It was a hot day about a decade and half ago when far away, far from where the eye could see, a tectonic shift happened. A tsunami built up and came surging forward at a breakneck speed. Before people could realize it was upon them. This tsunami was the tidal wave of Alternative music. Riding the first wave were a clutch of rock bands that would change the world forever. One of them was the 5 member rock band from Seattle named PEARL JAM. With their debut album ‘Ten’ they made rock music a screaming, raging force of nature again. When Eddie Vedder imploded on tracks like ‘Evenflow’, ‘Alive’ and ‘Jeremy’, millions of souls resonated with angst and pain. For millions of souls stuck in teenage wasteland Pearl Jam was a beacon that showed them the way to the shore.

The album ‘Ten’ was a catharsis for all the band members but for Eddie Vedder especially. Eddie grew up believing that he was born to the man married to his mother. Then on a regular day in the life of the 15 year old Eddie, his mother somberly told him something that turned the boy’s life upside down. That the man he thought was his father was not the man who had sired him. His real father was dying with cancer in a hospital. Eddie was devastated with this news. In a moment everything he believed in was taken away. Few kids survive an emotional upheaval of such gigantic proportions. Eddie would not have either if he hadn’t found a refuge in rock music. From then on Eddie could never be a boy again. In a moment the child was gone and in its place was a little big man. The music of bands like LED ZEPPELLIN, KISS, THE WHO, NEIL YOUNG and THE RAMONES spoke to young Eddie with an urgency that nothing else could. Years later on ‘Ten’ Eddie would exorcise his demons with his blood curling vocals against a raucous background of grinding guitars and thudding drums.

The rest of the band had their own crosses to bear. They were earlier in a band called MOTHER LOVE BONE which created soundscapes that were beginning to attract attention. However the lead singer Andrew Wood died of a heroin overdose. The remaining members split up to follow their own ways with a couple going on to form MUDHONEY while others decided that with a new lead singer they would form a new band. Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and Mike McCready recorded a demo tape of 3 musical tracks and passed them around auditioning for a new lead singer. Eddie was working as a gas station attendant in San Diego when a friend passed him the demo tape. Eddie put his own lyrics to the music and sent back the tape. The tape blew away the trio and Eddie was called to do a live audition. With tracks like ‘Alive’ and ‘Once’ Eddie blew away any doubts about who the lead singer would be. Eddie Vedder joined them and thus PEARL JAM was born. At the same time they also recorded an entire album under the name of TEMPLE OF THE DOG as a tribute to Andrew Wood. Guitarist/singer Chris Cornell who was Andrew Wood’s room mate and friend sung lead vocals with Eddie Vedder on backing vocals. The album spawned a hit single ‘Hunger Strike’ and more importantly provided a coda to all concerned to move on.

Pearl Jam launched their sonic assault on 27th August 1991 with the release of their debut album ‘Ten.’ Spearheaded by the personal narratives ‘Alive’, ‘Jeremy’ and ‘Evenflow’ the album immediately established PJ at the forefront of the grunge revolution along with NIRVANA and SOUNDGARDEN. This position was further fortified by the release of their sophomore effort ‘Vs’ which contained the primal ‘Animal’, the rebellious ‘Dissident’ and the sexual abuse document ‘Daughter.’

As the years rolled by other alternative acts struggled to be relevant and meaningful. The first generation of teen listeners who welcomed them with open arms grew up and moved on with their individual lives. Alternative bands were accused of being too dark and of carrying burdens best left untouched. Some of the brightest lights of Alternative music fell victims to drug and alcohol abuse including Shannon Hoon of BLIND MELON, Doug Hopkins of  GIN BLOSSOMS and Layne Staley of ALICE IN CHAINS.Other bands like SOUNDGARDEN,SCREAMING TREES and FAITH NO MORE disbanded.
As the alternative landscape became increasingly desolate there was one band which stuck on. This band was PEARL JAM. They continued to believe in their music and continued to release albums. Singing about topics both painfully taboo and increasingly relevant PJ continued to release albums like ‘Vitalogy’, ‘Yield’, ‘No Code’, ‘Riot Act’ and ‘Binaural.’ They entered the bastion of popular music by winning a Grammy, several American Music awards and a handful of MTV Video awards. Winning the MTV awards was ironic because after the videos for their singles off ‘Ten’ PJ refused to make any more videos. Videos are a proven route to make hit singles and often an album has had spectacular success on the strength of hit videos. By refusing to play the game PJ endeared themselves to their hardcore fans while alienating the music industry heavyweights. Then they got into a bruising battle with Ticketmaster, the industry’s biggest concert arranger, over the high price of the tickets. Fans loved the integrity that the band showed while refusing to be cowed down by financial mishaps and threats.

The band continued to focus on their music which was becoming increasingly personal and complex. Songs like ‘Spin The Black Circle’ and ‘Tremor Christ’ courted controversy while songs like ‘Bugs’ and ‘Lukin’ left even adoring fans perplexed. Sometimes it seemed that PJ was being obtuse deliberately, trying to test the loyalty of their fans. In this arid landscape there were welcome bursts of rain like their rendition of the 1964 eulogy to a dead girlfriend ‘Last Kiss.’ The single was never released but purely on the strength of radio requests it reached no. 2 on the US charts. They contributed to film soundtracks like ‘Dead Man Walking’ and to benefit albums like ‘No Boundaries’ for the Kosovo War refugees and ‘A Benefit for Victoria Williams.’ These songs reflected the growing concern Pearl Jam had for larger issues that stalk humanity. At various forums PJ tried to raise awareness of thorny issues like freedom of expression of the individual and the woman’s right to choose abortion. Their open support for these causes put them in direct confrontation with the music industry and the political establishment. Never one to back out of a bitter fight over a good cause, PJ became entangled in a series of confrontations. The spokesmen of their generation had now become its warriors. Paradoxically the more they stretched the frontiers of rock the more they acknowledged its roots. Eddie Vedder fronted THE DOORS on the night they were inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame. PJ teamed up with one of their idols NEIL YOUNG to release an album titled ‘Mirrorball.’

	In this whirlwind of activity, there is a danger of losing perspective on what Pearl Jam has achieved over the years. They were among the first bands that brought Alternative music out from the wrong side of the tracks to the forefront. Their refusal to indulge in marketing gimmicks to sell more albums proved that they never sold out. What Pearl Jam did was put the spotlight on issues that lay alone and cold in the dark. Issues that lay abandoned because we, the people, did not have the courage to recognize how important they were. They talked about the scourge of sexual abuse of children in searing tracks like ‘Jeremy’ and ‘Daughter.’ Sexual abuse does irreparable damage to the body but that is a laugh when compared to the infinite damage it does to the soul of the victim. A million baths cannot cleanse the feeling of angry confusion, burning shame and creepy touch that the victim of sexual abuse feels after he or she has been violated. It is like somebody reached deep inside you and cruelly yanked your soul out. After this vicious assault you feel less than human. You become a ‘Thing.’

A million piercing eyes can look straight thru you. There is no place to run. There is no place to hide. You hate yourself without limits. You feel guilty that somehow you brought it upon yourself. It stays with you like a dark cloud all your life. You never feel safe again. You just keep wishing that the earth opens up and you sink deep into the crevice and never come out again. On behalf of every victim of sexual abuse Pearl Jam sang payers that went up all the way up to the heavens and rocked God’s citadel. The pain and the fury in ‘Daughter’ would leave even the toughest heart emotionally drained.
A common accusation against Pearl Jam is that they deliberately created music that became inaccessible even to their die hard fans. In a way it is true. Albums that followed ‘Vitalogy’ were thematically dark, lyrically complex and did not wear angst on their sleeve like PJ’s earlier albums. But then how many bands have the integrity to sing about themes that they believe in irrespective of their commercial appeal. How many bands say no to the easy way out where they become the darlings of the musical establishment and earn truckloads of money. Who else could capture the ennui of a small town and the sad, hopeless desperation of the aged people there like PJ did in ‘Elderly Woman Behind A Counter In A Small Town?’ Who else could describe the painful helplessness of a woman stuck in a dead-end relationship as PJ did in ‘Betterman?’ Who else can elucidate the irreversible acknowledgement of a man who realizes that his life has made no difference in any way to that world as PJ did in ‘Nothingman?’ Which other rock band would have the courage to walk away from a sure fire musical direction and head out on paths less taken. In the continuing war between rock ethics and corporate sensibilities PJ have always, unhesitatingly chosen the former. With its nose to the ground and head held high PJ has continued to walk on the rough and lonely road of musical independence.

PJ’s musical odyssey over the years is a lesson for all those who believe in Rock. Of how hard, dangerous and lonely the journey can be. Of how sometimes you give it all you have only to get kicked in the face. Of how as the scenery changes even the most loyal of fans can leave you. Of how on the darkest of nights you only have the fire of passion to light the way. Of how in the fleeting word of possessions the only thing that is truly yours is your integrity. PJ is still in the thick of battle. A battle that will never ever end. When the time comes the baton will be passed on to the next band that chooses deliberately to venture on this monumental journey.   
However right now the centre stage belongs to PJ who have released their latest album simply titled ‘Pearl Jam.’ An album where the band continues to disregard convention and reinvents itself. With heat seeker singles like ‘World Wide Suicide’ and ‘Parachutes’ the new album is a contemporary take on state of the world today. Amidst the multitude of wars today there are prayers for peace and harmony. Acoustic offerings and garage rock both make ‘PJ’ a rich album. Not giving a  damn to music fads and political correctness PJ continues to make the music that comes from their souls. In the swirling battleground of rock music as the list of casualties keeps piling up, as diesel and dust mingle, as blood flows, as the vultures circle overhead and apocalypse closes in, PEARL JAM is taking the fight to the enemy.

Written by,
NAVEEN RAO
homeboynaveen@rediffmail.com