pearljamfan80 wrote:
Angus wrote:
Definitely TMW
I wouldn't have thought that of you, Nick. Well done.
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| The best...song for a blown love http://archive.theskyiscrape.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=54802 |
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| Author: | stip [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:07 am ] |
| Post subject: | The best...song for a blown love |
Thumbing My Way vs. Nothingman Thumbing My Way I have not been home since you left long ago I'm thumbing my way back to heaven Counting steps…walking backwards on the road I'm counting my way back to heaven I can't be free with what's locked inside of me... If there was a key, you took it in your hands. There's no wrong or right...but I'm sure there's good and bad The questions linger overhead No matter how cold the winter, there's a springtime ahead I'm thumbing my way back to heaven I wish that I could hold you... wish that I had Thinking 'bout heaven I let go of a rope...thinking that's what held me back And in time I've realized...it's now wrapped around my neck I can't see what's next...from this lonely overpass Hang my head and count my steps, as another car goes past All the rusted sign we ignore throughout our lives Choosing the shiny ones instead I turned my back,... now there's no turning back No matter how cold the winter…there's a springtime ahead I smile, but who am I kidding? I'm just walking the miles...every once in a while I'll get a ride I'm thumbing my way back to heaven I'm thumbing my way back to heaven... Nothingman Once divided...nothing left to subtract... Some words when spoken...can't be taken back... Walks on his own...with thoughts he can't help thinking... Future's above...but in the past, he's slow and sinking... Caught a bolt of lightnin'...cursed the day he let it go... Nothingman... Nothingman... Isn't it something? Nothingman... She once believed...in every story he had to tell... One day she stiffened...took the other side... Empty stares...from each corner of a shared prison cell... One just escapes...one's left inside the well... And he who forgets...will be destined to remember... Nothingman... Nothingman... Isn't it something? Nothingman... She don't want him... She won't feed him... After he's flown away... Into the sun...into the sun... Burn...burn... Nothingman... Nothingman... Isn't it something? Nothingman... Nothingman... Coulda' been something... Nothingman... Previous The Best… 1.existential album closer 2. failing love song 3.seize the day song 4. anti-war song 5. song for unrequited love 6. song for a father 7. guitar solo 8. song about getting away 9. political call to arms |
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| Author: | stip [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:09 am ] |
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Thumbing My Way is tricky for me. Musically it is utterly stark and bleak, but that fits the song. Even the moments that are supposed to give the song a little light sound muted. Eddie sounds exhausted and beaten, but again that fits the song. Lyrically this song is one of Eddie’s finest, and doesn’t get the recognition that it deserves. The central image is terrific—a broken, lonely man, hitchhiking down a cold, empty road. No hope, or even dogged determination. Just defeat, too beaten to even give up. There is the acknoweldgement that the guys situation is his fault, not appreciating what he had until it was gone, blaming the other for what he perceived to be a lack of freedom, only to discover that the person gone is what gave that freedom value in the first place. Now he is just free to be alone. ‘No matter how cold the winter there’s a springtime ahead/I smile, but who am I kidding’ is one of my favorite lyrics Eddie ever wrote. Not many lyrics in the catalogue as dark and defeated as that one. Overall this song captures perfectly the hazy sense of apathy and failure that comes at the darkest points of a breakup. It is a song seemingly devoid of hope, although as I listened to it while I was writing this I noticed for the first time that the drums pick up ever so slightly toward the end. A quickened pace and a distant glimmer of light…? Onto nothingman… The music is beautiful—simple but just so lovely and tinged with just the right hint of understated sadness. One of the best musical compositions they ever wrote and it works perfectly. And Eddie is just a master here with his vocals. His skills are at their height here. He’s learned some of the subtlety that was lacking on Ten, and his voice hadn’t lost any of its power. It has this weighty, resonant power to it that is just captivating. It aches, but without any of the melodrama of a song like Black. Lyrically the theme of the song is unambiguous, but the singer is. The lyrics are all addressed in third person (a la parting ways) as opposed to the first person perspective of TMY. I’ve always heard it from a first person perspective. The singer is talking about himself, but trying to create some distance to both give him perspective (to examine how he made a mess of things) and insulate the pain. Lyrically this song has some marvelous moments Empty stares from each corner of a shared prison cells is a fantastic lyric and a wonderful image, the passive, trapped sister lyric to hail hail’s ‘are we bound out of obligation, is that all we got’. But there are some weaker parts of the song. I don’t care for the ‘she won’t feed him’ lyric and I’m not a huge fan of the nothingman chorus. The delivery is amazing, but I think it hides some slightly troublesome writing. Not bad, but not as powerful as it feels. Overall the song has a different feel than Thumbing My Way. There is some catharsis in Nothingman, a recognition of guilt and fault that will make it possible to move on. The singer in Thumbing My Way is trapped, unable to move on, to slip the rope from his neck, even as he moves forward. It is almost like he is too weary to even die. There is no feeling. Just emptiness. Both songs are constructed perfectly for what they are supposed to do, but in the end TMY is just a bit too stark. I find that it is a song I can appreciate, but not love. It is almost too good at what it does. I’d rather listen to nothingman, but I’m voting for a tie here. |
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| Author: | LauraPJ [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:21 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
My vote goes to Thumbing My Way, this song touchs me in a special way, not only 'cause the amazing lyrics, but the smoothing melody. My fav 2 lines there are: "I let go of a rope, thinking that's what held me back and in time I've realized, it's now wrapped around my neck" and "if there was a key, you took it in your hand, there's no wrong or right, but I'm sure there's good and bad". Nothingman... well, my fav line is: "some words when spoken, can't be taken back", seems like a pretty simple one, but is really deep. Also a great song, but I feel closer to TMW. |
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| Author: | laruanib.sv [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:28 am ] |
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'Can't Decide' is my favorite PJ song. I wish they played it more often. |
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| Author: | Oscar The Wild [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 3:21 am ] |
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parting ways vs. of the girl would have been better choices |
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| Author: | Simple Torture [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 3:24 am ] |
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#744 by Emily Dickinson always reminds me of Nothingman. Beyond that, I'd have to think about this a little more. |
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| Author: | Mecca [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 3:26 am ] |
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what is worse than feeling like you are nothing? at least thumbing has some sort of naive optimism |
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| Author: | inmytree [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 4:05 am ] |
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Maybe it's a tie, but "No matter how cold the winter, there's a springtime ahead" is my favorite line ever, so my vote goes to TMW |
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| Author: | Vedderleaguer [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 4:19 am ] |
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i think TMW's lyrics are really stark and lonely, and i like that. but the song is just boring as hell to me, completely out of place live anywhere except on Bennoroya, whereas Nothingman hits me everytime i hear it, and i aboslutely love the vocal performance here. my vote goes to Nothingman. fav line: He flew into the sun/yeah into the sun/burn, burn, burn, ah burn/nothingman |
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| Author: | conoalias [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 5:09 am ] |
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"I Never sucked....Satan's dick" was the first song that came to mind when reading the title.... i'm not really diggin this one so much, sorry stip. though Nothingman is a great song and to a certain extent so is TMW, i'm gonna go with None of the above. |
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| Author: | hammer [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 7:05 am ] |
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When I first got Riot Act, TMW was one of the songs I would listen to over and over again. It just painted such a vivid, yet depressing picture of someone totally lost and alone - someone wishing for that love that is no longer there, and being held back by that wish. The lyrics are some of my favorite, and I enjoy the simple music as well. As Stip mentioned, the drums do pick up a little at the end, which always gave me a sense of optimism. I don't feel any of the same connection to Nothingman as I do to TMW. If you didn't gather, I voted for TMW. |
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| Author: | Angus [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 7:52 am ] |
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Definitely TMW |
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| Author: | pearljamfan80 [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 8:06 am ] |
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Angus wrote: Definitely TMW
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| Author: | davidsatelle100 [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 8:13 am ] |
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TMW i love this song the lyrics just fit perfectly and the slight hint of optimism at the end no matter how cold the winter theres a springtime ahead just makes it even better (imo) Nothingman although an amazing song the lyrics are just far to depressing for me at this stage in life Empty stares...from each corner of a shared prison cell... although they did strike a cord back in my younger days Although 2 amazing songs TMW gets my vote |
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| Author: | pb21 [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:17 am ] |
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I voted for Nothingman. TMW does have some strong lyrics i.e the ones aforementioned, however, IMO it suffers the MOTH syndrome, being a bit boring. This is because it is very introspective and depressing and the music fits this perfectly. Nothingman has got a bit more life to it, and in his voice singing nothingman, there is a sound of resilience and determination that its not the end, hence the line; 'Isn't it something?' This perhaps is short lived when the final words leave his mouth but anyway. This song also contains two other very very strong lines; 'Caught a bolt of lightnin'...cursed the day he let it go... ' I love the imagery of that, also 'And he who forgets...will be destined to remember...' Perhaps a valuable lesson to us all. |
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| Author: | stip [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 1:12 pm ] |
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davidsatelle100 wrote: TMW i love this song the lyrics just fit perfectly and the slight hint of optimism at the end
no matter how cold the winter theres a springtime ahead Except he takes it all back, doesn't he? I smile, but who am I kidding. And then he goes on to talk about how he is just going to trudge on without hope. |
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| Author: | stip [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 1:13 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
[quote="conoalias"]"I Never sucked....Satan's dick" was the first song that came to mind when reading the title.... i'm not really diggin this one so much, sorry stip. [quote] I'm not that happy with this title either. Let me know if you have a better one. |
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| Author: | stip [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 1:14 pm ] |
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Oscar The Wild wrote: parting ways vs. of the girl would have been better choices
In parting ways the relationship is dying, but they are still in it, which is why I didn't include it here. Nothingman and TMY are both about a relationship that has clearly ended, and where the singer feels regret about the role he played in it. I'm not even sure what of the girl is about. |
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| Author: | YessCode [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:52 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Thumbing My Way. |
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| Author: | Angus [ Tue Nov 14, 2006 3:03 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
pearljamfan80 wrote: Angus wrote: Definitely TMW
I wouldn't have thought that of you, Nick. Well done.
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