Ok, this is based on a "what if" my wife proposed to me a few days ago. I was saying how much I was liking Backspacer, and her not being much of a PJ fan, said this;

"What if a band you really disliked created Backspacer? Would it still be good, or are you just liking it because it's Pearl Jam?"

I was like, "Uh..."

So it got me thinking. Think of a band you really hate, and pretend they created your favorite tracks off of Backspacer (or any PJ album). Would you still feel the same about it?

I would have to say that I probably would have never listened to backspacer if say, blink 182, staind, etc created this album, since I never listen to their stuff to begin with. But then what if I caught "Amongst the Waves", or "Unthought Known" on the radio and the DJ said it was by Staind. Would I like it?

My answer: yes.

This is largely related to last week's thread about whether you have a responsibility as a fan to invest yourself in an album.

Most of the Backspacer material is catchy enough that I would probably be attracted to it pretty quickly if I heard it on the radio and didn't know the band. Some of their earlier stuff, though, no way. I didn't like most of my first listen through Binaural. if it hadn't been PJ I wouldn't have invested the time to listen to those songs to the point where they opened up to me a bit.

I'd prob just like Unthought Known and Just breathe. But then its hard to imagine anyone other than PJ making those. The rest of the songs if released by someone else I'd prob think were dreck.

If you hate Blink 182 or any band because you're "supposed to hate Blink 182", you may be missing out. Why hate a band for any reason other than not liking their music? Why like a band for any reason reason other than the music?

Most bands have some songs that are good, and Pearl Jam has some stinkers.

You'd be a bit of an idiot of you didn't.

I'm guessing I wouldn't like the songs. And, it would be for this superficial reason - they would sound like they are trying to be Pearl Jam. This would annoy me, and thus, cloud my perspective.

Unthought Known might be able to be pulled off by another band without me questioning it, but a song like Amongst The Waves would be a clear rip-off. I would change the station.

i'd like it just as much i'd think. i might not dedicate any time at all to it though (as in i might not hear it). but backspacer wouldn't encourage me to get into more of a band's music i don't think.

I don't really understand the question. A terrible band couldn't have made Backspacer. If blink 182 wrote Amongst the Waves, it would sound completely different. It would suck. So no, I wouldn't like it, thought it would probably sound a lot better than the averge blink 182 song. But then again, blink 182 could have never written Amongst the Waves, just like Pearl Jam could never write a blink 182 song. I don't like Backspacer because it's Pearl Jam. If that were the sole reason, I'd like Riot Act too. I don't give any band an automatic victory. I like Backspacer because it sounds great, and I think that's why you like it too.

The problem with this hypothetical question is that there's just no way the album would sound the same if it were a different band. It wouldn't be Eddie singing and so right off the bat it would sound completely different. If the Spin Doctors had released Ten I doubt it would've been anywhere near as successful. It's just not a real fair question.

That, and the whole reason for disliking a band ought to be not liking the music they make....not the other way around. I don't like the music because it's Pearl Jam, I like Pearl Jam because I like the music. I have ditched plenty of bands over the years because the music stopped hitting me, and fallen for a few I hated.

It's haaaaarrrrrdddd to imaginnnnneeeee

Yeah but you've got NO idea how much I'd want to hear it.

I think it's a great question and better put if it were "CREED"...

I'd say yes though. I like the music. Now, if it was Riot Act or Binaural, then I'd say no.

i probably like a few Creed songs more than anything on BS. but i do like some Creed songs a lot.

Yeah, this is a pretty dead-end discussion. Pearl Jam is a band that at this point has "a sound" that's pretty recognizable across songs and across albums. Of course a huge portion of it is wrapped up in Ed's vocals, but I'd say that the guitar interplay is nearly as identifiable at this point.

In this regard they strike me as being similar to Modest Mouse, where you have an unmistakable voice fronting everything, but there are always sonic trademarks that stand out in nearly everything they do. Remove the vocal track and you'd still have a pretty consistent sound, even across different types of songs.

I know it's hard to do since we already know the songs so well, but think about the song clips on ESPN with the vocals edited out. If you hear five seconds of GSMF, don't you immediately connect a sonic dot to, say, Leaving Here?

The idea that another band could "record Backspacer" just doesn't make sense at this point. Vs. in 1993? Maybe. But not now.

bands I hate have songs i like. But I like them more when it's a band I like. You give questionable moments the benefit fo the doubt, stuff works there that might seem like an affectation with someone else, it is improved by the context of the rest of their catalogue, etc

for me, the anticipation that led to the release of this album has worked - i love it. it could have worked the other way though, had it been a RA mark II or another S/T but the way i was looking forward Backspacer made me appreciate it more than if i'd just heard a random song on the radio.
also, putting an album in perspective in a band's history/evolution enhances the listening experience; it doesn't make the individual songs better or worse but it helps to make an "educated" listen.
in Pink Floyd's The Wall, at the beginning of Is There Anybody Out There?, you can hear some odd wailing drenched in reverb - for someone who never heard any other PF album, it's just some weird/interresting noise but for someone who's heard Echoes, released 8 years prior to The Wall, it brings back a whole dark, unsettling mood to the listener's memory.
what i like about this, applied to PJ, are the ocean's refferences, the ITW influence, Eddie's history as a troubled soul finally lightening up in many lyrics, the inclusion of strings and horns and upfront keyboards/piano - things that they've always have been somewhat shy to include on their albums, etc.
so i don't think i'd appreciate it as much if it was made by another band - but that wouldn't make the songs worse. there are many tremendously talented artists out there that surely blow PJ out of the water in terms of quality but one has to invest time to fully "get" their artistic statements and i don't always feel like it.

probably not nearly as much cause they would feel like pearl jam rip off songs. especially since a lot of songs on backspacer almost sound like redo's or have hints of past songs in their catalog.

can't happen. no one can replicate Ed's voice.

i do always try to ask myself if i would still like it if it wasn't PJ, and the answer isnt always yes.