Post subject: Song of the Moment: ...watch the flames
Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 8:39 pm
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Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
Hard To Imagine
Paint a picture, using only gray Light your pillow, lay back, watch the flames I'll tell a story, no one would listen that long It's hard to imagine It's hard to imagine...
Tear into yourself, count tales on your arm Hearts a’beating, tickin' like a bomb After having seen all that they saw It's hard to imagine It's hard to imagine...
Things were different then, all is different now I tried to explain, somehow...
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
I’m glad they waited to release Hard to Imagine. It didn’t belong on Vs. or Vitalogy. It’s too wistful, too reflective, to removed from the moment to work on a record with the immediacy of Vs. and Vitalogy. It would have been perfect on No Code though.
Hard to Imagine is a very quiet song—and the muted production reflects this. There is a contemplative stillness to it. It’s a song for taking stock of things in the early hours of the morning. The lyrics conjure up the same images—a person sitting somewhere alone, quiet, possibly having a smoke in a tree somewhere—and wondering about where they’ve come from and where they are going. But beyond that Hard to Imagine is about failures of communication, the ways in which in the end we can only imperfectly relate our own experiences to each other. In the end they belong to us, and the intensely personal nature of them means there will always be a divide we cannot bridge. Nevertheless, it’s important to try, and the urgency of the song increases as it enters into the “things were different then…†outro. In a lot of ways Hard to Imagine is a companion piece to Indifference. They deal with the same themes, the same shortcomings of the human experience, and the same need to keep at it despite those limitations
I’ve always thought Hard to Imagine was a bit overrated by the RM community until the 05 shows when this entered into a semi regular rotation on the setlist. There has never been another song for me that improves in a live setting as much as this one. It’s absolutely incredible and gave me a newfound appreciation for the studio version.
It gets four stars from me. Before the canada tour it would have gotten three.
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
This gets 5 stars from me. That this song is not better known outside the PJ community should be a crime.
I think Immortality should have closed side one of Vitalogy and Hard To Imagine closed side two.
I love how emotionally contained this song starts out and stays. Unlike Black and Immortality that really break out, especially during the guitar solos.
I'm not even sure I can explain how much I love this song. Musically it is soft and intoxicating--it sucks you in and makes you listen to what is being played, and then it slowly climbs to a crescendo. Lyrically it teases you with just enough to light your imagination and then draws back, leaving the meanings up to you.
Personally the song makes me think about my grandfather and the stories he used to tell me about being a soldier in WWII. "Things were different then" is very true to me and my grandfather would tell me things to help me get through this life (the now) and I listened knowing he loved me and that he was trying to help me grow.
I also can relate this song to a personal situation I had where my husband had an affair and a child was born of that affair. The "things were different then, all is different now, I tried to explain, somehow" just fits this so much for me. This song came out on a Chicago Cab soundtrack right around this time and I would listen to this song and cry and wish things could go back to the way they used to be for me.
This song is probably easily in my top ten of all-time favorite Pearl Jam songs. I gave it 5 stars.
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 11:36 pm Posts: 25824 Location: south jersey
amazing song. i've love it since the first time i heard it (a boot from 93 i think). the opening riff is one of those riffs for me that makes the hair on my arms stand up. its like the opening of ledbetter, but more depressing, which isnt a bad thing for this song at all. its one of those songs thats beyond words, you just have to feel it.
ive seen it live twice. philly 05 was fucking great. they way ed hit the high notes at the end in 05 was mind blowing. i dont think ive ever heard him sing like that. im so glad they brought this song back, i hope it stays.
_________________ Feel the path of every day,... Which road you taking?,...
I gave only 3 stars because the intro guitar is so boring! The song becomes a 5 star after it kicks in! That's probably why it didn't make it on an album.
good choice on the song, great song along with the rest of ld's disc 2(besides sweet lew)
i gave it four stars
i know its a little early, but could the next sotm be sleight of hand? i meant to ask before thumbing my way ended but i didnt know when a new one would start
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
vitalogy71890 wrote:
good choice on the song, great song along with the rest of ld's disc 2(besides sweet lew)
i gave it four stars
i know its a little early, but could the next sotm be sleight of hand? i meant to ask before thumbing my way ended but i didnt know when a new one would start
The next song will be a vitalogy song. it should have been next but I owed whygodeep a favor. I'll stick sleight of hand into the que though. I try and rotate between albums so after a lost dogs/non album song gets played we don't do another one until we hit the other 7 (soon 8 ) songs. I think there are two binaural songs before it so it may be a before we get to it though (like half a year)
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2005 3:43 am Posts: 18418 Location: Anytown, USA Gender: Male
good, not great.
always thought it was lacking something, dont know what though. 4 stars.
_________________
stip wrote:
In five years, when you get laid and grow up, you should go back and read some of these posts and if you've turned into a decent person you'll realize how much of an asshole you sound like right now
good choice on the song, great song along with the rest of ld's disc 2(besides sweet lew)
i gave it four stars
i know its a little early, but could the next sotm be sleight of hand? i meant to ask before thumbing my way ended but i didnt know when a new one would start
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
Cal Varnsen wrote:
good, not great.
always thought it was lacking something, dont know what though. 4 stars.
do you prefer it live?
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2005 3:43 am Posts: 18418 Location: Anytown, USA Gender: Male
stip wrote:
Cal Varnsen wrote:
good, not great.
always thought it was lacking something, dont know what though. 4 stars.
do you prefer it live?
it was ok, didnt change my view on the song. good, not great.
_________________
stip wrote:
In five years, when you get laid and grow up, you should go back and read some of these posts and if you've turned into a decent person you'll realize how much of an asshole you sound like right now
do you have a couple of dates that they played this song live so i can check pearljamlive.com, because i dont think ive heard it live, i know its not on any of my bootlegs
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2005 3:43 am Posts: 18418 Location: Anytown, USA Gender: Male
vitalogy71890 wrote:
do you have a couple of dates that they played this song live so i can check pearljamlive.com, because i dont think ive heard it live, i know its not on any of my bootlegs
In five years, when you get laid and grow up, you should go back and read some of these posts and if you've turned into a decent person you'll realize how much of an asshole you sound like right now
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
vitalogy71890 wrote:
do you have a couple of dates that they played this song live so i can check pearljamlive.com, because i dont think ive heard it live, i know its not on any of my bootlegs
most of the dates are from 05. Off the top of my head I know they did it in philly and calgary--both were amazing.
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:47 am Posts: 46000 Location: Reasonville
i gave it two stars. don't get much out of this song.
_________________ No matter how dark the storm gets overhead They say someone's watching from the calm at the edge What about us when we're down here in it? We gotta watch our backs
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) songs. I think there are two binaural songs before it so it may be a before we get to it though (like half a year)
