Still Alive?

Pearl Jam are one of the most misunderstood artists around, at least in terms of their acceptance (or lack thereof) in the indie rock community. These days, it’s really their own fault – these guys haven’t put out a decent record in a decade. Still, there are many that dismiss their entire catalogue, a gross misjudgment in my opinion.

Many look no farther than Ten, their 1991 debut album that made them grunge superstars. This album has been both a blessing and a curse to their career. Ten is a solid album through and through. The problem is, over time it has become incredibly passé due to the heavy amount of 10^th rate bands that used the record as a template for their own music. The results were horrifying.  If these bands perhaps used Vitalogy or No Code as their starting point, the world might be a better place.

While Ten was strong, it had one foot still in the 80’s, production wise. With producer Brendan O’Brien, they progressively got edgier and more experimental, turning out a slew of great albums over the course of the 90’s, as their fanbase whittled down to a devoted core  due to  a lack of videos and touring (the reason for the latter being their protest against Ticketmaster’s high prices).

In retrospect, it would seem a lack of popularity was the greatest boon for their music, considering the drop off in quality the band has exuded in the 00’s. After their Binaural tour in 2000-01, they released all of the concerts from their tour on official bootleg CDs – a tremendously generous gesture toward their fans. What happened from there no one would have expected. They somehow got really popular again. By the time they released the uneven Riot Act in 2002, their concert attendance increased considerably. Soon, everyone's father was a Pearl Jam fan – white and blue collars alike. The band became a beacon for “safe” rock & roll. Now, Eddie Vedder had to be careful what he said and did at concerts (which he didn’t at first) as it would now sometimes lead to several boos and “USA” chants in opposition of his anti-Bush sentiments.

The music suffered as a result. 2006’s Pearl Jam found the band catering to this new audience, delivering an album that McCready had proclaimed as a return to their earlier albums’ sound (particularly Vs). When the artist who is releasing a new record has to assure you it sounds like their more successful work, this is quite often a red flag for a bad album not to mention the sheer vanity in self titling it. The album was forced "hard" rock with vague political messages. The lyrics were either not very specific, or addressed obvious issues just about anyone could get behind (at this point, even conservatives hated Bush). As for the tunes - if they were good, they usually were borrowing from older songs of theirs ("Severed Hand" being very similar to "Porch"; "World Wide Suicide" bears a resemblance to "Satan's Bed").  2009 followed with Backspacer, a more pop oriented album (oh dear), that managed to outdo its immediate predecessor, but still offered nothing challenging or interesting. I could make a big stink here as to how they struck a deal with Target to exclusively release the album in their stores but that isn't exactly true. The deal also allowed them to sell the album online and in independent record shops...it just didn't feel right though.

Pearl jam sadly seem to have become blinded and burdened by their rejuvenation in fame. It goes back to an earlier claim I had made in reference to the Pixies, that sometimes too much popularity can become a bad thing. Luckily, they still put on great shows that are long enough to please both the die hards and the casual fans. It’s a shame though that no one will ever be able to see them in a midsize, standing room venue again.