Music
This Week’s Heavy Rotation #34
All Pearl Jam, all the time
Note: Each week I take a look back at my playlists and share songs that were either played the most, got stuck in my head, or just stood out. Many are new to me, but there are old faves mixed in as well.
Time seems especially squishy these days. Things I think happened last week actually occurred years ago, while others that feel distant were very recent. This past week, two events occurred that brought that around full circle; Pearl Jam’s “Ten” turned 30, and my son turned 16.
My timeline is usually full of “On This Day” posts reminding me of record release anniversaries — and by extension that I'm old — but these two concurrent events really resonated with me. I think a large part of that is because I was 16 when “Ten” came out. Thinking back to racing down I-5 to see Pearl Jam and realizing I was the same age then that my son is now is frankly a little more than my mind can take. It also seems like it was just yesterday. Have 3 decades really passed?
At 16, listening to Pearl Jam, or Nirvana’s “Nevermind” in that Malibu rearranged my mind. 30 years later, I sometimes lose my mind driving by Smart Studios where songs for the latter were recorded (traffic can be a bloodsport on that street).
Both albums have held up well. The building has not.
I can also vividly recall sitting in a sunny hospital parking lot in 2005, being hit with the full gravity of realizing I was now a dad. I don’t know if there’s a term for being equal parts ecstatic and scared shitless but this was it. It’s a strange mix, but one I think any parent can relate to.
That afternoon seems like a lifetime ago (which it kinda was), but the ensuing years have screamed by in a blink. This year, his birthday was book-ended with high school soccer games.
Was it really that long ago that I was tying his shoes and holding his hand while we walked to the field?
I also wonder if his generation will regard music the same way we do. Having everything available at once is nothing short of miraculous, yet I can’t help but feel something is lost. When you can have everything, nothing stands out. “Ten” was an absolute revelation, and that was a feeling shared by millions at the same time. That’s quite an achievement, given that social media didn’t yet exist. This album was released exactly one week earlier and is pretty indicative of what was on order at the time.
With the gift of hindsight, it’s clear that we were all ready for something different. Ten was the right record at the right time.
Late last week, Rob Janicke wrote a fantastic love letter to the album (seriously, go read it). In the comments, I mentioned that I have a memory attached to almost every track on it. Some good, some bad, some absolutely not shareable.
In 1991, having to buy an entire record was still a gamble. How many did we all buy for that one song? But it at least forced you to delve into an album fully and build a relationship with it. That’s something lost in an era of streaming.
If issued today, it’s a safe bet that Even Flow would still be a hit. It’s that good. Maybe “Once” as well. But how many people would ever click on a track like “Oceans,” or “Porch?”
With the industry now so fractured, will there be an equivalent to Ten? In 2051, will people be celebrating a full album or just mentioning download metrics? Do water cooler moments even exist anymore? Time’ll tell, I guess…
Pearl Jam- Even Flow
“It’s not a TV studio…Josh.”
For many, those 5 words were their first taste of Pearl Jam.
Rob described the song as a “blues-infused scorcher,” and it’s hard to find a better description. If pressed, I’d tag it with something like the “quintessential Pearl Jam song.” That’s a slippery slope given how far and wide the band’s evolution has taken them, but I’d argue it’s the most recognizable track in their catalog.
If Name That Tune was still airing, it might be the one song a contestant could name in one note.
At the beginning of the video, Vedder screams “Do stand up!”
Thirty years on, we still are.
Pearl Jam-State of Love and Trust
Anyone: Name an album that sums up the early 90’s Pacific Northwest zeitgeist.
Me: Waves vaguely at the Singles soundtrack
Is there another album that better captures this era? To be sure, there were tons of bands putting out tons of great music, but this compilat — er, soundtrack had a lot of them in one place. And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise — in those days, everyone was dressing like Cliff Poncier.
Pearl Jam- Go
Ten opens with “Once,” and never lets us go. The band repeated that formula on their sophomore album VS. “Go” kicks the album off, and hits 8000 RPM inside of 30 seconds.
Pearl Jam-In My Tree
Ten turned 30 last week and was deservedly in the spotlight. What you may not know is that the band’s No Code turned 25 on the same day. Both Ten and No Code are brilliant — but wildly different — albums, with each reflecting where the band’s heads were at.
Put another way, in just 5 years, the band put out 4 records (Ten, Vs., Vitalogy, and No Code), toured extensively, and fought TicketMaster.
For me, No Code marks the line between old Pearl Jam, and new. If describing a 25-year-old record as new seems odd, trust your judgment.
I remember when, yeah I swore I knew everything, oh yeah They say knowledge is a tree, yeah It’s growing up just like me, yeah
This verse hits a lot different at 46 than it did in my early 20's.
Like a tree in bloom, the song grows up & out, swirls around, and builds to a crescendo, with a spent Vedder half singing/half screaming:
Up here so high the boughs they break Up here so high the sky I scrape And my eyes feel both wide open And I got a glimpse of my inner sense Got back my innocence Still got it, still got it
The break right after that verse might be one of my favorite Pearl Jam moments; the song is in free fall, and you’re there right along with it.
Pearl Jam-Mankind
Fun fact: This song was the first one with a band member other than Vedder contributing lyrics. Stone Gossard wrote it and also sings lead vocals. It’s a straightforward rocker, and a great palette cleanser after some of the heavier tracks on the record.
What are you listening to this week? Got a favorite Pearl Jam song or record? Let me know in the comments!
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