pearl jam
Watch Lin-Manuel Miranda Cover Pearl Jam’s ‘Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town’
Pearl Jam and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda are joining forces to a conversation in order to help out the Democratic candidates in the upcoming U.S. Senate runoff race. Ahead of this Wednesday night’s virtual event, Miranda paid tribute to the alt-rock legends by sharing a cover of 1993’s “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town.” Watch it below. “I’ve long admired Pearl Jam’s music and commitment to advocacy — and their music has made an impact on me since I was a teenager,” Miranda said in a statement when the fundraiser was first announced. “Georgia came through for America and now it’s time for America to come through for Georgia,” Eddie Vedder said in a statement of his own at the time. “We — along with millions of others — are fans of Lin-Manuel for both...
The 35 Best Albums of the Last 35 Years
Let’s face it: With most “Best Albums” lists, you know the broad strokes of the ranking before you even click. Part of that predictability is understandable: Most iconic records earn their reputation. But these rankings shouldn’t be fossilized, and a shit-ton of amazing LPs have been shoved aside in the pursuit of maintaining the status quo. We didn’t ignore the unimpeachable on our list — you’ll see plenty of the staples you’ve come to expect. But we also hope we’ll spark your curiosity and encourage you to hunt for a title you may have missed over the last 35 years. 35. Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love (1987) CREDIT: Columbia Records How does one follow up a rock album that recalibrates stadium sound systems and offers a stark look at hard times in America? With love songs, of course. ...
The 35 Greatest Concerts of the Last 35 Years
We know, we know — the best concert of all-time is your friend’s obscure indie-punk band playing a sweaty neighborhood basement back in ‘94. We admit that one slipped through the cracks. Maybe it’s a fool’s errand, but this list is our attempt to narrow down three and a half decades of worthy live music events — legendary festivals, headlining tours from major artists, one-off stage collaborations, multimedia spectacles — into an eclectic and satisfying blend. – Ryan Reed 35. Heilung at Castlefest (8/5/2017) CREDIT: Gonzales Photo/PYMCA/Avalon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Music-related viral clips tend to be silly and easily digestible, like the dude riding a skateboard to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” while sipping on Ocean Spray. So it’s heartening that Heilung’s debut l...
The 35 Best Videos of the Last 35 Years
SPIN launched in the peak MTV era, when an innovative — or even just salacious — music video could make or break an artist. Thirty five years later, YouTube is an obligatory part of any promotional push, but no one’s counting on a mind-blowing clip to sell a record. (The views do often matter — just not always the creativity.) A sizable chunk of the best videos came out during the ‘90s alternative bloom, when directors like Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry and Hype Williams experimented with the style and substance of this malleable medium. But the format hasn’t died with MTV: artists like Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar and Miley Cyrus all made this list for a reason — and it wasn’t to meet a decade quota. Here are the top 35 from the last 35. Ready or not, here we go again. – Ryan Reed 3...
The Most Influential Artists: #15 Pearl Jam
As part of our 35th anniversary, we’re naming the most influential artists of the past 35 years. Today, we’re at #15. From Seattle, Washington here is Pearl Jam. Credit: Brian Rasic/Getty Images Three decades deep, Pearl Jam are now officially old enough to be known as “classic rock.” But on a sonic level, they’ve always sort of been classic rock, right? With Eddie Vedder roaring over the guitars of Mike McCready and Stone Gossard, the Seattle quintet carried the torch for the Who and Led Zeppelin during the ’90s and beyond. Their first masterpiece, 1991’s Ten, happened to arrive one month before Nirvana’s Nevermind, forever intertwining the two albums as tent poles of a movement everyone else called “grunge.” But their similarities were most...
The Reissue Section: November 2020
This month’s edition of the Reissue Section bounces all around the globe: from Athens, Ga. to Wales, from Berlin to Sacramento (and back to Athens again). Seriously, this COVID year continues to yield some of the best archival titles since they first started telling us that CDs were a dead scene. As if… Pylon – Pylon Box (New West Records) / Young Marble Giants – Colossal Youth (Domino) If we’ve learned anything from the recent barrage of TV show revivals, anniversary stories and video game nostalgia, we know the early 80s brought a major cultural sea change — especially on modern rock radio, as punk took on bolder forms against the backdrop of New Wave. Pylon (of Athens, Ga.) and Young Marble Giants (of Cardiff, Wales) were way ahead of their time at that pivotal p...
Eddie Vedder Opens Up About Chris Cornell on Howard Stern Show
Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder was interviewed by Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show for the first time ever and spoke about such personal topics as openly about struggling with Chris Cornell’s death, how he handled Pearl Jam’s initial success (he wishes he’d dealt with it better) and also missing a show by his own Seattle supergroup, Temple of the Dog. Stern, a big fan, told Vedder, “it’s very intimidating to meet you.” During the course of the three-hour interview, Vedder also said that while he’s been ok during the pandemic, he’s “worried for everybody. It’s a shame we’re looking at new levels of infection we haven’t seen before. It’s just so incredibly disturbing and irresponsible.” He also spoke about having a Mother’s Day dance party in the garage, voting in swing states a...
Stone Gossard Reminisces About Pearl Jam’s Inception
Pearl Jam’s first show was 30 years ago on Thursday. Crazy, right? To mark the occasion, guitarist Stone Gossard looked back at those formative years in a lengthy conversation on Apple’s Strombo show. Gossard told the host that there were “than 60, 70 people. And at that time, we were really trying to be as spontaneously pushing ourselves to kind of take chances. And Ed [Vedder] came up to rehearse with us for the first time we’d written four, three songs.” The guitarist also revealed why Pearl Jam left “Better Man” off of Ten. “None of us had any say in that,” Gossard said. “That that was Ed’s thing. His ability to think that way has really been an important part, huge part of our long-term success because I just think that our fans have gotten used to t...
Watch Miley Cyrus Cover Pearl Jam’s ‘Just Breathe’ During Backyard Sessions
Miley Cyrus has been making a habit of covering older rock songs recently, and today she released her take on Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe.” It follows her other recent covers like “Communication,” “Zombie,” and “Sweet Jane,” all done alongside her quarantine backing band the Social Distancers through MTV Unplugged. It’s a pretty far cry from the artist who brought us pop anthems like “Party in the U.S.A.,” “Wrecking Ball,” and “We Can’t Stop,” but the tracks also aren’t entirely surprising seeing as Cyrus has been looking to get back to her roots for quite some time. Among all of the weirdness that 2020 has brought, it’s hard to complain about Cyrus becoming the soulful queen of cover songs. Check out the video below. [embedded content] You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for...
Eddie Vedder and Dave Grohl Join Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Letter to You Radio’
When Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You Radio was first announced by Apple Music, it was effectively guaranteed that the show’s guests would be a who’s who of rock history. Today, that lineup happened to feature Eddie Vedder and Dave Grohl to chat about Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, and a whole lot more. The conversation jumped flowed through topics like personal and musical growth, the art of the demo, rising to musical fame, and the brotherhood among bands. “What was the difference between making that journey with Nirvana and making it with the Foo Fighters?” Springsteen asked Grohl at one point. “Well, probably just like you, I would imagine, you start playing music when you’re young, because something catches your heart, right?” Grohl answered. “And for me personally, it was the Bea...
Pearl Jam Release ‘Get It Back’ on Streaming Platforms: Listen
A couple weeks, dozens of artists donated previously unreleased songs to Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy Volume 2 — a compilation curated to raise money for Voting Rights Lab that was only available for 24 hours via Bandcamp. On Sunday, Pearl Jam surprised fans by releasing its contribution — a new track called “Get It Back” — on streaming platforms. Though the band hasn’t revealed when the song was recorded, it’s presumed to be part of the Gigaton sessions. The second volume of Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy came after its predecessor successfully raised $250,000 for Fair Fight and Color of Change. Listen to “Get It Back” below. [embedded content] Pearl Jam has had a busy weekend. Yesterday, the band announc...
Pearl Jam to Celebrate 30th Anniversary of First Live Performance With Special Stream
On Oct. 22, 1990 Pearl Jam played their first-ever show at Seattle’s Off Ramp. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of that gig the band is streaming its April 29, 2016 concert at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The 32-song set kicked off with a front to back performance of Ten and ran a whopping three hours, with covers of Pink Floyd, Neil Young, the Who, and more scattered throughout. This is the first time footage from the epic concert has been available to fans, and it premieres on October 22nd via nugs.tv. Tickets cost $14.99 and the stream will be available from October 22nd at 5pm PT through October 25th at 11:59 PM PT. See Pearl Jam’s announcement and a full setlist below. Pearl Jam April 29, 2016 Setlist Once Even Flow Alive Why Go BlackJeremy&n...
