I can agree with this. Although I certainly an understand it. To a point. The band worked tirelessly for damn near 20 years to be as difficult as possible . So they earned the right. But it is disappointing if this is what they have truly become. We may not know until looking back on their career once it is all said and done.

The argument I wont agree with, and what I think stip is trying to convey, is that "i dont like backspacer thus their morals have changed and they are corporate cock suckers"

for the distribution of their music? When was that ever NOT the number one motivator?

I agree there is lots of cool stuff that could have been done, but that's not the fight PJ was ever engaged in.

and also "brick and mortar" stores, local record shops are damn near extinction (other than the romantic viewpoint). PJ helping out indie record shops now is way cooler than doing it in the earl90's when vinyl was just on the way out and digital had not even begun to put its stamp on the music business.

I get what stip is saying though. If Backspacer was as good as Binaural no one would care. But I don't think any one issue that I have with modern day Pearl Jam is an x factor in why they're lame now, instead I think they're all symptomatic of the larger issue that you underlined in my previous post. It's more convenient for them to make a record between schedules and just put out songs that they think will translate well live, instead of pushing their creative boundaries in the studio. That right there is letting convenience be your motivator. It's easier, especially when you have a legion of fans who will throw money at you no matter what you actually put out, to just be a nostalgic semi-sloppy party concert band.

It just sucks because Pearl Jam used to be a band that you could be proud of pretty much for everything they did. Even if what they did was short sighted and hurt in the long run (ticketmaster, et al) it had noble motivations.

what bothers me about these conversations is the way in which a genuinely progressive/anti-corporate stance and actions (and Pearl Jam was always and remains a progressive band, with the progressive critique of corporations a subset of that rather than the centerpiece) is mistaken for a superficial *corporations have cooties and making money ='s sell out* perspective, which is often intellectual equivalent of being a rebel by dressing up as a goth. It is slogans and badges and uniforms and appearances.

And I can understand that concern about the music (the production at least--I reject it at the output level). I just really don't see it with the distribution questions.

Welp,
Why was it so expensive, though? I had to pay 80 pesos for it when it came out, via MusiMundo. In 2009, 80 pesos for a single regular CD package was very expensive.

Sure, but at the time there wasn't much Pearl Jam could do. They were signed by Sony. So even though all their preaching early in their career was just words, they always seemed to do the best they could within the confines of their reality. The problem is, once their deal with sony ran out and they got the freedom from their contract they so coveted, it became clear that deep down all they wanted was (in the words of McParadigm) the freedom to do nothing.

And I'll admit it, part of this is image. I want my favorite band to be cool, not partners with Target.

It's not a problem really, it's just an indicator of their overall attitude towards themselves as a band.

I do too. But it is just image, which is why I softened on it.

Absolutely - but it still seems (?) you are coming from a point of "backspacer sucks" or "backspacer is not the album they wanted to make".

I am still in the camp that believes - quality wise or not - was an album they wanted to make. It was quick. It was everything we hate about the current/ non romanticized version of pearl jam, but I still believe it was the album they wanted to make at that time. The process, the songs, the production.... all of it was on purpose. Not for a lack of effort.

I absolutely agree the past 3 years - they appear have been mailing it in and getting a check for some short ass tours/shows. However, with comments from ed "forgive us if we try and enjoy our success for now" I try and see the bigger picture. Cause they spent years dismantling what they rightfully were owed.

If this continues into the next album and tour? Then yea. Seacrest (strat) out.

I never said that Backspacer wasn't the album they wanted to make, I just don't think it was a very difficult album for them to make.

And enjoying your success means retiring. They want to have it both ways. They want to continue to cash in on being a band while riding on the success of the past, which means the music of the present/future is going to suffer.

Perhaps. Like i said I am all for them enjoying the fruits of their labor recently. But im tired of it and they are better than that. I hope things change with this new album.

The problem is most people aren't really saying this in most of the back and forths about this stuff on here. Sure, there are exceptions, but you're taking most of the arguments made here way more to the extreme than they actually are.

As for the earlier post, thinking that their earlier stance were noble, well-intentioned, and even something to aspire to doesn't mean you have to agree with every single statement Eddie made or every method the band employed to run their business the way they wanted to. Could it be overly simplistic? Sure.

certainly you aren't, or chud. And like I said, I am bringing a lot of baggage from past iterations of this discussion with me, where I think there absolutely were people who were making this arguement

For sure, and I was doing the same thing last night when I was railing against modern Pearl Jam apologists (oh, they NEED to partner with Target because that's how the industry works these days).

Fair enough; I was just wondering because it seemed like every reply to what I was saying was about either the 'aesthetics' of how the Oracle show looked or how they're selling out cause I wanted to make money, both of which I was working to avoid.

I bought it in New York so i didnt remember how much was it...but i remember asking my friend who has a record store about the record and the price was pretty much because it was Pearl Jam and since 2005 the band has been a lot more popular these days more than ever.
I remember when Binaural came out i felt i was the only one here listening to these guys.

Yeah, I agree that the next album is really make or break for me as an "active" fan of the band. If they can't step up to the plate with some real quality and investment then its probably time for me to file them away with the other dinosaurs from the 90's. I'm still somewhat optimistic that the band somehow realizes that they can't just mail in another album this time around.

Soundgarden.