Nearly 15 years after Ten, Pearl Jam finally returned to the strengths of their debut with 2006's Pearl Jam, a sharply focused set of impassioned hard rock. Gone are the arty detours (some call them affectations) that alternately cluttered and enhanced their albums from 1993's sophomore effort, Vs., all the way to 2002's Riot Act, and what's left behind is nothing but the basics: muscular, mildly meandering ock & roll, enlivened by Eddie Vedder's bracing sincerity. Pearl Jam has never sounded as hard or direct as they do here -- even on Ten there was an elasticity to the music, due in large part to Jeff Ament's winding fretless bass, that kept the record from sounding like a direct hit to the gut, which Pearl Jam certainly does. Nowhere does it sound more forceful than it does in its first half, when the tightly controlled rockers "Life Wasted," "World Wide Suicide," "Comatose," "Severed Hand," and "Marker in the Sand" pile up on top of each other, giving the record a genuine feeling of urgency. That insistent quality and sense of purpose doesn't let up even as they slide into the quite beautiful, lightly psychedelic acoustic pop of "Parachutes," which is when the album begins to open up slightly. If the second half of the record does have a greater variety of tempos than the first, it's still heavy on rockers, ranging from the ironic easy swagger of "Unemployable" to the furious "Big Wave," which helps set the stage for the twin closers of "Come Back" and "Inside Job." The former is a slow-burning cousin to "Black" that finds Pearl Jam seamlessly incorporating soul into their sound, while the latter is a deliberately escalating epic that gracefully closes the album on a hopeful note -- and coming after an album filled with righteous anger and frustration, it is indeed welcome. But Pearl Jam's anger on this eponymous album is not only largely invigorating, it is the opposite of the tortured introspection of their first records. Here, Vedder turns his attention to the world at large, and while he certainly rages against the state of W's union in 2006, he's hardly myopic or strident; he's alternately evocative and specific, giving this album a resonance that has been lacking in most protest ock of the 2000s. But what makes Pearl Jam such an effective record is that it can be easily enjoyed as sheer music without ever digging into Vedder's lyrics. Song for song, this is their best set since Vitalogy, and the band has never sounded so purposeful on record as they do here, nor have they ever delivered a record as consistent as this. And the thing that makes the record work exceptionally well is that Pearl Jam has embraced everything they do well, whether it's their classicist hard rock or heart-on-sleeve humanitarianism. In doing so, they seem kind of old fashioned, reaffirming that they are now thoroughly outside of the mainstream -- spending well over a decade galloping away from any trace of popularity will inevitably make you an outsider -- but on their own terms, Pearl Jam hasn't sounded as alive or engaging as they do here since at least Vitalogy, if not longer.
Yesterday on the drive home I had the windows rolled down. It was sunny outside and the radio was blaring. At times like that I feel hopeful, free from the day's worries. The stress of the work day is gone and the anticipation of a relaxing evening excites me.I flipped through the presets on my radio and couldn't find anything to suit my mood. I finally resorted to the collection of cd's si...
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This is the song "Severed Hand" by Pearl Jam.Really, I'm just testing the embedded mp3 player in MOG.
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what a fantastic way to end the weekend...if you have access to the Sundance Channel, check out the opening run of the series "Iconoclasts", boasting Eddie Vedder and Laird Hamilton. absolutely breathtaking.next showing: Monday 10.30.06 at 11:00 PMcheck it out "here":http://www.sundancechannel.com/film/?ixFilmID=6994&rname=The+Film+FinderStraight from the website:"In this original series, leadi...
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{good setlists don't always translate to good shows, but last night looks pretty good}Dublin, IrelandAugust 23, 2006Pearl Jam Set List: Inside Job, World Wide Suicide, Severed Hand, Animal, Do The Evolution, Given To Fly, Corduroy, Gone, Marker In The Sand, Daughter / (It's Ok), Better Man, Why Go, Education , Even Flow, Life Wasted, Rearviewmirror 1st Encore: Indifference, Black, Crazy Mary, A...
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Went to the Gorge Ampitheater (AKA "God's Ampitheater") in fabulous George, WA to experience one of the greatest bands of all time....Pearl Jam.YOU CAN FIND THAT POST HEREPhoto Cred: Kerensa Wight
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So, having always enjoyed Pearl Jam, I just found another good reason to appreciate these guys. Apparently they're very eco-aware and are trying to balance out their carbon emissions created by their latest tour through several means including the use of bio-diesel and carbon offset programs. "Grist interview with Pearl Jam":http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/07/21/vanschagen/index.html.
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One of the most refreshing things I have seen in quite sometime is to observe Pearl Jam coming alive again with the most energy they have shown in years. Watching their performances on SNL, Letterman, and Storytellers, I am thrilled to see Eddie sing with a renewed passion that resonates all the way back to the Vitalogy era.When VH1 Classic recently aired a block of PJ videos, its astonishing ...
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Pearl Jam are no stranger to the bootleg concept. Back in 2000 the band began releasing official bootlegs of their live shows and have sold more than 3.5 million of the suckers (says Billboard.com).Now PJ will release burn-to-order CDs of each live show of their 2008 summer run in MP3 and FLAC formats, exclusively via Pearl Jam’s fan club, Ten Club, at www.pearljam.com. The digital bootlegs, .
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world wide suicide songs Free songs | free Mp3s Two weeks ago, both the administration and the Fed announced with straight faces that the recession was over and the signs of economic recovery were clear. Then last week, the president made a stunning decision that signals the administration's determination to repeat the mistakes of the Great Depression. Much like the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs tha...
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This Pearl Jam song, from my camping mix, was what was playing as we drove away from the ocean on Sunday. The perfect song, it was as if the ocean was serenading us to Come Back in the voice of Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam. It's one of those music moments, with my baby by my side, as our car curled around the curves of the mountain that I will not soon forget.
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Looks like I'll need to start saving now, cuz it's a long drive to Chicago.....http://www.nme.com/news/pearl-jam/27502
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what a fantastic way to end the weekend...if you have access to the Sundance Channel, check out the opening run of the series "Iconoclasts", boasting Eddie Vedder and Laird Hamilton. absolutely breathtaking.next showing: Monday 10.30.06 at 11:00 PMcheck it out "here":http://www.sundancechannel.com/film/?ixFilmID=6994&rname=The+Film+FinderStraight from the website:"In this original series, leadi...
More >
{good setlists don't always translate to good shows, but last night looks pretty good}Dublin, IrelandAugust 23, 2006Pearl Jam Set List: Inside Job, World Wide Suicide, Severed Hand, Animal, Do The Evolution, Given To Fly, Corduroy, Gone, Marker In The Sand, Daughter / (It's Ok), Better Man, Why Go, Education , Even Flow, Life Wasted, Rearviewmirror 1st Encore: Indifference, Black, Crazy Mary, A...
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According to Billboard.com , Pearl Jam is confirmed as one of the headliners of this year's Lollapalooza festival, which will take place Aug.3-5 at Chicago's Grant Park. Hell. Yes.
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A fond memory from when I was a teenager was hanging out with my dad in the early morning hours of the night. I was still living with my folks in Bemidji, MN and, being in the late high school/early college stage of my life, I'd commonly stay up all hours watching TV or surfing the web. My dad, being a musician, comes home around 2 am on gig nights, but rarely goes straight to bed. Those nig...
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I know I'm not the first, and I surely won't be the last...Is there one song that just gets you like no other? The saddest, most depressing song that just 'says it all, so that you (thank G-d) don't have to?'This weekend, I have my i-tunes on shuffle while I write papers...what's ALL I'm doing ALL WEEKEND LONG. And I start bawling like a baby out of no where...Garfinkel's "Conditions For Succes...
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Yesterday on the drive home I had the windows rolled down. It was sunny outside and the radio was blaring. At times like that I feel hopeful, free from the day's worries. The stress of the work day is gone and the anticipation of a relaxing evening excites me.I flipped through the presets on my radio and couldn't find anything to suit my mood. I finally resorted to the collection of cd's si...
More >
Went to the Gorge Ampitheater (AKA "God's Ampitheater") in fabulous George, WA to experience one of the greatest bands of all time....Pearl Jam.YOU CAN FIND THAT POST HEREPhoto Cred: Kerensa Wight
More >
So, having always enjoyed Pearl Jam, I just found another good reason to appreciate these guys. Apparently they're very eco-aware and are trying to balance out their carbon emissions created by their latest tour through several means including the use of bio-diesel and carbon offset programs. "Grist interview with Pearl Jam":http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/07/21/vanschagen/index.html.
More >
One of the most refreshing things I have seen in quite sometime is to observe Pearl Jam coming alive again with the most energy they have shown in years. Watching their performances on SNL, Letterman, and Storytellers, I am thrilled to see Eddie sing with a renewed passion that resonates all the way back to the Vitalogy era.When VH1 Classic recently aired a block of PJ videos, its astonishing ...
More >
This is the song "Severed Hand" by Pearl Jam.Really, I'm just testing the embedded mp3 player in MOG.
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Life Wasted |
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| 2 World Wide Suicide |
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| 3 Comatose |
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| 4 Severed Hand |
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| 5 Marker in the Sand |
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| 6 Parachutes |
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| 7 Unemployable |
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| 8 Big Wave |
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| 9 Gone |
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| 10 Wasted (Reprise) |
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| 11 Army Reserve |
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| 12 Come Back |
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| 13 Inside Job |
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 "Pearl Jam")
