u/Little_Customer986

It seems reception was good enough on my last post to continue the daily song discussions. I plan to start this on Monday August 24th.

The obvious priority is Dark Matter's 11 tracks, but I also wanted to branch out into famous live rarities, live staples, and studio demos (with lyrics, not just instrumentals) to include in the list as well.

Here is my list, let me know if there are any additions, subtractions or corrections before I begin:

Dark Matter
#196: Scared of Fear
#197: React, Respond
#198: Wreckage
#199: Dark Matter
#200: Won’t Tell
#201: Upper Hand
#202: Waiting for Stevie
#203: Running
#204: Something Special
#205: Got to Give
#206: Setting Sun

POTENTIAL ADDITIONS:

Live Rarities / Live Staples
Ramblings a.k.a. "Fuck Me in the Brain" (Vs era from Angel single)
Out of My Mind (Vitalogy era from Not For You single)
Falling Down (No Code era)
Untitled (Yield era)
Turn the Corner (Binaural era)
Back of my Mind (Binaural era)
Foldback/Harmony (Binaural era)
On the Moon (Binaural era)
Paralyzed (Binaural era)
Going Home (Binaural era)

Studio Demos / Outtakes
Sunburn (No Code)
Puzzles & Games (Binaural)
4/20/02 (Riot Act) - This got lumped in with 'Bee Girl' in the original ratings which is not fair
I'm Still Here (Riot Act)
Open Door (Avacado)
10 Billion Years (Avacado)
Cold Confession (Avacado)
Let it Ride (Avacado)

Is there anything I'm missing? Anything that's not worth doing? I figure even if some people don't know these songs, this is a good way for us to discover and talk about them! As you can see I'm excluding covers, and only using original songs with lyrics to make this list.

4 years ago ”beardlesshipster” ran the Daily Song Discussions thread to create a general idea of where fans stand on PJ’s entire catalogue including deep cuts.

Now that we’ve had another record since I think it makes sense to start it again with the 11 tracks of Dark Matter as well as any other Demos and rarities that were missed previously (Cold Confession, etc.)

Is there a demand for this? I would happily run this myself in the same format. A good way to ramp up to their performance and drummer introduction at Ohana next month.

Take a look at the results before to get an idea of where the songs fell on the 1-10 scale: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11feOxqBnOGQhW0jayDUxk6rFQnAdfzacQ7yhLbdbGpQ/edit?usp=drivesdk

Anyone else get this error message when checking your status, even though you clearly fit all the criteria? I tried adjusted income and my gross income, neither number seemed to matter.

Dark Matter is so good, so much better than their last handful of records it makes you wonder what the hell they've been doing since Binaural--which is I believe is the last time a whole record has reached this greatness. No hate on any of the 2000s albums, but DM simply blows them away in songwriting, consistency, and quality (qualms about the production aside, of which, I do see that point).

I have a little theory. I think Andrew Watt stopped the band from stepping on their own feet and being afraid of being 'radio-friendly' and somehow pulled the best material out of them in decades.

We know PJ has definitely self-sabotaged in the past for whatever reasons, avoiding fame, wanting to experiment. But somehow Dark Matter remains creatively experimental while being tight and 'accessible'. It's not as meandering as previous records but still doesn't feel compromised at all. It reminds me of how tight Yield's songs are, where they felt very well-rehearsed and well composed.

Lightning Bolt and Gigaton in contrast sound like an old, tired band. Dark Matter sounds like a band that's invigorated and energetic without losing any of their wisdom or taste in genre. You can hear a lot of the ideas they were going for on Backspacer, Lightning Bolt, and Gigaton actually getting pulled off here: the manic vocal fried poppy rockers of Backspacer, the sweet acoustic songs of Lightning Bolt, and the Binaural-like soundscapes of Gigaton. I like all of those albums, but Dark Matter seems to fully accomplish these ideas in a way that doesn't feel forced and its cohesive as an album.

Some of their best riffs, choruses, solos, drum parts, and vocals in a long time. I liked it after a few listens, but it is now solidified for me as at least a top 6 record for them. Gigaton was better than Lightning Bolt to me, and Dark Matter is better than Gigaton. They keep getting better and better.

I don't know about everyone else but I'm very very excited for the next stuff they put out given Dark Matter's quality. Add to that a fresh drummer with some new energy, it's like they are back to life. Never thought I'd say that about PJ.

Title says it. Were MLB and Andy Wood popularized more after Andy’s death and Pearl Jam exploding, or were they genuinely well known outside of the Seattle scene as alt rock pioneers?

It seems now the consensus is that most fans have this album in their top 3, and many of us find it superior to Ten. But what was the reaction at the time? The stripped-down raw sound, the punk aggression, the sound experiments (WMA, Indifference), and of course the acoustic songs.

Was it received with a warm welcome in 1993? Was it seen as a disappointment or a promising direction for the future?

Interested to hear people's thoughts who were around back then.

I found this old commercial from what seems like MTV australia or Europe (bad at telling accents), and I was freeze-framing to look at details and I found this FASCINATING image... it looks like the back of the album as it is with side A and B written over the polaroids. Side A seems to be over a different image than on the final cover, but side B's tracks are over the same picture of the man's legs. Here is the tracklist:

1. Sometimes
2. Habit
3. Who You Are
4. In My Tree
5. Smile
6. Hail, Hail
7. I'm Open
8. Red Mosquito
9. Lukin
10. Mankind
11. Black & Red & Yellow (different spelling than on the 'Hail, Hail' single)
12. All Night

Obviously, some notable fan favorites are missing in 'Off He Goes' and 'Present Tense'. Plus 'Around the Bend'. Makes me wonder if in this hypothetical tracklist there would've been a 3rd side of the record?

Link to the full commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4cSQ3sCFcs

Anyone ever seen this before or heard of this? Interesting that this ad came out just one week before the release of the album... you wonder where the creator of the ad got the images from, early packaging of the album?

This confirms to me that the band intended to make a harder-rocking album but pivoted last minute to change the tracklist, similar to how they changed Binaural last minute for different reasons. I've always thought Habit going on Side B was a strange choice for the band, as they usually open with the heavier tracks. Cool to see a different version of the album.

Everyone forgets about Stone 😢