Per stip's request, I'm trying my hand at one of these, trying to mine something of value out of the few songs that haven't been written about yet. And though I'm sure it's been discussed recently (being as there wouldn't really have been any other time to discuss it), I'm choosing "Better Days," partially because it seems appropriate considering its newfound recognition by the Academy, and partially because it was the first song that sprung to mind that didn't already have a thread.

BETTER DAYS

I feel part of the universe open up to meet me
My emotion so submerged, broken down to kneel in
Once listening, the voices they came
Had to somehow greet myself, read myself
Heard vibrations within my cells, in my cells
Singing, "Ah-la-ah-ah, ah-la-ah-ah"

My love is safe for the universe
See me now, I'm bursting
On one planet, so many turns
Different worlds
Singing, "Ah-la-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah, ah"

(Spanish guitar solo)

Fill my heart with discipline
Put there for the teaching
In my head see clouds of stairs
Help me as I'm reaching
The future's paved with better days

Not running from something
I'm running towards the day
Wide awake

A whisper once quiet
Now rising to a scream
Right in me

I'm falling, free falling
Words calling me
Up off my knees

I'm soaring and, darling,
You'll be the one that I can need
Still be free
Our future's paved with better days



Alright, so...

Eat Pray Love and Into the Wild aren't really all that different. The former may be kind of like the latter wearing a beret, listening to Joni Mitchell on headphones, and wading in a shallow reflecting pond, but still--at their cores, both of these are films (or books, if you're one of those) about main characters that leave behind their entire familiar existences to go on self-involved, pie-in-the-sky quests for enlightenment, the main difference being that one ends up frozen to death in an abandoned bus and the other ends up two pants sizes fatter and in love with a studly foreign dude. I find it disheartening that both of these films are, more or less, true stories; it seems like mankind's overall objective score ought to be docked a few tenths of a point for the idea that actual people see this kind of new age lunacy as a viable solution to their lives' ills. But then, maybe it's to our credit that the few people who do indulge in this sort of thing are weird enough that they get movies made about them. Who knows.

Unfortunately, this is exactly the sort of pseudo-hippie nonsense that I suspect Eddie Vedder believes is the meaning of life, insofar as he's soundtracked both of these films, and seems eager to endorse any practice which rejects materialism and seeks spiritual enlightenment in isolationist, mind-enriching exercises of woo-hah-hah, regardless of whether or not they result in you dying young and alone in the middle of nowhere. The sad thing about "Better Days" is that it seems worse off for the fact that it's not undercut by the same sense of dread that the Into the Wild songs are; conversely, I find myself annoyed that this character's decision to essentially bail on her marriage out of boredom doesn't eventually come back to bite her in the ass, and that the song cheers on this sort of irresponsible self-absorption with unrelenting optimism. If "Better Days" is, as I suspect, Eddie's latest "watch the test screening of a movie and then go write a song about how inspired it made me feel" installment, I'm suspicious of his resolution to "fill his heart with discipline"; it seems like, if discipline had anything to do with this story, Elizabeth Gilbert may have given her marriage more than a melodramatic crying fit on the bathroom floor, or failing that, at least shown a little restraint stuffing her face with all that greasy Italian food. Maybe this is just the healthy sense of perspective that evades your average image-obsessed Cosmo reader, but it nonetheless feels the opposite of discipline.

Anyhow, even on the off-chance that the song and the movie bear no or little relation to each other, this isn't exactly prime Vedder. The lyrics are more of the usual existential treacle: blah blah universe blah blah love blah blah voices, and the fake world music thing is probably my least favorite trick in Ed's vastly expanding repertoire. I'd never survive in any of the places Elizabeth Gilbert visits in Love; I hate the music too much (maybe I could manage Italy--but only because PJ plays there on occasion and the food did look pretty sweet). For some reason this guitar-to-sitar thing is a spiritual quest that many millionaire rock stars have found it necessary to embark upon at some point in their career--perhaps because the untainted integrity of the ancient musics provides such a welcome escape from the commercialism of their own formats--but rarely has it produced any of their finest efforts. This, noble enough though its intentions are, is not one of Ed's. Though I'd be anxious to hear what a live solo version would sound like, I'm nonetheless glad he used it for the soundtrack to a chick-lit novel turned Julia Roberts movie instead of one of his own projects.

I'm not very good at the star rating thing, but I couldn't see myself giving this any more than 2.

Hopefully next time he writes a song about how great it is to "stand around the coffee machine with coworkers on the Monday after the Super Bowl and separate the "good" commercials from the bad ones". Now that's a life worth living!

Hey look, a sarcastic, noncommittal post by BadMusic

Sarcastic, yes, but noncommittal?

So I take it someone dragged you to the movie, KD?

I'm sympathetic to the story in Into the Wild, even if I think self-involved is the right word to use for it. Sympathetic to the longing, anyway, and somewhat admiring of the commitment, and Eddie cuts the inspirational moments with dread (good word choice) and loneliness. What little I know about this story in Eat Pray Love illicits none of the same feelings, but fortunately, having never seen the movie, I don't make those connections.

I think this sounds like a fairly nice piece of atmospheric world music, and Eddie has some nice soaring moments in it I wish he'd remember he can stick on Pearl Jam records. But lyrically this is pretty terrible, other than some nice moments in the climax. I can't believe he managed to not throw the word soul into this thing.

After the first day of this song I never go back to it on purpose, but I am also pleasantly surprised when it comes on. Not sure if this is 2 or 3 stars. I need to listen to it again.

No dragging necessary--I'm usually a good sport about these sorts of movies. They're usually harmless enough, but I had a feeling going in that this one was going to have some baggage. Who knew how much?

I've never seen either of these movies...but I stopped reading after:

I can't really put my finger on it, but to me this song sounds like a track that didn't make it on to the ITW soundtrack. 3 stars though because it isn't unlistenable, and I don't mind it when it comes on.

I would have given it 4 stars when I first heard it. But now I give it 3.

nice write-up, Kevin.

as far as Eddie's "faux-world music tendencies" go, i'm usually a fan of it (WMA, Long Road, Who You Are are all great songs to me) but there's obviously 2 perspectives one can have regarding Better Days. i think that, when put in close relationship with the movie, the song comes down a few notches because that's a highly glamorous quest for spirituality and this shit don't fit with Ed, or with the romanticized version of Ed (reluctant rock star with an everyman quality, etc.). on the other hand, there were several months before i saw this movie where this song stood alone and that's from that period that i choose to rate it (btw, there's a big difference between the osmosis-like nature of ITW's music with the movie than with this).
what i like about the song are the melody, the vocal performance and the percussions and my brain kind of focus on those when i listen to Better Days. so it gets a 3 from me.

I rounded up and gave it a 3. I like how Ed sounds on it, which is usually a big plus but after a couple listens it quickly becomes bland and forgetable. Not a bad song per se, just that he's done much better. It's okay as a b-side or soundtrack contribution but would have been disappointed if it was the slow song on Backspacer.

Feels like an incomplete thought, even as full as it is. Forgettable.

3.5

THAT IS NOT AN OPTION.

dont make me choose. its better than average, but not really good.

When I first heard it I would have given it a 3, I've soured on it alot since then though so it's a 2 now.

Maybe a 3? I do like it a lot better than most of Into the Wild.

you should really learn to keep reading after someone says something challenging

Where's the fun in that?

I went with 3 stars. I really like the last couple of minutes after the mandolin solo when it just builds and builds. Some great vocal layering.