Pearl Jam in the Rearviewmirror
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This morning I was just listening to the song "Rearviewmirror" by Pearl Jam, and it reminded me of a time in the not-too-distant past when they were arguably the most important band in the world. "Alive" and "Jeremy" owned the airwaves, followed by "Betterman" and "Daughter". People bought corduroy jackets to look like Eddie Vedder, which prompted him to write a song called "Corduroy", which (presumably) prompted even more people to buy corduroy jackets.So why isn't Pearl Jam that popular-- or relevant-- anymore? Here's a few reasons I came up with.1. Stylistically, their sound has matured. Mellowed with age, like a fine scotch. While they still come out with the occasional balls-out rocker, the energy from the younger years is fading from their records and, presumably, from their live shows as well. 2. Grunge music is deceased, and even MTV mostly frowns on post-grunge (when's the last time you saw a Puddle of Mudd video?). In terms of marketability, it seems like no one wants even the suggestion of grunge around anymore.3. While Pearl Jam has maintained their early-devoted fan base, I don't think they've managed to attract many younger fans since. The same can’t be said of legendary bands like U2, or even fellow 90's grunge brothers the Smashing Pumpkins.In retrospect, Pearl Jam seems like they were a product of their age. Subsequently, in the new millenium, they're encapsulated (stuck?) in the 1990's. And probably will be forever.Any other thoughts on why PJ just ain't what they used to be? 
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Comments (11)
"Are they "angsty" and avoid writing "catchy" or "single" sounding songs by choice? Or because they just CAN"T write a good song anymore."
They've been doing it since the beginning. The record company wanted them to release "Black" as a single, but they refused because they felt the emotional appeal of the song would be lost if it achieved mainstream play. It still reached #3 on the mainstream rock charts despite the band's refusal to release it as a single.
They did the same thing with "Better Man" a few years later.
To me, there are a few reasons they're no longer as popular and commercially successful:
1) at the height of their success, they did everything they could to dear it down, both intentionally and to fight in what they believed in. When they were the biggest band in the world, they pretty much stopped touring to fight against ticketmaster. At the same time, they refused to make music videos because they wanted their music to be remembered, not videos. Both of these stances took them down a peg in terms of mainstream accessibility (remember, back then TV stations actually played music videos).
2) Their music has changed. I wouldn't classify Pearl Jam as really "grunge" since Vs. Not making the argument of whether it's better or not, but sometimes change can lose fans regardless of whether it's good change. They've greatly expanded their sound. this has led to some experimenting, and some experiments that just didn't work. It's a lose-lose. If they stay the same, people criticize them for not having depths. If they change, people criticizing them for not sticking with what they do great. It's the challenge a band that has been around for 18 years faces, whereas something like Nirvana (or even Soundgarden) never had to go through.