Comments on: Better Man

By: Lady Wonders

Lady Wonders — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:00:59 +0000

The man I am dating put BETTER MAN on his cell phone for my ring back! This is what I hear when I call him!

By: 19strikes

19strikes — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 18:18:12 +0000

When I think of Metallica’s ‘One’, I can see the video in my mind, clear as day. When I think about 9/11, I remember being on highway 288 in Houston, heading towards the medical center. I was listening a rock radio station, and the news came via the DJ’s and it didn’t seem real, especially knowing the DJ’s always joked about things. It was not until I got to work and looked online that it hit me as truth. Point is, there are events in life that will forever be recalled either by a thought, or a song, a person etc. I would be lying if I said I recall the first time I heard betterman, but I had a tape of the 94 Atlanta show. I was dating a girl at the time, and you know the drill – before I knew it, she had PJ posters on her wall, all the singles, sang it the car…and this was the song that was ‘ours’ (how ironic). Anyways, breakup followed shortly after blah blah blah… Completely ruined the song. That was 1995. Every time I heard that song, I thought of her – the song was tainted with anger, sorrow, loneliness (jeez, maybe that was the point, it actually mimicked the songs definition). This is really the first year (2007) that I began listening to it again. I look in itunes at how many times I skipped it, and now I find myself listening to it. Of course, I still remember the girl, but as you grow I guess you learn to put aside your emotions, acknowledge they exist but don’t let them dictate your life. Listening to it now, with the crowd singing the first verse alone, it is powerful (like the organ addition) and I am glad that I found a betterwoman.

By: presentense

presentense — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:38:08 +0000

I like Betterman, but, to me, it seems that it is not on the right album. I understand the different colors of Vitalogy to some ends (nothingman is of course gray), but a rainbow doesn’t really fit. I would say that if a “dark” album would have a “enlightened” or “graceful” period it would have to be at the end of the album. Of course B- man is followed by Immortality, which, i think, throws everything through a loop. I think it would have had a comfortable place on Yield, along with the other “brighter” songs.

By: NoCoder

NoCoder — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:55:12 +0000

The first verse sing-a-longs on “Betterman” are amazing! It’s been fun to watch the evolution of it as well. For the longest time, EV would sing the whole verse. As the years went by, he would sing the first line or two, give it up to the crowd, and then come back in for the “She dreams…” part. And now, he doesn’t have to do anything until the second verse. I love it. I don’t think it’s cheesy. I think it’s one of those concert moments that connect the band with the fans and it’s one of the reasons why PJ is always cited as one of the best live acts in the business.

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:36:33 +0000

What defines a pop song as opposed to a rock song? BETTER MAN is an extremely catchy song, but, in my opinion at least, it’s a great song. One of Pearl Jam’s best songs. Everyone always defines BETTER MAN as a “pop” song, yet it’s not arranged like any top 40 pop song that was popular at the time. The way the vocals are constructed, the way that the instrumentation is arranged. In most pop songs, there wasn’t the kind of build that BETTER MAN has, and the choruses would have been more prominent from the very first one, probably with harmonies layered to give the catchiness even more of a hook. In fact, I think that there is a dance remix version of BETTER MAN that does all of those things.

Many Pearl Jam diehards seem to think that BETTER MAN is not a good song because it has an accessible melody. The style of the song may have been Springsteen and Petty influenced, but those melodies don’t bear any resemblance to anything by Springsteen or Petty. It seems to be a given among many fans that something like HELP HELP is superior because it isn’t very lovable. Perhaps BETTER MAN should have been given to another singer as Ed wanted to do. Would Pearl Jam fans have been happier?

And why is the singalong cheesy? Because people are having fun? Is this really pandering? And would the fans prefer a concert in which, instead of this type of interaction, all of the members of the band play extended jams with their backs to the audience?

By: oleyever

oleyever — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 14:30:36 +0000

and I’m with NoCoder, too….the “Save it for Later” tag is the best thing that could have ever happened to “Betterman”. Also, as a fan of threesomes, I like the “Leather-”, “Better-”, “Nothingman” manwich thing going on…man.

By: oleyever

oleyever — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 14:24:36 +0000

catchy-22. damned if you do…

I’m with Kevin Davis, the crowd singing the first verse is incredibly cheesy…cringey. I’m clearly uncomfortable with Pearl Jam’s catchy pop rock moments, but can’t deny that they’re well written…(“betterman” has that Cat Stevens/James Tayloresque vibe), and I wonder where I draw the line between cheesy pop-rock Pearl Jam and just regular rock Pearl Jam. It’s somewhere near “breakerfall”, I think…
I like the Pearl Jam that’s hard to like, but freely admit that “Betterman”, “wishlist”, “u” et. al., are far betterthan any adamantly anti-establishment, anti-sell-out, grunge rock punk band has any right to make. I mean to say that, for me, the best part about “betterman” is that it comes after “Satan’s Bed”…i don’t know another band that can do that.

By: Kevin Davis

Kevin Davis — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:30:20 +0000

Whoops, should have said “assigned it to the former.” Former mentioned in the paragraph, latter on the CD.

By: Kevin Davis

Kevin Davis — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:29:31 +0000

Of all songs, this one seems one of the more bizarre ones to choose for a crowd singalong. Despite the fact that I find it to be incredibly cheesy when a performer requests of the crowd to do their job for them, there’s something badly unsettling about an entire arena of people waving lighters and singing a song about domestic abuse.

When I first heard Vitalogy on cassette, I never knew if the little feedback riff that prefaces “Better Man” was its intro, or an outro to “Satan’s Bed.” When the CD version assigned it to the latter, it sort of changed the way I heard the song. I think that feedback is supposed to represent something, though damned if I know what.

It’s still the first Pearl Jam song I loved, and no version moves me like the original. The best live versions are the ones from early 1994, with those rimshots clicking all the way through.

By: NoCoder

NoCoder — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:57:34 +0000

Great write up, C-13. And great point, Susan, in pointing out how Ed’s delivery changes as the song progresses. I feel that I don’t have much to add to the analysis. Yet, as Susan alluded to, I’ve heard this song so many times and in so many variations (Ed solo, full band electric, full acoustic, cover versions, pre-PJ demos, etc) but it still manages to completely move me every time. There is something about the way the song builds and builds and then just explodes. I love how Ed starting holding the “bettermaaaaaaaaaaan” towards the end for as he could.

And I would be remissed if I didn’t mention what has become my favorite part of (most) versions of “Betterman” — the inclusion of the “Save It For Later” tag. I honestly cannot even express how much I hope and pray for this tag every single time I hear opening chords of “Betterman.” Ed hasn’t even gotten to the chorus before I start envisioning him four minutes in the future, slowing the tempo of the song to a chug…Stone bringing down the volume on the acoustic. And we might get the full version or the abridged version, but it never matters. It’s always the highlight of a show for me.

End rant.