousel."
  • Kate saying that "it seems like they got a little lazy" with this song
  • Kate's description of the tracking listing as " you’re on this ride with Avocado and then your car breaks down," when you get to Parachutes.
And My Favorite: "If you said, “oh I don’t know that song Parachutes,” then I’d say you’re not a real Pearl Jam fan," said by one Kate Cotton.

I know I'm blowing some of those a bit out of context, but that was better than hearing Brad Blazek go on about his disdain for River Cross or Dissident. 

After the dust cleared you guys brought up some interesting interpretations of how you can interpret the meaning of the song from the lyrics.  It does come off as a love song to a significant other to me.  When I read the lyrics, it's almost describing the moment when you realize you have fallen in love with someone.  Whether it's you have fallen unconditionally for your partner, or seeing your child brought into the world for the first time.  It's a moment of euphoria that can only be expressed as one imaging their loved one falling from the sky.  I agree the track sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the record, but I imagine this is probably how life can be described.  This record is politically-motivated by the events during the Bush administration, but for a moment that's put aside because you've found unconditional love and in spite of all of the shit going on in the world, it distracts you into a mindset best imagined by the musical tone and whispering upper-range vocals. 

One last thing I want to mention is the track placement.  Kate had mentioned how one reason this song loses luster is because Unemployable is after it, which she does not enjoy.  When I reordered the track listing, I really didn't have much of a reason for where I put Parachutes other than I wanted to keep it "buried" in the middle of the tracklist.  The reordered list has World Wide Suicide after it.  I'm not sure if that changes either of your perceptions (I'm pretty confident there's nothing I can do for Jessi's) but it does make it a bit less of a "sore thumb" when I listen to it in that order.



Forced to endure, what I could not forgive,

Chris

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