Pearl Jam "Black"

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It's a little mumbly. I totally get why it made me sob in middle school but it still seems weird that it won SPIN's Top 100 Songs Ever poll in 1993 or something. Do you wish they'd made a video? As a kid I thought it was about being too shy to tell some girl he liked his feelings, but I think I was projecting any distinct Krakow-ism. Now I'm not sure what its about, aside from the unrequited sun-in-sky stuff.

Classic, btw.

― miccio (miccio), Friday, 4 November 2005 06:57 (nineteen years ago)

I'd like to think the video would have been identical to Bon Jovi's "Always."

― miccio (miccio), Friday, 4 November 2005 07:00 (nineteen years ago)

None of those watery slow songs on Ten ever did anything for me. In fact, the whole second side of the cassette remained almost unplayed in my dorm room/car.

I think it was all the fretless bass that turned me off.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Friday, 4 November 2005 07:03 (nineteen years ago)

Classic.

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Friday, 4 November 2005 07:04 (nineteen years ago)

Sheets of empty canvas, untouched sheets of clay
Were laid spread out before me as her body once did
All five horizons revolved around her soul
As the earth to the sun
Now the air I tasted and breathed has taken a turn
Ooh, and all I taught her was everything
Ooh, I know she gave me all that she wore
And now my bitter hands chafe beneath the clouds
Of what was everything?
Oh, the pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything...
I take a walk outside
I’m surrounded by some kids at play
I can feel their laughter, so why do I sear
Oh, and twisted thoughts that spin round my head
I’m spinning, oh, I’m spinning
How quick the sun can, drop away
And now my bitter hands cradle broken glass
Of what was everything
All the pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything...
All the love gone bad turned my world to black
Tattooed all I see, all that I am, all I’ll ever be...yeah...

Uh huh...uh huh...ooh...
I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life, I know you’ll be a star
In somebody else’s sky, but why
Why, why can’t it be, why can’t it be mine

bro got dumped, bro is down, not even kids make him smile. he'll be okay in about a week when he's fingerblasting some cheerleader.

― gear (gear), Friday, 4 November 2005 07:19 (nineteen years ago)

wow, I never actually knew what he said until now!

But it's Eddie Vedder, so a song about getting dumped doesn't seem "heavy" enough. The girl probably died and lived a shitty, abused life up until then.

Song=classic, though.

― Lingbertt, Friday, 4 November 2005 07:46 (nineteen years ago)

Boo hoo histrionica.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 4 November 2005 07:51 (nineteen years ago)

it still seems weird that it won SPIN's Top 100 Songs Ever poll in 1993

Huh?
Spin ... 1993 ... best ever ... Pearl Jam ...
That's not weird at all.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Friday, 4 November 2005 08:40 (nineteen years ago)

Shit.

Remember Eddy and his ludicrous hand dinosaur?

― The Velvet Overlord (The Velvet Overlord), Friday, 4 November 2005 08:58 (nineteen years ago)

hand dinosaur?

― Lingbertt, Friday, 4 November 2005 09:12 (nineteen years ago)

I don't want to say it because I have a great attachment to this song, but it's a dud. All the things I once liked about it are now getting on my nerves just with me imagining the song in my head. Eddie's over-emoting was never worse than it was here. I will say that it's a minor dud at worst, and if I only hear it maybe once in a two or three month period, it's a welcome little familiarity. "Tattooed everything...doo doo doo doo doodoo doo!"

― Doctor Casino, Friday, 4 November 2005 09:28 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, hand dinosaur. Arms folded, with one hand poking out, fingers pointing toward the floor. This move was copped by the lead singer from silverchair in one of their first clips.

Much as pearl jam sucked back then, I feel some kind of grudging respect for them these days. At least I dont HAVE to hear them now.

― The Velvet Overlord (The Velvet Overlord), Friday, 4 November 2005 10:21 (nineteen years ago)

is the 5th horizon the universal vagina, laid out before Eddy's capturing yet fragmented mind, like the chick was once, clay and canvas for the cock of MTV to thrust?

― Queen Gooononme, Friday, 4 November 2005 10:27 (nineteen years ago)

This is the only song I can listen to from Ten.

― Lingbertt, Friday, 4 November 2005 10:52 (nineteen years ago)

I like the piano.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Friday, 4 November 2005 14:26 (nineteen years ago)

"Ocean" and "Release" are better but "Black" is all about the coda, which works much better than, say, "Layla." And I don't care what you think.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 4 November 2005 14:43 (nineteen years ago)

That is so OTM, Ned.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Friday, 4 November 2005 14:59 (nineteen years ago)

fingerblasting a cheerleader

― bingo (Chris V), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:05 (nineteen years ago)

I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life, I know you’ll be a star
In somebody else’s sky, but why
Why, why can’t it be, why can’t it be mine

total classic.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:26 (nineteen years ago)

This is still my favorite Pearl Jam song.

"Daughter" came on the radio yesterday and I was amused that my all-pop-all-the-time wife knew it an order of magnitude better than I did.

― Dan (Doo-Doo Doo Doo Doo-Doo-Doo) Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:32 (nineteen years ago)

Dr. Bill is right, those lines are classic. Absolutely classic.

Everything else about that song is shit.

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:40 (nineteen years ago)

I'd look up the story I posted here about a dormmate that came into my room while this was on & just sat in front of the tape player, reminiscing about a lap dance he rec'd to "Black," but that's pretty much the story right there, so I'm not gonna bother.

&, sure, classic. WTF, _Ten_ = classic. Yay for arena mope.

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:44 (nineteen years ago)

Classic enough that I am going right now to get Ten out of the CD rack.

― Stuck to a Seat in the New Beverly (Bent Over at the Arclight), Friday, 4 November 2005 15:59 (nineteen years ago)

I prefer Black pt. 2 - "Light Years"

― van igloo (van smack), Friday, 4 November 2005 18:16 (nineteen years ago)

I was way into Pearl Jam when I was in high school, and I never really liked this song very much. It hasn't really done better with me over time either. It's okay, but it's pretty meh compared to loads of other really awesome Pearl Jam songs. Technically it's a classic, but I don't care very much about it.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Friday, 4 November 2005 18:18 (nineteen years ago)

Everything else about that song is shit.

I'd hardly say that.

I love "Light Years," too, the only strongly above-average track on Binaural. Man, this thread makes me wanna whip out Rearviewmirror again.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Friday, 4 November 2005 18:19 (nineteen years ago)

"Light Years" is definitely the best song on Binaural, but it's not the only good one - "Soon Forget" and "Grievance" are pretty good too.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Friday, 4 November 2005 18:21 (nineteen years ago)

don't remember those. Not a very memorable album.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Friday, 4 November 2005 18:22 (nineteen years ago)

Pearl Jam got better the more albums they released (and as their sales declined). No Code, Yield, and Riot Act contain some of their songs.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Friday, 4 November 2005 18:38 (nineteen years ago)

xpost

No, it most certainly is not a memorable album. They really hit a wall after Yield.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Friday, 4 November 2005 18:39 (nineteen years ago)

No Code, Yield, and Riot Act contain some of their songs.

This is an absolutely true statement.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 4 November 2005 18:40 (nineteen years ago)

It's true though, No Code, Yield, and Riot Act do feature some of their songs. The former two have good ones, the latter is a grab bag of dull tracks, so-so numbers, and a couple of keepers.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Friday, 4 November 2005 18:41 (nineteen years ago)

I'd agree strongly that Binaural is generally unmemorable and same-y. But I'll defend Nothing As It Seems to the bitter end. I also like the one that's like "BIG GUY! BIG EYE! WATCHIN' MEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

― Doctor Casino, Friday, 4 November 2005 18:42 (nineteen years ago)

"BIG GUY BIG EYE" should've been the final title for "Grievance."

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Friday, 4 November 2005 18:43 (nineteen years ago)

I am amazed and thrilled that my grammatical error has provoked such inspired commentary.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Friday, 4 November 2005 18:47 (nineteen years ago)

I do like No Code a bit, and Riot Act is an above-average album that's probably their best since NC. However, to me, Pearl Jam always was and always will be a singles band (and I'd rank Rearviewmirror as one of the twenty or so most indispensible hits comps in rock)

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Friday, 4 November 2005 18:48 (nineteen years ago)

This song is pretty good. The piano IS awesome as someone pointed out.

I love that "Old Woman Behind a Counter..." one too, it's a good REM rip off.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Friday, 4 November 2005 18:50 (nineteen years ago)

"I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life, I know you’ll be a star"

Sorry, don't know how to do italics, but I always thought he said "I know you'll be the sun" It worked much better during high school heartbreak. "THE SUN" is so much more than "a star."

― matt2 (matt2), Friday, 4 November 2005 18:53 (nineteen years ago)

Pearl Jam got better the more albums they released (and as their sales declined). No Code, Yield, and Riot Act contain some of their songs.

I think they really achieved greatness when they were working with Neil Young. Pearl Jam's greatest moment comes from the Merkinball EP. "I Got Shit" is arguably their greatest song.

― van igloo (van smack), Friday, 4 November 2005 19:27 (nineteen years ago)

I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life, I know you’ll be a star
In somebody else’s sky, but why
Why, why can’t it be, why can’t it be mine?

What a question!!
Absolute Classic!

― elgolfo (elgolfo), Friday, 4 November 2005 23:17 (nineteen years ago)

"I Got Shit" is definitely one of their three or four best songs.

I maintain that their best album is Vitalogy.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Saturday, 5 November 2005 13:22 (nineteen years ago)

I agree with Bill insofar as PJ never released an album that was truly great, let alone flawless. Throw their best 12-15 songs together and you've got an unimpeachable classic, but even their best albums always had more than a few bombs, and not like an acceptable 1 or 2 but ususally at least 4 or 5.

I don't know if we've done a POX on these fuckers but mine would be -

Black
Dissident
I Got Id
Corduroy
Immortality
Red Mosquito
Given to Fly
Light Years
Grievance
Yellow Ledbetter

― Josh Love (screamapillar), Saturday, 5 November 2005 13:48 (nineteen years ago)

I've heard way too many frat/football dudes sing bar-kareoke to this song for me to take it seriously. One thing I noticed is that normally the only part anyone sings correctly is the "star in somebody else's sky but why" part mentioned earlier.

I remember the MTV Unplugged version being cool though. So if my memory is serving correctly, I'll stamp it with classic.

― billstevejim (billstevejim), Saturday, 5 November 2005 14:25 (nineteen years ago)

The MTV Unplugged version is way better; he alters the melody in the second verse in a way that is more appealing to me.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Saturday, 5 November 2005 15:01 (nineteen years ago)

PJ POX:

Black
Footsteps
Yellow Ledbetter
Last Exit
Corduroy
Rearviewmirror
Elderly Woman...
I Got ID
Light Years
Save You

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Saturday, 5 November 2005 16:08 (nineteen years ago)

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Pearl Jam "Black" - C or D?