How old were you when each album came out?

Stephen Flow

edit: Sorry for the epic wall of text... I can understand if you tl;dr on this.... Didn't mean for it to get this long!

I was just thinking about how PJ has been in my life in some form since the age of 8... I am 30 now... to me that is pretty stunning... I've just never really thought about it much until now...

Ten - I got this for xmas 91, bless my mom for introducing me to them (she didn't care for them, just heard Ten was a 'hip' album). I was 8, going on 9. The words and meanings of the songs didn't sink in til a few years later... that's not to say that I didn't understand the topics of the songs... I just took the songs for what they were on the surface... that's what 8 year old kids do, I think. I stuck with the band though because I thought they were really cool... especially that unplugged performance.

Vs. - I got this for xmas the year it came out... xmas 93. I was 10, going on 11. At this point in my life, musically, I was full on into the whole Seattle thing... all my close friends were listening to hip hop though . This album cemented my love for the band... I was in deep. I remember going to Lake George the summer of 94... there was a head shop there that sold boot legs and singles and stuff... I remember my mom being reluctant to take me in there... but I ended up getting the Dissident singles and listening to all the live material from those for the very first time.

Vitalogy - Again, I got this for xmas in 94... age 11. I remember being kind of scared of some of the stuff on this album... Loved the album though... remember staying up listening to this with friend who quickly became a lifelong best friend and PJ buddy. The first time ever really bonded w/ someone else over a piece of music was over Vitalogy... We both saw our first show in 2000 together... on the car ride there we laughed at how late we used to stay up listening to Vitalogy.

No Code - Age 13... this is the very first PJ album I bought right on the release date. At first I'm thinking this is really really weird. I was going through a Tool phase at the time too... so here I am... w/ tons of friends who listen to bands like Tool with this weird little PJ cd... It was not popular in my circle of friends... but man... No Code... it grabs me by my soul and lifts me to some other place... To this day it is still my favorite PJ album.

Yield - Age 15... or I should say a few weeks before I turned 16. This CD quickly became my driving buddy and I will always ALWAYS associate Yield with learning how to drive. My mom wouldn't let me see a concert at this age... though I think she would have let me but they never came close enough.

Binaural - Age 17 - I remember buying this record after a HUGE test I had in Social Studies... I rushed to finish the test and a group of friends met outside school to go buy Binaural... I remember getting in my car, turning on the radio and being in shock that Nothing As It Seems was playing on the way to the store to buy the album... it was a 2 min. drive down the road from my high school. This was also the first tour I got to see them live.

Riot Act - Age 19... Came out my 2nd year that I was going to a community college... by this time I had amassed a huge collection of bootlegs and the previous year in my high school I became known as the "Pearl Jam guy" because I was downright obsessed... this carried over to college... I went to a lot of shows this tour... I think 6 or 7. I transferred to a 4 year school in 03 and took my love of PJ to a proper university. haha.

Pearl Jam - Age 23 - The previous year of this release I went through a tough break up w/ the girl I had been dating since shortly after the release of Binaural... it really sucked hard and ended really really badly... The next year this album came out... I began dating the girl who would become my wife... Parachutes is special to me for that... Lots of shows here too... 9 or 10... can't remember but the 06 tour was a big bulk of my show seeing... 08 too.

Backspacer - Age 26 - Married this same year it came out... If it had come out before our wedding date, we may have danced to Just Breathe lol... probably not... but the last song at our wedding was Yellow Ledbetter which was fun... I had 9 groomsmen... each one of them has been to at least 1 Pearl Jam show with me... most of them 2 or more... It's nice having so many friends who enjoy a band and understand why I obsess so much.

Lightning Bolt - Age 30... Have a beautiful son who is about to turn 2... He loves to sing PJ tunes with me. I really feel like my love for this band has come full circle.

gbpat54

I'm pretty much the same age as most members of the band.... so I guess that would be
Ten - 26
Vs. - 28
Vitalogy - 29
No Code - 31
Yield - 33
Binaural - 35
Riot Act - 37
S/T - 41
Backspacer - 44
Lightning Bolt - 48

It is strange to look back at the different times of your life in relationship of the release year of the band's albums
I'm so fucking OLD !

Trading Stories

Ten came out when i was freshman in high school. Soundtrack to my life and forever grateful!!

Wilds

Ten - 17
Vs. - 19
Vitalogy - 20
No Code - 22
Yield - 24
Binaural - 26
Riot Act - 28
S/T - 32
Backspacer - 35
Lightning Bolt -39

Agg

Ten- 10 months old
VS- 3
Vitalogy- 4
No Code- 5
Yield- 7
Binaural- 9
Riot Act- 12
Pearl Jam- 15
Backspacer- 18
Lightning Bolt- just turned 23

I pretty much missed out on everything up until now.

Trading Stories

Agg wrote:

Ten- 10 months old
VS- 3
Vitalogy- 4
No Code- 5
Yield- 7
Binaural- 9
Riot Act- 12
Pearl Jam- 15
Backspacer- 18
Lightning Bolt- just turned 23

I pretty much missed out on everything up until now.

Christ, I'm jealous of your youthful enthusiasm

Ezo5000

16
18
19
20
22
24
27
30
33
38

on2legs

I was 77 when Ten was released. I remember it like it was yesterday.

DiRtyFranK38

born after Ten

21 for LB

diehard since I was like 12.


A part of me really wishes I grew up with the band and Ten came out around now... I know it would have totally different effect. But I have related to and connected with the band so intensely from day one. Doesn't matter what age.

EP1973

Ten - 18
Vs. - 20
Vitalogy - 21
No Code - 23
Yield - 24
Binaural - 27
Riot Act - 29
Pearl Jam - 33
Backspacer - 36
Lightning Bolt - 40

Hit it just right IMO

AZMerkinball

Ten - 14 - Mommy bought me at Target.
VS - 16 - Mom drove me to the local record store (didn't have my DL yet).
Vitalogy - 17 (Went at midnight in a severe thunderstorm, bought the vinyl a week earlier at Borders!)
No Code - 19 (1st week of college, midnight release)
Yield - 20 (Worked at a record store got the pre-release a week early!)
Binaural - 22 (Midnight release, working in corporate hell)
Riot Act - 25 (Midnight release, bought at Wal-Mart )
S/T - 29 (Ten Club special edition shipped)
Backspacer - 32 (Ten Club special edition shipped - I miss midnight releases!)
Lightning Bolt - 36 (Ten Club Vinyl - probably purchase the CD at a later date)

Bonus
Lost Dogs - 26 - Vinyl Bought at Amoeba records in San Fran! (CD release...Amazon?)
Benaroya Hall - 27 (Concert - 26) (Vinyl through Ten Club $30!)
First concert? September 13, 1995 - Phoenix (18) - Still have the silver cd bootleg!!!
Last Concert? PJ 20 - Alpine, WI (34)

This is FUN!

xavier mcdaniel

12 - Ten
14 - Vs.
16 - Vitalogy
17 - No Code
19 - Yield
21 - Binaural
23 - Riot Act
27 - Pearl Jam
30 - Backspacer
34 - Lightning Bolt

TheLuckyOnes

epic post time, i think

i was 12 in '91. I definitely remember that for a good while i liked Temple of the Dog much more than Ten. the vid for Alive was on MTV constantly, but it was so anti-MTV in it's basicness; no concept, no theme, no story or bad actors, just B&W band in front of a crazed crowd, climbing stuff jumping around, with a live version of the song to go with. And this was their first single!! Took me a while to get it still, it wasn't as big a Rawk sound as some of the other bands of the era. Evenflow got me a little closer....I had the cassette before Jeremy hit, that's for certain. Was already entranced by that time; Release, Black, Oceans, Porch....unbelievable. There is something in that album that is so wrapped into my soul.... I also remember losing that cassette at my first high school football game, freshman year of high school, fall of 92. Fell out of my jacket pocket under the bleachers....gone. Bought another....beginning the cycle of giving PJ lots of money.

Vs...wore it out, especially RVM, but really the whole thing. Sat up taping Atlanta '94, sat up taping MTV awards 93 with uncle Neil....etc....Tried to get tix at age 15 for Ann Arbor 94 (nothingman premiered), NOPE. Tried to get tix thru the newspaper lottery (try that again 10 club, holy bejesus!) for Detroit Masonic Temple 94, nope. Gave up hope i would ever see this band live.

Vitalogy...i didn't quite get for awhile. a long while. People who complain about Lightning Bolt's production, well at the time that would have been me for Vitalogy. The guitars sound WAY different, having lived thru the first two albums. Ed's voice is really really ragged. There are interludes. I knew Immortality crushed me. I remember writing a long long poem to myself directly inspired by the "How?" after 'holier than thou". But anyways....

No Code. My favorite. I remember getting this CD, surely right after release or the day of, and plunking down in my room with the headphones...Hail Hail almost deafened me for life! I had picked up the Who You Are/Habit single, and couldn't make since of it; it didn't sound anything like Vitalogy! (just when you figure things out....). Anyways, i connected immediately upon listening to this one, and it was constantly playing for probably a year and a half. I remember that my first day of commuting to college, age 17 now, was about a week after getting this CD, and the two things together let me know that life was changing...and that it felt pretty damn cool. If Ten is written on my heart, this one is sewn on my sleeve, i guess.

Yield...the first thing was hearing Given to Fly on the radio, month before the album came out. It sounded so wide and beautiful, in a way that nothing quite had since the first album. But it was still so different than that also. Yield is so solid in so many ways, and i listened to it a ton, and it felt like there was some new strength in the band, even while i was fully realizing that they would never again be everyone's favorite band. I love Jack Irons, btw. Oh, and got to see my 1st PJ show on this tour. Very last row of the upper deck, almost behind the stage, McCready's side, Detroit '98, Cheap Trick opening. A fan climbed onstage, and Ed told security to back off, then proceeded to make fun of the guy's horrible mullet. Asked for scissors, cut the back off. Cheers, Ed. Oh and i spent half the show being impressed with nothing more then Matt Cameron's power that he brought to Daughter and a couple others, very specifically. I had probably spent weeks wondering how they would sound with him behind the kit.

Binaural....i was definitely underwhelmed...i remember loving loving loving Grievance as played on Letterman. The album sorta sounds bad....still does. Saw them again on this tour, better seats same building, 1st row upper deck dead center stage. Almost fell over the rail jumping around screaming to Fuckin' Up. I might have sang louder at this show then any other show in my life, and i certainly miss being as uninhibited as i was for those couple hours. I was 21.

Riot Act. I was 24. Married. Saw two shows at the ol'DTE/formerly Pine Knob. First show, band was pissed because season ticket holders got a whole lot of the 10C seats, hence adding a 2nd Detroit show (those were the days!!). I was out on the hill anyways, so it was all the same to me. Ed's monologue's from these two shows are both pretty great, especially the one about Sheryl Crow & Big Boy, but i suppose also the one about Ukelele's and Pot smokers. Great shows, but the band didn't quite have the same fire, so thought I. I still think the band is far more connected to the crowds now, starting maybe in '06 or '09, then they were '00-'04. So glad that they are on such a high level now...

Avacado...27, 1st time dad (son age 2, named after someone familiar to people who like a band named Pearl Jam). Loved this album for quite awhile, but it faded. Life Wasted and Marker i thought especially were strong lyrics for Ed. Severed Hand was a straight forward rock song that sort of felt like it could have been on VS. Again, saw the Detroit stop, where i was hit with a crushing migraine right before show time. (i get 'em a lot, but this one was beyond horrible). I only made it thru the main set, missed two long encores (check the setlist) missed McCready running thru the crowd, missed the 2nd time Kick Out the Jams was played in the US. Still, Insignificance, Long Road and RVM stood out as 3 of the greatest live music performances i've heard from any band. i still remember my (now ex-)wife saying to me that she was literally speechless after RVM, and she was only a mild fan of the band. MMJ was probably the best opener they've ever had, also. Also, should be noted that when Imagine in Cornice was released a year later, i blew off work, drove an hour and a half out of my way, changed clothes in my car, then enjoyed the one-day showing in theater, with a bunch of other lunatics who brought signs, screamed, cheered, etc. That movie is underrated amongst us PJ'ers.

Backspacer...i thought the '06 tours really brought this band back to a strong place, connected to the fanbase like never before really. Backspacer held up fine for me in that space. 30 years old, kid #2 had arrived, finally owned my 1st home. My son was 5, sang along to some PJ tunes with me (including WWS, which was weird, but he liked it alot!!). I still say this is a strong little album, tho it's not getting respect currently. Force of Nature is a really underrated song, and one of my favorites of the last few albums. I'm hoping that BS get's plenty of love on the upcoming tours, and that it's not swept aside, like Riot Act has been. For the first time i traveled for a show, for this tour. Cleveland '10. Easily my favorite PJ show i've seen. Immortality Porch Go The Real Me Black Indifference. All were top-top-notch versions, i couldn't have asked for more from this show. I remember reading fanviews, and there was a lot of "meh, crowd wasn't into it" but screw that, the band sounded great, and the show had a flow to it. Listen to the boot. Had really decent seats, for the first and last time....because...

LB....34. Divorced. Losing my home. Starting anew. Still raising my 2 kids. Trying to figure it all out. My wife had the 10C # in her name (mix up when she bought me a membership as a xmas present back in '02-ish) and so that # is long gone. But Anyways! I feel it's a strong release, and so far it's my favorite since Yield. Yellow Moon and Pendulum, MYM and Father's Son, Sirens and Swallowed Whole.....idk. I'm digging it. Ed and Mike both sound better then they have in more then a decade, and the band is quite obviously excited about branching out a bit. All of the interviews give the impression that they are thoroughly confident with these songs, and they should be. Thought about traveling for a show, changed mind, didn't try for 10C seats, regretted it. Was hoping to find a GA for Pitt on here, but haven't come across one, so guess not. Have fun you sons-of-bitches.....I predict greatness.

thus concludes "this was my life"

cheers
thanks pj

bigbadbill

11/18 is my birthday

Ten - 16 (a few weeks before 11th grade started. I bought Ten a day after Christmas in 1992 at age 18)
Vs. - 18 (first semester of college at SJSU. PJ performed there a week later. I missed out though)
Vitalogy - 20 (I took my mom's friend to the airport that day)
No Code - 21 (my first midnight sale of a PJ album)
Yield - 23 (I bought the cd/cassette version for my car on the way to a dental appt)
Binaural - 25 (tower records midnight sale)
Riot Act - 28 (tower records midnight sale)
Pearl Jam - 31 (tower records midnight sale)
Backspacer - 34 (first time listening to a new PJ album w/o actually buying a physical cd...from iTunes)
Lightning Bolt - 38 (I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me!!)

mrpink90

12
14
15
17
19
21
23
27
30
34


got into pj fall of '93 when vs came out, freshman year of hs, so this year is my pj20. actually this month.

DeLukin

Trading Stories wrote:

Ten came out when i was freshman in high school. Soundtrack to my life and forever grateful!!

Same here. I was deep into heavy metal at the time and after so many years of the "sex, drugs, and rock n' roll" crap it was so refreshing to hear something "real" that I could relate to. Forever grateful for all of those amazing bands of the early 90's that restored my faith in music. They really did give rock back to the masses where it belongs.

tribejammer05

Ten - 7
Vs - 9
Vitalogy - 10
No Code - 12
Yield - 14 (Just turned 14! Was released two days after my birthday)
Binaural - 16
Riot Act - 18
Pearl Jam - 22
Backspacer - 25
Lightning Bolt - 29

It's been fun growing up and listening along the way!

Gibson

I'm Stephen Flow's age.

Driftin'Along

Ten - 10
Vs - 11
Vitalogy - 13
No Code - 15
Yield - 17
Binaural - 19 - First one I bought...the week it came out...went back and got everything before within a week
Riot Act - 22
Avocado - 25
Backspacer - 28
L/B - 32

UNH1995

I'm 40 so add 10 years.

Soundtrack of the second 20 years of my life - and still going...

Having my 3 kids (5,5 & 4) experience the last two albums with me has been awesome.
And their favorite song is NOT FOR YOU.....I' trying to get them to say FUCK YOU, much to my wife's chagrin, but they haven't picked up on it!

They all have PJ shirts. My next dream is to take them to a show when they are a few years older.

thefixer9

Ten: Not Born
Vs: Not Born
Vitalogy: Not Born
No Code: Born
Yield: 3
Binaural: 5
Riot Act: 9
S/T: 11
Backspacer: 14
Lightning Bolt: 17

Wasn't really until BS did I get into the band.