Album: Riot Act (2002)

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Songfacts®:

• Eddie Vedder helped out with the lyrics, but most of this song was written by Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron, who was originally the drummer for Soundgarden. Many fans consider it the best song on the Riot Act album, with Eddie Vedder's voice coming through on lines like, "Love is a tower, and you are the key." >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Jess - Springfield, IL
• Much of the Riot Act album was informed by the September 11 attacks and by the 2000 Roskilde Festival, when nine attendees were crushed to death as Pearl Jam was performing. "You Are," though, is more of a musical excursion with an inspirational lyric. Matt Cameron explained how it came together in Pearl Jam's Twenty collection.
  
  "I had gotten a new drum machine that allows you to make up patterns, and then they'll play through whatever audio instrument you can plug in," he said. "It was more of an experiment to use the parameters of this machine as well. It came out really cool, and the guys really liked it. I took my machine down to the studio, dumped it into the computer, and did an arrangement. Eddie finished up the small bit of lyrics I had written for it. It's just another example of having your band elevate your music to a level you've never envisioned."

Comments: 11

• Scout from Not SureVery intense to say the least. Who wrote the lyrics?
• Fran from San SalvadorThis tutorial explains the whole thing and it's just awesome
  https://youtu.be/opxxYEw8-1w
• Fran from San SalvadorThat song is weird, were wrotten by Matt and he used a drum machine on studio and live is for trigger the rythm pattern through the loop effects on the amp of Stone Gossard to create the 'chopped' sound of the rythm guitar riff, it's quite really crazy to explain and understand, but when you realize that fact, it simply makes you love this song even more
• Veddie Edder from Seattle (coincidence)good song, but id rather I am Mine, and another I really like is Green Disease, though I seem to be the only one who likes it.
• Dylan from New Britain, CtI love this song. It feels like something that could've appeared on Radiohead's Kid A.
• Dc from Dc, DcThe drums you hear in the song are real 'live' drums, you don't actually here any drum machines. The drum machine was in fact used to create rhythmic envelopes that trigger the opening and closing of the guitar output. Its a similar style effect to that of Tom Morello on Rage Against The Machine's 'Know Your Enenmy'. It is often referred to as Side Chain Gating or Envelope Following.
• Jorge from San Diego, Cathe first time i heard this song i was floored. My fav song from my fav band
• Ringgo from Montclair, CaFirst time i heard this, I was amazed at how smooth it flowed. Then I found out that Matt Cameron used a drum machine for the drums here and played rythm guitar on the song instead. WOW!..Matt's musical acumen is highlighted at last, and the lyrics here are just phenomenal!
• Sarah from Tavistock, CanadaI love the effect that they use on the guitar to get the choppy sound...and I almost can't beleive Cameron used a drum machine...he's the best drummer in the world!...according to Ed
• Thomas from Boston, MaWow, what a great song. Definitely the best that Matt Cameron has written, though he wrote some good ones for Soundgarden.
• Arman from College Station, TxYou Are was originally going to be called 'Undone'. Ed wrote a song called Undone after this was written though.

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