Where does Pearl Jam go from here?

brianlux

OK, so back to speculation where the band is headed. 

The truth of the matter is, Pearl Jam has been around long enough to fully have the right (not that they ever didn't) to determine their own future of lack there of.  That's cool.  But if I had my two cents, I would say personally I would like to see them fully commit to being a band.  Let go all the hoopla.  Just focus on being a great band and loving playing for appreciative crowds.  That, or call it a day.

For example:  Dinosaur Jr.  Not a lot of hoopla.  No fan club to speak of (though there is a cool independent Facebook group) or gigundo stadium show.  Just solid commitment to making great music both in the studio and while touring live.  They've been around since 1984 and are still making great new music and playing amazing shows.  And it's all about making great music, nothing more.  I think Pearl Jam is capable of the same thing, if that is what they want to do.   Instead they have chosen to be what I see as their own tribute band.  Not that they don't do it well, obviously, and that's fine.  It's just not what turns me on in the world of music.

ForceofNature101

A lot of people are freaking out over little things in my opinion

The Pearl Jam dudes are all older and have families, their record making process takes a bit longer but that doesn't mean they are gearing towards any sort of musical end at all.  And the Christmas single's material has seemed not as "on it" as the past ones were so to me it isn't a huge loss or signal of anything beyond that

josevolution

It has to come to an end at some point i'm sure they've talked about it , people need to come to terms with the possibility of the end of this great band they've giving us way more then you can expect from any artist , i'm fine if i don't see them as a band ever again ...

facepollution

People keep talking about them as family men, and trust me, if I were in their position I probably wouldn't be doing anything different, but they don't 'work' in the way the average person does.  Aside from having the luxury of taking their time, I think it probably just gets harder as you get older to find something new to say, let alone fit it into the mould of a 'Pearl Jam' record.

I don't think they'll be giving up any time soon, but at this point I think they need a new record in order to keep doing what they're doing.

willbarclay

This is not about the single people. This is a topic about your thoughts and what direction the band is heading.

on2legs

I’ll miss the single but not all the drama it brought on here. 

brianlux

willbarclay said:

This is not about the single people. This is a topic about your thoughts and what direction the band is heading.

on2legs said:

I’ll miss the single but not all the drama it brought on here. 

Good try, Will. 

i got id

People have been talking about them breaking up since Binaural. I remember so much speculation that’s Parting Ways was there last song. And look how that turned out. 

willbarclay

Haha thanks, I tried 

2-feign-reluctance

The e-mail about the d/c of the 45 ALSO states they are excited for 2019. I might despair from time to time, but I won’t give up on my favorite band. 

justam

Here’s what I think about what’s been happening—

maybe the single got to be more expensive to produce and rather than raising fan club rates again, they decided to discontinue it?
maybe they got tired of reading all the complaints?
perhaps they no longer felt inspired to produce them?

As for their future, it seems unlikely that they will stop being a band because AS A BAND they can accomplish a lot of non-musical goals.  It seems strange to me that in a year where they were able to donate MILLIONS of dollars to help the Seattle homeless, fans behave as if the band members are no longer activists.  They also helped many people get registered to vote in Montana which I’m sure helped the mid-term elections.  They still care about the world and helping people. 

If they broke up, they could no longer fund their charitable foundation.  They aren’t going to want to lose that.
I think they will stay together as long as they can because without the band working, the new money dries up.

On the subject of musical art, they are still creative people.  I’d be surprised if these men who have been musicians for their whole lives ever stopped creating in some form or another.

However, the future is always a mystery!

rummy

JimNastics said:

To add to the melodrama around here... it has dawned on me this year that Pearl Jam has moved from the soundtrack of my life, to the soundtrack of my younger days. I would say this has been slowly happening since I started a family, and started getting old... whilst at the same time, so did the guys. I saw them at the O2 show this year and it really hit me during the show that I wasn't getting anything like the same feeling as all the times before, and that made me really fucking sad :( Then it occured to me that the last time I had seen them was 2012, before we had kids, life was pretty care and stress free, no responsibilities. In years gone by going to see PJ was a big event, with a big exciting build up. This year, my wife had to remind me "remember we're going to see Pearl Jam tomorrow night?".

I do agree with others that the band has turned in to a nostalgia act, I do agree with others that this is largely because their studio output has dropped off badly after 2006 (in my opinion, of course). But I don't hold anything against them. For what they have given us for the past 25+ years, they can do what the hell they want.

Oddly enough, I started going to PJ concerts AFTER I had kids. 

brianlux

We, of course, have no solid way to predict where PJ will go but there have been several interesting speculations here. 

Some of the points that have come up a few times in various ways include the thought that the band is older now, that they have other responsibility, and (most interesting to me) the notion that after all this time they don't have much to say. 

The part about getting older concerns me.  I'm 67.  I've seen my generation go from very active and involved in the world to, generally, much more sedate and self-focused.  I guess this is a normal part of aging for the average person.  But at the same time, there are a certain percentage of older people who don't lose the desire to remain engaged and active.  The ones who stay most active are, to me, very enviable.  (In other words, I'm not patting myself on the back.  I try to keep up but I have peers who are more active than I am.  I envy their strength.)  Same with musicians.  Some of them just keep going, some back off.  I can see PJ going either way.  If they chose to stay involved, the may not jump as high off the stage, but they have gained wisdom that can take them (and us) higher in other ways.

That's where the "something to say" comes in.  That's where the ability to jump higher in a different way comes in.  Look at Mark Twain, for example.  His most potent (and, sadly, most suppressed) writing came about in later life.  Pearl Jam have the potential to be today's Mark Twain.

So yes, it's a lot to expect this band to stay active or even to stay together.  If they decide to keep going, I hope they use their gained wisdom to make it something great, maybe even greater than ever.  And if not, well, they've already done some great stuff , so there you go.  Well done and thank you, guys.

southernmanfan

I reckon they will put out another album and will tour again. 

That's just my gut feel....

pashapasaman

They are just taking a break
rather than keep playing shows and got burnt out
And the new album is surely coming

drakeheuer14

There best album since No Code is what’s next

nicknyr15

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t frustrated. But I’m not going to let it bother me. They are very inactive and the touring schedule has become a joke. For the first time ever, the shows this summer felt kind of gimmicky. It just sucks watching other bands actively tour, play NYE shows , residencies (Not Vegas) etc. this band has 5 song writers in it. It just makes no sense to me. The only news we ever get is new merch, which is just, embarrassing to me. But again, I’ll always love this band and that’s why it hurts even more. 

nicknyr15

pashapasaman said:

They are just taking a break
rather than keep playing shows and got burnt out
And the new album is surely coming

Burnt out? I’m sure those 7 shows over two months didn’t burn them out. I’m just saying... the merch is what allows them to be this inactive imo. And hey, good for them I guess. More time with the family. But it’s still frustrating. 

DukeSpirit

nicknyr15 said:

For the first time ever, the shows this summer felt kind of gimmicky. 

I've felt this way since the 2013 shows. 

timdwilli

The band is roughly the same age that the Stones were for Voodoo Lounge. The VL tour was 129 (mostly stadium) shows on 6 continents in just over a year. That's pretty astonishing. A comparable album and a tour even 1/3 of that would be amazing right now for PJ