Greg Prato - 100 Things Pearl Jam Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die

To Eddie, Stone, Mike, Jeff, Matt, Boom, Jack, Dave, Matt, and Dave. Thank you for the amazingly inspiring music and for consistently fighting the good fight.

Contents

Foreword by Matt Pinfield

At the time of the release of Ten , I was doing fill-ins at MTV. I was also running WHTG, a radio station up at the Jersey shore and one of the 13 original alternative rock stations. Radio hadnt really caught on to Pearl Jam yet but we gave them a chance. It wasnt really until Even Flow that most rock stations went back and started playing Alive. And then the Mark Pellington video [for Jeremy] just put the band over the top. That was like ground zero for the bandeven though they were already getting played on stations by people like me and being championed by people in radio programming. They just exploded. They struck a nerve that really hit with the youth of America, as far as I was concerned. People related to that feeling of alienation, but at the same time, that feeling of hope. I think thats the thing that really is so important about the band and that period of time.

As they were exploding through radio and MTV, they were coming onstage early in the day at Lollapalooza, and people were going bananas. They would hear the beginning of a Pearl Jam song and they would run from wherever they were and go crazy in front of the stage. And Eddie would do what Bono had done during the War tourclimbing up the structure of the stageand people of course loved that. So that record became such an important part of that time, and people couldnt get enough of them.

When it came time to release Vs. , they wanted to figure out a way to slow down the train. They decided to take things slower, because it was just getting way out of their hands. Eddie had a really bad reaction to Kurt Cobains suicidehe was very, very upset. I remember they ran a story in NME about him, and theres a picture of him, and he looks just so distraught. So, they ended up deciding not to make videos for a long timenot until the animated video for Do the Evolution off Yield .

Weve had many personal interactions over the years. I remember during the Tibetan Freedom Concert at Downing Stadium in 1997, Eddie and Mike were playing acoustic songs in the afternoon. Eddie walked offstage and said to me, Hey Matt, Ive been wanting to meet you. The thing was, we had met, back when they were Mookie Blaylock.

But how could he remember that? We met in San Francisco when they were playing this pool hall. People would play all over townit was like South by Southwestand any place could become a venue. And there was a poster that said, Tonight: Mookie Blaylock. Former Members of Mother Love Bone . It was a handwritten poster! So, I was there in this pool hall, and it was pretty amazing.

So, years later, Eddie didnt know it was me, but he knew me from TV. He said, I want you to know I heard youre a great guy from the Soundgarden guys. They said you were the real deal. I just want to apologize that were not making videos anymore, or I would have loved to do something with you.

We did end up doing something years later, because at the time they were doing Storytellers on VH1 in 2006, they demanded that I do the actual interviews, even though I was off-camera. But they wanted me to do it, so we did it at the old Limelight in New Yorkwhich was still in the shape of a venue at the time. I did the interviews backstage with the band, and it was really incredible.

But getting back to Vs. its my favorite Pearl Jam album, because I felt it was a really important album and I thought that the things that they did around that time were very cool and ballsy. They put out Go as the first singlethey could have released anything and it would have gotten airplay. But Go opens the album, and its a great, powerful thrasher of a song.

Some people like to say, Oh, its a setup track for the radio hit. But no, not in the bands eyes. In the bands eyes, its another one of their babieslike anything else. And Go was a great track to lead off with. And then of course, the singles started to come from the record, and radio was playing songs like Glorified G, Daughter, Dissident, and my favorite Pearl Jam song of all-time, Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town. I love so many of their songsI love I Am Mine, too.

One of the things that I would recommend you do is check out as many of the covers that the guys have done as you can get your hands on. And its really easy today, with YouTube and so many people being an active part of the Pearl Jam community. One of the greatest things were the Christmas singles that they came out with every year. Like, one year it would be Angel, but my favorite was when they covered Sonic Reducer by the Dead Boys, because its one of my all-time favorite punk songs. Now, when Stone and Jeff were in Green River, they covered Aint Nothin to Do by the Dead Boyspunk was as important as metal or hard rock and just melodic music to the guys in Pearl Jam.

Theyve done some incredible covers. Recently, I found a version of Timeless Melody by the Las that Eddie did with Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutieanother guy from Seattle. It was just great. I love the fact that Pearl Jam has never shied away from doing cool coversthey love to play other peoples songs. And obviously, Eddie is one of the biggest Pete Townshend and Who fans ever, which is why hes done a number of Who songs over the years.

I think Pearl Jam is one of the most important bands in the world. I also think the decisions theyve made over the years turned out great for the band, because they became what I consider to be the Grateful Dead of the 90s alt/grunge era. In other words, they are like road warriors, and they are unbelievable. Now, Pearl Jam is not necessarily a jam band, but they change their sets, they change their songs. Theyve settled into that positiona ferocious live band with lifelong fans. It makes them really special. I love them.

Matt Pinfield is one of the most knowledgeable and well-known music personalities in the industry. His career began in radio, and he is most widely known as a VJ on MTV and VH1. Hes currently the host of Flashback , a syndicated classic rock radio show airing on more than 200 radio stations across the United States, and the 2 Hours with Matt Pinfield podcast. Follow him on Twitter @MattPinfield.

Introduction

During my lifetime, I honestly cannot think of another rock band that has consistently looked out for their fans as much as Pearl Jam has. As David Letterman so eloquently put it during his speech inducting the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they recognize injustice and they would stand up for it. Prior to Pearl Jam, it seemed like whenever I discovered a new rock band to get behind, it was only a matter of time until disappointment was in order, when the inevitable obvious maneuvers would be made to cash in on their sudden fame or win over as many new fans as possible, whatever the cost.

Not Pearl Jam. As Eddie Vedder once sang, This is not for you. Before Pearl Jam, can you think of a band that purposefully did not issue a song as a single off their debut album that had smash hit written all over it? Or what about abruptly abandoning music videos during an era when MTVs exposure was crucial to a groups success? And what about using their popularity to stand up against business practices they did not feel were fair, voice their political views, or seemingly work overtime for causes they felt were worthwhile?

As a result, when Pearl Jam became the biggest rock band in the U.S. around the release of Vs. , I did not feel let down as I had in the past, when a band I had discovered pre-fame had become famous. This was something else entirelya band that had made it on their own terms and was doing what was right, time and time again, and not what was expected by the music industry.