Monday, July 7, 2008

Pearl Jam. I don't get it.

Pearl Jam was there at the birth of the grunge movement. You might say they were in the delivery room helping to breath and push, along with Nirvana. The later was the more successful outfit, pushed by the timeless pounder "Smells Like Teen Spirit," which was one of those "you had to be there to understand the popularity of that song" songs.

But Pearl Jam hit big with several other songs, the most notable probably being Jeremy, in which it looks like things went terribly wrong for the kid from REMs "End of the World..." video.

Then something seemed to happen. Cobain died and the world transitioned from grunge to hip-hop and candy pop. And though they continued to be very popular, Pearl Jam seemed to largely disappear from view. I think there was a run-in with concert promoters over tickets or a problem with a record company or something. Not sure.

I was a fan of some of their stuff, but then I checked out. Vedder seemed just a bit too self-involved and pretentious, a modern day Jim Morrison. And I didn't hear anything I really liked. Maybe I just stopped listening.

All of this is being mentioned because the band is on tour and was playing in the area. What a review they get for their show in the Globe, too.

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2008/06/30/once_again_pearl_jam_packs_them_in_then_packs_a_wallop/

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