Binaural March 19, 2006
Posted by clydefro in : Music , trackback
Released in May of 2000, Pearl Jam’s Binaural
The album starts out with a couple of speedy bursts of frenetic energy in the songs “Breakerfall” and “Gods’ Dice.” Despite being two of the weaker songs on the album, both tracks are highly listenable and hold up after repeated spins. The latter, written by bassist Jeff Ament, is particularly interesting lyrically and improves when played live. Lead singer Eddie Vedder’s maniacal primate laugh on the song has been a highlight of some of the live versions (e.g. Nashville ‘03). The album’s third track “Evacuation” was written by drummer Matt Cameron who made his studio debut here as a band member. While probably my least favorite song on Binaural, “Evacuation” has managed to grow on me over the years. I’m still not crazy about the song title being repeated throughout, but the rest of what’s going on is great.
Track number four is “Light Years,” a sweet, but almost maudlin ode to a departed friend. The repeated chorus is catchy but has never struck me as very interesting. I know some fans love this song, but it’s not a personal favorite. The remainder of the album is what sets Binaural apart and elevates it to underrated classic status. “Nothing As It Seems” was the lead single and never really caught on. That’s no big surprise, however, given the song’s length at over five minutes and the fact that it sounds like nothing that was on the radio at the time. Not a ballad, anthem, or straight rocker, “Nothing As It Seems” puts the listener in a dreamlike state of strong lyrics (written by Ament) and hypnotic vocals, mixed with both Mike McCready’s shredding electric guitar and Stone Gossard’s haunting acoustic contribution. It’s a very strong effort, but an ill-chosen selection for a first single.
Binaural also followed on the heels of “Last Kiss,” a charity single that improbably became the band’s biggest radio success. While not as catchy or radio friendly as “Last Kiss,” the sixth track on Binaural, “Thin Air” seems like a perfect fit for mass enjoyment yet was never released as a single. Written by guitarist Stone Gossard, “Thin Air” is a love song that manages to refrain from being overly sentimental or gushingly saccharine. It’s a testament to maintaining faithfulness in a relationship and loving your partner and the song is truly beautiful. In fact, it may be the prettiest love song in Pearl Jam’s ever-growing catalog. That it was not a “Top-40 smash” remains somewhat of a mystery. There are many possibilities such as the band’s unwillingness to continue in the “Last Kiss” direction or perhaps they didn’t desire another radio hit at the time, as has seemingly been the case throughout their career.
During the fall 2005 Canadian tour, Vedder commented that “Insignificance,” the seventh track on Binaural, was written about the Washington-based company Boeing, who make planes that are used by the military in bombing raids. Workers seeking an honest paycheck go to the Boeing factory everyday to make these planes that will be used to kill hundreds of people. Aside from the song’s bold and thoughtful message, “Insignificance” is also an impressive listen from a musical standpoint. It’s a great live song and the band tends to play it more frequently than almost any other on this album. Skipping ahead to track nine, “Grievance” works as a companion piece to “Insignificance.” These two are probably the most overtly political or social songs on the album, as well as being the two songs most easily categorized as traditional Pearl Jam “rock” songs. “Grievance,” though, is clearly concerned with the societal trade-offs we make in the name of technology. “For every tool they lend us a loss of independence,” Vedder sings. I really love this line and not just because it has a clever rhyme in it. It represents my own personal views and it rings true. However, as always with Pearl Jam, strong lyrics need an equally strong musical complement and “Grievance” delivers that also. Both “Insignificance” and “Grievance” were written by Vedder and his anger becomes contagious when you hear the songs. Both songs can be very inspiring to careful listeners and it’s interesting to observe how the years have allowed Vedder to channel his anger and frustration from the angst-ridden songs of Ten and Vs. to the more mature lyrics found on Binaural.
“Of the Girl” and “Rival,” tracks eight and ten, respectively, were both written by Stone Gossard. The former has seemingly simple lyrics about a man approaching middle age who can’t shake thoughts of a past love. The brilliance of the song, though, is the haunting music that accompanies the lyrics. It weaves a mysterious and tortured web that serves as a perfect reminder of Pearl Jam’s almost unmatched versatility. It probably should have been the album’s first song and is a frequent opener at the band’s concerts. Like a second glass of wine, “Of the Girl” has an uncanny knack for setting just the right mood. “Rival,” in contrast, begins with a growling dog and continues by giving the listener an appropriate level of uneasiness given the song’s subject matter. Parenthetically titled “Growing Up Gay in Littleton,” the song is written from the point of view of the troubled and murderous high school students who killed many of their teachers and classmates at Columbine High School in April 1999. Surprisingly, “Rival” was never controversial or even really mentioned by media outside of album reviews. Regardless, it’s a fascinating song whether you listen carefully to the lyrics or simply take it as just another track on the album. Leaving the attentive listener jarred and unable to relax, “Rival” is an essential companion to the band’s well-known “Jeremy” from its first album, Ten.
The strongest track on Binaural is its eleventh, the beautiful “Sleight of Hand.” Combining Vedder’s lyrics and Ament’s music, the song is a masterpiece of unfulfilled hopes and dreams. It asks what can we do when we find ourselves stuck in a monotonous life that our younger selves never would have wanted. Is it possible to really break away and start anew? “Sleight of Hand” is bathed in lush and dreamlike sounds that give the listener a perfect sense of how it feels to yearn for a different, more exciting life. In a lot of ways, it’s unlike anything the band has done before or since. Existential themes may be explored in other songs in Pearl Jam’s catalog, but never with the poignancy or longing found in “Sleight of Hand.”
The penultimate track consists of Eddie Vedder and a ukulele. Musically, “Soon Forget” is Vedder’s homage to his hero Pete Townshend’s song “Blue, Red and Grey.” Lyrically, it lambastes the rich and materialistic who try to hide behind their wealth in hopes of finding happiness. The song is an interesting departure that Vedder tends to butcher whenever played live. Butcher may be too strong of a word, but he frequently struggles to finish it. Regardless, I can’t fault the band for including the song because it has its heart in the right place, even if I still have trouble keeping a straight face when listening to Vedder sing the lines “he’s lying dead clutching Benjamins.” There’s also an interesting parallel here to The Great Gatsby, intentional or not, with references to a mechanic, a giant house and townsfolk, and, finally, the death of the song’s subject.
The album concludes with “Parting Ways,” a song about a couple who have drifted apart from each other and can see their futures will probably not be spent together. It’s impossible not to inject a little bit of Vedder’s personal life into the song’s theme since his marriage ended shortly afterwards. The song itself is a moody, well-done piece of music. In my mind, it doesn’t hold up to repeated listens as much as other songs on the album. I hear the crashing sounds in the song and think of the two people in a relationship crashing into one another with each argument. That’s not something I like to revisit, but it’s not reflective on the song’s merits which are extensive. Several seconds of dead air follow “Parting Ways” and lead to audio of typewriter keys being struck. This has been dubbed “Writer’s Block” and it creeps me out, to be honest. I would not recommend falling asleeep to the album and having the eerie sounds and beeps of the typewriter welcome you back to the land of the coherent.
The Binaural story does not end here, however. Somewhere around late 2001-early 2002, three songs that had been left off the album mysteriously leaked onto the internet. Maybe even more mysterious, though, is their absence from Binaural given the strength of the songs. “Sad,” “Fatal,” and “Education” eventually showed up on the B-sides album Lost Dogs, released in November 2003. Among the Pearl Jam fan community, “Sad” is especially well-regarded. Originally titled “Letter to the Dead,” the song is about a man having difficulty accepting his lover’s death. The band has begun performing the song live and it’s a terrific addition. “Fatal” was penned by Gossard and is a beautiful acoustic number that I can’t claim to fully understand. I know that I like it tremendously, but I’m not sure what it’s about or what “the answers are fatal” means. The almost equally enigmatic “Education,” written by Vedder, is an interesting song that seems to possibly be about the state of the world and the country and whether personal opinions and beliefs are justified or meaningful. All in all, these three songs are superb and it seems odd they didn’t make it onto Binaural.
It should be noted that Binaural takes its name from the type of recording process used which allows the careful listener an enhanced audio experience when using headphones, especially ones of higher quality. I don’t consider myself an audiophile so that is the extent of my knowledge. It’s interesting that Pearl Jam chose Tchad Blake to produce this album, yet they have not worked with him again on their subsequent projects. It is unclear whether the band was unhappy with his production or just feel more comfortable with Adam Kasper and Brendan O’Brien, who have produced the bulk of their catalog.
Nearly six years since its release, Binaural has aged extremely well. The sounds and emotions both on the surface and buried amidst the music reward the listener with each spin. One of Pearl Jam’s greatest strengths is their collective talent showcased throughout the album that allows for each band member’s figurative voice to be heard. Instead of Eddie Vedder writing each song and having Pearl Jam serve as his mouthpiece, each individual musician contributes important and interesting pieces for their albums. This allows the band to consistently grow and evolve while continuing to make great, thought-provoking albums.
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