"... and they don’t just want the horse in the race, they want to win the race. I said we race the horse and then we let the horse run free. I wasn’t trying to be clever. That was the truth. He was frustrated with me. But the dream was to be in a group that toured and recorded, and we were OK with things being scaled down if that allowed the dream to survive."
Said Eddie Vedder, quoted in "Eddie Vedder Is Still Learning to Live With Loss" (NYT).
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Pearl Jam is so overrated. I might not love US, but I get why they're great. I feel the same way about Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins. Bedder is a complete mystery to me. People who know these types of things think he's great so he must be, but I don't see it at all.
I sure hope Eddie gets it all figured out.
Of the two, I always thought Bono had more talent than Cher.
"He said that when U2 makes a record, it’s like they’ve got a racehorse, and they don’t just want the horse in the race, they want to win the race. I said we race the horse and then we let the horse run free."
These are the worst music-related analogies I've ever read. Guys. Stick to music.
Vedder is Gen X's version of Bruce Springsteen.
Every boomer goes nuts for The Boss and the rest of us are scratching our heads.
"Every boomer goes nuts for The Boss"
I must remember always to make allowances for exaggeration and hyperbole, but then I am near the Boomer/GenX line.
I know the name, but can't remember who he is. My first thought was that he was married to Valerie Bertinelli, but I know that's not right. The Nineties weren't really my decade. Were they anybody's? Apart from Bridget Fonda's maybe.
Who sets a racehorse free? How would that even work?
I know I'm not the only one who has always thought that U2 and Bono were extremely overrated, if not actively sucked.
Springsteen wasn't popular on the west Coast. Jersey wannabe POS flatlander. Henry Rollins hates U2. Says they don't have a rhythm section. Pearl Jam is the best of the Grunge by far. Nirvana is overrated. The Chili Peppers were the best of that era and definitely not grunge.
He could mean giving the horse free rein or putting the horse out to pasture - big difference.
This is where the paywall sucks - I have no idea what Vedder is talking about, how it relates to his loss, or what loss they are even discussing.
Who sets a racehorse free? How would that even work?
The analogy sucks to anyone with some knowledge of horse racing, too…
I'm not a Pearl Jam fan, but I have a lot of respect for them for their fight against Ticketmaster. They proved that you can't make it in music without doing business with Ticketmaster, but it didn't matter. When their tour collapsed, Ticketmaster won, even though the tour collapsed because they were right.
Mark said...I know I'm not the only one who has always thought that U2 and Bono were extremely overrated, if not actively sucked.
Yeah, I'm sure you're not the only person who is devastatingly wrong about U2.
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
You're dangerous, 'cos you're honest.
You're dangerous, you don't know what you want.
Well you left my heart empty as a vacant lot
For any spirit to haunt.
You're an accident waiting to happen
You're a piece of glass left there on a beach.
Well you tell me things
I know you're not supposed to
Then you leave me just out of reach.
Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna drown in your blue sea?
Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna fall at the foot of thee?
tommyesq said...
This is where the paywall sucks - I have no idea what Vedder is talking about, how it relates to his loss, or what loss they are even discussing.
Good Lord, you people need to learn how to use an archive service!
Archived article here.
Personally, I think Eddie needs to figure out how to not mumble his way through a song before he starts worrying about anything else. It was kind of cool back in the 80's when Michael Stipe did it, but the style got old really fast.
It’s true, Tommy. I had to google Vedder. I sing in a choir and our rasp gets one stations- early 80s. Don’t pity me, those were my before adulting days! I do know bands that only use 3noyes- The Police, U2, whomever- boring as shit to me. And I don’t like Pearl Jam either.
I did find this:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwik-8f7sNz1AhUel3IEHVYWCb8Qjhx6BAgBEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmetalheadzone.com%2Feddie-vedders-wife-jill-shows-support-to-mental-health-based-series-of-chris-cornell-daughter%2F&psig=AOvVaw1aqvd1I1DdYrvWjoc0WvyZ&ust=1643731968204299
I promise (maybe) to learn to make links come alive. Attention span of a gnat when it comes to tech
Unless valuable: lots of race horses are adopted. Do they still use the mares for Premarin?
Rasp/radio. It doesn’t come in so great when the lights on that side are on , so rasp is about right.
"Every boomer goes nuts for The Boss and the rest of us are scratching our heads."
Not really. My favorites were all locked in before he came out. I've never cared much about him. The straining. The earnestness. The "sincerity."
Pearl Jam was great- those first three albums were outstanding, but each succeeding one was just a bit worse than the previous one. After Vitalogy, I quit buying them- the decline after that third album accelerated in my opinion.
Springsteen was outstanding right up until the period after Tunnel of Love. After that album, which I loved, nothing he put out was worth listening to, much less buy. I have seen his concerts three times, though- outstanding live shows, though I haven't seen him in concert now in close to 20 years.
U2's last good album for me was Achtung, Baby, but even that album (1990 or 91) was much weaker than the earlier ones. I haven't bought any of their albums since then.
Here is the best thing I have heard from Eddie Vedder in the last 25 years- he performed this on an episode of Twin Peaks in 2016 or 2017.
Never was a Springsteen fan. Like Ann said....the straining, trying too hard to be.......suffering or something. Still remember the cover of him on Time magazine saying he was the next big thing. 1975ish, back when global cooling was the rage.
How about someone never heard much about? Tommy Bolin. Took Richie Blackmores place in Deep Purple. Then died. Singer/guitarist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6NQNTSUPmM
Every boomer goes nuts for The Boss and the rest of us are scratching our heads.
Not this boomer.
The straining. The earnestness. The "sincerity."
Precisely, Althouse. The Bard of the Common Man, who never had a job that didn't require a guitar pick.
Thanks for the link, NorthOf...
Interestingly, Vedder compares the rise to fame as being in a freight train with no windows to see where you are going, and feeling the need to try to seize control back from the train conductor. Sounds like what Joe Rogan is thinking today.
I wasn’t a U2 fan, but they were in Los Angeles while I was out there on business so I decided to catch the show. The BoDeans opened and rocked. Then came The Pretenders and delivered. I only lasted for three or four songs from the headliner. I felt sorry for them - they were decisively the worst band of the evening.
'Who sets a racehorse free? How would that even work?'
If you love the racehorse, you set it free. If he loves you he will return.
But if he wanders off and finds a stud farm, he won't come back...
'The straining. The earnestness. The "sincerity."'
The faked sincerity.
He is a good writer and puts on a hell of a show...you always get your money's worth.
But he is such a fucking phony.
Like Joey B, he wouldn't know a lunchbox if it hit him in the face.
"The straining. The earnestness. The "sincerity."
I loved Bruce's first three albums, and saw him live three times before he released Born to Run. Easily the best shows I had seen at that point--1974. Only the J Geils Band was as good live. I continue to like a lot of Bruce, but you've described his weaknesses, which became much more pronounced after the Rising. He also seems to have a strong desire to present a certain persona--regular guy, still rooted in his social class, etc. Dylan's never done that, and he's so much more interesting as a result. And I think history will be much kinder to Dylan, whose songwriting just feels more profound and deep to me.
Someone said Bruce has never been big on the west coast. He sells out stadiums there, so I'm not so sure about that.
I think Mellencamp is often as good, and his records over the last 15 years or so have been much better, than Bruce's.
Nobody will ever accuse Bono of not thinking big. Judging from the interview (and what I've read of him in the past) Eddie doesn't have that same drive or the joy in what he does. This isn't meant as a slam against Eddie, I think Pearl Jam is a good band with some memorable songs. Eddie just seems like the brooding sort who can't quite figure out where he wants to go next. Maybe he hasn't realized that at this point in his career, it doesn't really matter. At least it doesn't to me as Eddie had me bored to death by the time I was halfway through the interview.
If I had a choice between having a beer with Bono or Eddie, I would take Bono in an instant. I'm sure we'd agree on little as far as politics is concerned but he's an interesting, bright guy with a great sense of humor. I have no doubt who would be more fun to meet.
Was Springsteen Tweeter? Or was he the Monkeyman?
I forget…
The guy was - and still is - highly overrated. It seems if you are a musician from NYC or NJ, your lack of talent is often overlooked by east coast listeners and music press (largely east coast- based).
Springsteen wasn't overrated. He simply became obnoxious and decided to piss on half his audience.
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