listening to PJ during Binaural or after?

My null hypothesis is that if you disagree with the politics, you began listening during Yield or before.

music>lyrics

The band seems to be pretty one minded as far as politics are concerned. They did about a handful at best of remotely political songs so i don't think there's a direct connection with the lyrics/music.

as a citizen of the Rest of the World, while i think Ed hardly broke new grounds in terms of political stances for a showbiz personality, i really can't see how someone who's been a fan of theirs since their heydays could honestly disagree with his positions - it just makes sense. it's called coherence.

in my humble opinion:
being pro-choice --> ok
testimoning against TM --> ok
vote for change --> ok
promoting eco-friendly behaviours -->ok

as warehouse said, music>lyrics. the intra-band politics make much less sense to me.
i've never been to a PJ gig before so i hadn't witnessed one of Ed's political rants but from the boots i heard, he doesn't sound messianic with his opinions at all - and as i said earlier, for most of us, non U.S. residents, they are as plain and obvious as Cyrano's nose.

I cringe when Eddie starts his shit. It's not even about whether or not I agree with what he's saying. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. It's just that most people don't pay all that money to listen to a lead singer's stance on politics. Sure he's got the bully pulpit. Still, please Eddie, just shut the fuck up and sing your songs. That's why we're there.

I started listening at the beginning, 1991, because I'm an old fuck.

I'm for all those things, 100%.

I still dont want to hear Eddie's opinion on it all the time. I'm there to hear him sing, and hear the rest of the band play. I think he should take all that energy and invest it into re-learning how to play "No Way".

I never had a specific opinion about this matter because front man and women did that since music was born. In rock since the 60s.
Some people say they're ok with him doing that with lyrics.

sure, music is the thing we want to hear when we go to a gig. i don't think it's as indignating as people tend to make it. he doesn't go in full-fledged political mode at every show, amirite? and it's not like he's putting more energy in his rants than in his music.
and imo, as long as politicians (or partisan mediatic corporations) will fuck with rock'n'roll by using censorship (see PJ's latest Lolla issue), it's absolutely ok with me if Ed or anybody with a sensible opinion voices it out onstage, as long as it's rants in between songs and not the opposite.

oh please god no

I think the causes the band gets invovle with and fundraises for are terrific. I love it when they write good political songs. My biggest beef is that Eddie, who has some excellent mentors and very good instincts, should take the time to become more articulate. I have no problem with him using his soapbox. I think he should use it better.

I agree with you Stip.

Yeah not like U2 who, in the middle of a song, wanted everyone to sms a message of world peace to a giant screen. Apparently the instructions took 7 minutes and Bono even had to go in the crowd to help some of his confused audience.

you've got a pretty small sample size you're waiting for to respond Ike

my answer is no, unless they're not paying attention on lyrics and/or attend shows.

I have two issues with Ed's rants, which are not political that often.

One, he is often incoherent and amzingly bad at getting his point across which results in him being long winded.

Two, I feel a concert is as 'bout a good a place for a political rant as a time out in a movie. Imagine if a Clint Eastwood movie just stopped for two minutes about three quarter ways through and Clint just mumbled drunkenly about an issue then the movie resumed. This is how I feel about Ed's long winded rants usually.

have you been to many shows?

I started listening to PJ after 2000, but I agree with most(if not all) of the bands politics.

I've always been disgusted by those who say rock stars or actors or anyone else in the public eye shouldn't talk about politics, as if politics is some kind of specialized field that we shouldn't all be talking about.

Now, that's not quite the same thing as talking about it during a concert, as Ed does (and Bono, etc), but that doesn't bother me, either. Partly it's because what Ed is saying more or less fits with my worldview (though, as such I would like Stip prefer it if he said his piece better), partly it's because I don't mind the chance to take a breather at a show and I'd rather that downtime be filled with someone talking than with nothing, or with special effects or something else.

At this point, for me, (and this may get to Ike's point a little bit) I just have to laugh at anyone who goes to a Pearl Jam shows and acts annoyed, surprised, or upset that Eddie goes on a political rant. It's been almost 18 years now, folks, if you haven't figured out that buying a ticket to a Pearl Jam concert is also probably going to get you some Ed political babble, then I have to wonder if you've ever identified a pattern in your life.