Bu$hleaguer

How does he do it? How do they do it? Uncanny and immutable.
This is such a happening tailpipe of a party.
Like sugar, the guests are so refined, (look like melting m and ms)

A confidence man, but why so beleaguered?
He's not a leader, he's a Texas leaguer
Swinging for the fence, got lucky with a strike
Drilling for fear, makes the job simple
Born on third, thinks he got a triple

Blackout weaves its way through the cities
Blackout weaves its way through the cities
Blackout weaves its way,...

I remember when you sang
That song about today
Now it's tomorrow and
Everything has changed

A think tank of aloof multiplication
A nicotine wish and a Columbus decanter
Retrenchment and hoggishness
The aristocrat choir sings
'What's the ruckus?'
The haves have not a clue
The immenseness of suffering
And the odd negotiation, a rarity
With onionskin plausibility of life,...
And a keyboard reaffirmation

Blackout weaves its way through the cities
Blackout weaves its way through the cities
Blackout weaves its way,...

I remember when you sang
That song about today
Now it's tomorrow and
Everything has changed

Riot Act, released in November 2002, was supposed to be Pearl Jam's answer to 9/11. In the summer of 2002, Bruce Springsteen released The Rising, his own answer to the tragedy of that day and the repercussions that the average American would -- and in some cases, did -- feel because of it. Mr. Springsteen's release was a social commentary, heartfelt and about healing. But Pearl Jam fans expected Riot Act to be brutal and unflinching - a return to their early 90's angst but focused outwards. Instead, Riot Act is also about healing. The closest we come to answers outside of ourselves is in Bu$hleaguer, and that probably disapointed a lot of people. Here is a song about accusations and rage, but it never really takes that extra step and fleshes things out. Perhaps that is why the song, much like Riot Act itself, confounds people.

I find that there are two camps for Bu$hleaguer: those who like it and those who don't. No middle ground. I personally reside in the camp that likes the song, so given the subject matter, it's tough for me to look at it objectively. What subject matter? Aaah, well...you don't have to be a Rhodes Scholar to understand who and who the song is addressing. Perhaps that's its main flaw: some of these lyrics are either too obvious or too cryptic. If you look at the song within the scope of Riot Act, it makes sense. But standing by it's lonesome as the song that represents post-9/11 America and what Ed thinks about it, it admittedly falters. Despite some clever lyrics, there's absolutely nothing subtle here, which is a trap Ed seems to fall in from time to time. In this instance, he just happened to fall into the trap during a song that really needs to take more of a stance.

What works:

-The baseball metaphor. Fitting and ironic.
-The spoken-word in the verses. Lends immediacy where the lyrics lack it.
-The music. Upfront and appealing, it doesn't sound like anything the band had laid on record before

What doesn't:

-Some clunky phrasing. What the fuck is 'onionskin plausability'?
-The song's overall point. The chorus asks answers from the same person that it's attacking and ridiculing. If you look close enough, you'll find a song that in some ways contradicts itself.

Bu$hleaguer is not a bad song, but it's good at best. What it really is is a blown opportunity, redeemed by the things mentioned above. It almost works as a microcosm for Riot Act, of which the same things can be (and sometimes are) said about it. Like it or not, you really can't question the song's integrity. What we can question, however, is why the song ends up being nothing more than that: a question. No catharsis or answers here. Just a big fat bucket of questions, and you'll take from them what you will.

3.5 stars.

frank - excellent write-up, i'll come back to it later though...
this song to me has 5***** for the music - i love the weird juxtapositions of riffs and approaches, which rhymes with cocroaches lol
this is PJ at its most clever, inventive and "clean" - and that contradicts myself
the voice - as a musical instrument on this song - is full of good intentions but, alas, the performance enrages me. you know how it COULD sound but you just don't ge tit
this is the sad story of most good songs on RA the seemingly offhand performance
lyric-wise, well - i can read stone (for worse) in there. sometimes there's no questionning as to why Ed didn't belt it out.
i love the chorus and the blackout part
3 1/4 stars

famously...

I like everything about this song except the second verse. What the FUCK are you talking about, Ed?

PD has not a clue. 3 stars.

:waits on WorldWithYourHeart:

you forgot the poll darling

I have several problems with this song:
- the verse and chorus seem to belong to 2 different songs.
- the unsubtlety of the theme (I despise Bush as much as the next sensible person ..but he's just the figurehead, demonising is exactly the kind of tactics they employ and we shouldn't do the same)
- I'm generally one to defend Ed when he's accused to use big words for their own sake: he's a writer, he should be precise, and the sound of a word for a lyricist is just as important as the meaning; if the listener has to grab a dictionary from time to time, it's actually a good thing. But here he goes way over the top. Really feel he's hearing himself talk.. and some of it doesn't make any sense as a result (Society feels like that too..but he didn't write that one at least )
- the speaking delivery is something I rarely like in a song anyway.

I don't mind it so much live though..somehow he almost makes sense then

0 stars.

Pearl Jam would've been better off if they didn't make this song to begin with. Before this song was created, there was no sense of the band being anti-conservative on a grand scale. By doing so, they've alienated more traditional fans than they've gained new fans (check out worldwide record sales on wiki). IMO, it's a very low and relatively immature moment in PJ history.

I don't think they alienated anyone outside of the US with that song.. even the minority that doesn't mind Bush would not care enough to be alienated..

I'll give it a 3. Nothing really offensive, but nothing too amazing either.

Haunting song live at the end...

Chains... chains... chains...

Bushleaguer has always been a missed opportunity for me.

Musically it is great. it's fractured and menacing and sounds like it is only being held together because it fears to fall apart

The prechorus and chorus are both excellent. The blackout line, especially the excellent way Eddie delivers it promises impending collapse and darkness, and the pleading chorus points to the false promises of unity and leadership that Bush made post 9-11, and that we believed

As others have said, the weakness here are the verses. The first verse is clever in a snarky kind of way, but I would have rather gotten something more sophisticated than Bush is a moron born of privelage. And the second verse is a disaster--metaphor on top of metaphor, few of which are any good, and you have to deep so far into each lyric to make sense of them (although they DO make sense) that they lose thier effectiveness. There was so much anger and rage towards Bush that I don' think Eddie knew how to gain the traction needed to write a decent lyric critiquing him

Frank certainly nailed the anticipation/let down with Riot Act (well let down may not be fair). I was expecting a searing record--especially with the cover art, and what we got was an exhausted record steeped in defeat. In some respects the cover art worked not becuase it conveys anger, but because it contains the aftermath of destruction where nothing is left and the difficult question is not learning what to do about anger, but wondering if it is even worth getting angry again. And I can accept that as a starting point for the record. But even in that context bushleaguer fails since it isn't a weary song as much as it is a confused one.


Great live though

two stars--4 for music and chorus but those verses...

Poll going up in a second

you'd love it if it was some anti-liberal song, dont be a hypocrite

how about ed sings on this one? the guy has one of the best voices ever, use it! i love the chorus, the verses would be good if he wasnt talking

I vaguely remember him saying that they recorded it with vocals first. I'd love for that to surface one day.

To be fair Sunny, I doubt very much that bushleaguer of all things is what hurt the sales on riot act.

id love to hear it. i really dig the music and the parts where ed sings are great. w/ an instrument like ed's voice is in the band, it should always be used.

I've never really cared for the little bit of spoken word ed we've gotten. I'm not nearly as moved by the untitled piece as others seem to be, and I think that is due to the delivery

No matter how much I like the lyrics and the meaning of the song, what I love about Bu$hleaguer is the melody, and especially the haunting line 'blackout weaves its way through the city'. *Beautiful*! The mask or golden suit are bonuses .

groetjes,
Mirella

I never thought of the song posing that question before, but its a good point and I agree. I think the strength of a lof of the art I enjoy is that they don't provide us answers and say, "This is the right way." So in that respect, the lack of a clear resolution in Bushleaguer doesn't really bother me. Considering the time it was released, I think its a terrific representation of the uncertainty and frustration. 4 stars.

2 stars.

Lowest I've given in a while.

The music is great and saves it from zero stars. When I heard the opening riff for the first time, I was getting ready to be blown away...not even close. I like the montage version in the LATG DVD, but overall it's a subpar song.

I like that in songs. It's one of my last.fm tags .



I agree with that. Ed or Pearl Jam don't need that. They can do without the 'ad hominem'.

groetjes,
Mirella

It's also fair to say that Bu$hleaguer is the most well known song from that record. It definitely is. That song was the beginning of a gung-ho anti-conservative direction for the band to the point where nearly half of the country was ignored on the 2006 tour. Not a single "red" state was covered, maybe Ohio or Nevada. Politics is a sensitive subject matter and should have absolutely no place in rock and roll.