Revolution 9 appreciation

[Zoots]

Who else here thinks that Revolution 9 is fucking brilliant and that Pearl Jam's 'hey, foxymophandlemama, that's me' is just a poor pale imitation? I can listen to Revolution 9 from beginning to end several times without skipping anything but almost always have to skip Pearl Jam's weird sound collage that just doesn't seem to work for me.

By the way, if you wanna know exactly what's going on in Revolution 9, i.e. the words, the references etc., go to www.stevesbeatles.com.

 

[If you shout...]

I think that "Revolution 9" is a fantastic and fascinating "song" (or sound collage, maybe...?). It's not without its shortcomings and I don't think that it's absolutely perfect, but I DO think that it is one of the most important pieces of music recorded in the last forty years.

Even if the vast majority of artists who have been subsequently influenced by it don't know it, they still have been; consciously or no, a great deal of music, since this piece was released, has either acted in support or reacted in opposition to it.

It is pretentious, abrasive, annoying self-obsessed, and ostensibly meaningless. It is overdone to the point of self-parody. It is laughably obtuse.

But I love it and recognize it for what it is--a vastly important piece of music. It's far from the be-all, end-all of contemporary music (both avant-garde and pop), and there have been a great deal of songs of equal importance and influence. None of that makes "Revolution 9" any less canonical, though.

 

[IWasBored]

revolution 9 is the only "song" that's ever successfully scared me.

 

[lazarus]

I read that when Lennon was arguing with the others about putting it on the White Album, he shouted "This is the future of music!" How prophetic was that? 25 years later and samples/effects are all the rage.

I don't think Pearl Jam's "Stupid Mop" (abbreviated) is a pale imitation. I just give them credit for doing something so daring. Vitalogy and No Code are 2 of my favorite albums of the 90's. The other thing is that Mop is one of the songs that indirectly addresses the suicide of Kurt Cobain, which is something that heavily affected the band when they were recording. The last line of the song and album is the sample: "Do you ever think that you would kill yourself? Well, if I ever thought about it, yeah, maybe I would." Pretty chilling stuff.


laz

 

[typhoon]

Well, there are worse tracks on that album.

"Birthday" is probably the worst offender if you're listening to it digitally; going from "Julia" into "DA NA NA NA NA NA...NA NA" always pisses me off. "Honey Pie" also has Paul doing a faux cabaret vocal. I actually love it anyway, but I figure most people can't stand it.

So I never understood why "Revolution 9" got so much hate. It's kind of long, but it's not overtly offensive like some of the actual songs on the White Album.

On the same note, it also gets a surprising amount of praise (like this thread) for being so daring. Like I give a fuck about that.

It's just...there.

And "Stupid Mop" would be fine if it weren't at the end of the album. There's no reason to keep listening after "Immortality." With the White Album, you get a nice little encore afterwards.

 

[knox]

I hate Revolution 9, with a firey passion that consumes my soul.

It's one reason why I don't think that the White Album is the best. Birthday, Honey Pie, and Piggies are other reasons.

 

[alexvilagosh]

Rev. 9 is fucking scary, and I love it.

Changed music IMO.