fucking pearl jam (nostalgia posting)

Normally we try not to date ourselves quite this much, as it does seem kind of lame to write extensively about Pearl Jam while in the midst of a 90's countdown, a list that is NOT (necessarily) based around nostalgia, although readers are probably assuming that it is.. (Maybe if these imaginary "readers" might leave a few comments we would have a better idea..)

Whatever.. Today I was mostly bedsick, and during the waking hours experienced between 10AM and 12PM, I ended up getting nostalgic after reading through today's Pitchfork review of Pearl Jam's 2nd and 3rd albums. When I was Rebecca Black's age, I listened to a LOT of Pearl Jam, especially these 2 records. (I was never much of a Ten fan. Too much reverb.) After waking up at 5PM and feeling better, I drove to get soup from a faraway deli/grocery place and decided to review Vs. and Vitalogy after not hearing them since at least 7 or 8 years ago.


On its release date, Pearl Jam wisely decided to change the title from Five Against One (horrible) to a self-titled album to Vs.. It was the first album I bought on its release date, and I ended up with the self-titled version. In Utero was released 5 weeks earlier, and due to being 13 and misguided, Vs. was still my favorite album of that year, with In Utero coming in 2nd place. I'm not sure how anyone, even while these were both new, could even marginally compare these two records.. SPIN left Vs out of their top 20 albums of 1993, while In Utero came in at #3 (topped by Exile In Guyville and The Chronic).

Also it was supposed to be considered cool that they tried to lessen their celebrity status by refusing to submit promo videos to MTV for three consecutive albums, although they did kick ass performing at the VMA's...


Highlights: "Go" might be the best song on here, and that transition from "Go" into "Animal" is a pretty huge highlight. "Dissident" has always been a favorite, and I was hugely surprised by how frat-boy douchebaggery failed to ruin the goodness of "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town."

Surprises: "Elderly Woman" was the most pleasant surprise, followed by "Daughter." I was kinda surprised by how much I hated "Glorified G" and "Rats," without question the standout lowpoints of this record.

There's a strange energy that's specific to Vs.. little moments that are hard to find elsewhere, and are NOWHERE to be found in current charting albums, such as the faint "are you guys ready?" at the beginning of "Daughter," the drum and guitar outro at the end of "Blood," the sound of thrown drumsticks hitting a wall at the end of "Rearviewmirror," and the general momentum of songs like "Leash" which would be absolutely horrible if performed by any other band, but in this setting end up kicking serious ass. There's a recurring sound of multiple guitars feeding back all at once, a reminder of the low production quality of this record, especially compared to Ten, a huge part of what gives it this specific energy.

Lowpoints: In Pitchfork's review, they specifically mention "Glorified G" as the dopiest and most embarrassing moment. I didn't believe it since I once enjoyed this song to the point where I considered it one of their best. But they're totally correct. Yuck. Gross. Ew. Ugh. Blech. *vomit noise* *stomach ejection noise* HORRIBULL. "Rats" also sucks but it's kinda fun/lulz to sing along with the line "DON'T SHIT WHERE THEYRE NOT SUPPOSED TO" moments after realizing that line exists... Oh by the way, I have the lyrics to this record almost completely memorized.. Also embarrassing.


I think I bought this one the day after its release date, because I was promised a ride to Lechmere (this was pre-Circuit City) by my dad who was amazed that they actually sold CD's for a then unheard low pricetag of $12.99. A year had passed since Vs and Nirvana and Pearl Jam were still by far my two favorite "current" bands, probably more so at this point than a year earlier. A few weeks later, Pearl Jam broadcast their "Self Pollution Radio" thing which at the time was the coolest thing I had ever heard in my fucking life, and I tried to stay up until 3 in the morning to tape the whole thing, but I ended up falling asleep and missing about half of it.. finally heard the whole thing around 2004-ish after buying the 4-CD set from someone on eBay.

I'm imagining that Pearl Jam specifically pictured someone like myself - then 14-years-old - as their target audience for this show, since "Self Pollution Radio" was the first time I ever heard "Teenage Riot" by Sonic Youth, or anything by Daniel Johnston, The Descendants, Wesley Willis, Outkast (they played "Ain't No Thang" at one point) and dozens of others.

As for Vitalogy, I'm surprised how much I enjoyed it, as there were no lowpoints quite as low "Glorified G" or "Rats."

Highlights: "Corduroy" is without contest the highpoint between either album. "Last Exit" going into "Spin The Black Circle" is yet another strong energetic opening, although not as good as the one on Vs. I've never disliked "Nothingman." "Satan's Bed" wasn't as "guilty pleasure worthy" as I thought it would be. Straight up rock goodness.

Surprises: So many of them... I expected many moments to be way more boring, such as the mysterious creeping kinda texture on "Tremor Christ," or the refrain of "Whipping," or the instrumental "Aye Davanita," or the slow-burner "Immortality." All of these are great songs. The biggest surprise was probably "Bugs" which I assumed I would hate, but I found myself genuinely REALLY enjoying. Pitchfork compared it to Captain Beefhart. There's far FAR more embarrassing moments of 90's rock than the weirdest moments on Vitalogy.

This is yet another huge surprise, but I can't really say that I actively dislike any specific moments on this record. I ended up skipping through "Not For You" because when I was 15 I had to sing it in my high school band at the Monroe Teen Center - our first official show - to a room of about 100 people who were all awkwardly and silently staring at me.. However singing the "FUCK YOU" really loudly, considering their "no swearing" policy, was kinda fun.

Lowpoints: Well I guess I'd have to go with the annoyingly overplayed "Better Man" even though it's not that bad of a song.. My issue with "Better Man" is this lame "legend" people tell where Pearl Jam didn't want to include it on Vs. because it was too accessible or something.. I'm sure the band would never admit it, but I'd bet the delay of "Better Man" was partially due to a record label suggestion, since it enabled them to stretch out the more radio-friendly songs over 2 albums. And if it really was Pearl Jam's idea entirely, I'm sure their label was happy as fuck about it.

Between the 2 albums, I was expecting to consider Vs. the superior record, but really they're pretty equally good... I'll give solid 8 out of 10 for both. Today's Pitchfork review referred to the "legacy" edition, which packages these 2 albums together along with some bonus tracks and a live disc, which makes sense as a package since most of these 2 albums were written concurrently.

EDIT (4/1/11): A second reading through this reveals a long, boring and terrible post.. we promise to avoid this in the future.