Bassist Jeff Ament wrote the lyrics for two songs on the album ( " Gods ' Dice " and " Nothing as It Seems " ) , and Gossard for three ( " Thin Air , " " Of the Girl " and " Rival " ) . The album is lyrically darker than the band 's previous album '' Yield '' , with Gossard describing the lyrics as " pretty somber . " Vedder addressed the social criticism contained in the album 's lyrics by stating , " I think what everyone 's looking for , y' know , is freedom ... That 's part of being comfortable in your own skin . I know I had a problem with being told what to do , and had a problem with being mentally and physically constricted . All of humanity is searching for freedom and I think it 's important to know when you have it , too . " Ament stated that " Gods ' Dice " is about " judging anybody who has any sort of belief system whether they believe in God or not " , and that " Nothing as It Seems " is about his childhood growing up in a rural area of Northern Montana . Vedder called " Evacuation " a " song about change " , and stated in an interview that the moral of " Insignificance " is " the ineffectiveness of political struggle . " Vedder took inspiration from the 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle when writing " Grievance " , and said the song is about the dangers of technology . Gossard has said that the song " Rival " is his reflection upon the 1999 Columbine High School massacre
Columbine High School massacre
Columbine High School massacre
Binaural (album)