Post subject: SOTM: how much difference does it make?
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 9:52 pm
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Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
Indifference
I will light the match this morning So i won't be alone Watch as she lies silent For soon light will be gone I will stand arms outstretched Pretend i'm free to roam I will make my way through One more day in... Hell...
How much difference does it make How much difference does it make...
I will hold the candle Till it burns up my arm I'll keep takin' punches Until their will grows tired I will stare the sun down Until my eyes go blind I won't change direction And i won't change my mind
How much difference does it make How much difference does it make.. How much difference...
I'll swallow poison until i grow immune I will scream my lungs out till it fills this room
How much difference How much difference How much difference does it make How much difference does it make...
_________________ "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
This might be Pearl Jam's most beautiful song. It would probably be my favorite if it wasn't so stark and so slow. It is gorgeous and affecting every time I hear it, but I'm never in a mood where I want to listen to indifference over and over again. Once is usally enough
Amazing lyrics with lots of great images. I love the idea of the flickering, disappearing candle light starting the song (I think it's a better image than the cup in the sea from I Got Shit). And the emptiness of the music compliments it perfectly
There is not a single line in this song I don't think is terrific, and I don't know if there is any other pearl jam song I would say that about.
The best part about this song though is that Eddie never actually answers his question. It's up to the listener and their experience. But I think if you look at their catalogue the answer has to be that it makes a difference. That the struggle itself has meaning.
When I teach existenstial philosophy I often use this song to introduce Camus.
_________________ "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: Sat Oct 16, 2004 7:44 pm Posts: 8910 Location: Santa Cruz Gender: Male
Super awesome song. One of my favorite performances was the monkey wrench radio version. When Ed sings the "I will scream my lungs out..." lyric, instead of screaming it out he almost whispers it. Makes quite an impact with those lyrics.
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2005 3:43 am Posts: 18418 Location: Anytown, USA Gender: Male
Mitchell wrote:
the best song from the first 2 albums
easily.
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stip wrote:
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Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:00 pm Posts: 19826 Location: Alone in a corridor
stip wrote:
The best part about this song though is that Eddie never actually answers his question.
* dreams about that fabulous night in Kitchener *
Song ends on "How much difference does it make".
Eddie says: "A lot! It makes a hell of a difference. People see that many people doing something in unison like that. For euh... like a real reason, like a good reason. It scares the shit out of them"
Anyway, I love this song. Sometimes it's one of my very favourite songs, but other days, it's just one of those very, very good songs without standing out. The lyrics are amazing of course.
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
Angus wrote:
stip wrote:
The best part about this song though is that Eddie never actually answers his question.
* dreams about that fabulous night in Kitchener *
Song ends on "How much difference does it make". Eddie says: "A lot! It makes a hell of a difference. People see that many people doing something in unison like that. For euh... like a real reason, like a good reason. It scares the shit out of them"
Okay--it took 12 years for him to answer it then
_________________ "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: Thu Nov 10, 2005 7:21 pm Posts: 79 Location: Barstool, USA
An absolute masterpiece. Hearing this song at certain times can amplify almost any feeling to a state I can't really describe with words. Sometimes it makes me happy, sometimes sad yet it always sends chills up my spine. I love the version with Ben Harper a few years back because you can almost hear the apprehension in Harper's voice. It's almost as if he's a little scared to put his stamp on a song with so much power yet after the first few lines he just opens up with raw emotion. I can picture Eddie standing next to him with a huge grin. Not only one of PJs best, but one of the best songs ever written, period.
Also - "I will swallow poison until I grow immune" always reminded me of that scene in "The Princess Bride" with Wesley and the short bald guy, I wonder if Eddie ever saw it?
_________________ Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.
Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2005 7:50 pm Posts: 10229 Location: WA (aka Waaaaaaaahhhh!!) Gender: Male
dogbelly wrote:
adamdude wrote:
This is one of the greatest songs they have ever written. It's the best on Vs.
I agree completely I've always thought that Indifference has the best lyrics of any Pearl Jam song.
Yeah, if I really sat down to think about it I'm sure I would probably agree that for the whole song throughout, Indifference has the best lyrics of any one entire PJ song.
My fave line is still "no time to be void or save up on life - you gotta spend it all"...but for a whole song, probably gotta give the nod to Indifference. Beautiful, beautiful song.
Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2004 5:47 am Posts: 27904 Location: Philadelphia Gender: Male
What I like best about the song is its timelessness. When Vs. came out I was 15, so this was a perfect teenage anthem. I used to listen to the cassette every day on the way to school and back, and it always worked out perfectly that as I got off the bus after a schoolday and walked to my house, the album would close.
But now that I'm almost twice as old, the lyrics are still hauntingly fresh, but in a different manor. In '93 I interpreted them as "fuck everything and everybody," which is easy to say when you're a teenager, and that's why I it. Nowadays, I hear this song and though its connotation is still somewhat negative, it makes me want to push on and fight to make a difference, no matter how small. "Indifference" has aged better than any other song from the first two albums. And that's not a knock against said records -- it's a testament to the greatness of the song.
_________________ It's always the fallen ones who think they're always gonna save me.
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2005 3:43 am Posts: 18418 Location: Anytown, USA Gender: Male
warehouse wrote:
but it is called "indifference" right? not "how much difference does it make"?
that crazy stip.....he likes putting in a line of the song in the header.
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stip wrote:
In five years, when you get laid and grow up, you should go back and read some of these posts and if you've turned into a decent person you'll realize how much of an asshole you sound like right now
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