Stuff Bryan Likes: Pearl Jam

I'm going to start what I hope will be a weekly (or perhaps biweekly or tri-weekly) segment on the blog. I'm going to write extensively about something I enjoy and refer to it as "Stuff Bryan Likes." I suppose I don't really need to come up with a new segment just to blog randomly about something. After all, it is my blog and I don't need an excuse just to start talking about something out of left field. I don't know...I guess giving the segments a name makes me feel like less of a dork.

Deal with it.

For the inaugural edition of "Stuff Bryan Likes," I'm going to talk about Pearl Jam. Those that know me should be well aware of my passion for Pearl Jam, which is outlandish, inexplicable, and probably a little scary. I have been a Pearl Jam fanatic since my junior year of high school (1994-95) -- the year Vitalogy was released. Prior to that, I had a passing interest in the band, but it was solidified around that time and has remained more or less constant ever since. The only time I can remember not being a self-identified Pearl Jam fanatic was a brief period in college when I was an acoustic guitar-playing douchebag who loved Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, and John Mayer -- even dabbled in a little Jason Mraz. That crap impressed more college-aged girls...or so I thought. Luckily, that phase was short-lived.

I sort of learned to play bass guitar in high school by playing through Ten and Vs., Pearl Jam's first two albums. I was never all that good at playing bass. But, to this day, I'm pretty sure I could play my way competently through songs like "Jeremy" and "Why Go." Mostly because they aren't all that hard and also because they're burned into my brain. I actually played bass in band that covered "Yellow Ledbetter" in a school assembly my senior year. Thankfully, no video of that performance is known to exist. And, I might be wrong, but I think that the intro to "Satan's Bed" was the first riff I learned on an actual -- non-bass -- guitar.

That one was easy too. Have a listen.




For about a year after I graduated from high school, I tried to convince some of my friends that we needed to form a Pearl Jam cover band. In one iteration, I wanted to play bass. When I realized that I was actually a pretty crappy bass player, I wanted to be the lead singer. I was convinced that I did a spot-on Eddie Vedder impression. In all actuality, I probably sounded like a drunk Scott Stapp with marbles in his mouth. Despite a number of rehearsal attempts, that project never got too far off the ground. However, we did play a couple parties, covering a number of crappy songs, some of which were Pearl Jam or Pearl Jam-related. Once again, no video exists. But, I do still have some pictures:


That's me in the flannel and the way too baggy jeans. June 1997.

It may seem odd to some, but I actually think I'm a bigger Pearl Jam fan now than I was back then. I say that it might seem odd because there are people out there who think that Pearl Jam hasn't recorded anything since the mid-90s, at least not anything worth listening too. Those people are idiots of the worst variety -- idiots with no taste. The band has actually released six albums since I graduated from high school, thank you very much. And, in my view, everyone of them is incredible. Though, truthfully, some of them are more incredible than others.

I think the reason that I like them more now than I did as a youthful Eddie Vedder wannabe (I'm now an old Eddie Vedder wannabe) is that, over the last few years, I've had a number of opportunities to see them live. I saw them once during my senior year of high school and didn't seen them again until June of 2006. I saw them twice in June 2008 and twice more in October of 2009. And, though I may be biased in my views, I think they're the best live act on the planet.

Pearl Jam shows are like religious experiences and almost every person in attendance is a member of the cult. Most bands that have been around for a while will usually just play through their greatest hits catalog and throw in some tracks from their new albums. At a Pearl Jam show, any song off of any album could potentially be played and, the rarer the song, the more excited the crowd gets. And, it doesn't matter what song is being played, the entire crowd sings along to every single verse. It's unreal to be a part of a Pearl Jam crowd...I'm not kidding. Anyone who considers themselves a fan of rock music should go to at least one Pearl Jam show before they die.

Here's the band playing the song "Pilate," not a hit by any stretch. Yet, the crowd knows every word. I was at this show, by the way.



Let me try to explain myself.

Some music hits me on a purely intellectual level. For example, I enjoy a lot of Radiohead albums, even though they have a tendency to be pretentious frauds from time to time. Most of the their albums are uniquely layered and can, with each additional listening, reveal something totally new. I generally tend to admire that type of music much more than I enjoy listening to it.

On the other hand, I think Pearl Jam's music hits me on an entirely emotional level. No matter how many times I hear a lot of their songs, I feel them in my gut. Seriously, take this song for example. It's not even one of their best songs and, particularly when it gets to the last chorus (at about 2:30), it'll still make my heart race.





I tend to experience music in an autobiographical way. Certain songs become part of my sense-memory and, every time I hear them, I'm reminded of those moments. I know that everyone has a little of that going on, but I've got it big time.

For example, I still friggin' love the song "Hole Hearted" by Extreme because it reminds of me of when I was first learning to play the guitar.

Do you remember that song?




My friend Sam spent like an hour one day just trying to teach me the intro to this classic of Americana. To this day, I still can't play it very well at all.

Well, I have more of those types of moments with Pearl Jam than with any other band. Let me give you a few examples.

The one example that sticks out the most comes from my college days. I got dumped on a Friday night by the same girl for about the millionth time. I had a tendency to pine back in those days and I pined hard for that particular girl. I spent almost all of the next day driving around Logan, Utah trying to come to terms with the blow that had just been dealt to my emotional well-being. For almost that entire day, I was blasting and singing along (in my wannabe Eddie Vedder voice) to my Yield CD. I actually remember the exact moment that I finally felt like I was going to be right. I was belting out the chorus to "In Hiding." Is that lame? Cheesy? Probably. But those are the type of moments that stick out in my memory, so sue me.

Plus, it's awesome song.



I also remember a time when I was still under the delusion that I could be a rock star some day, or at least a guy who played in a decent band. I was sitting in my friend Kwint's basement watching Pearl Jam MTV Unplugged when the band went into "Black." After seeing Eddie tear through that song, which included the now famous "we belong together" outro, I knew I was destined for musical mediocrity. That didn't stop me from trying for about another five years.

Seriously, watch this clip and let the musical sections of your brain explode.



Anyway, I can go on and on here. But, in the end, it'd just be an excuse for me to look up more Pearl Jam clips on You Tube. And, none of you need to be present for that.

I think I'll post more about Pearl Jam at a later date. But, it's getting late right now.