Second question for my Pearl Jam project

SurreyBassist

After the awesome amount of replies from my first question I might as well as ask my second question.

"In your opinion do you think that Pearl Jam were able to move past grunge because of the commercial decisions (e.g. not releasing music videos, battling with TM) made by them following Ten"?

Once again any response would be brilliant

thanks

Simon

pretext

Hm. The ban certainly made a conscious decision to follow its own path. But I think the decreasing identity as a grunge band also had something to do with the decline of grunge as a musical genre. And PJ continued on well past the passing of grunge, unlike say, Soundgarden. Of course, I still throw them under my Grunge category in iTunes.

violetpsyche

I'm not sure I agree with the concept of 'past grunge', mostly because labels place constraints on ideas, so it's difficult to know precisely what constitutes 'grunge' in the first place. I don't think there is such a thing as 'the death of grunge' either, although most people put this squarely at the point of Cobain's death. Pearl Jam didn't really share so much common stylistic ground as some of the other bands. I was listening to Bleach yesterday and thought, 'Hmmm, that bit is similar to such and such AIC/Soundgarden/Mudhoney song' but I've never drawn many links between Pearl Jam and the other Seattle 'grunge' bands.

Sorry to make things annoyingly grey. However, I think the band probably *survived* because of the decisions they made. They were clearly not going to cope for long if forced to bow to commercial pressures. There were points when this became frustrating for fans but I think they needed to pull away sharply in order to keep producing music together.

share

I think it just comes down to talent

the fact that they are all as individually talented as the other, they all have their own taste and unique sense of music and they bring their own personal influences and styles together in an ever evolving fusion of what is relevant in their lives - and as they seem so socially aware it brings relevance to the time and yet remains timeless

how's that for a mouthful

U R A Crazy Breed

being that PJ are world class musicians it's only natural that they grew & evolved as a band.
i mean no code was intentionally trying to push the "ten crowd" away and the result was some of their best work.but i don't think it's accurate to say the decision to avoid commercialism made who they are because the music had to be within them first.
what i mean is..any band can decide all of the sudden to follow a new direction but that doesn't mean they are capable of making the music that takes them there.

Dylan Stone

I think Pearl Jam have always "just been" a kick ass five guy american rock and roll band. (of the most incredible variety... not down playing pearl jam!!!)

Grunge?

It was just the genre of the day and the scene out of which they formed and emerged...

Also...I think they have always approached stuff in a very level headed manner...

Stone is brilliant.

IMO.

SurreyBassist

Cheers for the comments guys. I know this question is pretty ambiguous and full of assumptions but its gotta be asked

Julien

I've never been able to consider pearl jam as a "grunge band".
For me, PJ has been different from the beginning.
Anyway... I think they have been able to go through the grunge era because they have never thought "we are a grunge band, we have to do so and so if we want to keep selling albums".
They've always done what they wanted to do, without following any movement.

Black Diamond

Although members of the band came from original grunge bands, PJ never really seemed to be a part of that "music" as others have already said.

Their success is partially built on thieir initial popularity combined with their interaction with their fans in a way similar to the Grateful Dead. Ticket sales, traveling on tour with the band and meeting up before the concerts are very similar to what the dead did.

EP1973

They don't seem like it now cuz they made it past that era, and widened their sound....they were very much grunge at the time tho.

JP2026766

Considering that grunge was a commercial creation, absolutely. If Pearl Jam hadn't broken from that cycle, they would've fallen apart like the other bands in that era. I'm not sure they made those decisions purely to separate from grunge, but they defined the band's path. They were able to tour and record on their own terms, and I think what they experienced brought them closer together, which is why they are together right now and enjoying playing music more than they ever have.

EP1973

If "Ten" and "Vs." hadn't blown up and made PJ one of the biggest and most recognizable bands in the world at the time, they would have never had the freedom to do what they did. That being said, I'm glad everything turned out as it has.

Get_Right

move past grunge?

have you seen eddies tour wardrobe from 08?
pretty grungy if you ask me

as far as music goes grunge is just a bs media label that has nothing to do with the music

and we should each get a pint and a ploughmans for participating

Julien

Get_Right wrote:

have you seen eddies tour wardrobe from 08?
pretty grungy if you ask me

yep, true!
he wear t-shirts and shirts like we did 15 years ago...

Get_Right

Julien wrote:

yep, true!
he wear t-shirts and shirts like we did 15 years ago...

yep and wearin em for days without washing them

PJ_Lukin

I believe that is all boils down to quality. Quality endures. When the magic strikes and a group of musicians find that special fit, it lasts. It is not a stretch to put PJ in the same company as bands like Zepplin, The Who, and the Beatles. Bands with 10 or more years usually start on the nostalgia circuit, not PJ. They never will. They continue to be relevant and make great music. Quality never goes out of style.