The 65th annual Golden Globe Awards were awesome, weren't they? The biggest casualty of the writer's strike to date, the Golden Globes were awarded via some kind of a press conference thing. It somehow seems fitting that Eddie Vedder would win in a year when the pomp and circumstance is completely absent. He always was rather shy about his fame.
Vedder won Best Original Song for "Guaranteed" from Into the Wild. Here's the video for that tune if you haven't seen the video yet.
Eddie Vedder has unveiled his first solo music video for "Guaranteed," taken from his Into the Wild soundtrack. My brother lent me this soundtrack on Christmas Day and I love it.
As a long time Pearl Jam fan, I remember when they stopped making videos. The video for "Jeremy" was everywhere and won big at the MTV Video Music Awards, and I remember Eddie making a comment about how they're not going to do that anymore. They were true to their word until "Do The Evolution". It's a shame, because those great Pearl Jam songs from Vs., Vitalogy and No Code would likely have been accompanied by some wicked vids.
Coach Carter made sure I had the MP3 of Eddie Vedder's solo song from the Into The Wild soundtrack. As I was listening to it for the first time, I realized it wasn't an Eddie original but a song I had heard many times on local radio stations. It was a cover, but for the life of me I couldn't name the original artist.
The song is called "Big Hard Sun" and a local band called Indio released it on their 1989 LP Big Harvest. Indio isn't really a "them" but a guy named Gordon Peterson who hasn't been heard from since. If you were listening to Toronto radio in the late 80s and early 90s, you'll recognize this tune.
Eddie does a nice job with it. Sleater-Kinney's Corin Tucker fills in for Joni Mitchell on this version. Listen to Ed Vedder's "Big Hard Sun" below.
Note: I've been told the player above disappears in IE. It works fine with my Firefox. If you can't see the player above, Teddy Vedder left a link in the comments that will let you stream the song.
AT&T's webcast of Lollapalooza is making the news this week because Eddie Vedder's anti-Bush rant was censored during Pearl Jam's performance of "Daughter". Pearl Jam, my favourite non-Canadian band, always tags on another song at the end of "Daughter". On this night, they tagged on Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall". The censored lyrics were "George Bush, leave this world alone" and "George Bush, find yourself another home."
From Pearl Jam's web site:
What happened to us this weekend was a wake up call, and it's about something much bigger than the censorship of a rock band. AT&T's actions strike at the heart of the public's concerns over the power that corporations have when it comes to determining what the public sees and hears through communications media.
Pearl Jam is hitting the nail on the head with that comment. As big corporations swallow up smaller media and cow tow to political leaders there's an ever increasing danger of this kind of censorship becoming more prevalent. Here's the AT&T edit vs. the uncut version.
For a very long time, Porch was my favourite Pearl Jam song. On April 11th, 1992, Sharon Stone hosted Saturday Night Live and Pearl Jam was the musical guest. First they played Alive, and then they played Porch.
Eddie Vedder's been busy with his solo stuff. He's finishing some new music for the upcoming Sean Penn-directed film "Into the Wild" and an album of his songs is due in September. Vedder likes to work on Penn films. He's all over the "Dead Man Walking" soundtrack and he recorded a cover of the Beatles' "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" for "I Am Sam."
Vedder has also contributed two new songs, "No More" and "Long Nights," to the documentary "Body of War", and he's recording his favourite Sonic Youth song for the compilation "Hits Are for Squares."
That's a whole lot of new Vedder, which is a very good thing, but when's the next Pearl Jam show? When's the next Pearl Jam album? It's cool to moonlight, but let's not forget the 9-5 that got you here.
Here's Ed Vedder and some guy performing Long Road on the 9/11 benefit telecast "America: A Tribute to Heroes".
But what the hell is Eddie saying? The lyrics are indecipherable in that "Louie Louie" and WKRP closing credit mode. The lyrics have remained a mystery until now. When you watch this and realized what Ed's singing, it will seem all too obvious.
I recently posted the video for The Tragically Hip's new single, "Yer Not the Ocean". There's a suspension bridge featured in the video that I'm trying to identify. A couple of commenters think it's the Capilano Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver but I disagree.
Below is a picture of the Capilano Suspension Bridge and beside it is a screen cap from the "Yer Not the Ocean" video. As you'll see, they're two different bridges.
Unfortunately, Ontario tourism wasn't clever enough to post their "There's No Place Like This" ad on YouTube so I can't share it, but if you've seen it you'll have seen a suspension bridge that might just be the one in the Hip video. If you know where this bridge is, let me know in the comments.
Speaking of Ocean songs and videos, Pearl Jam's "Oceans" is still awesome. Here's the video.
Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler star in Reign Over Me, which is scheduled to hit theatres March 22nd. I don't know if the movie is going to be any good but if you watch the trailer you'll hear Pearl Jam's cover of The Who's Love, Reign o'er Me at the end and it's amazing. Hear for yourself.
I've been playing and sharing the MP3 of this cover and it gets better with each listen. Eddie's vocals, the arrangement, it's all fantastic. Here's the entire song.
Just in time for Valentine's Day, Love, Reign o'er Me has my heart skipping a beat. What say you?
I've always liked a good cover. There's something about a familiar song being interpreted by another band that I dig. About five years ago we in the SLS committee threw together Cover Me Badd, 18 of our favourite new rock style covers of the day. Just a couple of years ago, I listed my ten favourite covers. This entry is about one of those songs.
Although I didn't rank it number one in that list of December 5, 2004, it should have been. There is no cover I like as much as Pearl Jam's cover of Victoria Williams' "Crazy Mary". I wrote a bit about what this song means to me when I included it as one of My Ten Tracks. For more, let me take you back to 1993.
The Buffalo Bills became the first team to lose 3 consecutive Super Bowls, the World Trade Center was bombed, the Habs won their 24th Stanley Cup, River Phoenix died of a drug overdose outside of the Viper Room in Hollywood, Jean Chretien became the 20th Prime Minister of Canada and I entered university. I had no older siblings or any idea as to what to expect, I just knew I was supposed to show up in some room in some building downtown at a certain time on a certain date. That morning, my alarm went off. CFNY was playing Pearl Jam's "Crazy Mary". It was quiet and Eddie's words were crystal clear. "That what you fear the most could meet you halfway".
By this point, I already loved the song and owned Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams. Somehow, hearing those words so clearly at that moment on that day elevated this song in my eyes and ears. I knew Eddie didn't write those words, but he was channelling them, and he was talking to me.
I've since seen Pearl Jam perform that song live three times. Here they are performing it in 2000 at the ACC.
Eddie Vedder and the boys were on top of the world in the early 1990s, and then suffered public indifference and critical blasting for the next decade. But they kept making the albums they wanted to make, and touring around in sold-out shows their true fans. Now, despite not having appeared in an MTV video since the "Ten” album, PJ has become a cult sensation on the road – "Entertainment Weekly" just did a piece on the band's massive touring success – and its latest album was well-received both critically and financially.
By being the band they want to be, Pearl Jam is relevant again. And by finally ignoring what others think it should be and where it should be seen, the NHL is starting to build that same kind of street cred.
I'm a big-time fan of both Pearl Jam and the NHL and I've never cared one iota what the public and media thought of either. My love of both is strictly based on an appreciation for the product. When Pearl Jam's sales began to fall over the past decade, I was still there spinning the discs and buying tickets to the shows. When the United States all but abandoned our national sport, I was there not giving a shit.
Pearl Jam and the NHL are indeed a lot alike. They stayed true to the trade, made the grade and in the clubs and the pubs their records were played. In the end, that has made all the difference. Spin the black circle... both of you forever more.
One of my favourite tunes on the new Strokes disc is "You Only Live Once". It's the next single from First Impressions of Earth and it has a B side that's intriguing the hell out of me.
The Strokes have covered Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me" with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Queens Of The Stone Age's Josh Homme. Homme will join Fabrizio Moretti on drums while Vedder and Julian Casablancas share vocals.
I just read that the new music video for Pearl Jam's "Life Wasted" was released yesterday under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-NoDerivs license, so that people anywhere can legally copy, distribute, and share the clip. If you scroll to the bottom of this page you'll see that all content on my site is licensed under a Creative Commons License. A Pearl Jam video is news in itself for being their first video since "Do The Evolution" in 1998 but to release it like this, so damn fan friendly. Unbelievable.
Awesome Pearljam show yesterday, even more awesome then first,(and that was pretty awesome!). The set list was fantastic and the crowd was louder and more energetic. The band replaced some of the slower new songs like Inside Job and Come Back with rock'n songs like Go, Hail Hail, Rearviewmirror and State of Love and Trust. I was also cool to hear live rarities like Whipping and You Are. Crazy Mary and Indiffernce on the second encore sealed the deal ... best Toronto show ever!
Alexi
I agree. That was the best Pearl Jam show I've been to in Toronto. I probably enjoyed the 1998 Barrie show a little more, but that's probably because I prefer my concerts outside.
Last night, I attended the second of two Pearl Jam concerts at the Air Canada Centre. This time, I was seated to the right of the stage, on the Stone Gossard side, 16 rows ups. The first show was great, this show was spectacular.
The Toronto Sun review of the first show said "it may very well go down in history as one of the greatest live performances to ever hit this city." It was a great live performance, no doubt about it, but the show that deserves to go down in history as one of the greatest live performances to ever hit this city occurred last night. My Morning Jacket was even better and the crowd definitely had greater energy, even managing to produce a successful wave at the ACC before Pearl Jam hit the stage shortly before 9. Hearing many of the new songs a second time live helped as they blended perfectly with the older staples. Eddie was on fire, seeming far more comfy and pleased with this show than he was on Tuesday night.
There were several highlights. This is the third time I've seen them open with "Release" and it's ideal for setting the mood. The new songs killed, with "Marker In The Sand" proving to be an instant classic. An exceptional "I Got Shit" was followed up with a surprise declaration that it's just a reworking of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl". Vedder even proved his point with a brief demonstration and comparison of the two choruses. Keeping with tradition, the crowd carried a stunning "Better Man", full of piercing emotion. Both encores blew the roof off the building as we were beaten into submission by Big Fish's "Man Of The Hour", "State of Love and Trust", "Do The Evolution", "Alive", "Crazy Mary" and more. As with their previous two Toronto shows, they finished up with a Neil Young cover and, the perfect closer, "Yellow Ledbetter". This time, they went with Neil's "Fuckin' Up" and cracked that it's Dubya's song. For the complete setlist, visit my new and improved Pearl Jam page where I'm now maintaining my personal song statistics. There you'll learn that "Even Flow", "Better Man", "Corduroy" and "Do The Evolution" have been played at all six Pearl Jam concerts I've attended.
At one point, Eddie serenaded us, asking Toronto to come along with them as they continue their tour. It seemed spontaneous and genuine. 20,000 people were one last night, and I'm so glad I was part of the greater good. This was a show I will never forget.
I know that I was born and I know that I'll die. The in between is mine.
Last night, I attended the Pearl Jam concert at the Air Canada Centre. It was the first of two back-to-back shows. I was seated to the left of the stage, on the Mike McCready side, 19 rows ups. Here are my thoughts on yet another great show.
My Morning Jacket - During the last Toronto Pearl Jam concert, Ed came out at 19:30 for an acoustic number before the opening band hit the stage. We were ready at 19:30 for a repeat performance, but it was not to be. Instead, we jumped right into My Morning Jacket, an outfit from Kentucky that wasn't half bad. They were part Lynyrd Skynyrd and part The Who with a little Rush thrown in the mix to fulfill Cancon requirements. I wasn't familiar with My Morning Jacket before their set last night, but I enjoyed their performance. Needless to say, my expectations weren't particularly high and I wasn't there to see My Morning Jacket.
The Show - This tour is in support of Pearl Jam's new album, ingeniously titled Pearl Jam. It was a very fresh start with four new songs to kick things off. There were seven new songs in total, with highlights being the great opener "Severed Hand" and the sweet as hell balled "Come Back", played during the first encore. In addition to the new stuff, we were blessed with plenty of the concert staples we've come to expect. You'll find the complete setlist on my Pearl Jam page. "Betterman" was electric, "Courdoroy" was it's typical energetic self, "Do The Evolution" was head-banging and "Porch" started acoustic before exploding into pure mania.
The New Tradition - Eddie is well aware it's our other national anthem, so he once again blessed the crowd with "Rocking in the Free World", Neil Young's classic rocker. Bono wasn't there to join him like last time, but it was full of energy and the perfect next-to-last tune on a great night. The last tune, as is to be expected, was "Yellow Ledbetter".
It seems this is becoming the new Toronto tradition with Pearl Jam. "Rocking in the Free World" followed by the closing "Yellow Ledbetter", both with the house lights on and everyone singling along at the top of their lungs in sweet, sweet approval.
Pearl Jam's tour kicks off tonight here in Toronto. I'll be there and I'll return tomorrow for show #2. Pearl Jam is enlightened enough to have a progressive policy regarding cameras, so I'll try and snap some pix.
Before I head on down to the ACC, it's time for Pearl Jam 101. Here are the links to get you started.
My Homage to PJ - My tribute to Pearl Jam's ten (soon to be twelve) Toronto concerts
Tonight is my fifth time seeing Pearl Jam live. The band I've seen most often is The Tragically Hip who I'll be seeing for the ninth time in June. I'm already spinning Vitalogy, getting ready for Eddie's acoustic number at 7:30 before My Morning Jacket hits the stage.
Last June, on a whim, I jotted down five superficial life goals. Number two on that list, right after "Celebrate Maple Leafs Stanley Cup victory" was "Watch Pearl Jam concert from backstage and meet Ed".
The last time Pearl Jam came through Toronto, everything seemed to line up perfectly to fulfill my number two superficial goal. They played the ACC on September 19 and thanks to a wicked hook-up with a member of the crew, I was there with an after show pass in hand. What happened at the end of that show is now legendary. Eddie Vedder and the gang were joined on stage by U2's Bono for a rousing version of Neil Young's anthem, "Rockin' In The Free World". Here they are, rocking out with the house lights on. It was a truly great moment, and only "Yellow Ledbetter" separated me from an opportunity to translate my after show pass into a meet and greet with Mr. Vedder.
Sophie had a choice to make and so did Ed. Bono trumped Boon and the two retired into the Toronto night to share war stories and scotch. Less than eight months have passed and guess who's strolling through Toronto for a couple of sold-out shows at the ACC this week? Pearl Jam is back and I still have a bud on the crew. This time, Bono is nowhere in sight.
Quick note of possible interest for you. I was watching CSI:NY tonight and Pearl Jam's "World Wide Suicide" was played over a scene of CSI's digging up the end zone in Giants Stadium.
Pearl Jam will be the musical guests when Lindsay Lohan hosts "Saturday Night Live" on April 15. It's a rare television appearance for Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready and Matt Cameron.
Speaking of PJ, they'll be soon in town for a couple of Toronto gigs at the ACC. If all goes according to plan, I'll be at both shows. If I speak any further on the subject, I'll have to kill each and every one of you.
Pearl Jam's "World Wide Suicide" is currently the number one single in Canada. This is the first time a single has hit #1 without appearing in any tangible format. I've already blabbed about how it was a free, high quality, DRM-free MP3 download, but it's also worth noting this is how radio got the song as well. No special CDs were pressed and delivered to program directors, we all got it from the same source.
Quick. Name the Pearl Jam single that has debuted the highest on Billboard's Radio Monitor modern rock chart. I hear some of you saying "Jeremy", others are saying "Daughter", someone just said "Spin The Black Circle" and I'm sure I just heard "Given To Fly". Good guesses all of them, but they're all wrong.
Believe it or not, "World Wide Suicide", debuting at #3, is the correct answer. It's also the 31st modern rock chart appearance for Pearl Jam, placing them second overall to U2's 33. Even cooler, in the 17 year history of the chart, this is only the fifth time a song has debuted in the top three.
I just submitted a tune for SLS15 consideration. I submitted "World Wide Suicide" from Pearl Jam.
This is the new Pearl Jam single they gave away for free online. I wrote all about it here. If you want to decide for yourself if it's SLS-worthy, I'm more than happy to email an MP3 of the song to everyone who leaves a comment on that page.
I mentioned the new Pearl Jam single "World Wide Suicide" was hitting radio this month and it would be available as a free download for a couple of days. It's available now and I just downloaded a copy.
It's a completely DRM-free, extremely high quality MP3 file and downloading it from here was an absolute snap. It couldn't have been easier, it couldn't sound better and I couldn't be happier.
No other band of this magnitude gets it like Pearl Jam does. They're actually encouraging their fans to download and share their new single and they're ensuring their fans are happy by leaving DRM out of the equation and making it a sweet 6.4MB 256kbps MP3. And, as an added bonus, the song is great!
We know Pearl Jam's new song will be called "World Wide Suicide", but what's the name of their new album?
Their eighth studio album will be self-titled. Pearl Jam will release Pearl Jam on May 2 via J Records. Ya know what else is cool? For two days beginning March 8, "World Wide Suicide" will be a free download from PearlJam.com.
These guys are always a little ahead of the curve.
According to sources, Pearl Jam will release a new single called World Wide Suicide on May 2nd but it'll hit radio on March 14th. What does Eddie Vedder have to say about the new record? It's "easily the best stuff we've done but also some of the hardest stuff. It's very aggressive, because again, it's kind of a product of what it's like to be an American these days. It's pretty aggressive, especially when you turn it loud”.
Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World" is our other national anthem. It's both musically and lyrically worthy of this honour, and two events over the past few months have cemented its status as the song that unites.
On July 2nd of this year, Canada's Live 8 concert took place in Barrie, Ontario. Neil Young closed the show with three fantastic songs, ending with "Rockin' In The Free World". Joining him for this song were the other performers from the Barenaked Ladies to Blue Rodeo and The Tragically Hip. Here's a photo of Neil Young and Gord Downie singing this tune.
On September 19th of this year, Pearl Jam sang Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World" during their second and final encore of that night in Toronto, Ontario. Joining him on stage was none other than Bono of U2, creating a moment for the ages. Here's a photo of Eddie Vedder and Bono singing this tune.
It's an epic song of protest and thought provocation and it's ours. O Canada, keep on rockin' in the free world!
I had a blast at the Pearl Jam concert and was lucky enough to witness first hand "Rockin' in the Free World" with Ed and Bono taking turns on the mic. It truly was one of those moments.
Back in August I wrote about Pearl Jam's decision to release 192 kbps non-DRM digital downloads of their live shows for $9.99 USD. Today, I decided to give this process a whirl and download a copy of my show.
I had to download an application that runs in Java, but it was very easy to use and it took me seconds to order the show from September 19, enter my credit card info and begin the download. The entire 259 MB download only took a few minutes and along with my 192 kbps non-DRM MP3s I got a number of high quality pictures like this one and liner notes / covers in PDF.
Had these not been DRM-free, high quality MP3s, I'd have taken a pass. The Tragically Hip offered a similar deal but they opted to make their MP3s available as 128 kbps MP3s. Close, but no cigar. Pearl Jam just seems to get it.
Relax fellow Pearl Jam fans, it's only Liisa LaDouceur. I've got a story that puts everything into perspective, don't you worry. You spent the morning following the concert reading reviews online and you saw Liisa LaDouceur's review from the Toronto Sun. It probably upset you.
LaDouceur makes a number of infuriatingly ignorant comments, far too many to tear apart here, and she closes her "special to the Sun" with this string of pearls:
You could call Pearl Jam timeless. You could also call them outdated. They've earned the right to be classic rockers, but even when they play their biggest hit, Alive, it doesn't feel like a classic moment.
Vedder certainly didn't turn up his performance a notch. (Although he did run to one side of the stage instead of just facing drummer Matt Cameron.)
It was just another rock song from by-gone era, back when Pearl Jam actually mattered.
For two and a half hours, Pearl Jam preached to a grateful flock.
Then at the end, they were upstaged by a man in a cowboy hat and tambourine.
Just because they can make a good living being serious, damned good players with a massive back catalogue, doesn't make them relevant in the outside world once the lights go up.
As Bono's presence only highlighted, they're certainly no U2.
Here's a little background information for you. During CBC Radio's "50 Tracks" earlier this year, LaDouceur was asked to respond to the fact The Tragically Hip's "Courage" was being nominated for inclusion as an essential Canadian song. She immediately trashed the entire band calling them nothing more than "hoser rock" and tossed them aside as "nothing special". Now, LaDouceur is writing that Pearl Jam is only relevant to "the drunken, university-aged crowd" that attend their shows. She has taken yet another soulful, rockin' band that continues to write and produce brilliant material and has tossed them aside as irrelevant.
As I said off the top, don't let this waste of ink get to you. It's just Liisa LaDouceur, the woman who despises all that is authentic and soulful and nominates Sweeney Todd's "Roxy Roller" as an essential song. Her agenda is clear and that doesn't make her relevant in the outside world once the lights go up.
No sir, the fun doesn't stop there. Because it was a Pearl Jam show, I also updated my tribute to Pearl Jam in Toronto with the setlist from last night.
My two favourite bands live are The Tragically Hip and Pearl Jam. When James showed up, I made a decision to restrict my concert going activities to these two bands. I've been faithful to this rule ever since.
Last night, I saw Pearl Jam at the ACC. There's a long and exceptional story that precedes this fact, perhaps my very best story ever, but I can't and won't share it here. The culmination of these efforts was this comped ticket and this aftershow pass. On with the show...
Porch Unplugged - Armed with the knowledge Ed Vedder was performing an acoustic song by himself prior to the opening band on this tour, we were sure to be in our seats by 19:30 EDT. Ed didn't disappoint, taking a seat on his stool for a spectacular unplugged rendition of one of my favourite Ten tracks, "Porch". It reminded me of the MTV Unplugged show Pearl Jam did when they took "Porch" to a whole new level and blew my mind. This was a perfect opening.
Sleater-Kinney - Sleater-Kinney is one of those bands you've heard of, but really don't know. I listened with open ears and tried to enjoy their set, but I couldn't help but dislike it. It's not that I was indifferent, it's that I really hated their wall of non-melodious sound accompanied by annoying as hell singing. Imagine a cross between Geddy Lee and Grace Slick only really, really awful. How Sleater-Kinney managed to secure a record contract I'll never know. Perhaps it's the novelty of being a group of female rockers? An all male band with the same skills would never have made it out of the garage.
The Show - From the hypnotic opening of "Release" through the closing chords of "Yellow Ledbetter", this was an amazing show. Ed and the gang reminded me why they are the worlds greatest live act. The crowd was electric, even starting the wave before the opening number. Highlights included an emotionally charged "Better Man" which included what may be the loudest cheer in ACC history, manic guitar jamming on "Evenflow", a rip-roaring "Cordoroy" and a tender and beautiful tribute to Neil Young, "Harvest Moon".
This tour is not in support of a new album and is therefore hit-laden. You name it, we got it last night from "Alive" to "Rearviewmirror" to "Black" and "Jeremy". We got the disco ball for "Wishlist", the "WMA" tag on "Daughter" and a very special moment I'll elaborate on in the next paragraph.
Rocking in the Free World - During the first encore, Ed said some very kind things about Neil Young and performed "Harvest Moon" in his honour. Neil Young is another of my musical heroes, so this was a perfect salute. Then, during the second encore, just before the night ending "Yellow Ledbetter", Pearl Jam broke into their second Neil Young song of the night. We were blessed with "Rockin' in the Free World", a song I recently put on my list of ten essential Canadian songs. I love this damn song, and nobody covers it like Pearl Jam.
With "Rockin' in the Free World" bringing down the house, the house lights went on. The crowd was going wild, singing along and basking in the final glows of an all-too-perfect night. As if things weren't awesome enough, Ed was joined on stage by a special guest. It was none other than Bono of U2. Bono and Ed took turns on the mic for what seemed like an eternity and the entire place went nuts. It was a surreal moment and one that I'll never forget. At the conclusion of the song, the two exchanged a hug, Bono returned to his seat at the side of the stage beside The Edge and the band played "Yellow Ledbetter" with the lights still on.
May Pearl Jam never burn out or fade away. Thanks R.W.!
It's September 19, 2005. If you were paying attention on May 28, I wrote an entry in which I alluded to the fulfillment of a dream this night that I will write about tomorrow.
Although I can't share many details, everything is falling into place quite nicely. This is going to be something special. Check back tomorrow for the details fit for public consumption.
On September 19, I'll be at the ACC seeing Pearl Jam for the fourth time. Mere hours after the last encore, the band will release 192 bitrate non-DRM digital downloads of their live shows exclusively at www.pearljam.com for $9.99 USD.
First of all, I'm most delighted by their decision to release these files free of any DRM. It's consistent with their spirit and part of the reason I dig them so much. I'm also pleased to see the files will be 192 kbps, consistent with my ripping process.
Another progressive move by one of the greatest bands of all time. I plan to shake Ed's hand on the 19th and thank him personally.
I've taken dozens of notes and mulled the options for months but I've finally done it. I've managed to arrive at a list of ten songs that might just be my ten favourite tracks of all-time.
This was no easy feat. I started with a short list of about fifty songs and slowly whittled them down. There was much internal debate with some amazing personal favourites being relegated to the cutting room floor. All the heavy "hard rock" tunes seemed to bite the dust before the top ten with System of a Down's "Chop Suey!" being the last of that genre to go at the bitter end. Shockingly, no song from The Tragically Hip appears on this list, although a few were close. Without a doubt, this list is subject to change and will no doubt change before the month is through. Some days The Five Stairsteps is a slam dunk, some days it's barely a top fifty. Sometimes Radiohead is well represented, this time they're not. Sometimes all ten songs are from Arcade Fire's "Funeral", this time, not a single one.
Without further delay, I present to you my favourite songs of all-time. I call this entry, my ten tracks.
Louis Armstrong - What A Wonderful World
This one was a no-brainer for me. Its place in the soundtrack of my life was solidified sixteen summers ago when it was played on the Polar Express every night during the CNE after closing. It became the thought provoking anthem of my summer of '89 and I can't hear it without drifting back.
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
Tragically dead at the age of 30, Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" lives on as a haunting tribute. It's a special song, covered by many artists, but no one did it as well as Buckley. I'm sharing this track tomorrow.
Hayden - Bad As They Seem
I think I was hooked on Hayden immediately following the first time I heard the first three chords of this song. It's a simple and sweet folksy tune about a guy who digs a chick he can't have. I simply can't tire of this one.
Nirvana - All Apologies (Unplugged)
Following Kurt Cobain's suicide, the unplugged version of this song was my mourning anthem. The In Utero version was great, but this stripped down rendition was Cobain's swan song. It was a farewell to a generation that came of age to his poetry. That was my generation, and this was my farewell.
Pearl Jam - Crazy Mary
It's unbelievable that a band that has produced so much brilliant original material would appear on this list twice with two covers. This time, it's Victoria Williams getting the golden treatment by Ed and the gang and it's spectacular. To me, this song is my first year at U of T and riding the subway with my walkman.
Pearl Jam - Throw Your Arms Around Me
Pearl Jam took this song from Hunters and Collectors and made it their own. It's ultra romantic without being sappy and custom-made for weddings. A tasteful love song that truly will echo through the ages.
Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
If things are hectic and I need to chill, I listen to this song and all is well. Enough said.
Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacher Man
This songs inclusion on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack instantly tattooed this gorgeous tune into my psyche. Lyrically and musically it's a gem.
James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
Always a favourite of mine, "Sweet Baby James" guaranteed itself a spot in my ten tracks when it came time for Taryn and I to name our son. We were having some difficulty finding common ground when I thought of this song. The rest is history and I can't hear this song without thinking about my sweet baby James.
Neil Young - Helpless
He's the godfather of grunge and a Canadian hero. One note from this man and my ears are ecstatic. Is "Helpless" his best? That all depends upon what day you're asking the question. Today, it's one of my ten tracks.
I'm emotionally exhausted from this exercise. With over 13000 songs in my collection, there are hundreds and hundreds that I absolutely love. When I embarked on this quest, I never imagined it would be as difficult as this. If you're up for the challenge, Share your ten with me and I'll post them. G'night all, I'm beat.
The Pearl Jam pre-sale was a disaster, but the general sale this morning worked out fine. I've secured tickets for Pearl Jam as an "in case of emergency" backup plan.
You see, I'm hoping I never have to use this ticket. I've got a Kramer-esque scheme in place that, if successful, will put me backstage with Ed and the gang. Mark September 20 on your calendars because on that date I will write a detailed entry about this plan and reveal whether it was successful or not. If it is successful, and I'm 90% certain it will be, you'll definitely want to read about what it's like to watch a Pearl Jam concert from the side of the stage and, if this plan evolves is it could, what it's like to share stories with Ed after the show.
Pearl Jam tickets were available to Inside Edge members at 10:00 this morning. I'm an Inside Edge member, and I was ready at 09:58 to secure the presale password and hit Ticketmaster.ca to score tix to their September show at the ACC. As you may know, I'm quite the fan.
At 10:00 on the dot the password was revealed to be "alive". I immediately hit the web and tried to purchase tickets. I was damn quick on the draw and had my brother hammering away at things on his end to improve the odds. Every time we were told our tickets were not available. We weren't timing out or having trouble connecting, we were being told our tickets were already gone.
We kept trying, assuming this was a bug and would be fixed, but the CFNYEdge 102 website put up a message saying the presale tickets were sold out. I'm not buying it. There's something very fishy about this. We were buying with the right password only seconds after they went on sale and it's just not possible that these tickets were gone by then. I've been down this road dozens of times, and I know when I'm being screwed. The Inside Edge advert for this promotion says "Being an Inside Edge member is pretty cool. You can win stuff and take advantage of some great perks. Like this, the Inside Edge pre-sale to buy Pearl Jam tickets before anyone else!" This, my friends, is 100% marketing bullshit and us true Pearl Jam fans were royally screwed.
On the bright side, and there's little I can say about this right now, I may just be watching this show from the side of the stage with a sweet backstage pass. This may or may not include a personal audience with Ed Vedder and the experience of my life. I've already said too much and shall write more about this likelihood on September 20. This doesn't, however, excuse the crap I went through at 10:00 this morning.
When I started having kids, I realized I'd have to slash the entertainment budget. At that time I made a decision there were only two bands I'd pay to see perform live. One is The Tragically Hip and the other is Pearl Jam. I just received some great news about the latter.
Pearl Jam will be performing at the ACC on Monday, September 19, 2005 in support of their upcoming studio release. It's time to round up the usual suspects and see if we can't score some tix. Awesome.
Ed and the boys are quietly working on their next studio album. Matt Cameron told Rolling Stone, "There's a lot more up-tempo stuff. It's a lot more rockin' than our last one." Some new songs in consideration are "Severed Hand," "Worldwide Suicide," "2X4," "Marker," "Cold Concession" and "Unemployable".
I'm thinking if they release the album in the spring they'll tour to support it and they'll hit Toronto some time this summer. I'm so there.
Pearl Jam is set to release its first ever greatest hits album, entitled "rearviewmirror", on November 16. The 33 track record will feature two discs, "Upside" and "Downside," featuring up-tempo songs as well as slower ballads, respectively. I've been curious as to which 33 tracks would make the cut ever since they announced this release.
Below are the tracks from the Upside of "rearviewmirror".
"Once"
"Alive"
"Even Flow"
"Jeremy"
"State of Love and Trust"
"Animal"
"Go"
"Dissident"
"Rearviewmirror"
"Spin the Black Circle"
"Corduroy"
"Not for You"
"I Got ID"
"Hail Hail"
"Do the Evolution"
"Save You"
Below are the tracks from the Downside of "rearviewmirror".
"Black"
"Breath"
"Daughter"
"Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town"
I just heard Green Day's latest single, "American Idiot". It's clearly a Dubya-inspired ditty. Below is a taste of the lyrics.
Well, maybe I'm the faggot America
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda
Now everybody do the propaganda
And sing along in the age of paranoia
It got me thinking about the most recent Pearl Jam studio release and the tune "Bushleaguer". When I saw Ed Vedder perform this song live last summer, he was donning a Dubya mask. Here's a taste of the anti-Bush lyrics in Bushleager.
A confidence man, but why so beleagued?
He's not a leader, he's a texas leaguer
Swinging for the fence, got lucky with a strike
Drilling for fear, makes the job simple
Born on third, thinks he got a triple
Speaking of Pearl Jam, they're one of several bands on the "Vote For Change Tour". These bands will play shows during the first week of October in a number of swing states. Other artists taking place are REM, Bruce Springsteen, the Dave Matthews Band and the Dixie Chicks. The anti-Dubya sentiment boils over.
It's an age of politirock and there's nothing wrong with that. Will Pearl Jam fans who also consider themselves Republicans change their vote this November because of what Vedder says and thinks? I sincerely doubt it, but there are thousands and thousands of Pearl Jam fans who are unaware and don't vote at all. I believe this is their target and if the young, disenfranchised American goes out and casts a vote for John Kerry, we're all better off.
CFNYEdge 102 didn't air Mike McCready's preview of tracks from "Live at Benaroya Hall" last night but if I heard correctly they'll be airing it tonight at 22:00 EDT.
If you don't live in the GTA, you can listen online.
Remember when I told you about Pearl Jam's first ever full-length, mostly acoustic live show being released on a double disc CD entitled "Live at Benaroya Hall". It's due July 27th and Mike McCready will preview tracks from the double album via a live, one-hour radio broadcast beginning 20:00 EST tonight.
This is the kind of thing CFNYEdge 102 typically carries so I'll tune in tonight and see. It sounds awfully cool.
The double disc set will be available for a special pre-order on pearljam.com beginning tomorrow. Remember, this set captures a special night of rare, mostly acoustic performances from the acoustically awesome Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony.
Buying it this way not only gets it to you well before the street date but you also get a limited edition poster of the performance. Cool!
There has never been an official Pearl Jam acoustic release. Every Pearl Jam fan has a bootleg of their awesome MTV Unplugged performance from 12 years ago, but for whatever reason it was never released as an album. Eddie and the boys unplugged produced a simply awesome sound.
Pearl Jam is releasing their first ever full-length, mostly acoustic live show on a double disc CD entitled "Live at Benaroya Hall October 22, 2003". It's due July 27th and it should be awesome.
Speaking of the devils, Pearl Jam will release their first ever greatest hits album before Christmas. I'm not so interested in the disc itself because I already possess everything they've released and more, but I'm very curious as to what the tracklist will look like.
Assuming they go with a single disc, what songs will make the cut? The Pearl Jam catalogue is not only vast but it's also pretty damn sweet. Ten alone could be a Greatest Hits album, as could Vs. or Vitalogy for that matter.
I'm going to list the tunes I think will be represented on the Pearl Jam Greatest Hits CD later this year. I haven't heard a stitch about potential tracklists, so this is entirely based on my educated guess. The following songs as they appear on their respective studio albums come in at just under 80 minutes.
Even Flow
Alive
Jeremy
Black
Daughter
Go
Animal
Dissadent
Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
Spin The Black Circle
Better Man
Nothingman
Cordoroy
Hail, Hail
Who You Are
Given To Fly
Do The Evolution
Nothing As It Seems
I Am Mine
When the tracklist is released, we'll see how I did. If you think I missed a hit that will definitely make their Greatest Hits, Blog away.
Following the finale of Friends, I wrote this entry bashing yet another unfunny episode of the most overrated show in history. I mentioned there was a minute of the show I did like and that was when I heard the familiar opening chords to Pearl Jam's "Yellow Ledbetter". I was surprised to hear a Pearl Jam composition on a television show.
I noticed last night that a Billboard article on the inclusion of "Yellow Ledbetter" in that episode had been picked up by several news services, including MSNBC, Yahoo! Launch and Reuters. Here's a bit of what they had to say about it.
The music heard as Jennifer Aniston's character Rachel was about to board a plane to Paris in last week's final episode of "Friends" might have sounded familiar, but its usage was an unfamiliar situation for the artist in question. In fact, the snippet of Pearl Jam's "Yellow Ledbetter" used in the scene marked the first time the veteran Seattle rock act had ever licensed its songs for a television show.
According to a group spokesperson, it was simply a matter of the show's producers asking permission, which Pearl Jam granted. Although never included on an album until last year's rarities collection "Lost Dogs," "Yellow Ledbetter" has taken on a life of its own since its release as a B-side in 1992. The cut wound up appearing on seven Billboard charts in the mid-'90s, despite never being worked to radio.
It's a stunningly beautiful song and the perfect closer to a Pearl Jam concert. I heard them close with it in August 1998 and that concert remains to this day my favourite concert of all time.
I watched the "Friends" finale last night. It was just as bland and unfunny as I remembered it. Nothing even remotely exciting or interesting happened. Talk about playing it safe. The most shocking development was the fact the girl from "Scary Movie" had twins. Wow.
My absolute favourite part of the episode occured with about 15 minutes remaining. It was another cliched airport scene with Rachel getting on a plane for Paris while dopey Ross looked as dopey as ever watching her depart. Then, I heard those familiar chords. I couldn't believe my ears when Pearl Jam's "Yellow Ledbetter" began playing. For those who aren't Pearl Jam fans, "Yellow Ledbetter" is a classic Pearl Jam concert closer. It's a stunningly beautiful song that never appeared on a Pearl Jam CD until their Lost Dogs double release late last year. I love "Yellow Ledbetter" and I was pretty surprised to hear it stuck in the middle of such a commercial enterprise as the finale of "Friends". They played the entire opening and for a moment I thought I'd hear Eddie Vedder's voice come in but it cut to commercial before that point. I hope Eddie had too much class to allow that. Is nothing sacred?
Speaking of music in last night's episode of "Friends", I caught the last part of the clip show they aired at 8. One of the montages was to Hoobastank's "The Reason". Just yesterday morning I wrote about how I find this tune to be a "sappy, corny, syropy mess". That became more obvious then ever when it served as the back drop to some extremely sappy, corny and syropy "Friends" moments. "The Reason" was obviously intended to act in the same manner "Good Riddance (The Time of Your Life)" acted for the Seinfeld finale. Nice try, but not even close.
I still think they should have killed off Monica. Now that would have been interesting.
The Golden Globe nominations came out today. I was going to write about this fact and list the nominees for the major awards, but it was a bunch of movies I hadn't seen and a bunch of television shows I don't watch. Sure, there's the odd exception like "Six Feet Under", but for the most part there's little there I care about.
When I first read the news releases about these nominations, I completely missed the one nomination that excites me. It's really only detectable by going through the complete list of nominees line by line. I'm referring to Eddie Vedder's nomination for best original song for "Man of the Hour" from Big Fish.
Eddie Vedder could sing the phone book and I'd love it. I've been a huge fan since the beginning and I absolutely love his voice. His passion and integrity create additional layers that elevate my enjoyment of his music to another plain. As part of MikeBoon.com, I maintain a Pearl Jam in Toronto tribute page. I've seen Pearl Jam the lastthreetimes they played Toronto...or Barrie in one instance. I've heard "Man of the Hour" and it's another heart wrenching melody from one of the world's greatest singer-songwriters. Congratulations Mr. Vedder.
Music peaked in 1991-1994. Specifically, the days between the release of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit and the moment a self-inflicted gunshot pierced Kurt Cobain's brain. There is little doubt of this fact.
Here we are in the year 2002..almost 2003 and this music from the early 90's "grunge" scene continues to dominate rock charts. Lets take a closer look at the current top 7 from CFNY's (I'm well aware they're now Edge102, but they'll always be CFNY to me) Thursday 30 which I have posted below.
Nirvana - You Know You're Right
Foo Fighters - All My Life
Pearl Jam - I Am Mine
Queens of the Stone Age - No One Knows
U2 - Electrical Storm
Audioslave - Chochise
Notice anything interesting about these bands? Am I stuck in a time-warp? Holy moly Marge...every band represented or at least a part of every band represented is straight outta 1991. Let's take a closer look, shall we?
Nirvana - A band straight outta 1991.
Foo Fighters - A band with a lead singer and song writer straight outta Nirvana which is a band straight outta 1991.
Pearl Jam - A band straight outta 1991.
Queens of the Stone Age - A song with a drummer straight outta Nirvana which is a band straight outta 1991.
U2 - A band straight outta 1991.
Audioslave - A band with a lead singer straight outta Soundgarden which is a band straight outta 1991.
Get the picture? Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder, Chris Cornell and Dave Grohl have something to do with 6 of the top 7 songs in the current Thursday 30. Further proof that 1991 Seattle was the epitome of rock unquestionably, undeniably and unarguably.
The 65th annual Golden Globe Awards were awesome, weren't they? The biggest casualty of the writer's strike to date, the Golden Globes were awarded via some kind of a press conference thing. It somehow seems fitting that Eddie Vedder would win in a year when the pomp and circumstance is completely absent. He always was rather shy about his fame.
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Eddie Vedder has unveiled his first solo music video for "Guaranteed," taken from his Into the Wild soundtrack. My brother lent me this soundtrack on Christmas Day and I love it.
Eddie Vedder's been busy with his solo stuff. He's finishing some new music for the upcoming Sean Penn-directed film "Into the Wild" and an album of his songs is due in September. Vedder likes to work on Penn films. He's all over the "Dead Man Walking" soundtrack and he recorded a cover of the Beatles' "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" for "I Am Sam."
Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler star in Reign Over Me, which is scheduled to hit theatres March 22nd. I don't know if the movie is going to be any good but if you watch the trailer you'll hear Pearl Jam's cover of The Who's Love, Reign o'er Me at the end and it's amazing. Hear for yourself.
One of my favourite tunes on the new Strokes disc is "You Only Live Once". It's the next single from First Impressions of Earth and it has a B side that's intriguing the hell out of me.
Even if I hated Pearl Jam's music, I'd love the band. You can't deny the fact these guys get what it means to be a fan better than any other rock outfit on the planet. There was 
Anyone is welcome to 
Anyone is welcome to 
Pearl Jam will be the musical guests when Lindsay Lohan hosts "Saturday Night Live" on April 15. It's a rare television appearance for Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready and Matt Cameron.
Pearl Jam's "
I just submitted a tune for 
We know 
Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World" is our other national anthem. It's both musically and lyrically worthy of this honour, and two events over the past few months have cemented its status as the song that unites.
I had a blast at 
Relax fellow Pearl Jam fans, it's only Liisa LaDouceur. I've got a story that puts everything into perspective, don't you worry. You spent the morning following the concert reading reviews online and you saw 
I have added a new stub to my collection of 
I've taken dozens of notes and mulled the options for months but I've finally done it. I've managed to arrive at a list of ten songs that might just be my ten favourite tracks of all-time.
I watched the "Friends" finale last night. It was just as bland and unfunny as I remembered it. Nothing even remotely exciting or interesting happened. Talk about playing it safe. The most shocking development was the fact the girl from "Scary Movie" had twins. Wow.
The Golden Globe nominations came out today. I was going to write about this fact and list the nominees for the major awards, but it was a bunch of movies I hadn't seen and a bunch of television shows I don't watch. Sure, there's the odd exception like "Six Feet Under", but for the most part there's little there I care about.
"I got scratches all over my arms. One for each day since I fell apart."
Music peaked in 1991-1994. Specifically, the days between the release of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit and the moment a self-inflicted gunshot pierced Kurt Cobain's brain. There is little doubt of this fact.
