Pearl Jam

This is the laziest quick kill post. But gets me back on the wagon.

Pearl Jam is one of those bands that you need to give a few chances to. The big hits (Jeremy, Black, Alive, Even Flow) serve their own purpose. Something liberating about the anger and the noise. Whether you're piss drunk,at a smoky pub. Or are driving through traffic. Or pounding away on a treadmill. A lot of grunge/punk bands achieved that, before and after them, but PJ created a new sub-genre. Eddie's vocal stylings being the heart and soul of it.

The biggest tragedy however would be to give up right there, because these big hits might turn you off and over the band and you unwittingly skip over pages of magical music history. Like missing a really good punchline in a long winded story. The unassuming pudding tucked away in the corner of a dessert buffet. The point of it all.


#1. Daughter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEwKYck2PL0

So many versions of this song. Even now, the bass line completely hypnotises me. That sound is home, escape, and love, all rolled into one.

#2. Wishlist
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r01YiEgNa0

Best. Lyrics. Ever.

#3. Crown of Thorns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQbnC9QaezM

This is an Andy Wood song.. written before Eddie Vedder joined the band. So, very early grunge. For a band born out of tragedy (founder member Andy Wood died of an overdose, Eddie Vedder joining after..), this is a fitting theme.

#4. Given to fly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZKcmBJTVKI

If you ignore the obvious comparison to Floyd's Learning to Fly, you might concede this is one of the best songs ever written.

#5. Better man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWzLgWWu5wU

The first Pearl Jam song I ever paid attention to, back in the late 90s. That feeling, something like finding lost treasure, I imagine.


#6. Indifference
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AI3KSC7mI8

If the silent scream were a song..


#7. Just breathe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTb9GNIxpMk&ob=av2e

Simple. Almost ordinary. But there's just something in that voice.


#8. I am mine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkgv3LoQY2o

Someday I'll have these words tattooed - "I know I was born / I know that I'll die / The in between is mine"


#9. Inside job
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qV4C4P7swE

Again, somehow reminds me of Floyd. The build. The break. The fall. There's just something so 'full' about the music.


#10.I'm still here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPOILC6KesE

Ok so this one's not really a song. Does it matter? Get crushed a bit, by the weight of the words. And then guitar sounds can just lightly tease your broken heart.