Post subject: SOTM: Empty stares from each corner of a shared prison cell
Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 12:53 pm
Global Moderator
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
Nothingman
Once divided...nothing left to subtract Some words when spoken...can't be taken back Walks on his own...with thoughts he can't help thinking Future's above...but in the past, he's slow and sinking Caught a bolt 'a lightnin'...cursed the day he let it go...
Nothingman... Nothingman... Isn't it something? Nothingman...
She once believed in every story he had to tell One day she stiffened…took the other side Empty stares from each corner of a shared prison cell... One just escapes...one's left inside the well And he who forgets will be destined to remember...
Nothingman... Nothingman... Isn't it something? Nothingman...
She don't want him She won't feed him After he's flown away Into the sun... Into the sun... Burn...burn...
Nothingman... Nothingman... Isn't it something? Nothingman... Nothingman... Coulda' been something... Nothingman...
_________________ "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
Nothingman is one of my all time favorites. The music is simple but it is just gorgeous, and its starkness provides a great backdrop for a masterful vocal performance. Like Indifference, Eddie is the star here and the rest of the band plays to compliment, rather than upstage, his vocals. This is probably my favorite song Jeff wrote music for.
Lyrically this song is a gem (with a handful of exceptions). This (along with Betterman) kicks off a whole string of songs about dying relationships that Eddie manages to write the hell out of (hail hail and parting ways are in that list too). He captures both the sad inevitability and the regret that comes with not trying harder. But nothingman takes place a bit later than the others. The relationship has ended, and there has been enough time and distance to take stock and develop regrets. It’s not quite clear to me who left who and under what circumstances. Did the woman come to her senses and leave a guy she is better than? Did the guy cheat on her or dump her for someone else only to regret it later? I’m curious to hear what other people think.
My favorite lyric in the song
Empty stares from each corner of a shared prison cell...
One just escapes...one's left inside the well
Anyone who has been a part of a once meaningful relationship that has fallen apart knows exactly what this feels like. There is a sense of shared isolation. You’re not physically alone, but there isn’t the intimiate connection with the other person there once was. Instead you’re stuck with a shared isolation
My one complaint with the song is the ‘she don’t want him/she won’t feed him line. That feels like it belongs in Betterman (is this meant to connect the two songs? Thoughts?). It just sounds a bit awkward to my ears
It is too bad they don’t play this one live anymore. It always sounds amazing
Five stars
_________________ "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: Mon Oct 18, 2004 5:13 am Posts: 215 Location: Oslo, Norway
Definately Jeff's greatest moment. Although he got some great help from mr. Vedder (who really shaped this song into what it is) I think the melody is really beautiful.
This song was one of the first pj songs I ever heard. It was on the day No Code came out that I heard the song for the first time. It was being played in the record store so I asked the clerk what song it was and he simply handed me Vitalogy and a copy No Code.
I remember putting No Code on the shelf, and there it got stuck! Vitalogy didnt come out of my cd player until several months later. No Code was completely forgotten about, and the reason for that was because of Nothingman! (and Immortality )
Man, what a great song! One of the greatest for sure! Its also Stone's favourite pj song!
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:47 am Posts: 46000 Location: Reasonville
*waits for punkdavid's post*
_________________ 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
Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2006 7:04 pm Posts: 1875 Location: Atlanta, SE of Disorder Gender: Male
Loved this song from the first time I played Vitalogy. My favorite of their slow songs and Ed's voice really shines. The music is simple but beautiful.
Favorite line? 'Caught a bolt of lightning/cursed the day he let it go'
Anyone know why it was barely played live before the Yield tour?
that line is so true. how many i've qouted that to myself after i've wanted to shoot myself in the mouth. because that other person who hears or reads those words will never forget you said them. EVER
_________________ GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO
GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO
GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO
GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO
GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:40 am Posts: 12509 Location: Pittsburgh Gender: Male
lord vedder wrote:
Favorite line? 'Caught a bolt of lightning/cursed the day he let it go'
Also my favorite line in this song. But for some reason I really can't get into this song enough to listen to it all the time as I do other songs on Vitalogy. I guess maybe the music is even, dare i say, "too weak?" That's probably why I can't really get into it.
Still, I gave it 3 stars.
_________________ "i'm the crescent, the sickle, so sharp the blade i'm the flick of the shank that opened your veins i'm the dusk, i'm the frightening calm i'm a hole in the pipeline, i'm a road side bomb..."
Favorite line? 'Caught a bolt of lightning/cursed the day he let it go'
Also my favorite line in this song. But for some reason I really can't get into this song enough to listen to it all the time as I do other songs on Vitalogy. I guess maybe the music is even, dare i say, "too weak?" That's probably why I can't really get into it.
Still, I gave it 3 stars.
i also like most stuff on vitalogy better, but on any other album this would prob be my fav song
i might even go as far to say that this song sums up the feelings of a broken relationship better than black. also, the song sounds so stripped down and raw, and conveys the feeling of loss that much better.
4 stars, I couldn't quite give it 5, but it's damn close.
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:36 am Posts: 5458 Location: Left field
The only song by Jeff that I can feel comfortable in saying that it remains consistent throughout. Nothing abstract here and the images the lyrics invoke are stark, painful and vivid, with no line wasted on any tangent or digression. The song also has that slow build up that Pearl Jam tends to use (sometimes too often) and in this song it works and man, does it work. Ed hits that note as well, the one note that brings every song with a build up into its beautiful and sometimes desperate zenith.
I wouldn't mind more songs that are as bare and stipped down as this one, sometimes their can be too much going on, what with three guitars going at times.
_________________ seen it all, not at all can't defend fucked up man take me a for a ride before we leave...
Rise. Life is in motion...
don't it make you smile? don't it make you smile? when the sun don't shine? (shine at all) don't it make you smile?
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum
Frank
