Supersonic

Yeah I been dreaming of getting along
Now I’m awake, dreaming keep it on keeping on
I catch a break, then a punch to the head
I smile big with a toothless grin.
Supersonic gone & took my soul
I caught the rhythm but the clock was slow yeh
Supersonic, truth be told
I don’t need you to live, but I’ll never let you go
Yeah I been thinking, I already know
Nothing bout nothing, or so I have been told
I’m not the paper, I’m more like the fold
Cut the crease & put the shit in the whole
Supersonic, gone & took my soul
I caught the rhythm but the clock was slow yeh
Supersonic, truth be told
I don’t need you to live, but I’ll never let you go
Supersonic, gotta feel it now
I need to hear it, need to feel it loud yeh
Supersonic, truth be told
I wanna live my life with the volume full


Supersonic would have been a pretty good b-side, but it’s a weak album track, especially on a record as uniformly strong as Backspacer is. It’s not that the song doesn’t fit on the record. It does. It’s fun, celebratory, and loose. It’s not like Big Wave, which doesn’t really make a ton of sense on S/T. I just can’t shake the feeling that they had something better from these sessions. There is something that feels disposable about supersonic.

The one great thing about supersonic is that it finally answers the question ‘what would mankind sound like if Eddie sang it instead f stone”. There is probably no song in the catalog (not even Long Road -> parting ways or Porch -> severed hand) that draws so heavily on a previous riff for its inspiration, although the supersonic riff sounds a bit meatier (some of this might be the fact that matt is a heavier drummer than Jack). Eddie sounds like he’s having fun, as does the rest of the band, but the music, but there’s nothing happening that interesting here (other than the bridge) once you get past the cool way the song ramps up. The first 12-13 seconds sound like they’re building to something worthwhile, and what follows is a bit of let down It’s almost like it’s perfunctory fun. I’d much rather listen to a song like All Night or Spin The Black Circle, both of which have similar themes and are much better songs—All Night has the same playfulness but there’s some mystery to it, and much more intensity in the music, and STBC has the wild, unhinged sense of abandon to it. Supersonic comes across like a souped up leatherman.

Lyrically this is one of the weaker songs Eddie’s ever written. There’s nothing compelling, not even a simple phrase to grab on to that the music manages to elevate. Got Some is also pretty poorly written (I think Eddie is in good form on the rest of the record) but the music and melody drive the song, and take a basic line like ‘got some if you need it’ and invest it with extra power and significance they don’t deserve on their own. When Eddie sings ‘Supersonic come and took my soul’ I don’t really feel anything. Even a lyric like “I want to live my life with the volume full” could end up working fine if there was either a vocal or musical flourish there to lift it, but they just don’t sell it.

The one compelling moment in supersonic is the heavy, muscular bridge, which is really good, but utterly out of place. There’s too much weight in it for a carefree song like this, and the transition back into the final verse is way too abrupt. It’s no transition at all. It’s almost like they finished backspacer, realized they had this cool 30 second bit they never stuck in anywhere, and decided to just drop it in here.

2 Stars

There's nothing special about Supersonic but I really dig it for some reason. It's a fun little tune about absolutely nothing. I also dig it's placement on Backspacer. 3 stars.

This song wishes it was as slyly brilliant as Big Wave.

2 stars, they should've kept this one for a b-side (at best).

Big Wave is much more interesting, although I like both songs about the same. I would defintiely have liked Big Wave more if they just left it on a soundtrack or made it a b-side. My expectations for album tracks are different

I know what you mean, I definitely feel that this song isn't a real "album song" as such, but I love the music to Big Wave so much that I think it's deserving of not being buried away on a soundtrack somewhere.

Wait, you two aren't supposed to agree on something.

I know, it's weird.

A fun song with a cool bridge. But overall it's just a sped up Mankind. 2 stars.

i liked supersonic the first time i heard it (at the first chicago show last year) and it's still one of my favorite songs on the album. no, it's not anything deep and meaningful. it's just a fun song. i can dig it. 4 stars for this bitch.

2 stars. Pretty alright punky little number.

Can't stand it.

Actually, it's probably closer to 2 than 3. I feel bad because it's definitely better than other songs I'd give 2 stars to but the more I think about it it's not as good as the average 3 star Pearl Jam song for me.

2 Stars.

I might give it 2.5 if that was an option.

at least it was something inconsequential

Me too.

I'll agree that there's nothing revolutionary, or even particularly compelling, about this song. But nonetheless I love the hell out of it. It's a song about the simply joy of turning up a record really loud and it succeeds in that I like to turn it up really loud.

I don't necessarily disagree that this might have worked better as a B-side, but if it was going to be an album track then Backspacer was the right place for it.

3.5 stars for me, and since I enjoy it and no one else seems to be giving it any credit I'm going to overrate it slightly and give it a 4 star vote.

0 should be "better than the fixer"

2.5, rounded up to 3

I really liked Supersonic when the album came out, it was one of my favorite tracks. It's soured since though and now it's just meh. I think the fact that it sucks live had something to do with it.

3 stars