Post subject: SOTM #74: A man lies in his bed in a room with no doors
Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 3:17 pm
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Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
I'm Open
A man lies in his bed, in a room with no door He waits hoping for a presence, something, anything, to enter After spending half his life searching, he still felt as blank As the ceiling at which he's staring He's alive, but feels absolutely nothing So, is he? When he was six he believed that the moon overhead followed him By nine he had deciphered the illusion, trading magic for fact No trade-backs... So this is what it's like to be an adult If he only knew now what he knew then...
I'm open I'm open Come in Come in Come in Come in
I'm open I'm open Come in Come in Come in Come in
Lying sideways atop crumpled sheets and no covers He decides to dream... Dream up a new self... for himself
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
I’m open is a great example of why I’m not interested in Pearl Jam releasing a more ‘experimental’ record. Although I love the lyrics musically it falls a bit flat for me. The song starts out creating some ambiance (I love the low moan) but the music itself just meanders about never doing much beyond creating a vague feel of peaceful meditation. It also doesn’t quite fit the bleakness of the lyrics. This is not music for a lost soul.
Lyrically the verses are fantastic, some of Eddie’s best existential searching—the feeling of being trapped, the vacant stare, the dissatisfaction with a disenchanted universe. And the spoken word delivery works well.
What really kills the song here is the chorus. It’s a little cheesy, too repetitive, and the slightly nasally quality to it lessens its impact. I’ve always found myself really intrigued after the first verse, only to completely lose interest by the end of the song. The outro lyrics are good, but at this point I’ve usually lost interest.
It might be interesting to see this song serve as a segue into life wasted, provided they could remember how to play the whole thing.
Two stars
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 2:29 pm Posts: 6984 Location: if anyone wants me, i'll be in my room Gender: Male
i just recently began to like 'im open.' it was usually a skip track for me, and it might have remained so except that i decided to put it on my pj winter mix cd this year. it worked better in my order than it did on no code, at least for me.
Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2004 5:47 am Posts: 27904 Location: Philadelphia Gender: Male
3.5 stars from me, so I rounded it up to 4. It's the season of giving.
When I first listened to No Code, I thought this song was merely OK. But with each consecutive listen, it ended up growing on me more and more. I don't really see a problem with the lyrics and music matching up, nor do I think the music is bland or meandering. Plus it segues nicely into Around the Bend to boot.
_________________ It's always the fallen ones who think they're always gonna save me.
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 12:20 am Posts: 5198 Location: Connecticut Gender: Male
The lyrics alone are enough for me to give this one 4 stars. When I was younger, I hated it, and thought it was just another wasted track on a shitty album. As I've gotten older, I've learned to appreciate this song (and the album) much more. Musically, it's just a "whatever" song. Not too good, but listenable.
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2005 6:18 pm Posts: 5622 Location: hiding amongst the chimpanzees
Play C3 wrote:
i just recently began to like 'im open.' it was usually a skip track for me, and it might have remained so except that i decided to put it on my pj winter mix cd this year. it worked better in my order than it did on no code, at least for me.
what did you put it between?
_________________ Twenty years for nothing, well that's nothing new, besides, No one's interested in something you didn't do Wheat kings and pretty things, let's just see what the morning brings.
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:00 pm Posts: 19826 Location: Alone in a corridor
This is the best SOTM since #47 Parting Ways. It almost feels like Red Dot to me. Thanks stip! I'll write an incredible lot on this one, but not for now.
For now, I'll just say: Fuck you who saw I'm Open this year and stop bragging about it, cause you really haven't seen I'm Open. Seriously. It's time you all realize what a stupid attempt they did at doing something special. Boy, that sucked. I'm Open is a song that depends for 99% on its incredibly magical lyrics. Without the lyrics the song is nothing. Really. I would have been incredibly disappointed to see that. Cause I'm Open is a song I adore. And then when you start thinking they might fulfill your dream of hearing that live, they play such awful thing. I think I would have jumped on stage, grabbed the mic and spoke the lyrics myself. Pathetic.
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:02 am Posts: 2560 Location: Dallas/Atlanta/Savannah
4 stars for me... not quite a masterpeice but one of the "artsier" things pj has done. this song has taken me weird places when listening to it. I hope if they ever play it live ed doesnt try to 'sing' the vocals like 'push me, pull me'. it would make a great seque, maybe if they did All or none/im open/life wasted.
_________________ "is that a fucking pearl jam shirt?" Courtney Love
I respect this song for what it is, but it's a 1 and a half star for me. However, when I first heard this "experimentation", I realized Ed would be suberb as an audio book narrator. I apologize to those of you who like it/love it, but I just don't smoke enough pot anymore to appreciate it the way it probably needs to be. Still.........No Code is such a good album, that the song somehow fits in there...........somehow.
_________________ It's not the same without you here
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 2:29 pm Posts: 6984 Location: if anyone wants me, i'll be in my room Gender: Male
bizarro-low_light79 wrote:
Play C3 wrote:
i just recently began to like 'im open.' it was usually a skip track for me, and it might have remained so except that i decided to put it on my pj winter mix cd this year. it worked better in my order than it did on no code, at least for me.
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:02 am Posts: 2560 Location: Dallas/Atlanta/Savannah
stip wrote:
I’m open is a great example of why I’m not interested in Pearl Jam releasing a more ‘experimental’ record. Although I love the lyrics musically it falls a bit flat for me. The song starts out creating some ambiance (I love the low moan) but the music itself just meanders about never doing much beyond creating a vague feel of peaceful meditation. It also doesn’t quite fit the bleakness of the lyrics. This is not music for a lost soul.
I think what works about the music is that its sort of a representation of a lost soul finding a new path. "he decides to dream up a new self for himself'
I feel the mediation aspect really creates a different context for the lyrics.
the music doesnt do much, but the ambience is great.
_________________ "is that a fucking pearl jam shirt?" Courtney Love
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frank
