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Gavin B. · 12-07-2009, 09:34 AM

Song of the Day
Notable Albums of 2009

Notable Album of 2009- Back Spacer by Pearl Jam

Just Breathe- Pearl Jam I always thought Pearl Jam was a musical anacronism even upon their much ballyhoed arrival with their debut album Ten in 1992. Granted. it was a transcedental moment when Pearl Jam blew the roof off of Saturday Night Live but for the most part Pearl Jam (and the entire grunge movement) was an American aftershock from the UK punk era that spawned a legion of mediocre imitators, none of whom were as talented as Pearl Jam or Nirvana.

Pearl Jam was my younger brother's band, not mine. Jim my younger brother was 15 years younger than I was. For Jim, rock and roll began with the arrival of Led Zeppelin. Jim loved the arena ready metal bands like: Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Metallica. I lived in a paralell universe and listened to the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Public Image, Gang of Four, The Mekons, Patti Smith and Mission of Burma. In the aftermath of grunge, my brother's musical taste matured and he began to appreciate many of the same bands I did. I think Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain had a lot to do reschooling my brother and by 2005 Jim and I had a large overlap of musical tastes. I turned my brother on to Massive Attack and Jim worked patiently to school me on the wonders of Led Zeppelin who fell off my radar after their third album. I developed a whole new appreciation for three Led Zep albums: Houses of the Holy, Physical Graffiti and In Though the Out Door.

I always thought that alt/music movement of the late 80s and early 90s was essentially a regressive movement that produced a handful of great bands like Jane's Addiction, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

The most influential quartet of alt/rock albums had all been released by the end of 1991: Blood Sugar Sex Magic (1991), Ritual de lo Habiual (1990), Ten(1991) and Nevermind (1991). As a middle aged fan of UK punk rock (circa 1976) there was nothing revolutionary about the music on the Los Angeles Lollapoloza tours or Seattle's grunge rock scene. We'd seen this movie before in 1976 and the America grunge/alt rock movement was a 14 year old punk postcard that finally got delivered to American music fans.

During the Grunge/Lalapooloza phenomenon, the most forward thinking music fans of 1976 UK punk had already stepped away from punk and were moving on to post-rock forms of music. American artists like Uncle Tupelo, the Blood Oranges, Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams were at the heart of a roots rock and country music revival that took two decades and one movie soundtrack (Oh Brother Where Art Thou?) to gain enough momentum to crossover into the mainstream.

Across the pond in the UK groups like Stereolab, Massive Attack, the Orb, Orbital, and Aphex Twin had abandonned rock and roll altogeher and were experimenting with non-rock musical forms like: house music, acid jazz, trace, trip hop, global fusion, and techno. Four albums from the early UK post-rock movement changed my life were Stereolab's Peng (1992), The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultra World (1991) and Massive Attack's Blue Lines (1991) and Saint Etienne's Fox Base Alpha (1992).

Some rock bands like Radiohead and Sonic Youth survived by intergrating electronica and avant garde experimentation into their musical oeuvre. Many American based artists like Wilco, the Mekons and Neko Case joined in with the roots rock Americana movement. But the real action in this new post -rock world was among the UK and American groups who transformed the narrow techo subgenere into a sprawling genre of diverse music that was being called electronica by 1999.

1990 was the year punk finally broke in America and the death of Kurt Cobain on April 5th 1994 was the last gasp of the punk generation. It took 14 years for punk to gain an American audience and it all collpased with Cobain's death in 1994. Punk's 18 year run spanned two generations and had more staying power than just about any trend in the 60 year history of rock and roll. We are a few weeks away from 2010 and nearly 35 years beyond the punk music revolution of 1976 and I'm still seeing teenagers with spiky hair, mohawks, pegged pants and black leather jackets who talk about the Ramones, the Sex Pistols and the Clash as if Maggie Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were still ruling the international roost.

With the release of Back Spacer. Pearl Jam makes the giant leap forward into the 21st Century by discovering their own rootsy sound that was always lurking within the 200 watt Celestion speakers of their stacks of Marshall amplifiers. Pearl Jam has caught up with the times or maybe the times have caught up with Pearl Jam. Even as Pearl Jam was once my younger brother's band with the release of Back Spacer, I'm finally glad to claim Pearl Jam as my own. Below is Eddie Vedder's heartfelt vocal and the more nuanced playing of Pearl Jam along with the use of a string section. I love everything about this song.

12-07-2009, 09:34 AM	#4 (permalink)
Gavin B. Model Worker Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,248	Song of the Day Notable Albums of 2009 Notable Album of 2009- Back Spacer by Pearl Jam Just Breathe- Pearl Jam I always thought Pearl Jam was a musical anacronism even upon their much ballyhoed arrival with their debut album Ten in 1992. Granted. it was a transcedental moment when Pearl Jam blew the roof off of Saturday Night Live but for the most part Pearl Jam (and the entire grunge movement) was an American aftershock from the UK punk era that spawned a legion of mediocre imitators, none of whom were as talented as Pearl Jam or Nirvana. Pearl Jam was my younger brother's band, not mine. Jim my younger brother was 15 years younger than I was. For Jim, rock and roll began with the arrival of Led Zeppelin. Jim loved the arena ready metal bands like: Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Metallica. I lived in a paralell universe and listened to the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Public Image, Gang of Four, The Mekons, Patti Smith and Mission of Burma. In the aftermath of grunge, my brother's musical taste matured and he began to appreciate many of the same bands I did. I think Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain had a lot to do reschooling my brother and by 2005 Jim and I had a large overlap of musical tastes. I turned my brother on to Massive Attack and Jim worked patiently to school me on the wonders of Led Zeppelin who fell off my radar after their third album. I developed a whole new appreciation for three Led Zep albums: Houses of the Holy, Physical Graffiti and In Though the Out Door. I always thought that alt/music movement of the late 80s and early 90s was essentially a regressive movement that produced a handful of great bands like Jane's Addiction, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana and Pearl Jam. The most influential quartet of alt/rock albums had all been released by the end of 1991: Blood Sugar Sex Magic (1991), Ritual de lo Habiual (1990), Ten(1991) and Nevermind (1991). As a middle aged fan of UK punk rock (circa 1976) there was nothing revolutionary about the music on the Los Angeles Lollapoloza tours or Seattle's grunge rock scene. We'd seen this movie before in 1976 and the America grunge/alt rock movement was a 14 year old punk postcard that finally got delivered to American music fans. During the Grunge/Lalapooloza phenomenon, the most forward thinking music fans of 1976 UK punk had already stepped away from punk and were moving on to post-rock forms of music. American artists like Uncle Tupelo, the Blood Oranges, Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams were at the heart of a roots rock and country music revival that took two decades and one movie soundtrack (Oh Brother Where Art Thou?) to gain enough momentum to crossover into the mainstream. Across the pond in the UK groups like Stereolab, Massive Attack, the Orb, Orbital, and Aphex Twin had abandonned rock and roll altogeher and were experimenting with non-rock musical forms like: house music, acid jazz, trace, trip hop, global fusion, and techno. Four albums from the early UK post-rock movement changed my life were Stereolab's Peng (1992), The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultra World (1991) and Massive Attack's Blue Lines (1991) and Saint Etienne's Fox Base Alpha (1992). Some rock bands like Radiohead and Sonic Youth survived by intergrating electronica and avant garde experimentation into their musical oeuvre. Many American based artists like Wilco, the Mekons and Neko Case joined in with the roots rock Americana movement. But the real action in this new post -rock world was among the UK and American groups who transformed the narrow techo subgenere into a sprawling genre of diverse music that was being called electronica by 1999. 1990 was the year punk finally broke in America and the death of Kurt Cobain on April 5th 1994 was the last gasp of the punk generation. It took 14 years for punk to gain an American audience and it all collpased with Cobain's death in 1994. Punk's 18 year run spanned two generations and had more staying power than just about any trend in the 60 year history of rock and roll. We are a few weeks away from 2010 and nearly 35 years beyond the punk music revolution of 1976 and I'm still seeing teenagers with spiky hair, mohawks, pegged pants and black leather jackets who talk about the Ramones, the Sex Pistols and the Clash as if Maggie Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were still ruling the international roost. With the release of Back Spacer. Pearl Jam makes the giant leap forward into the 21st Century by discovering their own rootsy sound that was always lurking within the 200 watt Celestion speakers of their stacks of Marshall amplifiers. Pearl Jam has caught up with the times or maybe the times have caught up with Pearl Jam. Even as Pearl Jam was once my younger brother's band with the release of Back Spacer, I'm finally glad to claim Pearl Jam as my own. Below is Eddie Vedder's heartfelt vocal and the more nuanced playing of Pearl Jam along with the use of a string section. I love everything about this song. Last edited by Gavin B.; 12-14-2009 at 09:32 AM.