BJ is once again joined by Craig Smith and Eric Miller, the hosts of Pods & Sods, this time to discuss the fascinating career of Pearl Jam and the part the band played in the "Alternative Revolution" that temporarily dominated pop culture in the nineties.
Thanks for this great episode. I was expecting some Pearl Jam bashing, but glad to find out that wasn't case.
ReplyDeleteI came from a similar background listening to heavy metal / hard rock, and I was also excited by Pearl Jam's first album. I considered them another hard rock band, not some new revolutionary genre. To me Poison and Pearl Jam were just different ends of the same spectrum rather than mortal enemies.
I liked PJ's first 2 albums, by number 3 they were losing me. At first I found the angsty and introspective lyrics to be a breath of fresh air compared to 80s metal but the constantly depressing themes got tired and boring quickly. The main turnoff for me was Eddie Vedder acting like such a wanker (as we say in Australia). In the mid 90's Pearl Jam seemed so self-conscious about their image, terrified of making a feel-good commercial hit song. To me they were more constrained and image conscious than a band like Poison.
But then in the late 90s (just after Yield I believe) I heard a live show on the radio, and they were simply awesome. Vedder's vocals were undeniably powerful and full of raw emotion. Since then I have enjoyed some of the songs from each album, and ignored the other stuff.
They seem much more comfortable and less self-conscious now, and some of the lyrics are even positive.
Thanks again for the great episode and especially for reminding me about the song The Fixer.