Id say not crap.

I have always seen them as the Johnny Depp of the music industry. Although fully mainstream they would rather find their own wierd nitch where they can challenge themselves and make art on their own terms.

Would Johnny or Pearl Jam have the same attitude if they never got the mainstream recognition? That is somthing we never could pretend to know.

Matt Cameron is a very solid rock drummer with great ideas on how to come at a beat that can be totally unexpected.
Listen to the first couple tracks on superunknown faded all the way to one ear and you'll see what Im talking about.

Green River sounded different and interesting, even threatening at times. By comparison, Pearl Jam was predictable, like post-hardcore never happened.

Still, gotta give them credit for getting the Frogs to play on one of their B-sides.

Ugh! How can this even be up for a discussion?! OK, sure, they took on TicketMaster. Great. They should be lawyers. As far as a band goes and as music goes, crap dipped in newer, still warm and wet crap. That lumberjack singing thing is as silly as it is affected. They sound EXACTLY like Pearl Jam!

Eddie Vedder and his goat vocals can go to hell. Everytime I see the video with the puffy-hat-guy guitar player, it makes me wanna go on a shooting spree.

Always crap, never a question...their half-assed stance against Ticketmaster be damned.

Matt wrote:Green River sounded different and interesting, even threatening at times.

by "different and interesting" did you mean "like tiresome cock-rock"? because then you'd be right. maybe they'd threaten to steal your bottle of aqua-net and your mascara. green river were CRAP and pearl jam are worse crap, even with the frogs association. i can't believe this is being debated at all.

I have never, ever, knowingly heard a record by this band. Is that weird? (They didn't impact very heavily in the UK, unlike N******) I only know them by their as-detailed 'rockist' reputation which sounds like something I would dislike.
So I am going to petulantly say NOT CRAP on the grounds that they are clearly pissing people off which is a good thing.

This is an interesting one. Although I admire the Ticketmaster thing, and their ability to convince their label to release dozens of live bootlegs simultaneously is one of the more creative uses of rock star privilege I've ever seen, I've always been struck by how little Pearl Jam seems to understand the basic dynamics of what makes a good rock band. With some exceptions (I've always kind of liked "Daughter" and "Alive" had its time and place), the music isn't hooky or heavy or really distinguishable in any meaningful way. It's just there. Jeff Ament is a perfect example of what's wrong with them. I'm all for finger-picking bassists, but he adds nothing and makes the rhythm section sound completely feckless. And he looks ridiculous.

Eddie Vedder, on the other hand, I've always thought of as one of the biggest wastes of raw vocal talent working today. He's got a great voice, one that if paired with collaborators who weren't so musically bereft (and he doesn't appear to have a lot of great ideas on his own) could produce great FM rock. Check out Vedder's version of Victoria Williams' "Crazy Mary" (credited to Pearl Jam, but the band really takes a back seat) on the "Sweet Relief" comp for an example of what I mean.

StoneDescendant wrote:First of all... (gigantic block of text SNIPPED)

Woah, how about some paragraphs, chief? Take a deep breath. Relax.

BTW, "lethargic" means tired or slow-moving, not stupid or unobservant.

StoneDescendant wrote:Someone out there has to agree with me.

I'm sure someone does, and I think you'll find them here.

And I'm sorry, but I simply cant respect anyone who respects Eric Clapton. I liked them until you told me that.

StoneDescendant wrote:..., and bands like Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, and bands like the Buzzcocks.

And fuckin' Hendrix, Man! They were like FROM Seattle!
And that song, "Why Go Home?" I mean, really, Why Go HOME?

Capital Crap.

And fuck the ticketmaster street cred. They're back on the TM.



Faiz