The board's server will undergo upgrade maintenance tonight, Nov 5, 2014, beginning approximately around 10 PM ET. Prepare for some possible down time during this process.
FAQ    Search

Board index » Watched from the Window ... » Pearl Jam




Post new topic This topic is locked, you cannot edit posts or make further replies.  [ 32 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

Insignificance vs Corduroy
Insignificance 44%  44%  [ 24 ]
Corduroy 56%  56%  [ 31 ]
Total votes : 55
Author Message
 Post subject: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 11:13 am 
Online
User avatar
The worst
 Profile

Joined: Thu December 13, 2012 6:31 pm
Posts: 38605
Insignificance vs Corduroy

_________________
Dark Matter (single) TSIS Review

Running TSIS Review

I Am No Guide - Pearl Jam Song by Song - Coming this July!
He/Him/His


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 11:23 am 
Online
User avatar
The worst
 Profile

Joined: Thu December 13, 2012 6:31 pm
Posts: 38605
They're both Eddie songs, so maybe this isn't super surprising, but these are another two songs that feel more similar than I usually credit them for. Mid tempo intensity, a defiant fight for control and agency amidst a world that feels too big and too claustrophobic at the same time, a slight distancing in the sound and performance. But it's got to be Corduroy, my favorite Pearl Jam song from the first decade or so of my fandom (once it existed), the better live song, the centerpiece of the better album, and Corduroy breaks free by the end whereas Insignificance hasn't given up, but isn't quite there yet. That's not a critique since it's how the songs are constructed but the former, in Pearl Jam, is almost always more appealing to me than the latter.

_________________
Dark Matter (single) TSIS Review

Running TSIS Review

I Am No Guide - Pearl Jam Song by Song - Coming this July!
He/Him/His


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 12:47 pm 
Offline
User avatar
tl;dr
 Profile

Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 6:06 pm
Posts: 8466
Of all the PJ songs I've come to take for granted, "Corduroy" is probably the one with the most potential to still occasionally knock me out. Oftentimes, when I feel the itch to listen to Pearl Jam after a long period of time away from them, I'll just grab a random bootleg off the shelf (usually something from 2000 or 2003), and "Corduroy" usually ends up being among the first few songs to welcome me back in; it doesn't have this effect every time, but on the right day it really can feel like a homecoming, feeling completely new again while simultaneously functioning as a capsule of my 26 year-long relationship with PJ's music. As more and more of my PJ listening moved in the direction of live recordings over the years, even as I would skip other warhorses like "Even Flow" and "Small Town" and sometimes entire encores' worth of familiar heavy-hitters, I've rarely felt compelled to skip over "Corduroy" -- its traditional place in the set, right as the excitement of a performance is ramping up, has probably heightened its ability to still feel essential to me, rather than obligatory. It's almost certainly the PJ song that I have heard the most number of times, yet many others have gotten older faster.

That said, I think "Insignificance" is the more compelling composition. I like this comparison between the songs:

stip wrote:
these are another two songs that feel more similar than I usually credit them for. Mid tempo intensity, a defiant fight for control and agency amidst a world that feels too big and too claustrophobic at the same time, a slight distancing in the sound and performance.


I think there are purely musical similarities that add to this too, specifically the main progressions, built around simple power chords remaining suspended as Eddie moves around to different bass notes, creating a sort of anxious drone. However, where "Corduroy" eventually arrives at a musically satisfying release (the simple major key strum of the chorus, which breaks the tension of the main riff beautifully, even though the song ultimately goes out on more tension), "Insignificance" never really does -- it just moves into more anxiety, but also adds layers of dissonance and rhythmic unpredictability, plus that spacey, mournful instrumental bridge that is arguably the best in their whole catalog (Binaural is full of these, actually). It's just a song that's a little bit harder for me to wrap my brain around, and that type of composition almost always wins the day for me. Both are great, though -- a fair and balanced late-round matchup. :)


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 12:50 pm 
Offline
User avatar
NEVER STOP JAMMING!
 Profile

Joined: Fri July 12, 2013 9:11 pm
Posts: 20773
Location: Oslo, Norway
Very very difficult.

Insignificance


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 1:47 pm 
Offline
User avatar
Legacy of Love
 WWW  Profile

Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 5:33 pm
Posts: 78180
Location: Anarchist Jurisdiction
Insignificance.

Stip and KD both delivered moving tributes but Corduroy has just never worked on me the way it works on other fans. It's by no means a bad song. If it's the one piece that best represents the band, I can live with that; wouldn't be an insult out a slight in any way. But it's not a highlight of Vitalogy or if any love show, for me. I always enjoy hearing it but it's not one I seek out or look forward to. I'm in the middle of ranking the catalog and Corduroy isn't top 50 for me.

Insignificance is top 5.


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 1:48 pm 
Offline
User avatar
tl;dr
 Profile

Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 6:06 pm
Posts: 8466
I may not have been entirely clear, but I voted for "Insignificance" too.


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 1:56 pm 
Offline
User avatar
Rank This Poster
 Profile

Joined: Thu February 02, 2017 10:39 am
Posts: 5451
Location: Most likely at the office...
LoTL was in many ways my entry to PJ megafandom. I knew of PJ, and had a passing interest in their stuff, but I remember buying LoTL at "Western World" (I shit you not, that was the name of the shop) in outback NW Oz back in '01 or' 02. A mate had lent me Vs and I knew they had a decent live rep. And I liked the cover.

The intro to Corduroy just grabbed me and I realised pretty quickly that I needed to pay these guys a bit more attention. Haven't looked back since.

_________________
Free boops today.


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 3:17 pm 
Online
User avatar
The Master
 Profile

Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 3:48 pm
Posts: 33800
Location: Mountains
Ed has really written some incredible songs, huh?

Could go either way on this one but these days i think im more excited by insignificance. No particular reason why.


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 3:19 pm 
Offline
User avatar
likes rhythmic things that butt up against each other
 Profile

Joined: Mon January 07, 2013 7:58 pm
Posts: 525
Kevin Davis wrote:
Of all the PJ songs I've come to take for granted, "Corduroy" is probably the one with the most potential to still occasionally knock me out. Oftentimes, when I feel the itch to listen to Pearl Jam after a long period of time away from them, I'll just grab a random bootleg off the shelf (usually something from 2000 or 2003), and "Corduroy" usually ends up being among the first few songs to welcome me back in; it doesn't have this effect every time, but on the right day it really can feel like a homecoming, feeling completely new again while simultaneously functioning as a capsule of my 26 year-long relationship with PJ's music. As more and more of my PJ listening moved in the direction of live recordings over the years, even as I would skip other warhorses like "Even Flow" and "Small Town" and sometimes entire encores' worth of familiar heavy-hitters, I've rarely felt compelled to skip over "Corduroy" -- its traditional place in the set, right as the excitement of a performance is ramping up, has probably heightened its ability to still feel essential to me, rather than obligatory. It's almost certainly the PJ song that I have heard the most number of times, yet many others have gotten older faster.

That said, I think "Insignificance" is the more compelling composition. I like this comparison between the songs:

stip wrote:
these are another two songs that feel more similar than I usually credit them for. Mid tempo intensity, a defiant fight for control and agency amidst a world that feels too big and too claustrophobic at the same time, a slight distancing in the sound and performance.


I think there are purely musical similarities that add to this too, specifically the main progressions, built around simple power chords remaining suspended as Eddie moves around to different bass notes, creating a sort of anxious drone. However, where "Corduroy" eventually arrives at a musically satisfying release (the simple major key strum of the chorus, which breaks the tension of the main riff beautifully, even though the song ultimately goes out on more tension), "Insignificance" never really does -- it just moves into more anxiety, but also adds layers of dissonance and rhythmic unpredictability, plus that spacey, mournful instrumental bridge that is arguably the best in their whole catalog (Binaural is full of these, actually). It's just a song that's a little bit harder for me to wrap my brain around, and that type of composition almost always wins the day for me. Both are great, though -- a fair and balanced late-round matchup. :)


Extremely well said about the bridge comparisons between the two. Insignificance builds to a huge moment, but it's not a 'relief' in the way that corduroy's bridge leads to.


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 3:32 pm 
Offline
User avatar
jeeeesus relax already
 Profile

Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 5:10 pm
Posts: 35398
Corduroy is the better one, but ill choose Insignificance because thats what i wanna hear right now.

_________________
BONE FUCKIN´ TOMAHAWK.


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 4:01 pm 
Offline
User avatar
for those who
are not...shall be
 Profile

Joined: Sat January 05, 2013 7:30 am
Posts: 8179
Location: nothing
Corduroy

_________________
LetMeSleep wrote:
This thread has it all. It's a pond.


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 4:24 pm 
Offline
User avatar
Major Dude
 Profile

Joined: Sat January 05, 2013 1:57 pm
Posts: 32214
Location: Where everybody knows your name
Probably the toughest match for me yet.

_________________
Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing!
- C. Montgomery Burns


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 4:25 pm 
Offline
User avatar
for those who
are not...shall be
 Profile

Joined: Sat January 05, 2013 7:30 am
Posts: 8179
Location: nothing
wease wrote:
Probably the toughest match for me yet.


Great! If it has no insignificance, then you gotta vote corduroy ;)

_________________
LetMeSleep wrote:
This thread has it all. It's a pond.


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 6:05 pm 
Online
User avatar
Future Drummer
 Profile

Joined: Mon July 08, 2013 5:47 pm
Posts: 2047
Two perfect studio recordings, but going with Corduroy because of its power in a live setting. As Kevin Davis said, I never ever ever skip Corduroy when listening to a show.


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 6:06 pm 
Offline
User avatar
10Club Complaint Department
 Profile

Joined: Wed January 02, 2013 2:02 am
Posts: 15145
Location: Gigatown
Bombs dropping down...


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 6:17 pm 
Offline
User avatar
AnalLog
 Profile

Joined: Mon January 07, 2013 5:30 pm
Posts: 1575
I've never heard the alternate take of "Corduroy" before. I guess it was on the remastered version of Vitalogy? Some interesting changes to the lyrics and some differences to the instrumental mix, though it's overall the same song. The song is the centerpiece to Vitalogy, definitely a load-bearing position, and it's suitably strong enough to hold that weight and anchor the record as it winds into its weirder second half. It's been tagged as the quintessential Pearl Jam anthem and it deserves high praise for its quality.

Kevin and Stip highlight the similarities between "Corduroy" and "Insignificance," not the least of which is their similar position as the central linchpins of their respective albums. "Insignificance" has long been the song that interests me more, though. Despite its weight, it also feels like there's a lot of open space between the interplay of its notes which has always given it a sort of wry swagger to contrast its heavy subject matter. Kevin also highlights the song's bridge, an aspect of Pearl Jam's writing that is often notable and this might be one of their very best. Those sorts of things endeared me to the song in the early days of owning Binaural (circa late 2001-early 2002, I think), and they've also allowed the song to settle in near the very top of my Pearl Jam best of, right alongside "Sleight of Hand" and "Light Years." I don't know if that says anything more than the obvious that Binaural is my favorite of their albums.


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 6:32 pm 
Offline
Fake NYC Setlist Relayer
 Profile

Joined: Thu January 03, 2013 7:55 pm
Posts: 7391
Insignificance is my clear personal favorite going into the round of eight. If it’s gone, I don’t even know what comes next.


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 8:48 pm 
Offline
User avatar
AnalLog
 Profile

Joined: Sun January 06, 2013 4:25 am
Posts: 1196
No slight to Insignificance...Corduroy is pretty much a perfect song.


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 9:56 pm 
Offline
User avatar
NEVER STOP JAMMING!
 Profile

Joined: Fri July 12, 2013 9:11 pm
Posts: 20773
Location: Oslo, Norway
Still tight.


Top
 
 Post subject: Re: 251. Insignificance vs Corduroy
PostPosted: Sat April 10, 2021 9:57 pm 
Offline
User avatar
10Club Complaint Department
 Profile

Joined: Wed February 06, 2013 2:47 am
Posts: 17469
Location: Scooby Doo
Based on the last time I ranked their catalogue this is # 9 (Corduroy) vs #11 (Insignificance).

Can't argue with that. It still seems too hard to pick one.


Top
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic This topic is locked, you cannot edit posts or make further replies.  [ 32 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

Board index » Watched from the Window ... » Pearl Jam


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ello Sailor, Jaeti, oneway23, RidiculousHuman, Val and 27 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
It is currently Thu March 28, 2024 6:26 pm