So says Rob Gordon... I'm not so sure, but it seems like a good title for a blog about music - though come to think of it I wouldn't mind living with Jenny Lewis or Neko Case... or Kim Deal... or Liz Phair... and mos def Annie.
Is it me or did this song some how get lost in the late 90s? This was a really good song. Eddie's voice is interesting and you sort of want to sing like how he sings.
This song just rocks.
Oh yeah, the bridge sucks. But it's fifteen years old now, which is sort of old, but is sounds fresh (other than that bridge). Music doesn't rock out enough these days, and even bands that do rock out, don't really rock out (other than Wolfmother but what happened to those guys?). Rocking out is a lost art.
Of all the songs to get me hooked on the alternative movement... it was Glorified G. I can't tell you why it was this song—I was 12 years old after all. But Tim played it for me and I fell for it. I loved it. I couldn't get enough of the song. It's got a nice rift and the bridge is pretty good. But why this over Rearviewmirror or Daughter? I'll never know.
I liked the song so much that I went out and bought the album. But first I asked my mom. The conversation took place in the kitchen and went like this: Me: Mom, I like this band and want to buy their CD.
Mom: Okay, you have to spend your own money you know.
Me: That's fine. But one of the songs is about guns.
Editor's Note: It was an innocent point that I made on a Wednesday night between rounds of Trivia. R.E.M. was the greatest American band ever. The table looked at me as if I had just called Mao a great human. Thus the debate began: Who is the greatest American band? We eliminated every singer song writer or solo performer. So Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, and Billy Joel, for example, were eliminated. Other than that, anything went. This week I present the arguments for who I think should be in the running.
Pros: By default, they became the face of alternative rock after Cobain killed himself. Still today, when you think alternative Pearl Jam might be the first band that pops into you head... in the mid 90s there was no one as big as Pearl Jam... Ten. Vs. Vitalogy. Talk about a murders row of commercial and critical success, that's quite a line up. Yield and even their self titled album from two years ago are good efforts that can be listened to at any time... They didn't sell out (yet), but this means something since of most of the bands on the list, their commercial success either came later or never came (R.E.M. and Wilco respectively). Pearl Jam didn't make music videos just to make them, they fought Ticketmaster, and all their songs and albums seem genuine and honest...Voted number 1 back in 2005 by USAToday readers (this can also be seen as a con)... Yield is probably one of the more important rock records to ever be released. In 1998, for those who enjoyed rock'n'roll and weren't in their 20s, this album was a beacon of light in a sea of rap-rock, boy bands, and Britney. It proved to us teenagers at the time that rock wasn't dead and it would be back eventually sounding much like this. Of all of Pearl Jam's records, this is easily their most thoughtful and forward thinking album... At their best, Pearl Jam rocks out like no other band in the last 20 years.
Cons: No Code—it was such a stinker at the time when the band shouldn't have been producing stinkers. Vitalogy teeters on being a great album, and Yield showed that the band still had plenty of great song writing left in them so what happened with No Code? The album almost sunk the band, it took Yield to get them back in the good graces of the rock world. And that should never have happened. Athletes in their primes have bad days, not bad years. And if we look at Pearl Jam in the athlete metaphor, then No Code was a really, really bad year. And really, really bad years aren't easily forgotten in the long run... Then the first five years of the 21st century (Riot Act and Binaural a real stinkers)... The band really hasn't picked up new fans as much as the old fans continue to hang on... Did they ever really develop and mature as a band in a positive way?... And it seems like nearly every Pearl Jam album over the last ten years has been one where the band has a lot to prove... not a good thing.
Best Album: Vs. -- While Ten gets props from everyone and their mother, Vs. is a more consistent and interesting album. Ten deserves all the praise it receives because it was so raw and fresh at the time and the album still holds up today, but personally, I think the album gets lost at times. Vs. on the other hand is a tight, well made, solid album with some spectacular songs: Daughter, Glorified G, Rearviewmirror, Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town, Dissident... as far as impact, Yield of all albums may have had the longest lasting impact, but Vs. is Pearl Jam's best. One you can put on at a party, chillin' around the house, or driving in the car. Records like that don't come all that often.
Best Song: Jeremy -- The song is slowly becoming timeless (for more read here).
I think it's the drums. Yes the choras guitar work is awesome. The entire chorus is awesome, but the guitar pre-chorus is rockin' awesome. No matter, Eddie is rockin'. Stone and company are rockin' out. I love this song. I love these drums. Just a big 'Fuck You' to Bush.
This isn't the place, but I honestly can't tell you what was a more important song in 1991/1992 - Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" or Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". I was 10 or 11 when these events acutally took place, but looking back on this historically, Nirvana has been glorified (pretty much because Cobain blew his brains out) while Pearl Jam has continued on giving us a few quality ablums and a handful of songs since the late 90s. To hear it today, Nirvana is more important in the history of music, but I'm not sold on this. This is pretty much because Cobain died and we 'glorfied' his music, which was good don't get me wrong... but how good was it? What impact did Cobain's sucide have on our understanding of Nirvana, grunge, Seattle, and the early 90s? If Vedder had pulled the trigger, instead of Cobain, would we look at Peral Jam and Nirvana and the 90s differently? Of course. Anyway, if you want to debate this and more, check out Chuck Klosterman's Killing Yourself to Live.
Watch (btw, this is probably one of the most important videos of all time):
I probably put this best in my year in review… "But in the end, like most of this decade, it's [Pearl Jam's self titled album] an attempt to go back to the 90s. Don't we all wish we could." I probably have never said anything more correct in my life. This song is nice, like everyone else who likes Pearl Jam I was pumped for this ablum last summer. While good, it just didn't do it. I remember playing poker with Web and Hags one night last summer listening to this ablum and everyone just sort of nodding along, saying "hey this is pretty good", but in the end no one was bowled over. I miss the 90s.
I was in 7th grade when Vitalogy came out and I remember it being sort of a big deal. This was Peral Jam's first record after Cobain had killed himself and everyone was all worried that Eddie would do the same (we were 13 remember). I remember sitting in my gifted class room with a few other kids and we were talking about this album. One of the kids was wearing a Phish shirt and trying to sound like he actually knew a lot about Phish (the idea of any 13 year old actually enjoying Phish seems ridiculous looking back). It was a sunny day and the room was bright... we weren't doing anything, just 'missing' class since in the gifted program you got to miss class twice a week or something. It's a shame we weren't older, like in high school or something, since those conversation would probably had been a lot more enjoyable than sitting there trying not to be awkward, trying to be cool, and attempting to do nothing that might bring about ridicule. Oh, 7th grade... Anyway, I'm not sure how I ended up with this album, but I did. And I listened to it a lot. And this was my favorite song on the album. I loved the chorus "Can't be what I want because it's free..." loved it then and I love it now.
A daily musical journey of 365 songs that I like and probably have some sort of meaning to me... This might go on forever.
The Deal
Here's How To Play: Make a list of 365 songs. The first ones will come easy. The rest will make you think, maybe even listen to some tunes you have not heard in years. This may be a good or bad thing. But leave room on your list. You may meet some new songs along the way. Try to keep your daily post to a word count limit by using one word per year that you have been on the planet. Drop me a comment with your link. (or do what I'm doing and just random pick a song thanks to iTunes or whatever and wirte a few words about).
