Unemployable is a great song.

I cannot get behind that statement.

Unenjoyable

Even if i totally agree with you, i think they did have their issues through only 2 records, vitalogy and no code.
When they did riot act and binaural, they didnt seemed to have any internal issues at all, maybe mike´s addiction.
So im not sure how this apply to pearl jam compared with other bands like, lets say...the smiths, pink floyd, or the pixies.



Its very good and very different from what they were doing at the time.
When Riot Act came out, there was some intention to have mike playing solos again, but the music seemed to have a more pop feeling, even if the whole record sounded kinda dark.
With Unemployable they went further with that sound, and it really pays off. Matt´s work here is superb.
I remember a lot of people being really turned off with this one when it came out as a b side, because of this pop sound and eddie´s vocals.

Very well said indeed.

I listened to S/T again on today's run. The complete and utter shittiness of Gone can't be overstated.

I can't believe I originally really loved that song.

Gone is boring as hell. It's like Thin Air but with even less flavor.

"Gone" is nothing like "Thin Air".

Yeah, for reals.

Except that both of those songs are adequate at best.

Thin Air at least gains from the production...which is all it takes to place it above Gone. If any band or songwriter who wasn't currently stumbling in terms of songwriting had written it, it would be a footnote.

Figuring how Gone made the last single is a lot like "how many licks does it take to wake Lexi Diamond up after a solid coke binge?"

I can't even begin to formulate how much I disagree with the notion that "Thin Air" and "Gone" are anywhere close to each other in terms of quality. "Thin Air" is a understated and beautiful song with a thoughtful arrangement and evocative lyrics, "Gone" is a lifeless dirge.

I agree they are nothing alike, but both are bad. I never like the lyrics to Thin Air. I don't like the overly direct sentiment of the chorus mixed with some of the more abstract elements of some of the verses. I know Pearl Jam has mixed the two before, I just don't think it's done well here. Perhaps it's because Stone wrote the lyrics. The music is also uninspired, particularly the whole "take it on, on, on, on" bridge.
I never understood why this song made it on to Binaural. If it was a band "democracy" thing and another Stone song was needed, why not Fatal? It would have fit the mood of the album better anyway.
Thin Air is really the only song on Binaural that I skip.

Thin Air is actually a great song...one of the finest moments of a great but difficult record like Binaural.
Lyrically is fucking awesome...it could be about a lot of things.
Great song.

have you ever found anything PJ-related you refused to laud

I actually think it fits Binaural perfectly. It's pretty simplistic musically (but so is "Fatal") because it's a country ballad at heart, albeit a somber one. I really love the arrangement-- the sunny-sounding guitar harmony after the chorus contrasting with the ominousness of the D-A chord change, reflecting the uncertainty and apprehension in the lyrics. I love the middle 8. I think they nailed it by playing it straight and vulnerable rather than forcing a new chord progression. Instead, they worked in a really nice and subtle pivot chord modulation for the final chorus, heightening the drama of it. I love it. It's not a "major" accomplishment-- like McP puts it, it is very much a footnote-- but I think it's a really ingenious little song, full of trope subversions.

I hate to break it to you but the two songs have pretty much the same chords. I know thin air is in E and Gone is in C but they both have a similar feel to me.

I love binaural its a top 3 PJ album for me but I'll only listen to thin air every now and then. As McParadigm said at least thin air benefits from it's production.

S/T on the other hand is a bottom 3 PJ album for me and I skip over Gone every single time, I quit trying to give that song a chance to grow on me. Total snoozer of a song with an uninteresting melody.

I don't really know how to respond to this, because you didn't really give me anything to go on.
I will say, lyrically it's not great.
There are a lot of ham-fisted lines like:
"there's a light when my baby's in my arms"
"hesitate when i feel i may do harm to her
wash it off cuz this feeling we can share"
"how to be happy and true is the quest we're taking on together"
"love can keep on moving in both directions"

then those mixed with the more abstract:
"byzantine is reflected in our pond
there's a cloud but the water remains calm
reaching in, the sun's fingers clutch the dawn to pass
even out, it's a precious thing to bear"

I just don't think they pair well together.

It's a shame, because I do think Ed's vocal delivery is great for the most part. Unfortunately, he's delivering bad lyrics.
And, again, I find the music tedious and uninspired.

theplatypus is talking some serious sense here.

There are so many cool things going on in "Thin Air" compositionally that aren't entirely evident from the unassuming breeziness of the arrangement. Of course, that doesn't necessarily signify that it's a good song, but I find the circular shape of the song extremely satisfying. It's a great example of how a song can achieve complex tensions by taking a few run-of-the-mill open chords that don't belong together and making them go together.