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I love the moody vibe of this one, and think the "chorus" and bridge parts are awesome. I really don't care for the lyrics though; Eddie does not excel at this type of songwriting IMO, and in a song like this the clunky lines and bad metaphors are right there in the foreground, impossible to ignore.
3 out of 5 stars for me -- mid-tier Gigaton.
*I now realize I basically said this same thing 3.5 years ago, at the top of the previous page. Man, it does not feel like almost 4 years ago that this album came out.
I love the moody vibe of this one, and think the "chorus" and bridge parts are awesome. I really don't care for the lyrics though; Eddie does not excel at this type of songwriting IMO, and in a song like this the clunky lines and bad metaphors are right there in the foreground, impossible to ignore.
3 out of 5 stars for me -- mid-tier Gigaton.
*I now realize I basically said this same thing 3.5 years ago, at the top of the previous page. Man, it does not feel like almost 4 years ago that this album came out.
Even "overdosed on gamma rays"?
"What's he say, what's it say back?" is a tongue-twister.
I've never known another rock song to represent Native American forefathers so prominently in conjunction with death looming over us all, while at the same time concerned with how much time we don't have left to fix everything. But my music rock music knowledge is probably less than 10% of the RM master poster that is KD.
I've never known another rock song to represent Native American forefathers so prominently in conjunction with death looming over us all, while at the same time concerned with how much time we don't have left to fix everything. But my music rock music knowledge is probably less than 10% of the RM master poster that is KD.
Aw, that's nice of you to say, but probably not true -- I just take way longer to get to the point most of the time
I've never viewed the lyrics of the song through the lens you describe above; maybe that would change my perception of it! As it is, I appreciate various sentiments within the song, but I find the execution overwhelmingly clunky -- really bizarre syntax (a recurring weakness in EV's writing, not unique to this song, but certainly on full display here), hackneyed metapors (both the one about killing his despondency and the one about clipping the butterfly's wings just really feel amateur-ish to me, bad poetry class stuff), and a shining focus on all of it. That focus is really its Achilles' heel; it's possible that songs like "Who Ever Said" and "Never Destination" (to name two other wordy songs on Gigaton) have the same problem, but the specific words are somewhat buried by the pace and frenzy of the performances, such that they are easier to disregard at whatever level one might be so inclined. Not dissimilar to what Stip has said in the past about "Nothing As It Seems," "Seven O'Clock" gives a lot of "deep song ahead, please silence your devices while Pastor Vedder teaches us the meaning of life" warnings, and then proceeds to shine a light on Eddie as he delivers a lecture of platitudes. The "gamma rays" lyric on its own doesn't bother me -- it's kind of a striking image, as some others in the song are -- but as part of that big, messy whole, it just feels like one more thing he trips over.
I also don't like the way he goes UP! during certain parts of the melody -- "under an oh-WAY-sis," "I was fully GRATE-ful," "fucked up situ-WAY-tion," etc. It feels like such an unnatural disruption of an otherwise fluid melody, like he is suddenly startled by a mouse running across his feet or something. Kind of aesthetically graceless from a musical perspective.
All of this feels very negative and it's not meant to be, I genuinely love the atmospheric feel of the song, and the non-verse parts -- honestly, I can't think of another Pearl Jam song that has such a wide gulf between the parts I like about it and the parts I dislike about it. If "Seven O'Clock" was just an instrumental jam during the verses and left the other parts as they are, it would probably be my favorite thing on the record. And this is from someone who is a big fan of Dylan, Springsteen, etc., and (obviously!) has no issue with wordiness in general. It's just not where Eddie's strengths lie as a writer, IMO.
Last edited by Kevin Davis on Fri October 27, 2023 5:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Joined: Thu December 13, 2012 6:31 pm Posts: 39932
Kevin Davis wrote:
Leatherhead wrote:
I've never known another rock song to represent Native American forefathers so prominently in conjunction with death looming over us all, while at the same time concerned with how much time we don't have left to fix everything. But my music rock music knowledge is probably less than 10% of the RM master poster that is KD.
Aw, that's nice of you to say, but probably not true -- I just take way longer to get to the point most of the time
I've never viewed the lyrics of the song through the lens you describe above; maybe that would change my perception of it! As it is, I appreciate various sentiments within the song, but I find the execution overwhelmingly clunky -- really bizarre syntax (a recurring weakness in EV's writing, not unique to this song, but certainly on full display here), hackneyed metapors (both the one about killing his despondency and the one about clipping the butterfly's wings just really feel amateur-ish to me, bad poetry class stuff), and a shining focus on all of it. That focus is really its Achilles' heel; it's possible that songs like "Who Ever Said" and "Never Destination" (to name two other wordy songs on Gigaton) have the same problem, but the specific words are somewhat buried by the pace and frenzy of the performances, such that they are easier to disregard at whatever level one might be so inclined. Not dissimilar to what Stip has said in the past about "Nothing As It Seems," "Seven O'Clock" gives a lot of "deep song ahead, please silence your devices while Pastor Vedder teaches us the meaning of life" warnings, and then proceeds to shine a light on Eddie as he delivers a lecture of platitudes. The "gamma rays" lyric on its own doesn't bother me -- it's kind of a striking image, as some others in the song are -- but as part of that big, messy whole, it just feels like one more thing he trips over.
I also don't like the way he goes UP! during certain parts of the melody -- "under an oh-WAY-sis," "I was fully GRATE-ful," "fucked up situ-WAY-tion," etc. It feels like such an unnatural disruption of an otherwise fluid melody, like he is suddenly startled by a mouse running across his feet or something. Kind of aesthetically graceless from a musical perspective.
All of this feels very negative and it's not meant to be, I genuinely love the atmospheric feel of the song, and the non-verse parts -- honestly, I can't think of another Pearl Jam song that has such a wide gulf between the parts I like about it and the parts I dislike about it. If "Seven O'Clock" was just an instrumental jam during the verses and left the other parts as they are, it would probably be my favorite thing on the record. And this is from someone who is a big fan of Dylan, Springsteen, etc., and (obviously!) has no issue with wordiness in general. It's just where Eddie's strengths lie as a writer, IMO.
I do like that second verse, certainly more than you do - I am into the wakefulness sentiment of the verses (and I like the melody - though I agree the bits that go up in register for a moment don't necessarily need to be there) that it works for me, or at least I don't find it distracting - but Eddie is always less effective when he is being obvious than when he is being slightly oblique - at least in a sustained way. The chorus writing is certainly stronger.
I've never known another rock song to represent Native American forefathers so prominently in conjunction with death looming over us all, while at the same time concerned with how much time we don't have left to fix everything. But my music rock music knowledge is probably less than 10% of the RM master poster that is KD.
I also don't like the way he goes UP! during certain parts of the melody ... like he is suddenly startled by a mouse running across his feet or something.
I do quite like this song musically, it's only Ed's contribution (both the wordiness and po-faced, sermon-like quality) that craters the song for me.
I also don't like the way he goes UP! during certain parts of the melody ... like he is suddenly startled by a mouse running across his feet or something.
I do quite like this song musically, it's only Ed's contribution (both the wordiness and po-faced, sermon-like quality) that craters the song for me.
You speak the truth. The music it almost overcomes some of Ed's worst moments.
While I can appreciate the lyrics being somewhat amateurish, when dealing with Covid and a mother dying of cancer ....hearing pastor Vedder sing "swim sideways from this undertow, and do not be deterred" is the most important thing this guy needed to hear and sing along to
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