Do You Remember The First Time U Really Listened???

CantKeepMeHere

Do you remember the first time you LISTENED to Pearl Jam??
I had evenflow and just didn't dig it
Someone gave me a mix tape back when there were tapes and it had a bunch of jams on it then "Black" came on. I was floored - you can't understand it really felt like someone dropped a ton of bricks on me. After that I bought Ten on tape and there has been no looking back

U??

SCMike10

Absolutely; the first time I heard PJ! I was working in Cali (as an East Coast transplant) and my buddy Joey and I were listening to KROQ at work when "Alive" came on. We both stopped what we were doing and stared at the radio. The song ended, and he looked at me and said "Who the fuck was that?". I haven't stopped listening since.

Newch91

Abso-fucking-lutely! Christmas Eve 2005. 14 years old. Freshman in high school. My cousin and I had been talking about music a couple weeks before Christmas Eve. He lives in LA. He asked me if I had ever heard of Pearl Jam and I said no. In fact, he asked me if I had ever heard of any of the grunge bands I hadn't. So he says he'll make me a mix CD. He does. On the CD, he draws the stick man figure and the band's name in red.

On the way home, I put it in my walkman and listened to Alive and State... When I heard those opening notes of Alive, I knew something magical was going to happen. I managed to listen to those two songs and then went to bed because I was exhausted.

I listen to it on Christmas Day, no immediate reaction yet. Fast forward a week later and I'm home alone, blasting the CD. I had listened to it twice already. You know the saying, "third time's the charm." And damn right it was! When RVM came on and that powerful, energetic feeling came on, I knew I loved this band. And also, In Hiding was a big factor for me as well. I slowly start to buy their albums, starting off with Vitalogy and RVM. Then Avocado the day it came out, then TEN, Lost Dogs, VS., Binaural, No Code, Yield, and Riot Act. Bought all of them in 2006. Spent a lot of my birthday money getting those. As of today, In Hiding is my favorite PJ song and Yield is my favorite PJ album.

Here's the track list for the CD that changed my life and music completely:

1. Alive
2. State of Love and Trust
3. Low Light
4. Deep
5. Better Man
6. Corduroy
7. Footsteps
8. Fatal
9. Smile
10. In Hiding
11. Nothingman
12. Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In a Small Town
13. Indifference
14. Black
15. Leaving Here
16. Rearview Mirror
17. Yellow Ledbetter

Pretty good, eh?

youngster

It was 1992 and I was over my friends house.. we just watched Halloween but after the movie was over I saw the music video for Jeremy. I was blown away and have like Pearl Jam ever since.

made us stars

My dads been a fan since the start, unfortunately I wasn't even born until 1995. I thought they were stupid, but figured I should give them a listen to see what it was all about. I listened to stuff like Alive, Black, Last Kiss, Jeremy, Wishlist, World Wide Suicide. This was all around the time ST came out so I really dug that, still do, and they're my favorite band today.

SH17171

Early 90s remember no internet living in Australia only music news was from mags or radio. Knowing Mother Love Bone would be no longer, driving home this song comes on JJJ radio,great riff,passive but angry vocals,singalong chorus and a ripping lead break at the end of the song ALIVE.D.J. announced that it was P.j. with former members of MLB.
Got home started ringing every import record store to get a copy.

YieldNebula311

Mine's pretty random..I had heard them on the radio now and then but never really paid attention. Then once, I was listening to one of those music stations that come with some TV services and Alive came on. Of course, I had heard it plenty of times, but for some reason, I felt the urge to look up some more stuff this time around. So I started downloading CD's and pretty much just got hooked from there. Was only about 4-5 yrs ago, actually.

stardust1976

Yep - watching Rage one lazy Saturday morning, and this vid comes on - ALive. Absolutely mesmerized - I think it was 92 - not sure exactly what time of year...but that was it for me.....16 years old, totally in love!!

Snoopy Died For Our Sins

17 years ago................

and I still do...............

MSnider44

1991. Basement of my house. 14 years old. That huge rolling wave in black and white came on MTV and Alive started playing. I stopped what I was doing and listened and stared. Been hooked ever since.

Plankton

My older brother came into my younger brother's room (think this was 99 or thereabouts) and got us to listen to this band. He put Even Flow on our crappy CD player and I just remembering thinking the sound of it was amazing. It sounded so cool, I knew this would be 'our' music, something that sounded like it reperesents your age/generation a little bit, or at the very least, something your parents wouldn't listen to!

didntknow

Yep...3am in the morning (year 1995)...had broken up with a loser who had cheated on me a month before (and before that)...spent the following month exercising my butt off and was now looking damn fine (if I do say so myself) and he wanted me back...after a night out partying he tracks me down at his sisters house and at 3am he's trying to put the moves on me and then this magical song comes on the radio ...'she lies and says she's in love with him..can't find a betterman..' and like a bolt of lightening (no exaggeration - it was the first time I had heard the song - or pearl jam)..I thought whoever the hell wrote that song, knows women. So I tell him...'you know what...just listen to this song' and I moved on from a very demoralising relationship, right there and then and never looked back..

Betterman was the beginning and the next day I devoured everything and anything I could get my hands on by Pearl Jam...to discover that EVERYTHING I came across equalled or was better than this was like being a kid again and experiencing christmas. No music since has ever touched the sides the way Pearl Jam has. My loyalty is absolute. They have got me through the best of times and the worst of times. Still smile whenever I hear Betterman...it was the end of one 'love' affair and the beginning of a far better one....

dimitrispearljam

jeremy - 19 years old

SomethingCreative

I was Riding the bus home from school towards the end of freshman year (2002). I was really depressed, pissed off, angry and had become a bit of a shut in because my mother had just gone to prison for dealing drugs (and because of that my group of friends at the time pretty much stopped talking to me).

Anyways...it was a long bus ride and my dad had just bought me Yield and Lo2l because he was sick of the Blink 182/Green Day phase I was in. I got through the entire Yield album while spacing out on the bus...then In Hiding came and kicked my ass harder than any song ever has. I got off the bus, listened to the whole album again, then listened to Lo2l, then stole all my dad's pearl jam cds.

My life really was changed because of that album...Somehow it made me get in contact with an old friend that I had a falling out with and transfer back to the highschool I originally went to which I believe significantly changed the course of my life.

sorry for the long winded response... :shock:

If i only knew then

Must of been about 13 or 14 at the time, was sat in my big brothers bedroom and he put 'Ten' on for me, by the time it got to 'Why Go' that was it been hooked ever since, all my mates call me PJ-Pete, always had the stick man cap on(never knew where that went in the end) :(

bunny

I'll never forget :P ♥
It was 1991.15yrs. Jeremy (on MTV).
Jeremy was very often on the air at that time.
My eyes were glued to the TV :geek: :!:

CantKeepMeHere

sonyaf wrote:

the next day I devoured everything and anything I could get my hands on by Pearl Jam...to discover that EVERYTHING I came across equalled or was better than this was like being a kid again and experiencing christmas. No music since has ever touched the sides the way Pearl Jam has. My loyalty is absolute. They have got me through the best of times and the worst of times...quote]

That is what I'm TALKIN" Bout
You nailed it - even when I was the first one of my pals to introduce them to YellowLedbetter in the early days, if they went on to get into this band they would be like - wait this song is just as good as that song - wow there aren't any songs I don't like...

Awesome
Just awesome

southernmanfan

16 years ago and they are my favourite band ever!

Ryan_WFC

The "Jeremy" video for me. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Coincidentally I had just gotten my first job, so the first things I ever bought with my own money were a boombox and "Ten."

Gern Blansten

I remember when Ten was big and on MTV all the time....I remember when Vs came out and they gained more popularity

it wasn't until Vitalogy came out that I got hooked.....I remember a guy I worked with asking me if I had heard the new PJ album and I hadn't....I remember him pointing out that Spin the BC was a kick ass song.....I bought the album and that was it

funny thing though I didn't buy Ten or Vs until after Yield came out.....

it took me a few years to get into Binaural but great album

I'm just now going back over Riot Act and rediscovering it.....I think Cropduster is one of the best PJ tunes ever

CantKeepMeHere

...the moon it rolls around...

Gern Blansten

cantkeepmehere wrote:

...the moon it rolls around...

hell yeah

it was one of those tunes that I would skip over but damn what a great song....

idreaminred

I was driving cross country, and it was right after Jeremy had become such a hit. Anyway, I bought the tape (yes, a TAPE) and FF straight to Jeremy. I wanted to listen to it again so I rewinded the tape just a little too far and heard the last line in the song Black and it was love from that point forward! *sigh*

pandora

late at night in bed- husband asleep next to me- 1992
Jeremy video comes on
Eddie's voice was the greatest thing I had ever heard
from then on it was Pearl Jam for me

decides2dream

cantkeepmehere wrote:

Do you remember the first time you LISTENED to Pearl Jam??
I had evenflow and just didn't dig it
Someone gave me a mix tape back when there were tapes and it had a bunch of jams on it then "Black" came on. I was floored - you can't understand it really felt like someone dropped a ton of bricks on me. After that I bought Ten on tape and there has been no looking back

U??

july 2002.
then i joined the 10c.
i'd heard pj before, tho not that much - didn't listen to much radio anymore - but after 09.11 tribute to heroes piqued my interest in pj, and the following summer is when i really sat down and listened to the albums my husband already owned, and went out within the same week to purchase the rest.

SJPJ

I remember it clear as day. I was 13. The year was 1991. My brother and I woke up early for school and were watching MTV. They used to play music videos back then. My brother says to me, " I hope they play Pearl Jam." I said, "Who is Pearl Jam?" Before he could answer, the Alive video came on and I was hooked. That was the first cd my brother ever bought. I kept stealing it and he was getting mad. He told me to ask our mom if I could buy Ten. She asked my brother if it was explicit. He said no, and she trusted him and I had my own Ten cd. I owe it all to my older brother. Been hardcore ever since.

Gary Carter

it was last night. those opening to notes alive just hit me. i was like wow this is a badass riff and that stone dude is one badass mothefucka.