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I Am No Guide: Pearl Jam: Song by Song by Brian Stipelman and Brandon Rector

BB Posts: 19
in The Porch


Hey everyone, wanted to let everyone know that Brian and I (writers at theskyiscrape.com) have written a book that takes a deep, critical dive into the themes of everything Pearl Jam has written.  I hope everyone will pre-order the book and check it out.  https://amzn.to/3QkHEKl  Release date subject to change due to rumors of an early 2024 album.

Follow us at x.com/iamnoguide

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Thirty years after their genre defining debut record, Pearl Jam remains one of the most resonant, successful, and enduring bands in the history of rock music. From the opening notes of Ten through the closing moments of Gigaton, Pearl Jam shaped how a generation of fans understood integrity, self-worth, solidarity, love, and the power of like-minded people to change the world. Along the way they sold over eighty-five million records, played about a thousand live shows, and built one of the most dedicated fan bases in the world. 

 

Fusing a wide array of musical influences, Pearl Jam offers the clarity of purpose of U2, the questing uncertainty of R.E.M., the humanism of Bruce Springsteen, the textured distortion of Neil Young, the reckless energy of punk, and the transformational sweep of the 60s and 70s classic rock era.  Their music invites listeners to travel with them on an ongoing journey of self-discovery, carving meaning from the absurdity of suffering and the beauty of love.   

 

I Am No Guide: Pearl Jam Song by Song celebrates Pearl Jam’s legacy through a deep dive into the ideas and themes explored in their music. It tracks Pearl Jam’s evolution from their explosive start and meteoric rise into the biggest band in the world, through their deliberate retreat from fame and gradual transformation into rock and roll elder statesmen, analyzing how these experiences shaped their music. Album by album. Song by song. 

But Pearl Jam cannot be understood without reference to their legendary show, famous for their intensity and community, concerts that can run for thirty songs with no set list ever repeating.  I Am No Guide: Pearl Jam Song By Song documents definitive live performances of every song and highlights the reciprocal and transformative relationship between Pearl Jam and their fans 

I Am No Guide: Pearl Jam Song By Song invites you to look at familiar songs in new ways, throw on a record you haven’t heard in a while, and remember why Pearl Jam matters so much to so many of us.  

B of theskyiscrape.com
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Comments

  • fl247556fl247556 Posts: 303
    Good idea !

    freddie vedder
  • tempo_n_groovetempo_n_groove Posts: 40,491
    Who?
  • JoostoneJoostone Posts: 233
    Awesome!! Looking forward to this.
    PJ: Pinkpop 2000, Sydney I/II/III 2003, Adelaide 2003, Arnhem 2006, Antwerp 2006, Berlin 2006, Dusseldorf 2007, Nijmegen 2007, Werchter 2007, Rotterdam 2009, Berlin 2009, Nijmegen 2010, Amsterdam I/II 2012, Amsterdam I/II 2014, Amsterdam I/II 2018, Pinkpop 2018, Werchter 2018, Pinkpop 2022, Budapest 2022, Krakow 2022, Amsterdam 2022.
    EV: Amsterdam II 2012, Amsterdam I/III 2017, Amsterdam I 2019
    Brad: Zoetermeer & Utrecht 2013
    Soundgarden: Pinkpop 2012, Amsterdam 2013, Utrecht 2014
  • rummyrummy British Columbia, Canada Posts: 4,449
    Very cool. Looking forward to reading it. 

    Side note: For a sec I thought you put the Physical Graffiti album cover on the book cover!! I’m obviously not a musician. 🥴
  • BB Posts: 19
    We are out in Europe!  For the rest of you, there's still time to pre-order before the new, November 19th publication date! https://linktr.ee/iamnoguide
    B of theskyiscrape.com
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    edited November 1
    "Pearl Jam explores the same core set of themes over the life of the band, asking and answering the same questions in response to the ever-shifting context of their personal lives and our shared experiences. Each album exists in a conversation with itself while questioning and reassessing the conclusions of earlier records. The music process anger, grief, and disappointment over our shared failure to live up to our expectations for each other and ourselves. Our biggest collective sin is stripping our fellow travelers of their humanity, and Pearl Jam's long history of social and political action, including their pro-choice, pro-democracy, pro-environmentalism, feminist, and anti-war commitments is best understood in that context."

    Read more: "I Am No Guide: Pearl Jam Song by Song - coming 11/19 (pre-order anywhere you like to do such things).

    Post edited by Dr. Stip Zoidberg on

    (coming soon)
  • D-RodD-Rod Hamilton, Ontario Posts: 1,900
    Preordered On Amazon.   Looking forward to reading. 
    1996.....Toronto
    2005.....Hamilton
    2011.....Toronto N1, Toronto N2, Hamilton
    2013.....London, Buffalo
    2014.....Detroit
    2016.....Toronto N1 Toronto N2, Boston  N1, Boston N2, Chicago N1
    2018.....Seattle N1, Seattle N2
    2022.....San Diego, Los Angeles N1, Los Angeles N2, Phoenix, Oakland N1, Oakland N2, Quebec City, Ottawa, Hamilton, Toronto  
    2023.....Fort Worth N1, Fort Worth N2, Austin N1, Austin N2
    2024.....Las Vegas N1, Las Vegas N2, Los Angeles N1, Los Angeles N2, Boston N1, Boston N2
    2025.....????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    Thanks!  Looking forward to it finally getting out there.

    (coming soon)
  • rahjiimrahjiim Posts: 157
    No Kindle-Version available? 
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    Not currently, no. If it helps, think of hard copy books as the vinyl of print media!


    (coming soon)
  • TJ25487TJ25487 Posts: 1,479
    This should be a great read coming from you guys! Can't wait. 
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    edited November 3

    "Ten is an emphatically humanistic record. It does not condemn us when we fail or judge us for who we are. It holds fast to the hope that something better waits for us, and searches for solidarity in the face of betrayal. Song after song explores the harm that follows a catastrophic loss of trust - personal, familial, relational, and social - and how that experience undermines the creation of safe spaces where self-exploration and reflection are possible."

    Agree? Disagree? Want to read more? Pre-order "I Am No Guide: Pearl Jam Song By Song' - out Nov 19th!


    Post edited by Dr. Stip Zoidberg on

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  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    "Vs. explores our war with ourselves.The songs feature stories about being torn apart and trying to put yourself back together; about contradictory fears of engagement and isolation; about not understanding the message or messenger and finding the collective courage and strength in others to light the way forward for ourselves."

    Agree? Disagree? Want to read more? Pre-order "I Am No Guide: Pearl Jam Song By Song' - out Nov 19th!


    (coming soon)
  • SpunkieSpunkie i come from downtown. Posts: 6,703
    Dr. Stip Zoidberg said:

    "Ten is an emphatically humanistic record. It does not condemn us when we fair or judge us for who we are. 


    When we err?

    No comments thus far. I'll wait till some later albums excerpts are posted.
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    Dang it. Fail. Thanks for catching that :)

    (coming soon)
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    "Vitalogy grapples with the consequences of turning a subject into an object- the objectification of art and artist. It is also about the loss of agency, of the ability to exert control over external forces in your life and imbue your actions with self-directed meaning."

    Agree? Disagree? Want to read more? Pre-order "I Am No Guide: Pearl Jam Song By Song' - out Nov 19th!


    (coming soon)
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    From the River Cross entry on this election day. "It names the powerlessness we all feel, "living beneath a lion's paw, knowing nothing can be tamed." And, later, "folded over, forced in a choke hold, outnumbered and held down."  But, at the end of everything, the persistent refusal to give up endures. We still have all we need, if we only embrace our liminal power.  When Eddie sings, "and all this talk of rapture, look around at the promise now. Here and now," we remain the promise he sings of. Every horror the world inflicts upon us, that we inflict upon each other, is offset by acts of kindness and compassion and impossible love. They always have been. Absent any other touchstone, we have each other, and always will."


    Want to read more? Pre-order "I Am No Guide: Pearl Jam Song By Song' - out Nov 19th!


    (coming soon)
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    "No Code is arguably Pearl Jam's first 'adult' album, one that champions youth but no longer identifies with it, fixating instead on a return to an Edenic state of innocence to cope with the trauma or surviving in a corrupt and disenchanted world."

    Agree/Disagree?


    (coming soon)
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    "Yield rejects the need to fight every battle in the interest of health and healing. An album focused on self-care, it turns small actions into sweeping gestures and makes walking away an act of resistance."

    agree/disagree?

    (coming soon)
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    "Binaural is more mood than narrative. Its songs are about a loss of personal agency and the haunted decline into powerlessness that follows." 

    Agree? Disagree? "I Am No Guide" is out 11/19. Preorder now

    (coming soon)
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    "Riot Act is an exhausted, lonesome album. It is not defeatist, and never quite gives us. But t goes to dark and difficult places, and it does not fight as much as it endures."


     Agree/Disagree? "I Am No Guide: Pearl Jam Song by Song" out 11/19.

    (coming soon)
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    "''Avocado' is a direct sonic and thematic response to Riot Act. Whereas Riot Act was a tentative album, cautious and richly textured, Pearl Jam is an explosive burst of sandpaper energy - and there is a lot it wants to scour away. "

    Agree/Disagree?  Thoughts?   I Am No Guide is out  - 11/19


    (coming soon)
  • Force Of NatureForce Of Nature York, England Posts: 1,102
    Just ordered this book in the UK.  Love you're album/song reviews when they come out so I know this'll be a good read. Keep up the good work

  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    Force Of Nature said:
    Just ordered this book in the UK.  Love you're album/song reviews when they come out so I know this'll be a good read. Keep up the good work

    Thanks you!  Let us know what you think?

    (coming soon)
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    "At the climax Eddie brings "I Am Mine" back down into the gloom, but does so to prove we will survive in the face of our lost innocence. We will refuse to let the world break what is most human within us."

    Happy Birthday Riot Act!



    (coming soon)
  • PapPap Serres, Greece Posts: 29,165
    On my Waterstones Wish List :wink:
    Athens 2006 / Milton Keynes 2014 / London 1&2 2022 / Seattle 1&2 2024 / Dublin 2024 / Manchester 2024
  • rahjiimrahjiim Posts: 157
    Dr. Stip Zoidberg said:
    "Riot Act is an exhausted, lonesome album. It is not defeatist, and never quite gives us. But t goes to dark and difficult places, and it does not fight as much as it endures."


     Agree/Disagree? "I Am No Guide: Pearl Jam Song by Song" out 11/19.
    ... never quite gives up? I ordered it today from Amazon Germany. Surprised to find it already rated with only two stars... 
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    it is out in the UK.  The first line of the review is ‘admittedly i havent read it…’.  they were hoping for a book of published lyrics, which this is not

    thank you for ordering it!

    (coming soon)
  • Dr. Stip ZoidbergDr. Stip Zoidberg Posts: 228
    "For the first time, Pearl Jam celebrates life as much as they glorify struggle. We fight not simply because resistance imbues meaning, but because something precious needs defending. There is no narrative arc to Backspacer. It does not tell a story or work through an idea. Instead, it revels in the realization that you are blessed when you have something to give and something to lose."


    Thoughts?




    (coming soon)
  • tempo_n_groovetempo_n_groove Posts: 40,491
    edited November 13
    Dr. Stip Zoidberg said:
    "For the first time, Pearl Jam celebrates life as much as they glorify struggle. We fight not simply because resistance imbues meaning, but because something precious needs defending. There is no narrative arc to Backspacer. It does not tell a story or work through an idea. Instead, it revels in the realization that you are blessed when you have something to give and something to lose."


    Thoughts?



    Backspacer is an album where everyone was comfortable and not really into making music so the creative bug was not going for the flame anymore and went dormant.  Lightningbolt is where they found that spark and creative juices started to flow again.

    My thoughts.
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