Pearl Jam's bassist Jeff Ament talks about tracks from their new self-titled album to be released in May.
Parachutes
'Stone was playing around with the riff of a quiet acoustic song we have called "Fatal". It never made the record... I think it was the Binaural record... but he wanted that song on an album so bad that he made a happy alter-ego for it... and it's called "Parachutes" (laughs). Gotta be one of the prettiest songs we've done, the lyrics are very pretty... and the way they roll over from phrase to phrase. Very clever. Deep down I think it's Ed and Stone's tribute to Lennon and McCartney... but they won't admit it (laughs)'.
World Wide Suicide
'Ed probably worked hardest on this song to get it right... initially it didn't have the chorus it has now, it was just a thicker version of the verses, and it only had one chorus, and almost three different bridges... it just was all over the place. So it was Stone's idea to take the part from the verse of another song he was working on and shove it into this one. And, somehow, it ended up being the chorus... so I guess Stone is good for something... (laughs). A joke, of course'.
Comatose
'One of the first songs that Stone and Mike brought in for the early sessions... the time of the Vote For Change stretch... it seems like just last week. They just totally ripped through it, had it all worked out, so I jumped in with the bass and Matt came in after about 2 plays. Ed had some rough lyrics... he said at the time 'it feels like death' (laughs)... he's about right. So he came in a used this growly snarl I haven't heard for years... we got it down on the 4th or 5th take... and that's "Comatose". Well, actually, at the time it was called something else, but we were in stitches every time we called out it's name, so we changed it... (laughs). I'll save you the pain by not revealing it'.
Life Wasted
'Stone's best punch riff that I've heard since... probably for ever. This is my favorite song from the record. And not only because I have a killer bass line... (laughs). We're just firing on all cylinders. While there was no deliberate, conscious effort to return to the 'old days', someone close to me said that it could've been lifted from the Vitalogy sessions. I don't know how to react to that, because we're always looking to move forward... it's a compliment I guess. And Mike is back here... he's just on fire. He thought his levels on the Canadian tour last year were too low so he's getting his revenge on the record! (laughs)'.
Severed Hand
'We like to call it 'The Vedder Funk'! (laughs). This song came totally from left-field from Ed, something he'd never done before... this is one of the best songs we've ever done. It's alive. A lot of different sounds and influences in there... if you said to me 3 years ago that we'd come out with one song that would contain influences from The La's, The Beatles, Aerosmith and Bruce Springsteen, all at once, I would've left the room. But Ed did it! Just can't wait to feel this one at the Garden or something...'
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