NAIS is one I'm rediscovering. After looking at the guitar chords and trying to play it, I sort of have a new found respect for it. Even though it can be pretty good in a live setting, I've always considered it too much of a setlist killer, so its always bugged me. Now I kind of think its really good.

I was always let down by this record because I didn't think it lived up to what I enjoyed about Yield, but these days I'm more inclined to think of it as a worthy follow-up. I kind of wish the official tracklisting was a little different, but I'm not as disappointed in this album as I used to be. Aside from the emerging cohesive nature of the songs that hindsight provided me, I love how this sort of seems to be the record where they backed off on the distortion and let more color bleed through in their guitars. The songs still have edge, but there's a nice blend of instruments that aren't completely saturated with so much gain. It makes the sound of the record really mesh well with the album art they chose.

Gods Dice and Thin air instead of Fatal and Sad?

The main problem I have with Binaural isn't so much the songs or the production, it's that pretty much every song sounds better live. Some of my favorite PJ songs period though, particularly Ed's songs on the album. Every one of his songs is pure gold, "Soon Forget" aside.

I wonder if Pearl Jam will ever make music this good again. As much as I like Backspacer (and I do, about 60% of it), it's like... where's the mystery, Pearl Jam? Where's the darkness? We went from somber, low-key, understated ballads and awesome, angry, DYNAMIC rockers (the arrangements to Grievance and Insignificance are top-notch) to the ham-handedness of "The Fixer" and "Amongst the Waves".

I went to college with this guy named Dan. Dan was always the life of the party: interesting, witty, charismatic, and always a bit unpredictable. I always loved talking to him because he always had some fascinating insight or hilarious one-liner. He was always his own man, and seemed to revel in the independence of his spirit. Dan was the real deal.

Then Dan graduated. Once he became gainfully employed, he started wearing pleated khakis, singing Karaoke every Thursday, and chatting up dinner party guests for stock tips. He actually called me on the way home from the dealership after buying a Range Rover.

For some reason, when I ponder the evolution of Pearl Jam, I always think of Dan.

If you read the posts I made before in the alternate binaural thread you'll see I had to make some sacrifices to make a tight flow. I also use Thunderclap as a hidden track instead of Hummus.