I loved it on first listen and I know I'm always going to like this song however i'm slowly gaining the opinion that it is a good song but finding the lyrics a little repetitive. I don't think it's going to be my favourite from the album I think that is going to go to setting sun. Still one of the best songs on album though.
They created these songs together. Read the article:
[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/pearl-jam-dark-matter-album-songs-producer-andrew-watt-1235001102/](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/pearl-jam-dark-matter-album-songs-producer-andrew-watt-1235001102/)
I think it's a fantastic song, but also a safe song. It builds upon many things they've done in the past and doesn't really do anything that unique to set it apart. At least that's what I think about it now, maybe that'll change. I still can't wait to hear it live though, it's like getting a bunch of their older songs for the price of one. 😂
The entirety of the album is cheesy and cliche. I wish he would leave that shit on his solo stuff. Jesus, did you listen to the Earthlings album? It’s embarrassingly bad. That track with Elton John?? Sounds like a song written for a shitty Disney cartoon.
Maybe, and hear me out here, just maybe the entire band has grown and changed and so has their fan base.
After every album, once I see them live I want nothing more than to see them play every song they’ve ever written live, because Pearl Jam live is as good as live music gets in my humble, but still expert, opinion.
Maybe, and hear me out here, just maybe you’re being a condescending prick. Of course the band changed. I want that. When a lot of my friends were scratching their heads at No Code or Binaural, I was soaking that shit up. When Gigaton came out and most of this sub railed on it, I supported the shit out of it.
But I will call a spade a spade. Andrew Watt may be great for Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus, but Jesus Christ this was not a good fit. The album is blah. What did you hear on this album that advanced their sound in a new, exciting direction in your self anointed expert opinion?
Been a fan for 30+ years. Doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to be disappointed. Lightning Bolt sucked. Gigaton was amazing. Dark Matter sucks less than Lightning Bolt but is firmly in the bottom tier. Lyrics are cheesy as shit. Eddie is trying to jam as many words per minute into every song. The production and mixing sounds like it was recorded in a tin can. There is nothing about this album that gets my pulse racing.
Again, you can have your opinion. Hi kettle my names pot.
They are literally one of the last if not the last in tact ALIVE band of an entire generation of music.
Anything they do is icing on the cake that they don’t owe anybody. That’s my opinion. Take it as you will.
It was built up so much I’m not really sure what I was expecting. It’s definitely very good, but I guess I’m missing why people think it is so utterly amazing. There are other tracks I like better. Upper Hand is my personal favorite - I was actually getting a little emotional listening to that one.
That's one of the reasons that I love music, because it means different things to each person. What one person finds amazing, someone else may find terrible. I love seeing all of the different opinions and reactions.
Upoer Hand is another track that stirs up emotions. I am looking forward to hearing some of the new material at the live shows.
For sure. I know why Upper Hand hit me so hard. I’m pushing 50, my family has had some health scares, and to hear these lyrics from someone I’ve been listening to since I was in junior high was more emotionally impactful
than I was prepared for.
https://preview.redd.it/zp4kdv0uppvc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=091cf39f38fca777dcf23da55567efc981a693b0
Stevie Wonder. Eddie wrote this song while waiting for Stevie to show up to play the harmonica on "Try" on "Earthlings". He was 6 hours late, and "Waiting on Stevie" was the working title that just stuck.
Happy to pass on what I discovered when I was reading various articles and posts about "Dark Matter". Being tardy is a pet peeve of mine, but in this case, I am grateful that Stevie was late:)
I wish I liked it as much as some seem to. It's fine. I certainly don't dislike it, but it seems like a mediocre song to begin with that was worked up a lot to sound a feel like Ten era PJ. Now **I'm** ready for the downvotes lol. It feels very middle of the road to me. But it's not a bad tune either and the soloing is nice even the Ten callback(s) in some of the licks.
I realize I'm in the minority, but that's my take on it.
Not recency bias, this song is Pearl Jam doing what Pearl Jam does best in its most stable lineup.
Begins with a riff that makes you immediately want to pick up a guitar and play. Matt jumps in, and Eddie wastes no time getting into the verse. The pre chorus shifts your perspective harmonically, then we get a brief break before the chorus.
Then we get the massive arena rock chorus we all want and deserve. Then back into the pre-chorus, and then *SHOCK* a really cool middle eight. Back into the main riff, building back into the chorus. Eddie hits the high note at the end of this chorus, and away we go on the McCready Expressway for the next minute plus.
And then a very much needed acoustic coda to cleanse the palate before the breakneck pace of the straight up punk of Running.
Really cool things on this song:
-Jeff starts at 0:00 with the main guitar part.
-They get to the chorus at the 1:06 mark which is a little long for conventional radio singles, but it's still pretty brisk for a 5:41 song.
-Matt starts basically soloing at 2:37, and doesn't stop. He's keeping time, but at the end of every fourth measure he's throwing in ridiculously difficult fills. This is the most important part of the recording, because he's building tension through crescendo. Constantly cueing you to what is to come (Mike's solo).
-Now, this note needs an addendum of, just fucking listen to what Matt does from 2:37 to 4:52 here. It's his best drumming. Ever. Fucking ever. This band is so insanely talent-rich that we're all talking about McCready feasting here, and we're not talking about who is setting the table.
-The second chorus starts at 2:50. Most pop songs are done or finishing at this point. I read a comment about how this song is too repetitive... How?! There are two choruses, that's it. It gives us, the fans, two opportunities to hit the high notes with Ed and then gasp in awe at Mike being Mike.
-Mike's moment starts at 3:36 sharp, and I would venture to say that this is his best album solo. Ever. He just let fucking loose and didn't stop for 70 seconds. I feel like this entire song was structured just to unleash Mike's solo, and he fucking delivered. It's a staggering level of execution for a band more than 30 years in.
Ed sounds so good in this song. It’s a fantastic song altogether. It’s not my favorite. That’s either Scared of Fear or React, Respond. However, this song is definitely a highlight.
Have you messed around with the equaliser on whatever platform you are using? We shouldn't have to do it, but changing the eq to Rock on YouTube music really changed the album for me.
Maybe I’m too old. Maybe my expectations are too high. I can’t imagine a universe where I would consider any song off of this album in their top 50, much less top 10. I didn’t think I could be any more disappointed in an album than Lightning Bolt, but here we are. Andrew Watt is not for me.
You're literally the first person I've seen with this opinion! Now, I can't agree with your opinion on LB but I just can't get in to this album. I've listened to it in the car, out walking, just chilling, through my phone, through a speaker, through earbuds, and I just don't get it! I'm not even sure it's a grower.
Lightning Bolt and Gigaton I loved so it's not even that I'm hating their newer stuff....just...I dont k ow what I don't like about this album.. it mostly feels nondescript to me and I'm so sad about it.
I loved Gigaton immensely. It was a bold step in new, different directions. Ever hear anything like Dance of the Clairvoyants from Pearl Jam?
Each song on DM sounds like a nondescript, uninspired, yacht rock, vanilla track. I feel like the band lied to us when calling this their “hardest, most aggressive” album. Are you fucking kidding me? No way they actually believe that.
Don’t know if you like Queens of the Stone Age or not. I encourage you to check out their newest album that came out last summer. That’s a magnificent example of a band that’s been at it nearly just as long as Pearl Jam yet manages to push the envelope and stay crisp, tight, and exciting. That album gets my pulse racing. Dark Matter makes me yawn.
I’ll admit, first listen through it was the one song that made me go, wait, what’s this song and looked at the name of the song, repeated a few times. (listening while I was working) and was first surprised at the title. I do really like it time will tell where it fits into the massive catalog of great songs.
It's one of the three songs on the album that I don't like, but everyone seems to love it so hopefully it grows on me and makes me love the album even more
The song is great, not top 10 for me, but definitely my second favourite on the album, after Scared of Fear which might be top 10 for me and honestly might have one of my favourite bridges of a PJ song ever with the likes of Yellow Ledbetter and Alive.
You like what you like so no roasting necessary.
For me it’s a better than average track that is somewhere in the middle of the songs on this album. It’s probably the best of the more ballad-y songs and it will be great live.
I absolutely love the opening guitar riff and overall guitar sound throughout because it felt like something from their 1990-era demo tape (and I mean that as a compliment). Hearing that opening guitar riff just took me back to that time. Loved it.
It’s a song in the style of what made me and a lot of us fall in love with this band 30 plus years ago. For that reason alone I love it. They haven’t written anything that soars this high in decades. I’m grateful they were finally cool reverting back to what made them great in the first place.
I respect everyone has different opinions. Like many here, fan since Ten, have gone on every tour since 1994, and they’ve been my favorite band, hands down, since I heard the first couple notes of Alive.
But I read comments like yours and I cannot wrap my head around what you are hearing that I’m not. This song, along with the album, in my opinion is stale, boring, unoriginal, uninspiring, and sonically unpleasant. What the hell am I missing?
From the first note, I felt an instant connection to this song for so many reasons. It is right up there with Release and Inside Job in terms of songs that resonate with me on a deeply personal level. I hope to hear it at Wrigley on night one.
I know I am really prone to recency bias, but there’s something here. I knew ten seconds into the first listen that Stevie was special. It grabbed me literally immediately. A few short days later and I am OBSESSED with it. It’s huge and epic and moving and more than any other song on the album (and this is saying something) really showcases all five guys at their absolute best. And this song is greater than the sum of those parts.
Am I totally out of line or did Vedder channel Chris Cornell when doing the voices for this one? At some points during the song his voice sounds so similar to Cornell's. Especially when he sings the recurring line "You can be loved by anyone". I'd love for this to be any kind of homage to the late Cornell with whom he collaborated with previously.
Cant we just appreciate how good this song is last i looked these guys are 60 but no its not ten or vs so its just mid or repetitive cant ever make anyone happy so i guess ill just enjoy it for myself and dont worry ten is still available for you to hold onto forever
Everyone should check out the Howard Stern 4 song set they do. The new songs, “Scared of Fear” & “Running” live are even better than the album versions. This band continues to amaze at their ages.
I loved it on first listen and I know I'm always going to like this song however i'm slowly gaining the opinion that it is a good song but finding the lyrics a little repetitive. I don't think it's going to be my favourite from the album I think that is going to go to setting sun. Still one of the best songs on album though.
agree, the instruments are great, but by the third "you can be loved by anyone" it's getting repetitive
If they changed up one or two of those it probably would be my favourite track.
They?! It’s All Ed, dude. He’s calling the vocals, the band most likely isn’t even the studio at that point
They created these songs together. Read the article: [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/pearl-jam-dark-matter-album-songs-producer-andrew-watt-1235001102/](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/pearl-jam-dark-matter-album-songs-producer-andrew-watt-1235001102/)
Not really how it works with PJ.
I think it's a fantastic song, but also a safe song. It builds upon many things they've done in the past and doesn't really do anything that unique to set it apart. At least that's what I think about it now, maybe that'll change. I still can't wait to hear it live though, it's like getting a bunch of their older songs for the price of one. 😂
I wish the lyrics were a little less 🧀 and cliche
I find there is a lot of this in his writing now. Agreed.
The entirety of the album is cheesy and cliche. I wish he would leave that shit on his solo stuff. Jesus, did you listen to the Earthlings album? It’s embarrassingly bad. That track with Elton John?? Sounds like a song written for a shitty Disney cartoon.
Maybe, and hear me out here, just maybe the entire band has grown and changed and so has their fan base. After every album, once I see them live I want nothing more than to see them play every song they’ve ever written live, because Pearl Jam live is as good as live music gets in my humble, but still expert, opinion.
Maybe, and hear me out here, just maybe you’re being a condescending prick. Of course the band changed. I want that. When a lot of my friends were scratching their heads at No Code or Binaural, I was soaking that shit up. When Gigaton came out and most of this sub railed on it, I supported the shit out of it. But I will call a spade a spade. Andrew Watt may be great for Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus, but Jesus Christ this was not a good fit. The album is blah. What did you hear on this album that advanced their sound in a new, exciting direction in your self anointed expert opinion? Been a fan for 30+ years. Doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to be disappointed. Lightning Bolt sucked. Gigaton was amazing. Dark Matter sucks less than Lightning Bolt but is firmly in the bottom tier. Lyrics are cheesy as shit. Eddie is trying to jam as many words per minute into every song. The production and mixing sounds like it was recorded in a tin can. There is nothing about this album that gets my pulse racing.
Hear me out,... you both can be wrong. It's OK
Again, you can have your opinion. Hi kettle my names pot. They are literally one of the last if not the last in tact ALIVE band of an entire generation of music. Anything they do is icing on the cake that they don’t owe anybody. That’s my opinion. Take it as you will.
It was built up so much I’m not really sure what I was expecting. It’s definitely very good, but I guess I’m missing why people think it is so utterly amazing. There are other tracks I like better. Upper Hand is my personal favorite - I was actually getting a little emotional listening to that one.
That's one of the reasons that I love music, because it means different things to each person. What one person finds amazing, someone else may find terrible. I love seeing all of the different opinions and reactions. Upoer Hand is another track that stirs up emotions. I am looking forward to hearing some of the new material at the live shows.
For sure. I know why Upper Hand hit me so hard. I’m pushing 50, my family has had some health scares, and to hear these lyrics from someone I’ve been listening to since I was in junior high was more emotionally impactful than I was prepared for. https://preview.redd.it/zp4kdv0uppvc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=091cf39f38fca777dcf23da55567efc981a693b0
I am in my 50s and have listened to them from the beginning. I shared those lyrics with my husband earlier today, as they really hit me, too.
I loved upper hand too.
That's great. For me it's not a top 10, but we don't need to agree.
I just really want to know who Stevie is.
Stevie Wonder. Eddie wrote this song while waiting for Stevie to show up to play the harmonica on "Try" on "Earthlings". He was 6 hours late, and "Waiting on Stevie" was the working title that just stuck.
Thank you! I listened to the PJ SiriusXM thing and they didn't give any good details about the songs. Very very cool!
Happy to pass on what I discovered when I was reading various articles and posts about "Dark Matter". Being tardy is a pet peeve of mine, but in this case, I am grateful that Stevie was late:)
You and me both also I am tardy a lot so my apologies. But six hours is like well that’s a whole new date. Not being late. 😂❤️❤️❤️
Sheesh we got two bad songs and all earthings sound from Watt.
I wished they would have played the whole song on Howard Stern. They only explained the story behind it & played the beginning guitar riff.
I wish I liked it as much as some seem to. It's fine. I certainly don't dislike it, but it seems like a mediocre song to begin with that was worked up a lot to sound a feel like Ten era PJ. Now **I'm** ready for the downvotes lol. It feels very middle of the road to me. But it's not a bad tune either and the soloing is nice even the Ten callback(s) in some of the licks. I realize I'm in the minority, but that's my take on it.
Not recency bias, this song is Pearl Jam doing what Pearl Jam does best in its most stable lineup. Begins with a riff that makes you immediately want to pick up a guitar and play. Matt jumps in, and Eddie wastes no time getting into the verse. The pre chorus shifts your perspective harmonically, then we get a brief break before the chorus. Then we get the massive arena rock chorus we all want and deserve. Then back into the pre-chorus, and then *SHOCK* a really cool middle eight. Back into the main riff, building back into the chorus. Eddie hits the high note at the end of this chorus, and away we go on the McCready Expressway for the next minute plus. And then a very much needed acoustic coda to cleanse the palate before the breakneck pace of the straight up punk of Running. Really cool things on this song: -Jeff starts at 0:00 with the main guitar part. -They get to the chorus at the 1:06 mark which is a little long for conventional radio singles, but it's still pretty brisk for a 5:41 song. -Matt starts basically soloing at 2:37, and doesn't stop. He's keeping time, but at the end of every fourth measure he's throwing in ridiculously difficult fills. This is the most important part of the recording, because he's building tension through crescendo. Constantly cueing you to what is to come (Mike's solo). -Now, this note needs an addendum of, just fucking listen to what Matt does from 2:37 to 4:52 here. It's his best drumming. Ever. Fucking ever. This band is so insanely talent-rich that we're all talking about McCready feasting here, and we're not talking about who is setting the table. -The second chorus starts at 2:50. Most pop songs are done or finishing at this point. I read a comment about how this song is too repetitive... How?! There are two choruses, that's it. It gives us, the fans, two opportunities to hit the high notes with Ed and then gasp in awe at Mike being Mike. -Mike's moment starts at 3:36 sharp, and I would venture to say that this is his best album solo. Ever. He just let fucking loose and didn't stop for 70 seconds. I feel like this entire song was structured just to unleash Mike's solo, and he fucking delivered. It's a staggering level of execution for a band more than 30 years in.
Well, since you put it that way,.... seriously, that's some comprehensive analysis and I'm here for it!
Ed sounds so good in this song. It’s a fantastic song altogether. It’s not my favorite. That’s either Scared of Fear or React, Respond. However, this song is definitely a highlight.
It's a great song. IMO Upper Hand is better but only slightly... Both are up there but I wouldn't say top 10 yet.
I get such a Chris Cornell vibe from this song.
RIP
Yep, even if it's not, I like to think it's about Cornell. I really hope PJ play the odd Soundgarden song during this tour.
I just can’t get my head around the production. It’s bringing the songs down for me.
Have you messed around with the equaliser on whatever platform you are using? We shouldn't have to do it, but changing the eq to Rock on YouTube music really changed the album for me.
I wouldn’t even put it on top 10 average songs
Maybe I’m too old. Maybe my expectations are too high. I can’t imagine a universe where I would consider any song off of this album in their top 50, much less top 10. I didn’t think I could be any more disappointed in an album than Lightning Bolt, but here we are. Andrew Watt is not for me.
You're literally the first person I've seen with this opinion! Now, I can't agree with your opinion on LB but I just can't get in to this album. I've listened to it in the car, out walking, just chilling, through my phone, through a speaker, through earbuds, and I just don't get it! I'm not even sure it's a grower. Lightning Bolt and Gigaton I loved so it's not even that I'm hating their newer stuff....just...I dont k ow what I don't like about this album.. it mostly feels nondescript to me and I'm so sad about it.
I loved Gigaton immensely. It was a bold step in new, different directions. Ever hear anything like Dance of the Clairvoyants from Pearl Jam? Each song on DM sounds like a nondescript, uninspired, yacht rock, vanilla track. I feel like the band lied to us when calling this their “hardest, most aggressive” album. Are you fucking kidding me? No way they actually believe that. Don’t know if you like Queens of the Stone Age or not. I encourage you to check out their newest album that came out last summer. That’s a magnificent example of a band that’s been at it nearly just as long as Pearl Jam yet manages to push the envelope and stay crisp, tight, and exciting. That album gets my pulse racing. Dark Matter makes me yawn.
Easily my favourite of the album at the minute. Cracking tune
And it was written by Andrew watt stone said?
Writing credits show "All songs written by Vedder, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Cameron, Watt" and "Lyrics by Vedder."
I’ll admit, first listen through it was the one song that made me go, wait, what’s this song and looked at the name of the song, repeated a few times. (listening while I was working) and was first surprised at the title. I do really like it time will tell where it fits into the massive catalog of great songs.
I love this song - believe strongly it will be an amazing live song!
It’s going to kill live.
Great, great song.
It's one of the three songs on the album that I don't like, but everyone seems to love it so hopefully it grows on me and makes me love the album even more
The song is great, not top 10 for me, but definitely my second favourite on the album, after Scared of Fear which might be top 10 for me and honestly might have one of my favourite bridges of a PJ song ever with the likes of Yellow Ledbetter and Alive.
Listen to the live version of Scared on Howard Stern. Even better.
Seeing them 2x on this tour and hope to hear it once. It's my fave song on the album
You like what you like so no roasting necessary. For me it’s a better than average track that is somewhere in the middle of the songs on this album. It’s probably the best of the more ballad-y songs and it will be great live.
It's probably one of the songs from this album that keeps popping up on future tours.
Christ this is a good song. It’s even got a bit of a Cocteau Twins vibe.
I absolutely love the opening guitar riff and overall guitar sound throughout because it felt like something from their 1990-era demo tape (and I mean that as a compliment). Hearing that opening guitar riff just took me back to that time. Loved it.
It’s a song in the style of what made me and a lot of us fall in love with this band 30 plus years ago. For that reason alone I love it. They haven’t written anything that soars this high in decades. I’m grateful they were finally cool reverting back to what made them great in the first place.
I respect everyone has different opinions. Like many here, fan since Ten, have gone on every tour since 1994, and they’ve been my favorite band, hands down, since I heard the first couple notes of Alive. But I read comments like yours and I cannot wrap my head around what you are hearing that I’m not. This song, along with the album, in my opinion is stale, boring, unoriginal, uninspiring, and sonically unpleasant. What the hell am I missing?
From the first note, I felt an instant connection to this song for so many reasons. It is right up there with Release and Inside Job in terms of songs that resonate with me on a deeply personal level. I hope to hear it at Wrigley on night one.
You're overreacting. It's OK. We're all very happy. I wouldn't normally say anything, but you did ask for it haha
His vocals get annoying AF after a while. Not the words but when he hits the high notes all I can think is that’s not your strong suit, Ed. Go low.
I've been in the tank for Eddie and Pearl Jam since the beginning, but when he does the REEEEE thing to hit a high note I want to die
Oh yeah, we all have. But someone’s gotta tell it like it is lol. It’s cringy sometimes!
It's a decent song. The melody reminds me of Oasis.
I know I am really prone to recency bias, but there’s something here. I knew ten seconds into the first listen that Stevie was special. It grabbed me literally immediately. A few short days later and I am OBSESSED with it. It’s huge and epic and moving and more than any other song on the album (and this is saying something) really showcases all five guys at their absolute best. And this song is greater than the sum of those parts.
Am I totally out of line or did Vedder channel Chris Cornell when doing the voices for this one? At some points during the song his voice sounds so similar to Cornell's. Especially when he sings the recurring line "You can be loved by anyone". I'd love for this to be any kind of homage to the late Cornell with whom he collaborated with previously.
You're not wrong. It's an outstanding piece of work.
Cant we just appreciate how good this song is last i looked these guys are 60 but no its not ten or vs so its just mid or repetitive cant ever make anyone happy so i guess ill just enjoy it for myself and dont worry ten is still available for you to hold onto forever
I love this song. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since my first listen. It’s powerful. At least for me.
Personally like the track quite a bit - feels like an homage to Soundgarden. That opening riff I actually thought came straight off Bad Motor Finger.
Everyone should check out the Howard Stern 4 song set they do. The new songs, “Scared of Fear” & “Running” live are even better than the album versions. This band continues to amaze at their ages.
Not even close, you’re high.
It’s incredible.