I feel like I'm the only one who likes the opening trio a lot. God's Dice is one of my all time favourite PJ bangers.

Plenty of people enjoy, and even love, the first 3 songs on Binaural.

Sadly, it is still neccessary to ignore attention-seeking retards who will complain over and over that their delicate rawk sensibilities were violated, in situations like this one.

my rawk sensibilities were violated, for sure

I love Gods Dice. Looooove it.

I love the first three songs on Binaural. LOVE.

This is extremely anecdotal, but in the conversations I remember with friends and fans about the record, I've never seen the first three songs singled out. That's something I never would have known about (that it was seen as a knock on the record) were it not for the forums.

Rival is so good. Underrated.

No, I absolutely love it, too. Great work by Jeff and Matt on that song. It's sprinkled with little lovely details. Little guitar licks coming left and right, really cool sounding backing vocals by Ed. Lovely tune all around. This should be the formula for up tempo songs.
Running came up on shuffle afterwards and I had to turn down the volume immediately (Not because I hate the song, because it was way too loud)

my least favourite of the opening trio is Breakerfall (though the instrumentation and arrangement really lift it) but I do think it's a fine opening trio, Evacuation is a top shelf PJ song

lmao

This is the only Pearl Jam album that can create a feeling of dread in me (that's a compliment). Largely due to NAIS, Sleight Of Hand and Parting Ways.

I love the second half of this record much more than the first half. Starting with Insignificance, it's a really great stretch of songwriting and playing. As puerile as Soon Forget is, when it's in between Sleight of Hand and Parting Ways (two absolute gems), it just works.

Light Years is, of course, great.

I like Breakerfall -- it's much better live so I think the studio experimentation harms it.

I love Jeff's bass playing on Gods Dice.

I used to love Nothing As It Seems and I can't put my finger on why it hasn't aged well for me. Perhaps it's because Of The Girl is in that same emotional spectrum and I like it better. The moody shredding on NAIS didn't age as well as the smoky dive bar feel of Mike's playing on Of The Girl I guess.

Rival is great.

As for Evacuation, I don't know that there could ever be enough counter-evidence amassed in 2024 and beyond to outweigh my current belief that Matt Cameron is a weak songwriter who clogs up Pearl Jam records with overly cerebral time signatures. He's 2 for however many at this point and those two I only love for the guitar parts. However, when my oldest was 3 or 4, he got into watching Matt Cameron drumming videos (the ones on Touring Band) so I got a LOT of requests to listen to Evacuation.

The run of songs from "Of the Girl" through "Parting Ways" is my all time favorite run of songs on a Pearl Jam album

Would've loved for Fatal to be on this album

give me moar overly cerebral time signatures

I don’t mind Soon Forget after the heaviness of SOH (both musically and lyrically), Fatal would also work in its place if there was a swap.

As great as Fatal is, i dont see it on this album. I would have loved to see it on Avocado though, kinda feels it belongs there, because its more a direct type of ballad.

On to one the great eras of this band, at least in my estimation. Binaural is a challenging album, in the right sort of way, and the band did all it could to reward fans who stuck around. The b-sides wouldn’t surface until 2004 (unless you got that magical leak), but they stand up every bit to what’s on here. Then you have the Binaural tour, which they released all the shows on CD individually, changing the game for hardcore fans.

The listen:

Binaural: Breakerfall, Gods’ Dice, Evacuation, Light Years, Nothing As It Seems, Thin Air, Insignificance, Of the Girl, Grievance, Rival, Sleight of Hand, Soon Forget, Parting Ways

B-sides: Nothing As It Seems (Jeff demo), Sad, Education, Hitchhiker, In the Moonlight, Fatal, Of the Girl (instrumental), Strangest Tribe, Drifting, Sweet Lew

Live: Seattle, WA 11/6/00: Release, Corduroy, Grievance, Rearviewmirror, Hail Hail, Evacuation, Dissident, Nothing As It Seems, In Hiding, Leatherman, Better Man, Nothingman, Even Flow, Jeremy, Lukin, Not For You, Daughter, Encore Break, Off He Goes, Light Years, Parting Ways, Go, Once, Crazy Mary, Immortality, Alive, Soon Forget, The Kids Are Alright, Baba O’Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

The experience of Binaural is very different than what came before it. Whatever the approach there was that they decided on, abandoned, half-measured, this is maybe the first of their albums that is wonderful, but maybe could have been retracked to create the album feel that the prior 5 had. And yet…the songs themselves here are among my favorites from Pearl Jam. Nothing As It Seems is a revelation for them in much the way Dance of the Clairvoyants was a few years ago, at least for those that have that working memory of a challenging single (amongst the many), in an atmospheric bluesy space, the acoustic guitars haunt while Mike’s big riffs over top provide color and shape - Jeff’s lyrics sung by Eddie providing a smoky back room feel that add more depth. Sleight of Hand is heavy as hell, yet not frenetic, taking its time and giving itself the space it needs, Of the Girl less heavy but accomplishing that same thing. Insignificance is as badass a rocker as you get, and Grievance here less a ball of fire like the live versions and more a barrage of little earworms colliding together at a strong clip. Parting Ways is the perfect album closer, building on that crashing riff until it knocks you over and you’re done. That the b-sides here: Sad, Fatal, Education, In the Moonlight, and Education can easily compete with the songs that made the album speak to this period and the opportunities missed to create the great Pearl Jam album can be frustrating but for knowing what we got was pretty damned special in any event. This is the band I could never get enough of.

Stip always includes Puzzles and Games in the March Madness.