I've never been a huge Pearl Jam fan. I was in college when "Ten," along with the entire "Grunge Revolution" took over the airwaves ... and I fought this revolution tooth and nail because ... well ... I'm not really sure why. I was (and still continue to be) a classic rock and roll fan - The Rolling Stones are like gods to me (OK, maybe not like Gods ... but like really cool people or something). I guess I felt that this new genre threatened classic rock in some way ... and, at the time, I was stubborn to listening to new music.
I've become much, much more open to new finding and discovering new music ... I started listening to the Killers, The Bravery and Franz Ferdinand long before they became "main-stream." But, I digress.
I've gained a respect for the grunge era, and enjoy listening to music from Soundgarden, STP, Nirvana, Temple of the Dog, and yes, even Pearl Jam. But, Pearl Jam's music never fully resonated with me - I can't listen to the entire Ten album, and my favorite song of Pearl Jam has always been Rear View Mirror, because it had more of a driving beat (unlike many of the normal Pearl Jam Songs).
With the release of Pearl Jam's new single, "The Fixer," I might have to rethink what my favorite Pearl Jam song is. Vedder went away from the dreary songs, and put together a much more upbeat diddy, using more melodies, background hooks, and even great choruses, similar to some of the Stones hits (and that's probably why I really like this Pearl Jam effort).
Pearl Jam seems to be embracing the pop-rock format, and probably decided they needed to compete with bands like U2, Jet, and The Killers ... and I applaud it. I'm sure there are a bunch of flannel wearing fans who hate this "re-imagining" by Pearl Jam, but I, for one, am happy they've at least experimented with a different sound.
You can hear the song right here:
Writer’s Workshop: Passing The Baton
3 months ago
3 comments:
I, too, like this new song. Pearl Jam may be on to something here!
...never been a huge Pearl Jam fan. I can't agree with you on this one Los. Every alblum has at least 5 good songs (Except "No Code", we don't talk about "No Code").
Someone bought "Ten" for me years ago, because I damn sure wouldn't have bought it for myself. Never been impressed with P.J. at ALL, and never understood the hype behind them. They're not even very talented musicians.
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