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5 Stars: A Masterpiece 59%  59%  [ 91 ]
4 Stars: Really good 32%  32%  [ 50 ]
3 Stars: Average for Pearl jam 7%  7%  [ 11 ]
2 Stars: Missing Something 1%  1%  [ 2 ]
1 Star: Overrated garbage 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 154
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 Post subject: SOTM: Help me, help me from my self
PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 6:26 pm 
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State Of Love and Trust

State of love and trust
as I busted down the pretext
sin still plays and preaches
but to have an empty court, uh huh
and the signs are passin, grip the wheel
can't read it
sacrifice receiving the smell that's on my hands...hands yeah
and I listen for the voice inside my head
nothin', I'll do this one myself

lay her down as priest does
should the lord be acountin'
will be in my honour, make it pain
painfully quick, uh huh
promises are whispered
in the age of darkness
want to be enlightened
like I want to be told the end...end, yeah
and the barrel shakes
aimed directly at my head
oh, help me, help me from myself
and I listen yeah, from both
sides of the bed
nothin', I'll do this one myself
oh oh oh myself....Myself

yeah, yeah

hey, na-na-na-na, hey that's something
hey, na-na-na-na, hey that's something
hey, na-na-na-na, hey that's something
wanna back, back it away , yeah

and I listen, yeah,
for the voice inside my head
nothin', I'll do this one myself
oh, ah, and the barrel waits,
trigger shakes
aimed right at my head
won't you help me
help me from myself

eh oh eh o ehh
eh oh eh o ehh

state of love


Luck is a strange thing; it's capricious, floating off if you rely on it, turning up when you least expect it. For this SOTM, I'm going to take a look at a song from the point of view of someone who's pretty sure their luck has run out.

The use of the first line as the title emphasises the importance of these two interconnected concepts, love and trust, and their relationship. This is Pearl Jam's first original song with more than a two word title, and it's an effective choice, sitting out like a sore thumb on Rearview Mirror, where it nestles amongst Once, Alive, Even Flow, Jeremy, Animal, Go and
Dissident before the names get longer. While it's easy to see how you could reduce 'Garden of Stone' to 'Garden', it's impossible to imagine SOLAT being called 'State' or 'Love' or 'Trust' and retain the same level of effect. The fullblown title reminds me of another 'State of...', the State of the Union address, and this is how the song translates- a backwards glance in the tortured thoughts of someone driven to the edge by a breakdown of both love and trust.

The lyrics to the rest of the song are fairly simple: quickly flung snippets of despair to match the pace of the music, painting a picture of the narrator with a gun to his head, waiting for someone, either himself or the person who broke his love and trust, to talk him out of it. It's indeed possible they're one and the same; Charlie Kaufman played around with this idea in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to great effect. (If you haven't seen it, do!), and the line 'from both sides of the bed' implies that there's a connection between the voice in the head and the former lover, although another equally likely intended message was that the lover sent the narrator into a spiral of madness.

Musically, this is the type of song PJ used to do best. Mike's first proper credit as songwriter, it shows off his hard rock background, with technically impressive but understated guitar parts -that first chord nearly knocked me off my feet at Arnhem this year- Jeff's bass work is tasteful, giving the song a lot of body and power a lesser player might not have, and the bass breakdown is one of the those perfect moments. Eddie's vocals are to the point in the verses, getting gradually more and more pained until he explodes with passion at the end, throwing in ad libs, woahs, and so on that perfectly climax the song. The lead work is beautiful as well. Mike's ear for a melody is rarely captured this perfectly, (other examples would be Black and RVM) the simple lick adds a layer of texture and raises the song up another notch for the finish.

I started this post by talking about luck, and that's where I'm going to finish. SOLAT was only available on the Singles soundtrack before RVM was released, and it's very few people who are lucky enough to have a favourite band who have a B-side as one of their greatest, most definitive moments.

5/5



Previous Songs of the Moment
In My Tree
Red Mosquito
Porch
I Got Id
Release
Do The Evolution
Breath
Corduroy
Elderly Woman...
Leash
Hail Hail
Grievance
Love Boat Captain
Even Flow
Black Red Yellow
In Hiding
Can't Keep
Indifference
Insignificance
Whipping
Black
Smile
Push Me Pull Me
Rats
God's Dice
All or None
Yellow Ledbetter
Last Exit
Who You Are
Rearview Mirror
Hold On
Present Tense
Light Years
Alive
Brain of J
Thumbing My Way
Hard to Imagine
Tremor Christ
Rival
Animal
Lukin
You Are
betterman
Given to Fly
Once
Low Light
Parting Ways
Off He Goes
Go
get right
World Wide Suicide
Angel
MFC
Long Road
Why Go
Nothingman
Save You
Of A Girl
Habit
Satan’s Bed
Faithful
Oceans
Gone
WMA

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 6:32 pm 
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Very nicely written, stu. Love the Eternal Sunshine reference. :thumbsup:

This is probably my favourite song from the 1991-1993 era. Love the guitar, love the vocals, adore the lyrics. These lyrics have always attracted me very much. A couple of lines that have gotten different meanings for me over the years. I don't do this a lot, but I think i'll give this one 5 stars!


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 6:33 pm 
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Not a huge fan of current live versions, but this song used to kick back in the day.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 6:41 pm 
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5 stars, everything in this song is great

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 6:46 pm 
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Stuart, once again you have written a great synopsis. Nicely done.

However, my interpretation is much different from yours. While I agree the narrator is close to a breakdown, I don't really see this song as a relationship between lovers, but instead between him and God. He is mocking a religion that has failed him due to his misery, and threatens to take his own life in defiance of said religion. God has failed him, so he's gonna give his God the ultimate "fuck you" and kill himself.

For the record, I'll say that the MTV Unplugged version (which wasn't aired) is as good as the original.

One of the few early-era PJ tracks I adore. 5 stars.

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:31 pm 
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it's a 10 in my book

love the power, love the way it drives home, love the tummm tarara tuum tum tuum tum.

live it kicks major ass.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:32 pm 
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BadMusic wrote:
5 stars, everything in this song is great

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:36 pm 
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LostDog1079 wrote:
BadMusic wrote:
5 stars, everything in this song is great


Great write up, too, bub.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:54 pm 
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Nice post Stu!

5/5 for me. I don't like the recent live versions as much as I did in the early years...it has lost some of the despair and passion in Eddie's singing...but it's still great, one of my favorites

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:18 pm 
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Yeah, excellent writeup. I also enjoyed the Eternal Sunshine connection.

I wish Ed would say "The voice inside my head" at more live shows. Still, finally being able to see it at the United Center this year made the show for me. No one song made me lose it more than that. To me, the old lyric makes the song: " I listen for the voice inside my head/ Nothing? I'll do this one myself." It's what happens when we rely on things that aren't even there. Love, or anything else. There's so much defiance when he realizes it's always been him (by himself), and there is no enemy- just himself. I wish I could go on and on, but it's like this song is almost too personal to me. I totally feel it. Right now, this one's #4 on my PJ song list, after Long Road, Black, and Ledbetter.

A resounding 5 out of 5.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:28 pm 
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10 stars, not only 5. Probably my fav off the early era. I think the Melbourne 98 version is perfect, with the little Suggestion tag.

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 9:28 pm 
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definately a 5 star song. this song is perfect, the vocals, the lyrics, the music. is so good. one of the best from the ten era, and that is saying something.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 10:00 pm 
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good song, dont listen to it much anymore. its kinda a mood song, something you listen to in a certain state of mind to help you through said state of mind.

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 10:01 pm 
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dirtyfrank0705 wrote:
Stuart, once again you have written a great synopsis. Nicely done.

However, my interpretation is much different from yours. While I agree the narrator is close to a breakdown, I don't really see this song as a relationship between lovers, but instead between him and God. He is mocking a religion that has failed him due to his misery, and threatens to take his own life in defiance of said religion. God has failed him, so he's gonna give his God the ultimate "fuck you" and kill himself.

For the record, I'll say that the MTV Unplugged version (which wasn't aired) is as good as the original.

One of the few early-era PJ tracks I adore. 5 stars.


I think I'm closer to Frank's take on this.


Lyrically this song suffers from the same problem that a song like Breath does. The lyrics are better, and there are some great moments (especially the chorus) but there are also some clunkly lines that are easy to miss because Eddie's vocal delivery is sooo good.

This is a song I wish they'd retire. They just don't do it justice anymore. I don't quite understand why either. There aren't notes here Eddie should be having trouble hitting. And Bacchus Dukakis--I agree. Sing the voice inside my head line

It's a 4.5 star song for me now, but it used to be 5, so I'll give it that.



Great write up stu. As always, if you want to do a SOTM PLEASE let me know.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 10:01 pm 
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these comments bode well for your team adam

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 10:08 pm 
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stip wrote:
dirtyfrank0705 wrote:
Stuart, once again you have written a great synopsis. Nicely done.

However, my interpretation is much different from yours. While I agree the narrator is close to a breakdown, I don't really see this song as a relationship between lovers, but instead between him and God. He is mocking a religion that has failed him due to his misery, and threatens to take his own life in defiance of said religion. God has failed him, so he's gonna give his God the ultimate "fuck you" and kill himself.

For the record, I'll say that the MTV Unplugged version (which wasn't aired) is as good as the original.

One of the few early-era PJ tracks I adore. 5 stars.


I think I'm closer to Frank's take on this.


Lyrically this song suffers from the same problem that a song like Breath does. The lyrics are better, and there are some great moments (especially the chorus) but there are also some clunkly lines that are easy to miss because Eddie's vocal delivery is sooo good.

This is a song I wish they'd retire. They just don't do it justice anymore. I don't quite understand why either. There aren't notes here Eddie should be having trouble hitting. And Bacchus Dukakis--I agree. Sing the voice inside my head line

It's a 4.5 star song for me now, but it used to be 5, so I'll give it that.



Great write up stu. As always, if you want to do a SOTM PLEASE let me know.


I agree 100%. I CAN'T stand the way Ed sing the song now. He sing it in such a high tone....is annoying as hell!!!!

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 3:09 am 
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Definitely Pearl Jam at their finest. I bought the Singles soundtrack just for this song and Breath. Five Stars.

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PostPosted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 3:35 am 
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It's never really stood out to me, I liked it a lot at first but now its just meh... 3 stars

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PostPosted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 3:40 am 
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there are five pearl jam songs that at one point or another were my favorite. This is one of them.

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PostPosted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 3:49 am 
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5 stars.

Love the music and great lyrics. A very powerful song. I dont mind the live versions lately, i think this song will always be good live and get the crowd pumping.

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