Not for You

Pearl Jam and the Present Tense

Ronen Givony

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781501360671
• eBook ISBN: 9781501360695
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music Biographies

There has never been a band like Pearl Jam. The Seattle quintet has recorded eleven studio albums; sold some 85 million records; played over a thousand shows, in fifty countries; and had five different albums reach number one. But Pearl Jam's story is about much more than music. Through resilience, integrity, and sheer force of will, they transcended several eras, and shaped the way a whole generation thought about art, entertainment, and commerce. Not for You: Pearl Jam and the Present Tense is the first full-length biography of America's preeminent band, from Ten to Gigaton. A study of their role in history – from Operation Desert Storm to the Dixie Chicks; "Jeremy" to Columbine; Kurt Cobain to Chris Cornell; Ticketmaster to Trump – Not for You explores the band's origins and evolution over thirty years of American culture. It starts with their founding, and the eruption of grunge, in 1991; continues through their golden age ( Vs., Vitalogy, No Code, and Yield ); their middle period ( Binaural, Riot Act ); and the more divisive recent catalog. Along the way, it considers the band's activism, idealism, and impact, from "W.M.A." to the Battle of Seattle and Body of War. More than the first critical study, Not for You is a tribute to a famously obsessive fan base, in the spirit of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch. It's an old-fashioned – if, at times, ambivalent – appreciation; a reflection on pleasure, fandom, and guilt; and an essay on the nature of adolescence, nostalgia, and adulthood. Partly social history, partly autobiography, and entirely outspoken, discursive, and droll, Not for You is the first full-length treatment of Pearl Jam's odyssey and importance in the culture, from the '90s to the present.

1

The Cast

Pearl Jam: formed in Seattle, 1990. Best songs: “Tremor Christ,” “In My Tree,” “Hard to Imagine,” “Go,” “Release,” “Hail, Hail,” “Parting Ways,” “Insignificance,” “Come Back,” “Unthought Known,” “Save You,” “Grievance,” “Down,” “Blood,” “Leash.” Worst song: “Can’t Deny Me.”

Eddie Vedder: the front man. Born in 1964. Raised in Chicago and San Diego. Best songs: “Off He Goes,” “Long Road,” “Better Man,” “Corduroy,” “Rearviewmirror,” “Immortality,” “Lukin,” “Porch,” “Around the Bend,” “Green Disease,” “Sleeping by Myself.” Worst song: “World Wide Suicide.” Typical quote: “If you’ve ever tried to order a pizza with five people, it’s difficult.”

Stone Gossard: the founder. Born in 1966. Raised in Seattle. Best songs: “Breath,” “Daughter,” “Black,” “Even Flow,” “All Those Yesterdays,” “Of the Girl,” “Parachutes,” “Rival,” “No Way,” “Alive.” Worst song: “Thin Air.” Typical quote: “We’ve got a great drummer and a great singer. Those are the key positions. Mike and I, we’re not terrible. But within a mile of here, there are probably a hundred great guitar players.”

Mike McCready: the flash. Born in 1966, in Pensacola. Raised in Seattle. Best songs: “Faithfull,” “Brain of J,” “Present Tense,” “Let Me Sleep (It’s Christmastime),” “Yellow Ledbetter.” Worst song: “Marker in the Sand.” Typical quote: “What [song of ours] do I not like? Maybe some odd song that we don’t ever play called ‘Bugs.’ I get a little tired of playing ‘Corduroy,’ but don’t tell Eddie that because he’ll get pissed.”

Jeff Ament: the foundation. Born in 1963. Raised in Big Sandy, Montana. Best songs: “Why Go,” “Pilate,” “Low Light,” “Smile,” “Jeremy,” “Rats.” Worst song: “Sweet Lew.” Typical quote: “There’s actually a lot of similarities [with basketball]. You’re playing with four other guys. When things are working really well, it’s like a team with good chemistry. With Pearl Jam, it’s like playing with the ’88 Lakers.”

Matt Cameron: the virtuoso. Born in 1962. Raised in San Diego. Best songs: “The Fixer,” “You Are.” Worst song: “Evacuation.” Typical quote: “‘Limo Wreck’ [Soundgarden] is just your average 15/8 dirge.”

June 1987

The next few years will see the ultra-heavy rock of Seattle rival the Motor City scene of the early ’70s. I believe that bands like Green River and Soundgarden are every bit as great as the Stooges and the MC5. To prove my point, I’ve borrowed $2,000 from my Dad to help Green River put out their latest EP, Dry as a Bone (Sub Pop). For me, songs like “This Town” and “PCC” are as hard and heavy as anything I’ve ever heard. Please buy this record so I can pay my Dad back!^*

April 1989

The post-Guns N’ Roses era is upon us. In the wake of the astounding success the group has had with its brutal, take-no-prisoners rock, others are choosing to follow the same path. Case in point: Mother Love Bone. There are similarities between the bands, but the main difference is the one that separates the innovator from the imitator.

There are a few decent ideas scattered about the LP, and lead singer Andrew Wood is certainly rough enough. But this is mostly filled with the kind of angry lyrics and jagged-edge guitars on which the Gunners hold the current patent. GRADE: C.

December 1990

Heavy metal, the past decade, has become a genre of music given over to spandex-clad clowns spewing forth mile-a-minute guitar solos … Seattle’s Alice in Chains, at a homecoming concert Saturday night at the Moore Theater, look to be one of several eye-catching exceptions to the conventions of wretched excess. Although they share some elements with established hard-rock acts, the group has more in common with Seattle’s alternative rock “grunge” movement than it does with conventional heavy metal.

Ironically enough, Alice in Chains gave a better representation of the Seattle Sound than those that should have: opening band Mookie Blaylock. It features Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, who were in another seminal grunge band, Green River … However, the music leaned more toward bad ’70s country rock (Bad Company comes to mind) than the punk-metal angst of Green River or the flamboyant grooves of Mother Love Bone. Not even a cameo appearance by Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron made Blaylock interesting.

February 1991

Mookie Blaylock has a concert tonight in Los Angeles. Huh? Mookie Blaylock’s sound is often compared to the rock band, U2. Double huh? The Nets’ unassuming point guard is a rock star? Not quite. Believe it or not, there are two Mookie Blaylocks. One plays for New Jersey and the other is the name of a new Seattle band. But why did they choose Mookie Blaylock?

“We needed a name to tour and it sounded cool,” said Jeff Ament, the bassist for Mookie Blaylock and a former all-state point guard in high school. “We tried being different by going for the underdog. If we were Magic Johnson, it would be too typical.”

Bad news. Mookie Blaylock is an interim name. The band has an album due out in June and is deciding on a new name. Ament said it won’t be Daron O’Shea Blaylock. That’s Mookie’s real name and it’s not cool enough.

December 1991

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the most-awaited show this week is a three-tiered offering that brings the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam to the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Saturday. Keyed by the manic mayhem of bassist Flea, the Peppers do not so much perform as assault. The band’s indelicate balance of visual and musical outrageousness sometimes threatens to teeter-totter out of control, but skill and sincerity lend purpose to what otherwise is the sensual equivalent of a curbside mugging.

Meanwhile, Nirvana’s punky riff-rocking has made it a rave of the alternative netherworld, and Pearl Jam—one of the most hyped bands of the year—has a local connection in vocalist Eddie Vedder, a former San Diegan. The fun starts at 7 p.m.

February 1992

It can be mind-boggling to try to put into words how you suddenly feel about a band who you know are going to have a radical effect on your life, or at least alter your perception of the power of music. If music is a big part of your life, it’s the same difference. It’s Big and Important, and both your head and your heart want each other to sort it out. But watching Vedder sing those songs, the way his eyeballs roll back into his skull, his lips stretched across his face in a rictus grin, his teeth clenched like they’re going to shatter … how can he feel such hurt and hate, and still make such soulful, uplifting music? There’s the mystery. That’s Pearl Jam. Love this band.

April 1992

His favorite target is Pearl Jam, also from Seattle, which he accused of “corporate, alternative and cock-rock fusion” in a recent Musician magazine interview. “Every article I see written about them, they mention us, and they’re baiting that fact,” says Cobain, sitting up cross-legged on the bed. “I would love to be erased from my association with that band and other corporate bands like the Nymphs and a few other felons. I do feel a duty to warn the kids of false music that’s claiming to be underground or alternative. They’re jumping on the alternative bandwagon.”

May 1993

From Marc Jacobs’ laughable “something grungy, something new” vibe … to J. Crew’s mail-order weekend grunge uniform, what these pretenders don’t get is that the most uncool thing in rock right now is Pearl Jam. Now that the mall rats have been invited in, there’s a huge grunge backlash brewing; and for those caught in the crossfire, it’ll be harsher than a stage-diving combat boot to the head.

October 1993

They haven’t built that Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, yet, but when they do, they’d better save a room for Vedder. He’s got all the rock-idol moves down. Does he have a painful, shadowy past? Check. Does he have an air of danger and sensuality reminiscent of Jim Morrison? You bet. Does he refuse to adopt the trappings of a rock star, thus demonstrating that he’s such a genuine article he doesn’t need stardom? Absolutely. Is he happy to be on the cover of TIME? No way.

February 1994

Eddie Vedder, yep, he’s Mr. Torture, Mr. Misery; he’s so corny you want to put butter and salt on him. But you know what? He’s new not because he’s doing something that’s never been done before, but because it’s so absolutely clear to so many people that he’s doing something he’s never done before. And he doesn’t know how it’s going to turn out—he doesn’t know how the song is going to end. And do you know how that translates? This way: he’s new because people recognize he’s someone they haven’t seen before and might not see again. It’s a little scary, you understand? Liz Phair you’ve seen all your life, in every commercial on TV. She leaves, she’ll still be there. But you get the feeling Eddie Vedder could disappear at any time, and if he did, he’d just be really gone.

June 1994

A Ticketmaster spokesman dismisses Pearl Jam’s move as a “brilliant marketing ploy” to sell records and says the firm “operates fully within the parameters of all applicable laws.” Ticketmaster’s practices were reviewed in 1991 when the Justice Department’s antitrust division allowed the firm to buy certain assets from a competitor.

“The White House is impressed by Pearl Jam’s commitment to its fans,” says George Stephanopoulos, senior adviser to the President for policy and strategy. “We want to make it very clear that we can’t judge the merits of the band’s allegations against Ticketmaster or prejudge the Justice Department’s action in any way. But that said, we think the goal of making concert ticket prices affordable is a laudable one. It’s something we believe in.”

November 1994

Vedder has tried to be that good guy to his fans—sometimes spending hours after a show talking to them or even giving out his home phone number on a radio call-in show so that they can reach him. But some of the fans are unrelenting. They write him or try to catch up to him on the road, asking for money or help with their problems.

“There’ll be fans standing outside the arena screaming and he’s nice to 95 people, but he finally has to leave and the 96th person says, ‘You’re an asshole.’ It bothers him. He feels he has let someone down.”

February 1995

Eddie Vedder’s home was recently broken into by a crazed Pearl Jam fan—according to Mike Watt, whose Ball-Hog or Tugboat? album features a guest appearance from Vedder among many other celebrities.

During his [Melody] Maker interview last week, Watt claimed: “Eddie told me that a lady broke into his house a few days ago—burned the front door, raided the refrigerator and wouldn’t get out. He had to call the police. Most punk rockers don’t have to deal with that! But Eddie got on the phone with her psychiatrist before he called the police. That’s the kind of guy Eddie is, but people aren’t going to know that unless they meet him. He’s really a down-to-earth guy who kind of won the lottery. His band got all big, but I think he’d still be the same kind of guy if his band hadn’t gotten big.”

However, spokesmen for both Seattle police and Pearl Jam’s label, Epic, denied all knowledge of the incident last week.

June 1995

Neil Young went from guest to fill-in at a Pearl Jam concert when singer Eddie Vedder walked off with the flu. Vedder called it quits after six songs Saturday night at Golden Gate Park. He had been treated at a hospital emergency room a few hours before the show.

“I just went through the worst 24 hours of my life,” he told the crowd of about 50,000.

Young played for one-and-a-half hours, mixing classics with new songs. There was no mistaking the crowd’s disappointment.

“We want to know where the hell Eddie is,” said Lissa Harrison of Dublin, California. “We don’t care if he’s puking. I didn’t go to Neil Young. I came to Pearl Jam.”

Bass player Jeff Ament was booed at the end of the two-hour set when he tried to apologize.

January 1996

“If This is Seattle Then Where’s Eddie’s House” is available by writing to: Ann Druffner, 2300 Lincoln Park West, No. 812, Chicago, Illinois 60614, USA ($4 each, $6 for two).

Whether the various band members whose past steps are retraced will receive the fanzine quite as warmly is unlikely—but (with the exception of Courtney Love) no present addresses are included for any of them. But this has already caused Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready to comment: “It’s a terrible idea. Do you realize how many psychopaths and deviant, destructive people there are out there? This has to stop for all of our collective existences. Our band will not exist if things like this continue.”

November 1996

Vedder seemed to be a ready-made poster boy for the disaffected grunge generation: a disgruntled rebel whose agonized lyrics and raw-throated, rageful singing sprang from an unhappy childhood and an alienated and lonely adolescence … But according to those who knew Vedder before his fame, the singer’s rise was hardly the result of happenstance. “He knows what this whole biz is all about,” says a friend from Vedder’s days before he joined Pearl Jam. “He’s not some kind of little, lost soul who writes great songs.” By many accounts, Vedder’s rise was a concerted effort that was propelled by his flair for self-invention and self-dramatization, his relentless drive to be heard and a steely determination to control his public image. “He is a master manipulator of the people and situations around him,” says a source at Epic. “And he’s a master manipulator of his own image.”

December 1997

Pearl Jam fans won’t be able to buy the rock group’s new Epic Records album until February 3, but all they needed to sample nearly half the album’s songs for free this month was a little computer savvy.

The development—reportedly the first time such a large portion of an unreleased album by a superstar act has been “pirated” on the internet—raises major questions about how record companies will be able to combat bootlegging in the Computer Age.

“There are a lot of implications here as to what’s going to happen in the future,” said [Michael] Goldberg. “Once a large number of people have cable modems, there’s going to come a point where people could be passing around very high-quality versions of songs in e-mail. I’m sure record companies are pulling their hair out about this.”

September 1998

When Pearl Jam began the current leg of its tour on a fateful Monday last month, the day President Clinton testified before a gr...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Contents 
• List of Illustrations
• Introduction: A Personal Preface
• 1 The Cast
• 2 A Dozen Moments in the Prehistory of Pearl Jam
• 3 The Bacchanal, San Diego (November 21, 1989)
• 4 The Off Ramp, Seattle (October 22, 1990)
• 5 “Jeremy,” “Garden,” “Yellow Ledbetter” (1991)
• 6 J.C. Dobbs, Philadelphia (July 12, 1991)
• 7 The Palladium, Hollywood (October 6, 1991)
• 8 Cow Palace, San Francisco (December 31, 1991)
• 9 MTV Unplugged (March 16, 1992)
• 10 Pinkpop Festival, Holland (June 8, 1992)
• 11 The Singles Soundtrack (1992)
• 12 Stadio Flaminio, Rome (July 7, 1993)
• 13 Lakefront Arena, New Orleans (November 16, 1993)
• 14 Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid (1993–94)
• 15 Civic Center, Pensacola (March 9, 1994)
• 16 Bayfront Amphitheater, Miami (March 28, 1994)
• 17 Patriot Center, Fairfax, Virginia (April 8, 1994)
• 18 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC (June 30, 1994)
• 19 Dave (1994)
• 20 Self-Pollution Radio, Seattle (January 8, 1995)
• 21 Soldier Field, Chicago (July 11, 1995)
• 22 38th Annual Grammy Awards (February 28, 1996)
• 23 Cox Arena, San Diego (July 10, 1998)
• 24 Binaural and the Battle of Seattle (1999)
• 25 Roskilde Festival, Denmark (June 30, 2000)
• 26 Madison Square Garden, New York (October 13, 2000)
• 27 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale (April 30, 2003)
• 28 Thin Air (2006–13)
• 29 Tomas Young and Body of War (2007–16)
• 30 Altice Arena, Lisbon (June 20, 2019)
• Afterword
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Bibliography
• About the Author
• Index
• Imprint