Five Against One - The Pearl Jam Story... who's read it?

doompony · January 2010

i personally hated the book... it's been years and years since i read it though so who knows what i'd have thought now... but doesn't it rely heavily on info provided by dave a and ed's stepdad? two people who for all we really know dislike him? i'm not saying this automatically makes it untrue, but jeez... where's the love?

as for dave, shit.. if he was irritating as a person to ed, what can you do?

CJMST3K · January 2010

doompony wrote:

as for dave, shit.. if he was irritating as a person to ed, what can you do?

would you say the same for any of the other members?

doompony · January 2010

CJMST3K wrote:

doompony wrote:

as for dave, shit.. if he was irritating as a person to ed, what can you do?

would you say the same for any of the other members?

nope. because the other 3 were founding members.

CJMST3K · January 2010

doompony wrote:

CJMST3K wrote:

doompony wrote:

as for dave, shit.. if he was irritating as a person to ed, what can you do?

would you say the same for any of the other members?

nope. because the other 3 were founding members.

would you say that of matt cameron?

doompony · January 2010

alls i know is, i've lived with people who have irritated the shit out of me and it is REALLY hard to not passive aggressively torture them. add on top of that the intense weirdness to be insta-famous and your headspace being fucked up and you have yourself a situation

doompony · January 2010

CJMST3K wrote:

doompony wrote:

CJMST3K wrote:

would you say the same for any of the other members?

nope. because the other 3 were founding members.

would you say that of matt cameron?

if matt was irritating, sure. but judging from all the interviews i've seen of the 2 of them together, i get the impression that ed's quite the cam fan

CJMST3K · January 2010

doompony wrote:

CJMST3K wrote:

doompony wrote:

nope. because the other 3 were founding members.

would you say that of matt cameron?

if matt was irritating, sure. but judging from all the interviews i've seen of the 2 of them together, i get the impression that ed's quite the cam fan

fair enough.

though that would also mean that Stone could fire Ed, since Stone was in the band before Ed.

...and yes, the choice of drummers have been dictated by ev, hence Jack and Matt.

Snoopy Died For Our Sins · January 2010

CJMST3K wrote:

Snoopy Died For Our Sins wrote:

yup......

"sorry is the fool who trades his soul for a corvette..."

but...

"Who set the standard, born to be rich?
Such fine examples, skinny little bitch
Model, role model, roll some models in blood
Get some flesh to stick, so they look like us
I shit and I stink, I'm real, join the club
I'd stop and talk, but I'm already in love"

...the times, they are a changing.

I couldn't agree with you more! (really) :oops:

I_GOT_no_IDea · January 2010

doompony wrote:

i personally hated the book... it's been years and years since i read it though so who knows what i'd have thought now... but doesn't it rely heavily on info provided by dave a and ed's stepdad? two people who for all we really know dislike him? i'm not saying this automatically makes it untrue, but jeez... where's the love?

as for dave, shit.. if he was irritating as a person to ed, what can you do?

it's true, DP, that the book does rely heavily on material from interviews with dave a and eddie's stepdad - that's why i take those respective sections of the book (ie. the majority) with a grain of salt. interesting though, to get their perspectives. mr mueller, for example, gives the impression that whilst he is defensive about his own reputation, he is accepting of eddie's attitude to him, so must feel some remorse for the poor decision-making and lack of judgement and lack of due care that he displayed at various times during the time from eddie's birth to when eddie left with his mum (we assume as a consequence of the final straw -finding out that his "dad", who he already felt was neglecting him emotionally and physically following a bitter divorce anyway, was not really his dad). when you read this book, you tend to feel more sympathetic to the stepfather, for despite his poor choices, did care a lot about eddie's well-being. it's the same old story of kid's being emotionally torn-apart by their parent's increasingly bitter feud, and no matter how hardline or overcompensatory either parent is towards their child, there's often so much resentment and confusion on behalf of the kid that the relationship is doomed. it's interesting that mr mueller expresses that there were so many times during ed's childhood that they wanted to tell him who his real dad was. the fact that they had plans for eddie's real father, rapidly deteriorating with MS, to come and live with them so they could care for him and let him spend time with his son - is a heart-wrenching insight into the good intentions without sufficient action that plagued their parenting - one can't help thinking, as you read this stepfather's account, what could have been if they told eddie the whole story early on. for one thing, we wouldn't have ever heard the songs that were born out of the emotional turmoil created by these misgivings. pearl jam may not have even come into being. with respect to dave a - whilst it's one guy's opinion, it is interesting to see how he felt about it all. the other, more objective sections of the book (for example, the development of the seattle music scene during the 80's into what it was when bands like soundgarden, mudhoney, pearl jam and alice in chains exploded onto the world stage) are better from a comprehensive, multi-source, informative point of view.

Isaac · January 2010

I read the book when it was pubbbbed... an interesting writing but...

Keep in mind that the author... along with Dave A. had a falling out with the band... agenda and # of readers had to do with at least some of the stories... right?

In fact I remember a 10C question regarding the lightbulb part of the book... the 10C replied "don't believe what you read"... this was in 1999 right after the book was published...

Kim was one of the people that PJ talk about "taking advantage of their access to the band"... and one of the reasons they shut down media wise.

As far as the modern drummer discrepancy... look at the difference in the year of publication between the Dave A. and Matt C. covers...

Niko80 · January 2010

I have read it multiple times. Very informative, even though it tends to be somehow subjective to Dave A's story, it paints a pretty accurate picture I'd say. I think the book successfully describes a very troubled Eddie. That dude cannot have been easy to co-exist with in a band back in those days. Dave A always semed to be the most warm and welcoming member of them all, and highly likeable too. Behind Eddie, Dave was the big fan favourite when he was around.

I wrote in another post yesterday how I think Eddie handled the Dave A situation quite poorly and cowardly. I really wish those two found a good balance and could continue to be in the band together. Eddie obviously didnt like Dave A one bit, especially not enough to want to hang around with him. When summer of 94 came, he successfully sniped Dave A out of the band from behind Stones back. Not cool, this is what is expected of chris cornell, not eddie.

This is my only issue with eddie, this situation and how he handled it.

But I love Eddie, he is the big music man for me and I love him to death. I am glad he has grown up and seems to be way more comfortable with his fame, and the surroundings that comes with it, these days.

theanswersarefatal · January 2010

awesome book.

ryph raph · January 2010

CJMST3K wrote:

cropduster82 wrote:

I thought about this a few months ago reading the Spin article but I find it kind of hypocritical of Ed to be pissed at Dave A for buying a new car with his Ten/VS money, yet in the article the author says he was visting at one of Ed's Seattle homes. It's not cool to buy a car with your own money, but it's cool to buy numerous houses? Just seems hypocritical to me.

http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/pea ... ystery_man

"Vedder's authority was clear to all in 1994, when drummer Dave Abbruzzese was abruptly fired from the band. "Dave was too much the rock star," says a source close to the band. "He was giving cover-story interviews to drumming magazines. He was happy, he was achieving his dream. That bugged the fuck out of Eddie. I witnessed Eddie drawing mustaches on Dave's face on the cover of Modern Drummer.""

Assuming Rolling Stone indeed had a source inside the band, that means that...

This is not ok...

But apparently this is perfectly fine....

Glad they're consistent.

I have that Brad shirt hangin' in my closet . Was lucky enough to meet Dave at Lollapalooza II at the N.O.R.M.L. booth. Very cool laid back person.

I_GOT_no_IDea · January 2010

StuffnJunk wrote:

the best part of Five Against one is the in depth description of the Vs sessions...and thats about it.....the part about Eddie's childhood goes on way too long....as fascinated as i am by the man, i really don't care that much about his pre-Pearl Jam days

on the other hand, Grunge is Dead has a lot of info about PJ....its an oral history, the whole book is just quotes from Seattle musicians, and there is quite a bit about PJ straight from Eddie and Jeff's mouths, along with people who work with them, right up to the modern era...some interesting bits, like how there is some tension between PJ and Brad over having to share Stone.....get that book!!!

also a very funny Andy Wood story.....Andy spread a rumor about some guy, he said he walked in on the guy and the guy was fucking a bag of marshmallows while smelling a can of tuna fish

i'll have a look for Grunge is Dead - i'm fascinated by that late 80's-early 90's era of seattle's musical history. andy wood sounded like such a funny/messed-up/full-on dude, just full of love - he obviously left a big hole in the lives of stone, jeff, the other MLB bandmates and chris c, to name just a few.
in other news, i'm now reading Anthony Kiedis' "Scar Tissue" - now that's a book we know is the real deal, straight from the horse's mouth for the most part. how that guy is still alive astonishes me :shock:

Thoughts_Arrive · January 2010

Got it, read it once, not bad at all.
Might read it again soon.
I found it painted Ed with a bad brush a bit too much.

Porchsitter · January 2010

I never really thought it had anything to do with the "car" situation. Honestly, I thought (when I read it) that the car thing was just a symptom of something larger between Dave and Ed. What I mean is who hasn't been around somebody whom we can't stand, and we start picking them apart, e.g. " I don't like the way that guy/girl laughs/smells/smiles/politics/the music he listens to/face . Whether it was fair or not, it happened. Ed did not like Dave and was determined to get him out of there. The car thing only exacerbated all of that. That's if there is any credence to the car thing in the first place.

And, yes, I read the book and remember liking it.

doompony · January 2010

I_GOT_no_IDea wrote:

StuffnJunk wrote:

the best part of Five Against one is the in depth description of the Vs sessions...and thats about it.....the part about Eddie's childhood goes on way too long....as fascinated as i am by the man, i really don't care that much about his pre-Pearl Jam days

on the other hand, Grunge is Dead has a lot of info about PJ....its an oral history, the whole book is just quotes from Seattle musicians, and there is quite a bit about PJ straight from Eddie and Jeff's mouths, along with people who work with them, right up to the modern era...some interesting bits, like how there is some tension between PJ and Brad over having to share Stone.....get that book!!!

also a very funny Andy Wood story.....Andy spread a rumor about some guy, he said he walked in on the guy and the guy was fucking a bag of marshmallows while smelling a can of tuna fish

i'll have a look for Grunge is Dead - i'm fascinated by that late 80's-early 90's era of seattle's musical history. andy wood sounded like such a funny/messed-up/full-on dude, just full of love - he obviously left a big hole in the lives of stone, jeff, the other MLB bandmates and chris c, to name just a few.
in other news, i'm now reading Anthony Kiedis' "Scar Tissue" - now that's a book we know is the real deal, straight from the horse's mouth for the most part. how that guy is still alive astonishes me :shock:

scar tissue is one of the more engrossing reads i've ever.. uh.. read. unbelievable, if it wasn't so true. AMAZED me that he's still alive. plus i didn't realise how long he was affected... i thought he was sober long before he actually was. he mentions a show i was at.. no idea he was high as a kite then.

danny · January 2010

i read it a long time ago

No Way · January 2010

doompony wrote:

I_GOT_no_IDea wrote:

StuffnJunk wrote:

the best part of Five Against one is the in depth description of the Vs sessions...and thats about it.....the part about Eddie's childhood goes on way too long....as fascinated as i am by the man, i really don't care that much about his pre-Pearl Jam days

on the other hand, Grunge is Dead has a lot of info about PJ....its an oral history, the whole book is just quotes from Seattle musicians, and there is quite a bit about PJ straight from Eddie and Jeff's mouths, along with people who work with them, right up to the modern era...some interesting bits, like how there is some tension between PJ and Brad over having to share Stone.....get that book!!!

also a very funny Andy Wood story.....Andy spread a rumor about some guy, he said he walked in on the guy and the guy was fucking a bag of marshmallows while smelling a can of tuna fish

i'll have a look for Grunge is Dead - i'm fascinated by that late 80's-early 90's era of seattle's musical history. andy wood sounded like such a funny/messed-up/full-on dude, just full of love - he obviously left a big hole in the lives of stone, jeff, the other MLB bandmates and chris c, to name just a few.
in other news, i'm now reading Anthony Kiedis' "Scar Tissue" - now that's a book we know is the real deal, straight from the horse's mouth for the most part. how that guy is still alive astonishes me :shock:

scar tissue is one of the more engrossing reads i've ever.. uh.. read. unbelievable, if it wasn't so true. AMAZED me that he's still alive. plus i didn't realise how long he was affected... i thought he was sober long before he actually was. he mentions a show i was at.. no idea he was high as a kite then.

Agreed - Scar Tissue is one of those books that you never want to end. 8-)

demetrios · January 2010

Yes, but it's been a while. I'll get back to it someday ...

Five Against One - The Pearl Jam Story... who's read it?

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