An intelligent discussion of Pearl Jam
 

I know people are upset that SY is touring with Pearl Jam because the shows will not focus very much attention on SY, they're expensive, and SY shouldn't be playing arenas, but I do think Pearl Jam deserves some props.

Here's how I see the good:

1. They play really long concerts (usually at least 2 1/2 hours) with varied setlists. This makes the experience so much better to never know what could be played on any given night. They sometimes even play really long shows (3 1/2 hours) on unexpected nights. And they always release their concerts on cd which keeps the fans pleased.

2. They've never really sold out. When they were at the peak of their popularity, they sort of retired into the backdrop keeping a loyal fanbase, but losing the casual fans. The best music they've made has been the stuff that most people haven't heard--it might be "rock and roll" but there's always an edge to it that is not mainstream.

3. They support really good music. The bands they tour with have included Buzzcocks, SY, Sleater Kinney, My Morning Jacket, Robert Pollard, and a shitload other ones that I can't remember. They also get their fans to listen to good music by often incorporating snippets of good shit into their live shows... along with many covers.

4. They care about the state of music and world issues/ they give lots of money to good causes.

5. Their music might not be the most original, but they have yet to put out a total stinker of an album.

I feel like people should maybe give some props to this band over the other "arena bands" out there. Although I like seeing small shows, a pearl jam show is quite an experience, and I think some of you would really see the band differently after seeing them. I know most of their fans are complete morons, but the band itself has had a career that I feel is a great model for how a (very famous) rock and roll band should behave.

yes i love pearl jam they are a very good band, i own every album plus some early bootlegs from before they started releasing their own.

lol there goes all my """"""""""""indie cred""""""""""" lmao if i had any of the shit anyway

pearl jam are a great band and they do indeed rock live, and they didnt hit their peak until matt cameron join, although riot act is a fairly average album. and there is a new album this week

Yeah I've said it a million times on here that I still love Pearl Jam! Eddie's voice always makes me feel good.....especially the slow "depressing" sounding songs. Binaural rules too!:D Nothting As It Seems! Parting Ways!

release and indifference and immortality are fucking brilliant songs, vedder has an awesome voice

Yield is my favorite album... it starts out so strong; "No Way" is just fantastic, then it slows down with "low light" and "all those yesterdays".. It is one of my favorite albums of all time.

The new one sounds great, too! I would rank it among their best!

I like the new single alot, radio sucks for just playing the songs from the first three albums and then a new single like wow they are back

Binaural is a very over looked album, and stands up there with Ten

Great band.

I listened to them alot last year.

No Code is hands down my favorite. I kind of lost interest after I heard Binaural and Riot Act. Those 2 are terrible.

Ten is overrated, but still a fun listen. Everything else is fab. No matter how boring the music itself may be, Eddie always comes in and revives the song. I love his voice.

i'm surprised this thread hasn't been sabotaged by the anti-pearl jam fruitcake type yet.

i own vs., vitalogy, no code, and binaural, of which vitalogy and vs. are my favorites. though binaural has its moments (evacuation, nothing as it seems . . .). it seems like this board is filled with people who instantly decry anything that isn't completely "original" or otherwise obscure . . . honestly, i think they miss out on a lot of good music that may not be startlingly unique but still displays well thought out songwriting. pearl jam is a prime example of this . . . they're not quite as wild and left-field as sy but they're impeccable songwriters.

I can't listen to Pearl Jam. I just don't like it.

Awesome! I heard Jeff saying good things about it. I pre-ordered it.

i thought riot act waas a great album! in fact, the only release of theirs that i don't know front to end is "no code", but even that album has some strong points.

i'm a total pearl jam dork. i own too many of their bootlegs to be proud of.

i'm not a pearl jam fan, i love vitology and like yield and vs and to some extent (because it's totally burnt out) ten. i haven't really heard no code but the songs i've heard from it are really good.

but i just wanted to point something out. pearl jam HAVE sold out. they now play overpriced shows sold by ticketmaster, which was something they were dead set against in the middle of their career. and i know you can justify it by saying that it's not in their control and that they can't play the places they need to play without ticketmaster but they are PEARL FUCKING JAM, they have 30 trillion fans and make millions of dollars and if they really wanted, they could do things differently.

so it's not a bad thing or a good thing, it's just a thing and face it. they have sold out

i'm not really a PJ fan, but i do take on board your points and you do make sense.

I've never really been a fan. I think it may be mostly due to the assjocks that always have their popular singles playing during weight-training sessions at school.

It's partly because they're one of the few "grunge" bands still around that people call them sellouts. I loved Vitalogy and Yield, although haven't heard anything they've done since Binaural.

I would have to disagree with this and think that it has to be looked at from a different perspective.

The idea of a large scale production is far more difficult to keep "uncorporate" than a small scale production. I'm more upset when Sonic Youth uses clear channel venues than when Pearl Jam uses Ticketbastard because Sonic Youth would have no problem doing a full scale tour that avoids those particular venues. Pearl Jam had the ambition to fight ticketmaster, but did not have the forethought that the fans would be the ones to suffer. When they did that, everything completely went to shit; they almost broke up; their fans bitched because they could only play about ten shows at the height of their popularity.

I was far more horrified (though completely delighted at the same time--they're my other favorite band...) when Dino Jr. came back around on tour with the original lineup. Everyone pretty much confessed it was for the money, and though J played with more intensity than when I saw him in 94, he was going through the motions.

A "sell out" (generic term) is a band that willingly compromises their ideals to make a profit. In that situation the fans lose. Pearl Jam has always kept the fans in mind, and even though I'm intimidated by their "machine", they at least have enthusiasm.

i tried listening to ten the other day (havent in ages) and i just couldn't stand it. the sound was so polished and precious and yucky. and eddie vedder's growling was over the top. i haven't listened to them in ages.

however since this is the "intelligent discussion" thread (not the ass-kissing thead, not the irrational hate thread) could somebody point me in the direction of what they are doing recently that might be of interest to someone who hates "ten"? or is there no such thing?

Try Binaural....or any past Vitalogy really. Most of the over the top Ten growling is pretty much gone now.

That's my point too. But really I could care less if they've "sold out." I love their music and that's the most important thing to me. Sure ticket prices suck but they charge what people will still pay. Can you really blame them? Plus they have a buttload of people to pay behind the scenes that make the show go. It's all gravy though.

Hmm. Their music does rank fairly highly in my list of bands for whom their success completely repulses me; however, I do admire their ethics, which, although confused in parts, and never as radical as some people would like, are pretty spot-on for such a major league (and horrifically conservative, to my mind) band.

Yield would be the best place to start; it has some interesting songs. And the new album comes out on May 2; I have the leaked copy, and it is really strong. I'd only recommend both if you like rock music, though. They aren't very experiemental and you won't be blown away by innovation.

Aside from a couple cheesey ass songs on Yield it is considered their best.

blah blah woof woof. get over it, pearl jam sucks. they always sucked, they always will suck. sonic youth, well in this situation, they suck too, because the least they could do is play a LA show w/o pearl jam for us sonic fans who just can't stand pearl jam.

A-motherfucking-men!

i like pearl jam pretty well. i'd deffinetly enjoy seeing them live

pearl jam will be on after sy, leave after sy and stop your bitching indie cred child

I am not going. I was just agreeing with someone who is right.

did i just read intelligent and pearl jam in the same sentence?


they are ok i guess

Haha.

yeah sorry hayden, thought the quote would quote the qhole thing not just what you said

Ahh. No you can edit it and then copy and paste and then quote it.

lol what?

dude, fuck that. I'm not giving eddie vedder any of my money. especially not no fucking $55. insane!

I am still fired up for the new PJ album. I use to be a huge fan back in the day, but I kind of grew out of them. Reading the comments, I agree on alot of them.

The sell out thing is always tricky. I do remember seeing them back in 1995 for under $20 at summerfest in milwaukee, they are coming back again and tickets are like $75. Grant it, we probably can say that they are playing with Tom Petty, who probably is thinking about retirement one of these days so he needs the cash;then with rising gas prices these days everyone is hurting, and when I think about any ticketmaster concert these days, it seems to be at least $30 per person at least for any decent ticket at a large venue.

On the other hand, I pre-ordered the new album and they are pretty fair by throwing in a vintage live show for everyone to get emotional about. I did end up seeing there performance on SNL and thought they kind seem like they lost it, but for me they did create some decent albums over the years - ten, verses, vitalogy, no code, yield, and even binarual is pretty good. I really did not like riot act, but overall I think they do alot of good for our realm of music. Vedder and company over the years have embraced alot of upcoming or gave support to established artists over the years. I know being 15 back in 1992, they opened a lot doors to artists I was not familar with and helped shape the music I do list to in one way or another.

I can add to the list of bands they toured with or tried to share the band's music to lesser music geeks then us.....
Mike Watt
Supergrass
The Frogs
Bad Religon
The Who
Rolling Stones
Neil Young
Sigur Ros
Wesly Willis
Ramones
Ben Harper
Shudder to Think
Iggy Pop
Cheap Trick
Dismemberment Plan

their tix cost $100 here, and sy are doing only doing one show in my entire country which will cost me about $600 once i factor in flights food accomodation, out of that $55 sy get paid they arent playing for free i can garuntee that