Cheering Section
Dec. 21st, 2009 01:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
morrigirlI've been on a Pearl Jam kick for the last week; been listening to disc 1 of their greatest hits album on repeat. I like the stuff off of Vs. the most, "Go" and "rearviewmirror" in particular.
I didn't like Pearl Jam when they first hit in the early 90's. I was still very pop oriented at the time, plus I have an innate aversion to anything that gets played on the radio once an hour. Pearl Jam was just too loud and too popular for my taste. Michael, on the other hand, played their albums into the ground. So, really there was no escaping them in my house.
It wasn't until they really withdrew from the spotlight after Vitalogy that I warmed up to them. Michael was disappointed with Vitalogy so he never played it and pretty much stopped buying their records after that. I was older, angrier, and had finally developed an ear for hard rock. Songs like "Evenflow" and "Jeremy" started sounding good. I didn't run out and buy any of their records, but I no longer automatically changed the channel when one of their songs came on the radio. I learned to respect and enjoy their contribution to American rock music.
I still don't like them enough to go out and buy any of ther albums, but one week last summer I was beset with a sudden urge to listen to "Alive" so I bought their greatest hits. Even as recently as six months ago I wasn't totally into them. I tried to listen to the whole album, both discs, and I just couldn't do it. The music was too loud, too aggressive, and too much for me to take. I stuck to the six songs I knew, played them ad nauseum, and ignored the rest.
Last week I had "Animal" in my head, so I whipped out their greatest hits, which I hadn't touched since the month I bought it. And when I was done listening to "Animal" I let it keep playing. And for some reason, this month, I like a lot of the stuff on disc 1. I've been listening to "Dissident" and "Courderoy," two soungs that were too heavy for me back in July.
Pearl Jam writes incredibly aggressive songs. Even the ballads like "Daughter" and "Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town" are really hard and defiant. You can hear it underneath the acoustic guitar and softer vocals. Even those songs are oozing with testosterone.
And I guess that's what I need right now, a nice dose of aggresion. I'm focusing on my poetry again and I need a barreling, fuck you, in your face, cheering section. That's what it takes to get me going.
I didn't like Pearl Jam when they first hit in the early 90's. I was still very pop oriented at the time, plus I have an innate aversion to anything that gets played on the radio once an hour. Pearl Jam was just too loud and too popular for my taste. Michael, on the other hand, played their albums into the ground. So, really there was no escaping them in my house.
It wasn't until they really withdrew from the spotlight after Vitalogy that I warmed up to them. Michael was disappointed with Vitalogy so he never played it and pretty much stopped buying their records after that. I was older, angrier, and had finally developed an ear for hard rock. Songs like "Evenflow" and "Jeremy" started sounding good. I didn't run out and buy any of their records, but I no longer automatically changed the channel when one of their songs came on the radio. I learned to respect and enjoy their contribution to American rock music.
I still don't like them enough to go out and buy any of ther albums, but one week last summer I was beset with a sudden urge to listen to "Alive" so I bought their greatest hits. Even as recently as six months ago I wasn't totally into them. I tried to listen to the whole album, both discs, and I just couldn't do it. The music was too loud, too aggressive, and too much for me to take. I stuck to the six songs I knew, played them ad nauseum, and ignored the rest.
Last week I had "Animal" in my head, so I whipped out their greatest hits, which I hadn't touched since the month I bought it. And when I was done listening to "Animal" I let it keep playing. And for some reason, this month, I like a lot of the stuff on disc 1. I've been listening to "Dissident" and "Courderoy," two soungs that were too heavy for me back in July.
Pearl Jam writes incredibly aggressive songs. Even the ballads like "Daughter" and "Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town" are really hard and defiant. You can hear it underneath the acoustic guitar and softer vocals. Even those songs are oozing with testosterone.
And I guess that's what I need right now, a nice dose of aggresion. I'm focusing on my poetry again and I need a barreling, fuck you, in your face, cheering section. That's what it takes to get me going.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-12-21 08:03 am (UTC)my favorite Pearl Jam song ever...
Date: 2009-12-22 02:43 am (UTC)This and a track I heard off of some old Urban Outfitters compilation I got back in '02 or '03, but for the life of me I cannot remember the name. I miss the 1990s...