Pearl Jam is one of my favorite bands, but by all practical reasons they should not still be around. They have made many decisions that would have been catastrophic for other bands.
First, look at their debut album. Ten was one of the greatest albums ever recorded. Normally when a band's debut record is a smash hit, they struggle to do it again. I could be wrong, but I believe all ten songs were released as singles. Either way, it is still one of the best rock albums ever, and if you haven't listened to it do yourself a favor and pick it up. The repeated success is uncommon, but Pearl Jam successfully produced albums for almost 20 years now.
Next, look at music videos. During the 1990's music videos were still a very popular medium for music. Every band that released a single created a music video, that is just how the industry was working at the time. During the entire decade, Pearl Jam released only two music videos, and there were years apart. Their first video, "Jeremy" (off the Ten album) was a huge success. It is also regarded as one of the better music videos ever made. The band then went years before producing another music video. I'm not sure if it was because they thought they could not repeat the success of the first video or if it was just Eddie Vedder taking a stand against the music industry. Their second video was "Do the Evolution," off of the Yield album released in the late 1990s. This video was entirely animated and was not as big of a success as "Jeremy." Pearl Jam was still one of the largest selling rock bands in the 1990's even through the lack of music videos.
Next, look at the Ticket Master feud. Pearl Jam began to boycott Ticket Master, because they believed that they had a monopoly on the ticket industry. Pearl Jam then sold tickets to their concerts through local ticketing outlets and box offices. The band decided not to be associated with the biggest ticketing firm in the country and still survived. The band sacrificed the availability of their tickets for their beliefs.
Any band could most likely survive one of these incidents alone, but there is no practical reason for Pearl Jam to still be around, having survived all three. They recently released their newest album and it debuted at the top of the charts. There is either something very special about Pearl Jam, or they made a deal with the devil, I'm not sure which.
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Yea Pearl Jam is old school. There are other bands that have actually stolen their sound. Newer bands like Creed and Nickelback sound exactly like them it's scary. In fact, I think Creed and nickelback are a lot better too. Creed is kind of old but Nickelback is still slamming out hit songs. Pearl Jam is practically extinct, I didn't even know they were still around. Even though the sound originated from them, they should seriously consider retiring.
ReplyDeleteThat is the Seattle-style vocals that cause the similarities. Jack Irons, the drummer, used to play in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He left because of drug overdoses in the band. Pearl Jam is awesome, and Ten is one of my favorite albums of all-time.
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