Post subject: SOTM #86: You can't be neutral on a moving train
Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2007 8:23 pm
Epitome of cool
Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2004 5:47 am Posts: 27904 Location: Philadelphia Gender: Male
Down
Down. Fall by the wayside... no getting out... Down. Cry me a river... dried up and dammed. The names can be changed... but the place is still the same. I am loaded. Told that all's for naught. Holds me down.
Rise. Life is in motion. I'm stuck in line. Oh rise. You can't be neutral on a moving train. One day... the symptoms fade. Think I'll throw these pills away. And if hope could grow from dirt like me. It can be done.
Won't let the light escape from me. Won't let the darkness swallow me.
Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2004 5:47 am Posts: 27904 Location: Philadelphia Gender: Male
The first time I heard Riot Act in full, I was a bit disappointed. Not because I disliked the album, because I still find it to be a good yet flawed piece of music. My disappointment stemmed from the high hopes promised by the I Am Mine single—the title track and a b-side no one had heard of before called Down. I remember thinking, “If the new record is so good that this gem is relegated to b-side status, I am in for a major fucking experience with this new album.†Sadly, this was not the case.
Down (much like the other two Riot Act b-sides) had every right to make the cut. Such is the frustration at times of being a Pearl Jam fan.
As stated in the Lost Dogs liner notes, Down was inspired by the writings of political activist Howard Zinn. The line “You can’t be neutral on a moving train†is actually “borrowed†from the title of one of his books (which I highly recommend reading, by the way). Down is about a call to action, much like the book that inspired the aforementioned line, but on a more personal level as opposed to a socio-political one.
The song basically contains three parts: the feeling of negativity, the prosperity of hope, and finally the narrator’s declaration of hope. As the song begins, the narrator feels trapped (“No getting outâ€) and hopeless (“I am loaded, told that all’s for naught/Holds me downâ€). Why does he feel this way? Well, pick your poison and welcome to the human condition. Feeling like shit is as inevitable an emotion as they come. Our narrator is beaten, but not quite beat.
Then comes the awakening in part two. “One day the symptoms fade.†This is a peculiar line in as to where the narrator never reveals a catalyst for why the symptoms begin to disappear. Perhaps because there is no explanation. Perhaps life is a question of balance, and “if hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done.†Out of something negative (dirt) stems the positive (hope). Yin and yang, yes? Maybe we can find that balance, but it has to come from within (“Think I’ll throw these pills awayâ€).
In the final part, the narrator chooses hope: “Won’t let the light escape from me/Won’t let the darkness swallow me!†He breaks the argument down to a simple choice, which is life or death (not necessarily literal). There will be no stymieing of a primal, instilled emotion because one of man’s most remarkable abilities and powers is to transcend. But we still have to choose to do so, or it really is all for naught.
The music matches the lyrical content perfectly with its upbeat, driving melody. Though its moderately heavy subject matter, the music is still fun and extremely catchy. It’s a perfect little pop song that I could easily see getting heavy rotation on FM radio. There’s nothing epic about Down, but I find it to be irresistible. Bonus points to the band for translating a rocker extremely well to an acoustic setting (the Benaroya Hall version is great).
5 stars.
_________________ It's always the fallen ones who think they're always gonna save me.
_________________ "Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." -- John Steinbeck
Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2006 7:04 pm Posts: 1875 Location: Atlanta, SE of Disorder Gender: Male
****
Nice little upbeat song with a catchy pop melody. Political in nature but not heavy handed at all. I can't give it a true 5 but a strong 4 for sure.
_________________ From under my lone palm i can look out on the day
I am what most would consider a new Pearl Jam fan... probably 2-3 years. And the best part about being a new fan is I am always discovering new songs. The two ways I tend to discover songs is that I either give a song another chance... a song I didn't like to begin with, but fall in love with it after a few listens(i.e. immortality, gasp!!). But the 2nd way is hearing it for the first time and instantly recognizing it's brilliance. And that is what happened the first time I heard down. I got the Benaroya hall cd for christmas a few years back, and that show being more of a rare song show, I didn't really appreciate most of the songs I didn't really know, off he goes, immortality, all or none etc. But, the first time I heard down, I loved it. What an incredible easy to listen to song. I am baffled on why that song was left off the album. And I do think riot act is a good album, and I do like all the songs, but the only songs I think that are better than down are LBC, I am Mine and All or none. But, that is besides the point, great song and I was ecstatic to hear it live in Chicago this year. Great write up!
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:40 am Posts: 12509 Location: Pittsburgh Gender: Male
inmytree wrote:
5 stars.
_________________ "i'm the crescent, the sickle, so sharp the blade i'm the flick of the shank that opened your veins i'm the dusk, i'm the frightening calm i'm a hole in the pipeline, i'm a road side bomb..."
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