Jam Bands - I just don’t f*cking get it

It's pretty interesting that jam songs go on too long and you immediately feel it when it over stays it's welcome.

Yet Tool puts out a record with not one song under 10 minutes and by the time the song is over it feels like the length of a normal song. Black magic frickery there.

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what is the appeal of long drawn out jam songs?

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It's the drugs.

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Shallow thinking. I know a lot of sober people in the jam scene - some in recovery and some who have never done any drugs. I also know drug users who hate jam bands - they come from all walks of life. Classical music is often long compositions. Is that because of drugs too? Idiot

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Lol. No, you're right, drugs were never associated with bands like The Dead and Phish. Straight edge living right there. Sorry I insulted you and your druggie buddies.

This is a message board, I am embracing the purpose of the message board. Open discussion.

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what is the appeal of long drawn out jam songs?

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I enjoy watching my favorite musicians create and improvise something new and unique to each show when I go see a live performance. But I understand it’s not for everyone and many can find it boring much like I would find going to a show that sounds exactly like an album boring.

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I enjoy watching my favorite musicians create and improvise something new and unique to each show when I go see a live performance.

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Jam bands aren't my thing, and I'm not trying to rip people who are into them.

On the above, I think it's best when there's some variety. I saw Gary Clark Jr. and he did some solos well outside of his albums. They were fun, and he bookended them with tighter sections. I was into that.

The jam band stuff that loses me is when there's song after song that feels like they're 20 minutes of meandering solo, and they come one after another. I liked GCJ a lot because you got solos interspersed with stuff that's direct and to the point, which I don't think you get with most jam bands.

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I was suggested a cover of “The Harder They Come” by Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders on Spotify through my discover playlist. Started listening to the song and it was pretty damn good, then I realized it was going on for WAY too long. Turns out it’s a frickin 19 minute long cover with a bunch of bull shite dragging on forever, cause you know that’s fun....what is the appeal of long drawn out jam songs?

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It kind of just depends on what you are listening to. In addition, most songs don't go on for 20 minutes even when looking at Grateful Dead and Phish. Also worth noting is that there are a lot of shitty jambands. I would also tend to agree that the 20 minute version of a 5 minute song with a jam that is just a couple people playing back and forth on each others guitar for 15 minutes can be pretty excessive.

Sometimes the lengthy songs / jams don't go anywhere, other times they capture some improvisational magic where you get to hear them move through different themes which aren't part of any song but their own unique thing. When it does work it is pretty impressive stuff where they go through multiple sections and themes of improvisation and create cohesive and interesting jams all without any sort of rehearsing or plan going in.

But a 6 minute composition with a 6 / 7 minute jam that has interplay between members and builds to a great peak or finish is great to my ears. In the same way those 20 minute jams where 10 - 15 minutes are awesome improv is what you go for.

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The jam band stuff that loses me is when there's song after song that feels like they're 20 minutes of meandering solo, and they come one after another. I liked GCJ a lot because you got solos interspersed with stuff that's direct and to the point, which I don't think you get with most jam bands.

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Yes, and most generic jam bands these days are shite that don't put forth any real effort into songwriting.

The good ones however, when they are playing well, can put together some incredible improv that is unique to itself. Sort of a high risk high reward for the good ones while the shitty ones sort of just play generic funk riff bullshite.

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what is the appeal of long drawn out jam songs?

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Ask John Coltrane.

I used to feel the same way as you, but I've somehow learned to appreciate jam bands more as I've aged, which seems to be the opposite trajectory. I've always really liked jazz improvisation and listening to the backbone of a song and how it can morph and come back together from multiple angles. One of the transitional bands for me was Medeski, Martin, and Wood. Once I gave jam the same listening treatment, it made it a lot more enjoyable.

Yeah, there's a lot of bad cliche jam music out there, and I sometimes find myself having to suffer through a bad one to get to the good one, but I guess that's how it goes. The good jams make the bad ones worth it, imo - plus it's 2020, and it turns out we have the technology to skip songs and bands.

FTR, I'm not a frequent drug user outside of alcohol and the occasional thc edible.