Why do you think Pearl Jam is so "disrespected?"

Left Porch · October 2008

washedinblack91 wrote:

i can't TELL you how many times i get shit for how people can't understand what he says. whenever someone hears me mention pearl jam, they do that deep, retarded voice everyone does when they try and make fun of ed. i bet if he was more clear more people would respect him instead of make fun of him and say he sounds like he "stubbed his toe" or whatever. people are retarded like that. im tired so if it doesn't make sense... try and make it make sense please

No disrespect meant to Ed or the band but I do a great early Eddie Vedder impression

. To the OP, In Utero was a great, great album that's probably why it gets all the respect from critics. It deserves it. Pearl Jam is very respected amongst music insiders and great musicians. Bruce, The Who, Neil Young, Tom Petty and countless others all like and respect PJ, I think that counts for something. Plus what someone else said is how I feel, as long as you like and respect them, then who gives a fuck who sells more records or what other people think?

Kraven · October 2008

I think if your lead singer is allowed to share the stage with Tom Petty, The Who, The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen I think you are pretty fucking respected. I think a lot of people don't understand that Pearl Jam has better albums or just as good albums after Vs. and that Eddie's vocal range is a lot bigger than he leads on, I think you can even hear that in Vs.

To take anything away from Kurt Cobain because he "killed himself" is bullshit the dude was a fucking catchy writer with an insane amount of talent. Nevermind didn't sell all the copies it did because it sucked. Right band, right time. Its not like Kurt flew over on a plane with a crazy amount of hype behind him (not that the Beatles didn't deserve it), he paid his dues working the Seattle scene for almost 10 years before Nirvana released Nevermind.

I could never understand the disdain between Pearl Jam and Nirvana fans, Kurt has that interview out there, but if you ever read an interview with Eddie Vedder, Kurt Cobain's passing had a huge impact on his life and almost made the band stop playing. Listen to the bootleg from the night Kurt Cobain died and try to tell me that Eddie Vedder didn't care about the well being of that man and even further more the fans of that band.

And if you look back on it, Ten and Vs. both have outsold Nevermind and In Utero. So don't act like Pearl Jam was this small time band that got overlooked.

Michael Stipe being interviewed about Nirvana is not a slap in the face to REM, do you realize how close Kurt and Mike were? They were going to do an album together and Stipe just happens to be Frances Bean's godfather, oh and did you miss the part at the REM induction when Eddie Vedder said it should be Kurt Cobain giving that induction speech, not him?

To answer the question I think Pearl Jam is disrespected out of ignorance, I think that anyone who has listened to anything post Vitalogy realizes what an incredible, flexible, no-two-songs-sound-the-same, band. I think that's what is so amazing about Pearl Jam is that every album has a completely different feel and every album is its own entity. Pearl Jam doesn't have a sound, they're just a band who plays what they want to play and write how they want to write.

IWillLiveForeve · October 2008

Boo-ya wrote:

Case in point, In Utero sold way less than Nevermind, yet Nirvana is still loved by everyone, fans and critics.

Way to not connect the dots. This doesn't even relate to PJ.

bertan · October 2008

Noonie wrote:

Yeah, say no more. That channel now a days is basically E! with a few oldies, I wouldn't expect much.

ummm, seven ages is a bbc documentary

RolanBolan wrote:

I was watching VH1 the other day, and they had the "Seven Ages of Rock" playing. Did anyone else see this? They basically document seven sections of rock history in hour long segments. One of the sections was called Alternative. For the entire hour of the segment, they literally talked about nothing but Nirvana. They mentioned a few other bands, and they even talked a bit about REM. But what did they ask Michael Stipe about? Kurt Cobain and Nirvana! It was completely ridiculous.

I think that we all want our favorite bands to get recognition in the media. It's a natural hope among fans because you love the artist. But the habit in the media is to focus on a few select artists and ignore the rest. I actually think that PJ gets more attention than other bands from that time period.

ok first of all, i suggest you watch that documentary in its entirety because it's absolutely brilliant! it's a 7 episode documentary and they've done a brilliant job telling the rock history. what they've done is, they've picked some major bands from each era and tell the story around them. like hendrix, stones, the who from the sixties; ramones, sex pistols, patti smith from the punk scene etc...

yes they've picked nirvana from the alternative scene and didn't mention pearl jam much, but that's because it's impossible to mention every band in detail and expect a 1 hour episode. they've talked much about r.e.m. and the pixies, and they've asked millions of questions to them about their music. i'm guessing you just watched the ending and saw the questions about kurt and jumped to conclusions. michael stipe talks about rem's past and musical evolution in detail.

so please, watch it carefully next time, and i recommend you watch all 7 episodes, there are some flaws but it's still brilliant...

RolanBolan · October 2008

bertan wrote:

ummm, seven ages is a bbc documentary

ok first of all, i suggest you watch that documentary in its entirety because it's absolutely brilliant! it's a 7 episode documentary and they've done a brilliant job telling the rock history. what they've done is, they've picked some major bands from each era and tell the story around them. like hendrix, stones, the who from the sixties; ramones, sex pistols, patti smith from the punk scene etc...

yes they've picked nirvana from the alternative scene and didn't mention pearl jam much, but that's because it's impossible to mention every band in detail and expect a 1 hour episode. they've talked much about r.e.m. and the pixies, and they've asked millions of questions to them about their music. i'm guessing you just watched the ending and saw the questions about kurt and jumped to conclusions. michael stipe talks about rem's past and musical evolution in detail.

so please, watch it carefully next time, and i recommend you watch all 7 episodes, there are some flaws but it's still brilliant...

I did watch the entire thing, and yes, I would agree that it was a pretty cool series all-in-all. I understand that they were trying to focus on specific bands as well. Yet, from what I have seen in much of the media, this is all many publications/channels seem to do. Yes, Nirvana was a huge band in that era. Yes, they are interesting. But coming from someone who listens to people talk about nothing but Nirvana over and over and over, it just grinds on my nerves a bit. It's more of a collective thing. And yes, I understand that Stipe and Cobain were close. I understand that they were talking about making an album together. And I can even understand them asking Stipe about Cobain. However, the constant media attention that Nirvana gets just annoys me at times, so I suppose I was a bit too biased when I watched it. But I'm willing to give credit where credit is due. So in that sense you are right.

celebration · October 2008

Boo-ya wrote:

Case in point, In Utero sold way less than Nevermind, yet Nirvana is still loved by everyone, fans and critics.

disrespected?? weird...

how about under appreciated? i can live with that.

oh and um nirvana played rock n roll, and they were/are way over rated.

Left Porch · October 2008

Kraven wrote:

I think if your lead singer is allowed to share the stage with Tom Petty, The Who, The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen I think you are pretty fucking respected. I think a lot of people don't understand that Pearl Jam has better albums or just as good albums after Vs. and that Eddie's vocal range is a lot bigger than he leads on, I think you can even hear that in Vs.

To take anything away from Kurt Cobain because he "killed himself" is bullshit the dude was a fucking catchy writer with an insane amount of talent. Nevermind didn't sell all the copies it did because it sucked. Right band, right time. Its not like Kurt flew over on a plane with a crazy amount of hype behind him (not that the Beatles didn't deserve it), he paid his dues working the Seattle scene for almost 10 years before Nirvana released Nevermind.

I could never understand the disdain between Pearl Jam and Nirvana fans, Kurt has that interview out there, but if you ever read an interview with Eddie Vedder, Kurt Cobain's passing had a huge impact on his life and almost made the band stop playing. Listen to the bootleg from the night Kurt Cobain died and try to tell me that Eddie Vedder didn't care about the well being of that man and even further more the fans of that band.

And if you look back on it, Ten and Vs. both have outsold Nevermind and In Utero. So don't act like Pearl Jam was this small time band that got overlooked.

Michael Stipe being interviewed about Nirvana is not a slap in the face to REM, do you realize how close Kurt and Mike were? They were going to do an album together and Stipe just happens to be Frances Bean's godfather, oh and did you miss the part at the REM induction when Eddie Vedder said it should be Kurt Cobain giving that induction speech, not him?

.

Agree with what you're saying here. There's a lot of Nirvana vs. Pearl Jam stuff on the boards which I don't get. I love both bands, they both have/had great unique sounds that I enjoy. It doesn't matter who's better or more respected or sold more records and blah, blah, blah.

Back_Pedal · October 2008

I've never really run into much criticism of PJ, professional or otherwise. Sure, I don't know anyone my age that's into them besides knowing a few songs, but people only 5 years older love them...they've had enduring popularity that no critic could take away anyway.

gozzo5058 · October 2008

Boo-ya wrote:

Case in point, In Utero sold way less than Nevermind, yet Nirvana is still loved by everyone, fans and critics.

? who cares

ewokpelts · October 2008

kurt fucked billy corgan's sloppy seconds.

that's all i gotta say about this.

Smarter_Than_U · October 2008

I think at some we point, we pearl jam fans need to get past the fact that some people will never accept pearl jam as legitimate part of the rock cannon. I am tired of the comparisons between Kurt and Ed because it seems no matter what "side" you are on, people feel the need to tear down one or the other to make their point. It's really quite lazy if you ask me.

The fact of the matter is that both made/make amazing music. All the other stuff is not relevant in my opinion. You know why? Because you are never going to convince the writers and avid reader of pitchfork that pearl jam matters. And they will never convince me that they don't mean absolutely everything.

Why do you think Pearl Jam is so "disrespected?"

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