Pearl Jam

[witesoxfan]

Creating a thread on The Beatles is too easy.

 

Perhaps I have not lived long enough, or perhaps I have not done my research; from my experience.

 

I am a super Pearl Jam fan. I get damn near anything I can Pearl Jam and listen to anything "Pearl Jam" does (this includes, but is not limited to, Mother Love Bone, Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eddie Vedder solo, and, unfortunately, Pearl Jam self-titled (meaning the one with the avocado on it...atleast it was better than Audioslave's Revelations??)). However, in my experience, 1 out of 5 friends love Pearl Jam, 1 out of 5 friends hates Pearl Jam, 1 out of 5 friends doesn't think they've ever heard a Pearl Jam song (these people also cheered for the Steelers when they lost to the Packers and couldn't have named a single linebacker on that team...I barely consider them friends, but vaginas are very persuasive), and 2 out of 5 don't care.

 

Personally, I wish people knew more about Pearl Jam beyond Ten. Even beyond Vs or Vitalogy. They put out a ridiculous amount of good music, including, in my shallow, sheltered mind, a top 25 album of all time in Yield. And that is no disrespect at No Code either. Backspacer is pretty good too, though I wish the lead guitar and drums were heavier throughout. No qualms though...still a good album.

 

Coming from a moderate conservative (speaking of an uber liberal band), I adore Pearl Jam, and especially Eddie Vedder. Yes, he's a Cubs fan...in the same sense that Obama is a White Sox fan (no discussion on that here...if it hasn't been discussed there, I will elaborate later). The most important part is that Eddie Vedder is a ridiculously awesome famous person - because there are levels of awesomeness when it comes to famous people - and that he is still making incredible music.

 

I know I made an Obama reference earlier, and for that I apologize. All I want for this thread is to talk about, in my mind, the greatest and most influential band since The Beatles, both good and bad. I can't help but love their music.

 

Oh, and if you really, really, really, really want, you can list your favorite song. That idea seems super n00bish to me, but the hell with it, that's how I'll end.

 

Save You

(followed closely by Light Years, simply because I realized that they did that song specifically for Andy Wood recently...oh, an obviously because it's f'ing good)

Edited February 10, 2012 by witesoxfan

[Kyyle23]

Sorry Wite, i had plenty of exposure to them at the radio station I worked at, I just never got into them. Wite's middle finger for me

[lasttriptotulsa]

I am not a HUGE Pearl Jam fan, but I can certainly appreciate them. The only albums I have are Ten, VS, and Vitalogy. Also the fact that I am about the biggest Neil Young fan in the world, I love the that they talk about him like he's a god. The Mirror Ball album he recorded with them as his backing band is quite good. I like Eddie Vedder as a songwriter, but I'm just not crazy about his singing style.

Edited February 10, 2012 by lasttriptotulsa

[witesoxfan]

Sorry Wite, i had plenty of exposure to them at the radio station I worked at, I just never got into them. Wite's middle finger for me

 

This isn't against you, Kyle, but this is really the thing that frustrates me. As a huge PJ fan, I like the songs that are played on the radio (in order of most to least played, it's generally Even Flow, Alive, Jeremy, Yellow Ledbetter (will never, ever, ever, never, ever, never stop being one of my favorite songs of all time...this is actually probably #1 when I think about it), Black, Daughter, Betterman, and then maybe Animal. I remember hearing Spin the Black Circle 1 time and I damn near s*** myself.

 

But those songs are barely PJ at all. There are a ton of people that have Ten as a top 10 album, and I already said I feel that Yield is a top 25 album. In fact, I'd be lying if I said I hated the album. In fact, I love it. Moreso, tracks 4 (Why Go), and then 7-11 (without looking up I believe it goes Oceans, Porch, Garden, Deep, Release (which is also the only song I ever had a great trip to when I still smoked). But many people and 99.9% of radio stations are overexposed to their "super" hits that they are turned off to the band itself...those mentioned above. The same thing happens with The Beatles too. I have The Beatles' "#1" CD but I refuse to let anybody ever play it, because there is no value ever captured in that CD...it's snatching great lines from great poems and piecing them all together...

 

"By Dylan Robert Thomas William Frost Williams

 

a red wheel

barrow

Nothing gold can stay

Rage, rage, into the night."

 

Means nothing, but, looking at each individually, they all mean something. Obviously, an extreme example, but true all the same.

 

Still, there are those that dislike or hate Pearl Jam. That's OK with me. Just another ticket I might get.

[G&T]

Pearl Jam was my first favorite band. But by No Code I'd had enough. I still think they are better than Nirvana.

[Kyyle23]

This isn't against you, Kyle, but this is really the thing that frustrates me. As a huge PJ fan, I like the songs that are played on the radio (in order of most to least played, it's generally Even Flow, Alive, Jeremy, Yellow Ledbetter (will never, ever, ever, never, ever, never stop being one of my favorite songs of all time...this is actually probably #1 when I think about it), Black, Daughter, Betterman, and then maybe Animal. I remember hearing Spin the Black Circle 1 time and I damn near s*** myself.

 

But those songs are barely PJ at all. There are a ton of people that have Ten as a top 10 album, and I already said I feel that Yield is a top 25 album. In fact, I'd be lying if I said I hated the album. In fact, I love it. Moreso, tracks 4 (Why Go), and then 7-11 (without looking up I believe it goes Oceans, Porch, Garden, Deep, Release (which is also the only song I ever had a great trip to when I still smoked). But many people and 99.9% of radio stations are overexposed to their "super" hits that they are turned off to the band itself...those mentioned above. The same thing happens with The Beatles too. I have The Beatles' "#1" CD but I refuse to let anybody ever play it, because there is no value ever captured in that CD...it's snatching great lines from great poems and piecing them all together...

 

"By Dylan Robert Thomas William Frost Williams

 

a red wheel

barrow

Nothing gold can stay

Rage, rage, into the night."

 

Means nothing, but, looking at each individually, they all mean something. Obviously, an extreme example, but true all the same.

 

Still, there are those that dislike or hate Pearl Jam. That's OK with me. Just another ticket I might get.

 

 

I gave it my best shot to like them. I owned Ten, Vs, Vitalogy, No Code, and Yield at one point or another. I am a firm believer in playing an album front to back on the first listen to get a feel on the album. I tried, I just dont like them. I can appreciate them and their place in music history, I just am not a fan.

 

Being a DJ just solidified it for me.

[witesoxfan]

Atleast you honestly gave it a chance by listening to their best albums. I can respect that.

 

It's unreal how much of a polarizing band they are. You look at a band like Soundgarden and you have tons of "meh's" on either side of the fence (yeah, they're OK I guess; nah, but they're OK I guess). You don't see nearly as many "meh's" with Pearl Jam, and I've honestly never understood why. It's not politics (yes, conservative; no, Ted Nugent, f*** that guy), it's just taste in music.

 

 

Some like them, some dont. I just think that's how it is.

[Kyyle23]

Atleast you honestly gave it a chance by listening to their best albums. I can respect that.

 

It's unreal how much of a polarizing band they are. You look at a band like Soundgarden and you have tons of "meh's" on either side of the fence (yeah, they're OK I guess; nah, but they're OK I guess). You don't see nearly as many "meh's" with Pearl Jam, and I've honestly never understood why. It's not politics (yes, conservative; no, Ted Nugent, f*** that guy), it's just taste in music.

 

 

Some like them, some dont. I just think that's how it is.

 

I think a lot of it also has to do with where i was in my life and what I wanted in my music. I was about 15 or 16 when I first got major exposure, and i know you probably dont remember but STP hit at the same time. I really got into STP, that was what I wanted in my music, Sex Type Thing, Plush and Wicked Garden were my favorite songs for quite a long time. I just wasnt into a lot of the music the PJ was putting out, it was far too moody for me. It is just preference

[clyons]

It's unreal how much of a polarizing band they are.

 

* * *

 

Some like them, some dont. I just think that's how it is.

 

 

I like them a lot, but they were never my "favorite" band. They'd been pretty far off my radar for awhile, until the release of their most recent album last year, which I really enjoyed. Before that, I thought they'd fallen off since "Yield,"

with their awful cover of "Last Kiss" being the low point.

 

I'm not sure how to reconcile the two quotes above, unless you're saying that there are extreme opinions at both ends of the spectrum, with some fanatics deeming them gods and others despising them with equal passion.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

I thought Ten was one of the best albums of its genre and time. Then they seemed to go downhill with each successive CD. I had Vs, Vitology, and the one after that (name escapes me), before I finally gave up on them. Each album had fewer and fewer songs that were worth listening to.

 

So I voted "sorta".

 

[Balta1701]

Very big fan, think they've aged surprisingly well, have found interesting stuff on each of their albums, the only album of theirs I don't legally own is 10...totally understand how their later-year-stuff would turn off people who really got into 10.

[lasttriptotulsa]

But those songs are barely PJ at all. There are a ton of people that have Ten as a top 10 album, and I already said I feel that Yield is a top 25 album. In fact, I'd be lying if I said I hated the album. In fact, I love it. Moreso, tracks 4 (Why Go), and then 7-11 (without looking up I believe it goes Oceans, Porch, Garden, Deep, Release (which is also the only song I ever had a great trip to when I still smoked). But many people and 99.9% of radio stations are overexposed to their "super" hits that they are turned off to the band itself...those mentioned above. The same thing happens with The Beatles too. I have The Beatles' "#1" CD but I refuse to let anybody ever play it, because there is no value ever captured in that CD...it's snatching great lines from great poems and piecing them all together...

 

Anybody that has "Ten" as a top ten album, needs a lesson in music history. I wouldn't even put it in the top ten albums of the '90s.

[Balta1701]

Anybody that has "Ten" as a top ten album, needs a lesson in music history. I wouldn't even put it in the top ten albums of the '90s.

And there's the polarization on this band that triggered the thread.

[iamshack]

They are and probably always will be my favorite band of all time. I discovered them a bit late, I believe about the Fall of 1992 or so, right when I was in my musical wheelhouse of 15 years old. I got my first car when I was 16 and my mother bought me a 12 disc trunk-mounted cd player. From then on I was hooked. I bought everything I could get my hands on, much like you, Wite. I had Ten, and then Vs, and then I remember buying every bootleg I could find. I had some sort of boxed set that had all kinds of demos and outtakes, including stuff by Mother Love Bone and Green River. I distinctly remember spending hours and hours playing Road Rash on my 3DO and listening to these songs.

 

I remember when Vitalogy was set to be released they played the entire album on the radio and there was much controversy. Then they released the vinyl a week before the cassette and cd version. I hatched a brilliant plan to buy the vinyl and then record it on to cassettes and sell it at school. Needless to say, the demand was not quite as high as I had anticipated.

 

When No Code came out I was a bit disappointed; it was not the same as the first three albums and I didn't fall immediately in love with it. It was just ok. But I defended it voraciously to anyone who would claim Pearl Jam was losing it. Then Yield was released and I felt vindicated. It was the best Pearl Jam record since Ten in my opinion, and my favorite band was back.

 

Needless to say, Pearl Jam continues to be my favorite band, however, I do admit my love for them has faded a bit with time. As they have matured and changed as a band, as Eddie has explored and expressed his weirdness, I have not always been along for the ride with them. I was not a huge fan of Binaural or Riot Act, although as always, I bought them right when they were released and listened to them for at least several weeks.

 

The self-titled album almost made me give up on Pearl Jam...it was...just...weak. I maybe listened to it 5 times and admittedly thought that they had completely lost it. They were entering that realm of lameness that bands that stay together too long or are too old start entering (aka, the Rolling Stones). At that point, I was way more into The Strokes at this point and wouldn't have put up much of a fight if you'd have said they had replaced Pearl Jam as my favorite band.

 

Then Backspacer was released. I felt like Lloyd when he told Harry in Dumb and Dumber that he had "totally redeemed yourself!" For the first time since Yield I felt like my favorite band was back and releasing some of the best music in the world again.

 

I haven't gotten around to picking up the book or the film of Twenty, but I am planning on doing so next month, if I can find them.

 

I'm glad you posted this, Wite...Pearl Jam is sort of the soundtrack to my adolescence and early adult life, and brings back a lot of memories for me, which, IMHO, is probably the most important thing that music does for a person.

[lasttriptotulsa]

And there's the polarization on this band that triggered the thread.

 

It's certainly a good album, but it just cannot compare to other albums that have basically changed the entire music landscape, and in some cases the world.

 

Bob Dylan- Highway 61 Revisited

Beatles- Sgt. Peppers

Jimi Hendrix Experience- Electric Ladyland

Neil Young- After the Gold Rush

Led Zeppelin- Physical Graffiti

Stevie Wonder- Songs in the Key of Life

Rolling Stones- Exile on Main Street

Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon

Buffalo Springfield- Buffalo Springfield Again

Pearl Jam- Ten

 

I mean one of these albums just does not belong in this list and its pretty obvious which one it is

[Balta1701]

Led Zeppelin- Physical Graffiti

 

I mean one of these albums just does not belong in this list and its pretty obvious which one it is

Yeah, that album ahead of Untitled (IV)?

[lasttriptotulsa]

To me IV is about their fourth best album.

[Balta1701]

To me IV is about their fourth best album.

Anyway, this is where music disagreements come from.

 

For example, I'd think you're nuts if you're talking about albums that changed the face of music and didn't include "Nevermind".

[iamshack]

It's certainly a good album, but it just cannot compare to other albums that have basically changed the entire music landscape, and in some cases the world.

 

Bob Dylan- Highway 61 Revisited

Beatles- Sgt. Peppers

Jimi Hendrix Experience- Electric Ladyland

Neil Young- After the Gold Rush

Led Zeppelin- Physical Graffiti

Stevie Wonder- Songs in the Key of Life

Rolling Stones- Exile on Main Street

Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon

Buffalo Springfield- Buffalo Springfield Again

Pearl Jam- Ten

 

I mean one of these albums just does not belong in this list and its pretty obvious which one it is

Oh give me a break..this is entirely subjective. You would be perfectly within all respectable boundaries to say Ten is every bit as influential to the musical landscape as f***ing Dark Side of the Moon, which is perhaps the most overrated album in the history of f***ing music.

 

Jimi Hendrix, while one of the best guitarists to ever live, did not release an album that deserves to be in the top albums of all time.

 

I love Stevie Wonder more than just about anyone I ever encounter, but there is PLENTY of room for debate as to whether he belongs on any list ahead of Pearl Jam's Ten.

 

Ten is on plenty of top 50 lists, and plenty of top 25 lists, and ranked as high as 11th of all time by a few publications. To say it doesn't belong with these other albums is pure subjective nonsense.

Edited February 10, 2012 by iamshack

[lasttriptotulsa]

Oh give me a break..this is entirely subjective. You would be perfectly within all respectable boundaries to say Ten is every bit as influential to the musical landscape as f***ing Dark Side of the Moon, which is perhaps the most overrated album in the history of f***ing music.

 

Jimi Hendrix, while one of the best guitarists to ever live, did not release an album that deserves to be in the top ten albums of all time.

 

I love Stevie Wonder more than just about anyone I ever encounter, but there is PLENTY of room for debate as to whether he belongs on any list ahead of Pearl Jam's Ten.

 

Ten is on plenty of top 50 lists, and plenty of top 25 lists, and ranked as high as 11th of all time by a few publications. To say it doesn't belong with these other albums is pure subjective nonsense.

 

I'm not necessarily saying those are my top ten albums ever, its just a few that are clearly superior off the top of my head in a few seconds. And to put Ten in the same class as TDSOTM is just non-sense.

[NorthSideSox72]

I'm not necessarily saying those are my top ten albums ever, its just a few that are clearly superior off the top of my head in a few seconds. And to put Ten in the same class as TDSOTM is just non-sense.

It is of course very subjective... but I agree with you here.

 

Now, if you said, the Top 10 rock (in the broad sense) albums of the 90's, then I'd say it belongs easily.

 

[southsider2k5]

I'm a fan. Not anything huge or anything, but I won't turn them off.

[iamshack]

I'm not necessarily saying those are my top ten albums ever, its just a few that are clearly superior off the top of my head in a few seconds. And to put Ten in the same class as TDSOTM is just non-sense.

Well, I think this is age relative, to be honest.

 

I can understand how one could make an argument for any of those albums, I suppose, and I obviously cannot say that anyone's opinion is incorrect.

 

I think you would face quite a bit of opposition, however, if you stated that Ten did not belong on a list of the best rock albums of all time.

[iamshack]

It is of course very subjective... but I agree with you here.

 

Now, if you said, the Top 10 rock (in the broad sense) albums of the 90's, then I'd say it belongs easily.

Belongs?

 

It is the #2 rock album of the 90's, probably behind Nevermind, and that is heavily influenced by the fact that Kurt Cobain committed suicide.

 

Like it or not, whenever an artist or public figure tragically dies young, suddenly their work becomes more and more acclaimed than while they were living.

 

Imagine if Eddie Vedder had blown his brains out after Vitalogy...

Edited February 10, 2012 by iamshack

[NorthSideSox72]

Belongs?

 

It is the #2 rock album of the 90's, probably behind Nevermind, and that is heavily influenced by the fact that Kurt Cobain committed suicide.

 

Like it or not, whenever an artist or public figure tragically dies young, suddenly their work becomes more and more acclaimed than while they were living.

I'd have to see a list to say for sure if I'd put it at #1. My point was, there is a big difference between best rock albums of the 90's, versus all time. I don't think Ten belongs on the all time one, but they are certainly on the 90's list, in my view.