Rival

All my rivals will see what I have in store, my gun...
I've been harboring fleets in this reservoir, red sun...
And this nation's about to explode…

Your disciples are riddled with metaphors, well hung...
Better pony up and bring both your barrelfulls, not one...
As we release this unspeakable toll...

(every grain of sand equals)
(all the stars and everyone)

How's our mother to damn these contributors...with mud?
How will the man who made chemicals difficult...shed blood?
How's our father supposed to be told?

I don’t know…


Previous Songs of the Moment
In My Tree
Red Mosquito
Porch
I Got Id
Release
Do The Evolution
Breath
Corduroy
Elderly Woman...
Leash
Hail Hail
Grievance
Love Boat Captain
Even Flow
Black Red Yellow
In Hiding
Can't Keep
Indifference
Insignificance
Whipping
Black
Smile
Push Me Pull Me
Rats
God's Dice
All or None
Yellow Ledbetter
Last Exit
Who You Are
Rearview Mirror
Hold On
Present Tense
Light Years
Alive
Brain of J
Thumbing My Way
Hard to Imagine
Tremor Christ

Something is very wrong. From the low growl of the dog to the fractured and discordant main riff, the song feels somehow cracked. It’s angry, yet strangely melodic. It’s a song that wants to be at peace yet is torn apart by an inner tension. Musically it’s not an easy listen, but it’s a great song and captures the mood the lyrics try to convey perfectly. Eddie’s vocals are first rate here as well. They are self assured and strangely relaxed but underneath there is a sense of barely contained self-righteous anger, and they too perfectly color the song.
I’m normally down on the songs that Eddie didn’t pen the lyrics for, but Rival is probably Stone’s strongest effort (maybe all those yesterdays tops it). It’s not much of a secret that Rival is a response to school violence, and while the lyrics are vague and perhaps a bit too abstract they are certainly evocative. I’m not too big of a fan of the second verse, but the first and third are terrific. Rival begins with a warning, albeit one that’s given a bit too late. Underneath the placid waters of our reservoir (a great image, as a reservoir is both monstrously artificial and absolutely necessary for modern life) there is anger, and payback is going to be bloody, brutal and unspeakable.
The bridge speaks to the way in which modernity makes us all utterly insignificant. Each life is just a star in the sky or a grain of sand. Common, replacable, and without and unique quality that would cause it to stand out. The kind of violence Rival is reacting against is not possible without diminishing the humanity of the people involved.
And then there is the inevitable reaction to the violence. Who is to blame? The family? Society? Drugs? Who will attempt to take advantage of the situation? In the end I think the song says we’re all in some way responsible for tolerating a world that lets this happen, and in the end we’re all going to be answerable to God. What are we going to say to when we’re held accountable?

I don’t know….

Rival is fantastic live and this has unfairly been booted from their regular rotation. I’d love to see more of it. But writing the above gave me a new appreciation for Rival. I’d probably put it in my top 5 for binaural. So since this was C_B’s request, I thank you for my newfound love of Rival.

Favorite lines

I've been harboring fleets in this reservoir…and this nation's about to explode
How will the man who made chemicals difficult...shed blood?

Rival gets a 4 out of 5, up from the 3 I thought I was going to give it when

Rival is such a great song. Never understand why it isn't played more often. I'd love to hear it live. Anyway it is right up there as far as Binural stuff is concerned.

Whenever I listen to it, it takes me back to high school. I clearly remember sitting in first period class my senior year and hearing about the Columbine shootings. It just takes me to a time where people felt unsafe to go to school. A place where your supposed to feel safe.

Anyone else kinda know what I'm talking about?

before attempting to make a rational comment about this song in this here thread, GO PUT ON HEADPHONES AND LISTEN TO RIVAL.

then come back and we'll talk.

it's sad when i have to admit that i haven't been this excited in a few days. i absolutely adore this song.

when i first got binaural, i'd say it didn't click right away. took me a few listens to get used to the different sound. i didn't listen to it on headphones for awhile, and the first thing that hit me was rival -- and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

everything about this song is disturbing, alarming, beautiful and raw. like stip said, it's all off. something is off to begin with. you're sitting there saying 'what the hell is going on right now?'

the first verse is absolutely fucking killer:

All my rivals will see what I have in store, my gun...
I've been harboring fleets in this reservoir, red sun...
(AT THIS POINT, BACKING VOCALS KICK IN AND KICK YOUR ASS)
And this nation's about to explode…

the killer piano then kicks in. awkward yet beautiful piano. again, off-kilter. and such fucking melody in the chorus.

mike's solo work isn't even anything ridiculously special. it almost reminds me of the alive solo. it was just like when alive came on, i'd have one friend who would always say 'you know, mccready didn't break any earth-shattering ground with that solo, but it's just fucking perfect in every sense of the word'

it's a shame it gets booted off the live show rotation. i remember hearing the 2000 boots for the first time, one random show from europe, and being blown away by rival. completely blown away. mccready's work at the end is even better live.

as you can see, i'm about to have some sort of orgasmic experience here....'ahhhh give it to 'em!'

4 Stars
I love the drums in this, very cool.

Never been a huge fan.

Even Flow - easily.

i gave this one five stars, by the way.

I think I would like it better if it wasn't so close to Grievance on the album. I wish it would have been on the first half.

ah! one of my favorite back-to-back runs is rival and grievance. total ass kicking.

Reading this thread caused me to pause visions of johanna (am i going to hell for that?) and give this one a re-listen. everyone so far has made a lot of strong points.

the message of the song is solid, especially when it was written. i was in junior high when columbine happened and it seemed like it just turned everything upside down, even at my rural school. it had been building up for a few years with events like jonesboro, but columbine just pushed everything over the edge. backpack searches, locked doors...just a shitty, shitty, police state-like situation. this song for me is like a release of rage after hearing endless debates and talk about school violence - "WHY IS THIS GOING ON? THIS IS F*CKIN AMERICA." pearl jam really captures the mood of the nation, of what was going on at the turn of the century.

i still gave it a 3 despite what i just said. i appreciate the music for what it is, but it is lacking that "something special" that i can't really describe, other than to say binaural just doesn't have it. but like i often say, average by pearl jam standards = above average compared to most other music.

Good point. They do kick ass together. Grievance overshadows Rival though

Rival...God what a great song.

they definitely need to start playing this more regularly, it would be killer

I never really cared too much for Rival. It just always sounded kinda like an experimental sort of song to me. I think if I had the choice, I'd rather have Fatal on Binaural than Rival. (IMO)

I love this song, and I gave it five stars. What has been said so far by stip and c_b is excellent. I'll try and make a longer post about this one later.

wow, i pretty much love you.

great song, four from me. but it is missing that something to make it a classic. cant put my finger on what exactly

i like, but it's not one of my favourites from binaural. a 3 for me. someone talked in backing vocals but i think that there are no backing vocals, from a interview a portuguese newspaper did with mike by the time binaural come back i remember im saying that eddie have done several vocal takes for this song, but they dind't know wich one to choose so they decided to use them all by overlaping them

Great song. Can't really add to what has been said. 4 stars.

It took me years to appreciate this song, but now I do and I really love it. 4 stars. Fantastic song. Hope to see it live some day.