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Theme of this blog - Single Podcast Theory

The year of 2018 has been the most challenging of my life, however it pales in comparison for how challenging it has been for my wife, Morgan.  On January 15th, 2018, she was hospitalized and found to have suffered a stroke.  To make a long story short, she has persevered and has a good outlook to make as close to a full recovery as one can imagine.  It has been difficult to accept what has happened to her.  My means of coping came through music.  I felt angry at many things and turned back to the Grunge era of the early 90's to try to help me get through my own emotions.  The angrier and rawer the music, the louder I wanted to hear it.  Mainly, I listened to "Dirt" by Alice in Chains, "In Utero" by Nirvana and "BadMotorFinger" by Soundgarden.  I sprinkled in other bands like Rage Against the Machine and the Stone Temple Pilots.  What was missing from my catalog was the band whom I've considered myself the closet to, Pearl Jam.  I can't really explain why I didn't gravitate to them at the outset.  It wasn't until the end of July, I went on Apple Podcasts to try to find something to help take my mind out of the world that has become my reality now.  I searched for "Pearl Jam" and only one hit came up called "Single Podcast Theory."  They were already 52 episodes in, so I have a lot of catching up to do.  I listened to the "Introduction" episode, which was Episode 1, and figured these were a couple of guys I could relate to.  I proceeded to listen to Episode 2, which covered the album "Ten," track-by-track and suddenly my passion for this band was reignited.  Moreover, it enlightened me toward aspects of "Ten" that I had never thought about and also really didn't take much time to study the lyrics of Eddie Vedder throughout the album.  As of today, I am now on Episode 40, and the podcast is about to publish their 60th episode first-thing Monday morning.  Given that I have a 75-mile commute between Milwaukee and Madison everyday, it has afforded me the opportunity to get caught up as quickly as I have.


This blog will be me publishing the weekly emails that I have written into the show.  The first one I had gotten an immediate response to and then it was read over Episode 53 (at the 52:04 mark), which was hilariously diverted onto a tangent regarding cheese-filled hot dogs.  The fact my story was told to the community that listens to Single Podcast Theory touched me and encouraged me to continue writing to Brad Blazek and Brad Lyons on a weekly basis.  I had a second email read on Episode 58 (35:28 mark).  Not every email in this blog was/will be read over the air, but for those that are, I will be sure to include the detail.  Their podcast helped me find an outlet during this tough experience, but also allowed me to find myself again and allow myself to enjoy something in life and not feel the constant animosity toward what has happened around me.  Please feel free to comment on any of my opinions as I would appreciate any discussion regarding my views and feelings about Pearl Jam.

Forced to Endure, What I Could Not Forgive,

Chris

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