Post subject: SOTM #150: 'Cause when we're dead we would've had it all...
Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 7:09 pm
Coast to Coast
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2007 6:21 am Posts: 23078 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina Gender: Male
Why deny all the troubles when combined With the missing links It don't feel like home now,...
That you're gone all the troubles Suddenly explained infinitum You're always wishing and never here at Home
You All the dreams we shared and Lights we turned on But the house is getting dark
And I don't want to know your past But together share the dawn And I won't need
Nothing else Cause when we're dead We would've had it all
And died I would've fallen from the sky Til you Parachutes have opened now
Heaven knows if there's a ceiling Gone so low with the kneeling Please know that I got
All the friends I need and Before my light goes out As the doors are closing now
And far away will be my home And to grasp this, I don't know But I don't need
Further back and forth, a wave will break on me today And love,... Wish the world could go again with love One can't seem to have enough And war,... Break the sky and tell me what it's for I'll travel there on my own And love,... What a different life Had I not found this love with you
---
This is easily one of the most divisive songs in Pearl Jam's catalog. People either hate it for its quaint and decidedly UN-rockandroll stylings or love it because it sounds like a band stretching the limits of what they feel comfortable with.
I'll be entirely honest. One thing I don't like about these SOTM threads is what I consider to be excessive analysis of song lyrics. Truth be told, I don't think lyrics are all that important in rock music in the sense that they're subservient to the vocal melody, which is this band's strongest suit. I think the boys (and Eddie specifically) are competent but unremarkable lyricists. I've always felt like the best Pearl Jam lyrics were the ones that retained some mystery rather than the ones that drilled a point down your throat. That said, I'll try to at least give my opinion on these lyrics, and leave more detailed analysis for those of you who might care for that sort of thing.
Lyrically, I think this song works very well. The imagery is simple and effective-- it's a contemplative love song, one of settling down and being content, a sentiment that would be repeated in "Just Breathe" later. I like its placement in the album, too, between "Marker in the Sand" and "Unemployable", songs that are heavy (some would say heavy-handed) in the subjects they tackle-- war, deceit, disappointment, failure. This is like a little island in the middle of all of that. A song about how wonderful it is that, amidst all the craziness and terrible things in the world, two people found each other.
The main gripe I had with Avocado was that it sounded like Pearl Jam by the numbers. After two records of dynamic songwriting and (for better or worse) experimentation, this sounded like a band retreating to a space they feel comfortable with and a style they know they can pull off. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that, I always felt like, in this case, it resulted in songs that were a little too angular, felt a little half-hearted, a little too "safe".
I realize nobody really looks to Pearl Jam for the type of inventiveness they see in Radiohead, but I've always felt the band is at its best when it follows its musical curiosity through different styles rather than be confined to the classic rock stylings of 1991. This is why I consider records like No Code and Yield such a success, and why Backspacer has quickly become one of my favorite records. "Parachutes" (and to a lesser extent, "Unemployable") is an example of this, and a highlight on the album.
A lot has been made of the stylistic similarities between this song and mid-period Beatles. Stone's understated guitar work and Matt's drumming certainly point to that, but more than anything I hear it in Jeff's bassline (I can almost picture McCartney playing along his famous Hofner) and Eddie's double-tracked vocals. And certainly the star of this song is Eddie. His delivery is earnest and impassioned but never overdramatic, never over-emoting.
Avocado's highly compressed production does a good job of hiding the arrangement and the small touches scattered all over the song. It took me a while to notice the quiet electric guitar playing along on the left channel throughout the song, the distant organ creeping in from the back, the hint of ebow during the verses. The most noticeable of these little details is Mike's Brian May moment during the final "and love", which is cathartic and complements Eddie's vocal very well. Still I can't help but wonder what this song would sound like if all the instruments were allowed some room to breathe.
The chorus has been criticized because of its seemingly simplistic music, and there's some truth to that-- while the verses offer a deliciously off-kilter strumming pattern and stuttering percussion, the chorus slides into the familiar chord progression of "All The Young Dudes" (Bowie) "Whatever" and "Don't Look Back in Anger" (Oasis). That melody line, used extensively in pop music, has been around longer than any of those songs and is basically a variation on a theme (Canon) by Pachelbel. The idea of a bass line gently moving downwards and the harmonies above trying to ascend it will, I suspect, always inspire composers, and no doubt the same thread runs through all these themes, including "Parachutes". The Goldberg Variations?
In an album full of outwards anger, this song looks inwards. Amidst the sneers and indignant finger-pointing, this is a contemplative little number about love. I'm glad to see they continued this, to some extent, with Backspacer.
_________________ For more insulated and ill-informed opinions, click here.
Post subject: Re: SOTM #150: 'Cause when we're dead we would've had it all...
Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 7:43 pm
Unthought Known
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:33 am Posts: 8422 Location: Berthier-sur-Mer Gender: Male
great write-up! as much as i love Stip's take on songs, it's always refreshing to read this kind of review from another person's angle.
i always thought that Parachutes was victim of simply being on S/T to the ears of many, it got lumped in the same bunch as the songs about war that put a lot of people off but this song is a little gem that fits in Stone's little series of very melodic (beatlesque?) songs he wrote since Yield (ATY, Thin Air and Fatal). this time, having Ed write the lyrics made it all more heartfelt as a result. i think all the instruments fall into place perfectly on this song but i'll tip my hat to Mike in particular - his subtle approach makes all the notes he plays worth listening and if that's what Ed calls "patterns", that's what i like best about his guitar playing nowadays (not that i dislike a good, assumed solo sometimes but you know, not every song scream "shredding!"). 3 stars 1/2
Post subject: Re: SOTM #150: 'Cause when we're dead we would've had it all...
Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:22 pm
Got Some
Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:35 pm Posts: 1633 Location: Wales Gender: Male
There is a lot there that doesn't instantly grab you. Subtleties that you notice on your 20th listen, and it is true that it is a wonderfully placed break from the claustrophobic feeling felt during the start to this album.
The laid back instrumentation and vocals do indeed hark back to All Those Yesterdays, but for me it never reaches the heights of that number. It's an open song that is heavily reliant on melody - but the melody is one that is pleasant and nothing more.
It sounds like a bit of a heavy criticism, when I say thing like 'pleasant'...but I consider Thin Air to be 'pleasant' and it's one of my favourite PJ ballads. It's a song that was most definitely needed on Avocado...but it could have been better.
3 stars.
_________________ Speaking as a child of the 90s...
Post subject: Re: SOTM #150: 'Cause when we're dead we would've had it all...
Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 10:21 pm
Force of Nature
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:57 pm Posts: 308 Location: London, England Gender: Male
Arguably the best song on S/T. Love Mike's suttle work in the background. Beautiful song. It's between 4 and 5 but I'm in a generous mood so it gets 5 stars.
_________________ Astoria 06, Reading 06, Wembley 07, The O2 09.
Post subject: Re: SOTM #150: 'Cause when we're dead we would've had it all...
Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 1:25 am
Force of Nature
Joined: Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:47 am Posts: 814 Location: Boston, MA
Definitely my favorite track on Avocado and one of my top PJ tracks ever. None of my friends agree with me. We were all there together for the debut in Boston, and they were falling asleep on their feet as I stood in awe and gratitude. 5 stars.
Post subject: Re: SOTM #150: 'Cause when we're dead we would've had it all...
Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 1:29 am
Global Moderator
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
nice write up
I don't like parachutes as much as I should. I think it's because of Eddie--there is something about his vocals here that feels stilted and unnatural, somewhat out of place in a song that manages to float along so gracefully while being slightly off-kilter at the same time.
They use the home imagery throughout S/T and to good effect pretty much the entire time, and parachutes is no different. Otherwise the lyrics are adequate for the song but otherwise unremarkable. With one exception
I would've fallen from the sky Til you Parachutes have opened now
I love this imagery. Some of the most striking on the record. I think eddie is capable of writing songs with lyrics this good all the way through, but he rarely feels the need to anymore. Same thing with a song like No Ceiling--adequate lyrics but with that utterly fantastic final lyric (this love has got no ceiling)--I'm still waiting for the song that builds off of a moment like that, rather than culminating with it
Parachutes gets 3 stars from me, but it's 3 trending upwards, rather than downwards, and with a different vocal mix it could easily be 4 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
Post subject: Re: SOTM #150: 'Cause when we're dead we would've had it all...
Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:43 am
Interweb Celebrity
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:47 am Posts: 46000 Location: Reasonville
4.
_________________ 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
Post subject: Re: SOTM #150: 'Cause when we're dead we would've had it all...
Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 12:13 pm
Yeah Yeah Yeah
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 2:48 pm Posts: 3115 Location: Edinburgh/Lincoln, UK
I used to adore this song, and a year or two back I would have given it 5 stars. Now it's probably a 4. I think the bones of it are wonderful, but a few things went wrong along the way. Firstly the recording has little warmth - the drums are too heavy, and the double tracked vocal is distracting. I think they would have pulled this off better in the Riot Act sessions (whether they could have wrote this song at that point is a different matter). I love some of the lyrics, but in places it feels too disjointed and awkward - the phrasing is interesting, but at times I can't even distinguish between lines. This could be intentional, but I don't think it was pulled off well.
I think it's beautiful live too, I heard it in London 07 and it was so pretty.
Post subject: Re: SOTM #150: 'Cause when we're dead we would've had it all...
Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:12 pm
Got Some
Joined: Wed May 09, 2007 5:58 pm Posts: 1259 Location: Western Masshole Gender: Male
Good write up, Plat. And you said something that piqued my interest:
Quote:
I'll be entirely honest. One thing I don't like about these SOTM threads is what I consider to be excessive analysis of song lyrics. Truth be told, I don't think lyrics are all that important in rock music in the sense that they're subservient to the vocal melody, which is this band's strongest suit. I think the boys (and Eddie specifically) are competent but unremarkable lyricists. I've always felt like the best Pearl Jam lyrics were the ones that retained some mystery rather than the ones that drilled a point down your throat.
For the most part, I agree with you even if I do still think lyrics are important. However, I find that the analysis of the SOTMs can change my perception of a song. And fortunately for me, it's always for the better. I've had songs I'd felt indifferent towards and after reading someone's unique angle on it, started to see the song in a different light and like it. However, I've seen people rip a song that I liked to shreds and even if I agree with most of what they said, it doesn't change the song for me. Like you said, the vocal melody is often more important. Anyway, I give this star 3 songs. Love the melody but, like most S/T songs, Ed's delivery just doesn't do it for me.
_________________ Paul McCartney told me to never drop names.
Post subject: Re: SOTM #150: 'Cause when we're dead we would've had it all...
Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:46 pm
Got Some
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2005 8:52 pm Posts: 2647 Location: Where gila monsters meet you at the airport
This is a nice song but it has never totally worked for me in any setting.
This kind of off-kilter slower paced tune always struggles to find a home in a live show. I guess the only place it would seem to fit in smoothly is in a slower first encore. It's also a song that relies on precise, rich sound and that's not easy to capture live. I enjoyed hearing this one in Vegas 2006, but it wasn't any kind of showstopper.
On the album, I think this song suffers as much as any other from the compression/production issues with ST. In aggregate, the compression really hurts loud songs because your ears get weary of them, but for any one 4-minute-long loud rock song, compression isn't too big of a deal. This is the kind of song that really suffers, because as the OP nicely explained, there's a lot of nice stuff going on here. I better produced record would allow you to hear it.
3 stars, nothing more, nothing less. It's nice, but not special to me.
Post subject: Re: SOTM #150: 'Cause when we're dead we would've had it all...
Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:31 pm
Yeah Yeah Yeah
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 2:12 am Posts: 3783
I really dig this song. Very possibly my favorite on Avocado. It makes me wish that Stone was the primary music writer for more PJ songs. I like how the song meanders carelessly on. The music is great and different enough to separate from the other songs on the record. I dig how it builds and Mike's guitar on it perfect...one of his best.
My own gripe is the beginning and end. I need more music. I think the song could have been very powerful if they had just continued with a measure or two of music to end the song--not just when Ed stops singing. The music makes this song great and unique, I wish they had showcased it more.
Post subject: Re: SOTM #150: 'Cause when we're dead we would've had it all...
Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:28 am
Yeah Yeah Yeah
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:14 am Posts: 4355
I love the winding melody. It's lovely. I agree the song needs room to breathe. There are things going on we can't appreciate, but bottom-line, it's beautiful. For me, this is was one of Avocado's repeaters.
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