The future of pearl jam according to Mike

Flagg

When Riot Act came out, Eddie mentioned in Rolling Stone that he thought Pearl Jam was about half-way done.

http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/edd ... unabridged

You turned thirty-eight in December. You're now looking at forty, the same milestone many of your peers and heroes had to face: Neil, Pete Townshend, Bruce Springsteen. They all had to hit that wall, as musicians and songwriters, and find a way over it. Are you ready for that?

I feel like our audience has grown up with us. And some of the issues we talk about now -- the core of our faithful are probably going through a lot of the same stuff. Whether the newcomers or younger fans pick up on that, I don't know. There's a song on Who by Numbers that goes, "How many friends have you really got?" ["How Many Friends"]. That was written from a famous guy's perspective. Yet I was relating to that record completely when I was fifteen. I don't know at what age Pete wrote Quadrophenia -- pre-forty, I'm sure -- but he was focused succinctly on teenage angst. I don't think you can do it much better than that.

I could see playing ukulele songs and acoustic guitar and somehow growing old and understanding my limitations, and not feel like I have to jump around at a certain age -- although surfing will hopefully keep me fit.

But I'm amazed at the length of the band. It feels just like life. The thing about turning forty -- it's about halfway through life. So we're just halfway through.

DewieCox

Matt is almost 50. Jeff is nudgin at 50. The rest are 45 or less, right?

The older bands get, the further between and the worse their albums get.

I just hope they can pull out one more GREAT album that at least gives a booster shot to their legacy.

guacamolejoe

SPEEDY MCCREADY wrote:

i feel better at 43....
than i did at 33......

that said....

my next birthday milestone???? 50

and that is a hard pill to swallow.....hehehehehehehee

I'm turning 50 this year , it sucks! . Way past the 1/2 point but enough time to still enjoy 10+ Years of seeing PJ

12345AGNST1

DewieCox wrote:

Matt is almost 50. Jeff is nudgin at 50. The rest are 45 or less, right?

The older bands get, the further between and the worse their albums get.

I just hope they can pull out one more GREAT album that at least gives a booster shot to their legacy.

matt almost 50? :(

PJ73

Well, there's a difference between being the Rolling Stones and being other older bands such Neil Young and Springsteen. The Rolling Stones are far more of a corporate machine at this point, and while their concerts are still fun, it doesn't have the same sense of creative urgency or spark of Bruce or Neil. PJ will be around for as long as they feel they have something new to say, and so far they seem to still have a lot to say.

I grew up a huge Springsteen fan and in the mid-90s I resigned myself to the fact I'd never see the E Street Band again, and possibly never see Bruce live again. Here I am now, so oversaturated with Springsteen concerts for the decade that I'm contemplating skipping my first tour since 1988. I think PJ is having a lot of fun playing together right now so I'm confident they'll be around for a while.

PJ73

cincybearcat

pjsteelerfan wrote:

They all have familes now as well that takes up their time. I would not read to much into all thier favorite songs are from 10-vitalogy.

People can have families and still work 50+ hours a week you know.

not for me

I think Mike was implying he'd rather burn out than fade away or not just become shitty towards the end of their career.

Vedder_Girl77

DewieCox wrote:

Matt is almost 50. Jeff is nudgin at 50. The rest are 45 or less, right?

The older bands get, the further between and the worse their albums get.

I just hope they can pull out one more GREAT album that at least gives a booster shot to their legacy.

Matt and Jeff are both 46 (not almost 50) and 46 IS NOT OLD!!!! I'm almost 32 so does that make me almost 40???

People...40's is the new 20's...they are still young and have plenty more years of playing music!! Just because you turn 40 does not mean that your life is over and it's time to move into a nursing home. Besides, how old is Neil Young??? He still rocks!

And there will be many more GREAT albums!

Gary Carter

Flagg wrote:

When Riot Act came out, Eddie mentioned in Rolling Stone that he thought Pearl Jam was about half-way done.

http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/edd ... unabridged

You turned thirty-eight in December. You're now looking at forty, the same milestone many of your peers and heroes had to face: Neil, Pete Townshend, Bruce Springsteen. They all had to hit that wall, as musicians and songwriters, and find a way over it. Are you ready for that?

I feel like our audience has grown up with us. And some of the issues we talk about now -- the core of our faithful are probably going through a lot of the same stuff. Whether the newcomers or younger fans pick up on that, I don't know. There's a song on Who by Numbers that goes, "How many friends have you really got?" ["How Many Friends"]. That was written from a famous guy's perspective. Yet I was relating to that record completely when I was fifteen. I don't know at what age Pete wrote Quadrophenia -- pre-forty, I'm sure -- but he was focused succinctly on teenage angst. I don't think you can do it much better than that.

I could see playing ukulele songs and acoustic guitar and somehow growing old and understanding my limitations, and not feel like I have to jump around at a certain age -- although surfing will hopefully keep me fit.

But I'm amazed at the length of the band. It feels just like life. The thing about turning forty -- it's about halfway through life. So we're just halfway through.

i hope ed does do his own solo thing for a while. bruce springsteen did it for a good 5 years and him and the e band are still stronger then ever and still touring as if it where the 70s and 80s

DewieCox

LovinEddieVedder77 wrote:

DewieCox wrote:

Matt is almost 50. Jeff is nudgin at 50. The rest are 45 or less, right?

The older bands get, the further between and the worse their albums get.

I just hope they can pull out one more GREAT album that at least gives a booster shot to their legacy.

Matt and Jeff are both 46 (not almost 50) and 46 IS NOT OLD!!!! I'm almost 32 so does that make me almost 40???

People...40's is the new 20's...they are still young and have plenty more years of playing music!! Just because you turn 40 does not mean that your life is over and it's time to move into a nursing home. Besides, how old is Neil Young??? He still rocks!

And there will be many more GREAT albums!

I looked at Matt's year w/o checkin the date. My sincerest apologies.

Add a half decade to your age and I would say to you are pushin 40.


I don't see PJ makin anythin on par with their best stuff. History isn't on their side. Bands don't get better as they get older, they get worse. Neil Young illustrates that perfectly.

acoustic guy

red mos wrote:

well, I don't recall ever seeing an article where Mike says, "He doesn't want a carreer as long as the stones." However, I'm pretty sure Pearl jam has many, more years of music to share.
This album is taking longer because (and this is what I have drawn from the board discussions):
The band wants to take their time with this album cause there is amazing creativity going on and Brendan O Brien is back on board as producer- so thats gonna be another big plus.
The band toured quite a bit between 2006- and 07.
The all did some solo stuff, records, shows ect.

It's all good man. Hopefully we will get an update soon.

Great picture of yourself. Did you pic that one? LOL

JaneNY

DewieCox wrote:

I don't see PJ makin anythin on par with their best stuff. History isn't on their side. Bands don't get better as they get older, they get worse. Neil Young illustrates that perfectly.

Do you think The Rising sucked? (Bruce) He was 50+ when he did that one.

Any age is old or young, depending on how you live your life and how open or closed you keep your mind in regards to new ideas and experiences.

se7v7en

DewieCox wrote:

LovinEddieVedder77 wrote:

DewieCox wrote:

Matt is almost 50. Jeff is nudgin at 50. The rest are 45 or less, right?

The older bands get, the further between and the worse their albums get.

I just hope they can pull out one more GREAT album that at least gives a booster shot to their legacy.

Matt and Jeff are both 46 (not almost 50) and 46 IS NOT OLD!!!! I'm almost 32 so does that make me almost 40???

People...40's is the new 20's...they are still young and have plenty more years of playing music!! Just because you turn 40 does not mean that your life is over and it's time to move into a nursing home. Besides, how old is Neil Young??? He still rocks!

And there will be many more GREAT albums!

I looked at Matt's year w/o checkin the date. My sincerest apologies.

Add a half decade to your age and I would say to you are pushin 40.


I don't see PJ makin anythin on par with their best stuff. History isn't on their side. Bands don't get better as they get older, they get worse. Neil Young illustrates that perfectly.

What about Springsteen. Id put The Rising, and Working on a Dream up there with some of his best.

bigbadbill

Not trying to compare U2 to Pearl Jam (two totally different kinds of bands), but with U2:

Boy 1980
October 1981
War 1983
The Unforgettable Fire 1984
The Joshua Tree 1987
Rattle And Hum 1988
Achtung Baby 1991
Zooropa 1993
Pop 1997
All That You Can't Leave Behind 2000
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb 2004
No Line On The Horizon 2009

U2 has the same pattern in time between albums that PJ has; 1-2 years between the first few albums, and then 3-4 1/2 between the later ones.

Pearl Jam:

Ten 1991
(Singles Soundtrack 1992)
Vs. 1993
Vitalogy 1994
(Merkinball 1995)
No Code 1996
Yield 1998
(LO2L 1998)
Binaural 2000
(bootlegs 2000-2001?)
Riot Act 2002
(bootlegs 2003-2004?)
Lost Dogs 2003
Rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991-2003) 2004
(Live At Benaroya Hall 2004)
Pearl Jam 2006
(Live At Easy Street 2006)
(online bootlegs 2006?)
(Live At The Gorge 2007)
(Live At Lollapalooza 2007)
(Ten Reissue 3/2009)
new album 2009??

meme

I had missed that long interview... nice!

DewieCox

[/quote]



What about Springsteen. Id put The Rising, and Working on a Dream up there with some of his best.[/quote]

There's exceptions to every rule. I'm not into Springsteen, but do his fans put those up with Born To Run and whatever other great albums he's made?

Stephen Flow

Pearl Jam's music has been an evolution and it will continue to be until they decide to hang up the boots and retire...

I got Ten when I was 8 or 9 for Christmas... (thanks mom lol)
I'm now 26... I've been with the band every step of the way...

I'm just thankful that they've been a cornerstone in my life pretty much through everything... and they always will be...

And no matter how shitty people might think their music is going to get, I don't give a fuck, I will find something I love about it.