Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2005 3:29 am Posts: 199 Location: US
Blood
Spin me round … roll me over … fuckin' circus. Stab it down … one way needle … pulled so slowly. Drains and spills … soaks the pages … fills their sponges.
It's my blood
Paint Ed big ... turn Ed into one of his enemies.
It's my blood It's my blood It's my blood
Stab it down … fill the pages … suck my fuckin' life out man … Maker of my enemies.
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2005 3:29 am Posts: 199 Location: US
Blood is a dirty, angry, nasty piece of work. It's the hardest and angriest song Ed's ever written and it's still the best hard rock song they've done. Vs. in general was a backlash against the attention the band was getting, against MTV and the media circus that had grown around them, and this song encompasses every bit of that.
It's hard to picture now, especially to someone as young as I am (I'm 21, so I was only 6 when Ten came out), exactly how big Pearl Jam was and what kind of pressure the band was under back in the early '90s. Nirvana and Kurt Cobain get the attention now, but back then, Pearl Jam was (and still is) selling more records and packing more stadiums.
Ed was the king of the world and the focus of an entire generation; he was expected to live up to this image his audience had while still dealing with corporate and media pressures. Not to derail (I promise I'm getting to a point) or to offend, but Ten is an extremely corporate album in retrospect. Every song is a bombastic, catchy, potential single that includes just the right amount of 70s stadium rock and grungy teen angst. Back then this interesting combination was revolutionary; now, sad shadows of Ten are all over record store shelves. Ed was the best rebel pretty-boy with street cred this side of Axl Rose. Cobain was too brooding and quiet (not to mention just plain nuts); so you can bet the entire media, not to mention the record label, was depending on Pearl Jam to keep up that bombast on their second record. Ed wouldn't have it, and despite a few songs that resemble Ten, Vs. is a stark departure.
Blood is a direct attack on those pressures and an incredibly hard departure from the classic-rock stylings of Ten. While I prefer it when Ed's more personal, as he's started to do more often in later years, it's pretty tough to take this song in any personal way. It's pretty obvious a widespread, if indirect attack on the "fucking circus" that had surrounded the band. Those pressures were doing their best to suck the life out of him and the band, to turn them into a soulless hit-making machine that they so easily could have been. The "one way needle" could refer to a pen, and probably addresses those in the media that are constantly analyzing and criticizing every move they made. They're using his blood and his life to fuel their stories, to attract readers, and they have little regard for his personal being. Lyrically, that's all there is to it. Not that I don't love the lyrics or the message, it just isn't too complicated. He's fucking pissed and he's willing and eager to destroy his vocal cords to get that message across.
Musically, this is easily my favorite hard-rock song they've done. I never liked StBC, which I always compare to this, because it lacks the emotional anger of Blood and therefore loses a lot of its impact. Blood, however, is emotionally-charged and full of pure adrenaline-filled awesomeness. Ed's vocals are absolutely perfect, and only Ed circa 1992 could scream like that. He can't shred like he used to, although the song is still pretty fucking awesome live (anyone heard the Lexington '03 version? I was there for that one and it's still my favorite) and he sounds fine, but hearing this song on record and really listening to his voice is impressive. His scream was so fucking hard and so beautifully pure. It's hard to imagine that a song filled with such heavy guitars and Dave A's awesome drumming, which would overwhelm any other vocalist, is still somehow totally owned by his voice. That's not to discount the loud and messy guitar work and frantic drumming only contribute and lift this song into the hard-rock hall of awesome. Damn, I love this song.
People bought Vs. because they liked Jeremy (and all the hits from Ten) and thought Daughter was catchy, but it's stuck around for so long because of songs like this. The song is short, sweet, brutal and angry, and sometimes I wish they'd write songs as fast and hard as this again. Sure, Comatose is pretty hard, and I appreciate that, but it's a bit slower and just doesn't have the same bite as Blood (I think the warmer production of the older stuff has something to do with that also).
*Interesting aside: I've heard this mentioned a few times before, and while there's no real proof of it, it's interesting to note. The first line includes the words spin, roll and circus, all of which are oddly enough names (or part of the name) of famous music magazines (Spin, Rolling Stone and Circus, if you didn't get that). Considering the popular interpretation of the song, it isn't much of a stretch, and I wouldn't put it past Ed, but who knows?
Favorite Lyrics:
"Spin me 'round … roll me over … fucking circus." - I love this line and it's perfect at describing all the hoops the media tried to force Ed through back then. The "fucking circus" part is gold.
"Stab it down, fill the pages, suck my fuckin' life out." - I love the metaphors he uses here. They use him to sell magazines, and comparing that to sucking his life out of him, his blood, just to fuel the machine.
"It's my blood." On paper it's simple; but his delivery, with the deliberate separation of each word and his awesome scream, it's an experience.
Oh, and if you couldn't tell, I give this one a 5. Rock on.
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:02 am Posts: 2560 Location: Dallas/Atlanta/Savannah
fun song, I dont like how he would bitch about fame so much, not because its not a valid thing for him to dislike. but I think its a lame subject to obsess over artistically, very intilectually mute.
I guess you had to be there
it is a bit interesting how he pointed out how people misinterpreted him via the 'turn him into one of his enemies' line.
_________________ "is that a fucking pearl jam shirt?" Courtney Love
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 5:13 am Posts: 215 Location: Oslo, Norway
I really enjoyed reading your little article on blood. It is a fantastic song, and I was listening to it last night on the Noblesville 2003 bootleg. The 'suck me dry' tag from the 1996 shows are my favourite versions of this song. Listen to Berlin 96 and you will se what I mean.
I found it interesting what you pointed out in the first line about the three big music magazines. Spin, roll and circus.
Blood into Rearviewmirror, through rats, small town, leash and indifference is my favourite stretch on any pj album. Starting with Eddie on his angriest and ending with Eddie on his most soulful and smoothest.
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 11:00 pm Posts: 13226 Location: Adelaide, AUS
ChristcanIFly wrote:
*Interesting aside: I've heard this mentioned a few times before, and while there's no real proof of it, it's interesting to note. The first line includes the words spin, roll and circus, all of which are oddly enough names (or part of the name) of famous music magazines (Spin, Rolling Stone and Circus, if you didn't get that). Considering the popular interpretation of the song, it isn't much of a stretch, and I wouldn't put it past Ed, but who knows?
I don't think it's even up for debate if that's intentional or not, I think it's pretty damn obvious it is (to me, anyway).
Damn good song, kicked arse then, still doing it now.
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:00 pm Posts: 19826 Location: Alone in a corridor
spenno wrote:
ChristcanIFly wrote:
*Interesting aside: I've heard this mentioned a few times before, and while there's no real proof of it, it's interesting to note. The first line includes the words spin, roll and circus, all of which are oddly enough names (or part of the name) of famous music magazines (Spin, Rolling Stone and Circus, if you didn't get that). Considering the popular interpretation of the song, it isn't much of a stretch, and I wouldn't put it past Ed, but who knows?
I don't think it's even up for debate if that's intentional or not, I think it's pretty damn obvious it is (to me, anyway).
Yeah, I always thought it was pretty obvious as well.
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:52 pm Posts: 1058 Location: Hong Kong
ChristcanIFly wrote:
Blood, however, is emotionally-charged and full of pure adrenaline-filled awesomeness. Ed's vocals are absolutely perfect, and only Ed circa 1992 could scream like that. .
Actually Blood from 95 had THE most powerful screams known to man. He does it great now better than any year other than 95. Those versions blow you away. exhibit A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeDtNr6cxXw
I always thought the line was spin me round....fucking circles
I agree...I thought it was a reference to a vinyl record and that the whole song was a pre-Spin the Black Circle. I personally think Blood's heyday was in 93, although I haven't heard that many 94 versions. The 95 versions sound more like he is clearing his throat for 5 mins. I personally feel like the song begs for Dave A's heavy hitting style. Also, Ed's voice was in the ideal shape to play this in 93, although I've always thought that this song is one of the big reasons his voice is like it is nowadays. But anyways, I think blood could also be their funkiest song, aside from dirty frank.
Joined: Sat Mar 25, 2006 8:26 pm Posts: 736 Location: Sussex by the sea
wegledude wrote:
Theresa wrote:
I always thought the line was spin me round....fucking circles
I agree...I thought it was a reference to a vinyl record and that the whole song was a pre-Spin the Black Circle. I personally think Blood's heyday was in 93, although I haven't heard that many 94 versions. The 95 versions sound more like he is clearing his throat for 5 mins. I personally feel like the song begs for Dave A's heavy hitting style. Also, Ed's voice was in the ideal shape to play this in 93, although I've always thought that this song is one of the big reasons his voice is like it is nowadays. But anyways, I think blood could also be their funkiest song, aside from dirty frank.
I thought that too.
For me this song gets four stars, i like the sentiment behind the song but I dont like PJ 'hard rock' songs that much.
Another moment was when I was at reading this year. They started to play this and it wasn't until afterwards talking that I realised they had played Blood and not STBC!
_________________ I Am Free - I Am Trapped My LastFM
Reading '06, Katowice '07, Wembley '07, Copenhagen '07, London O2 '09, London '10, Arras '10
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2005 3:29 am Posts: 199 Location: US
Junco Partner wrote:
fun song, I dont like how he would bitch about fame so much, not because its not a valid thing for him to dislike. but I think its a lame subject to obsess over artistically, very intellectually mute.
I know in my write-up I tried to convey the pressure they were under, but I still hate this too. I HATE when famous people bitch about the pressures of fame and all that crap. It's tedious, impossible to relate to and usually only alienates your audience.
I've made an exception to this song b/c the lyrics are vague enough to be interpreted otherwise and they're obviously not meant to be focused on. Like I said, it's just an excuse to rock out.
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
great write up. Still such a fun song live, even if the subject matter hasn't held up as well. Nothing to add here
3.5 stars, but I'll bump it up to 4 cuz it is great live.
_________________ "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
any guesses what eddie mumbles during the outro?
_________________ "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
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