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April 4, 2019: Award Shows and Rock and Roll HOF

Hi Jessi and Kate,

Thank you for the shout out this week!  The opening riff and drums to "Spin the Black Circle" always get stuck in my head more than any other Pearl Jam song.  I've never understood why, because I don't consider it one of my favorites, although I do love the song. 

I feel the same way that you both do regarding award shows.  They've never been something I've been able to get into.  It kind of reminds me of growing up and listening to Casey Kasem's weekly Top 40 and wondering why a lot of the music I liked to listen to wasn't high up on the list.  As if I need a ranking system to validate my taste in music.  It is hard to ignore at times and can make me think twice about what I listen to, so I usually stay away from critic opinions, "top 100 lists" and award shows.  Most of the "professionals" seemingly crap on a lot of the traits and songs that I find to be enjoyable.  For instance, I took the time to watch "Pearl Jam: Under Review" that was streaming on Prime.  They could not stop gushing over Pearl Jam up until Vitalogy and then seemingly make the band sound like they fell off a cliff and starting recording nonsense.  


This is what makes your podcast and others so refreshing.  To actually hear others enjoy the deep cuts and "experimental" eras of Pearl Jam and truly appreciate them.  We don't need Grammys, MTV Music Video awards or a Hall of Fame induction to validate our love for this band. 

One last thing I wanted to share is the shirt that Jeff wore during their HOF induction.  I shared this with the Brads last week, but wanted to pass along to you as well.  It lists several bands and artists who have not been inducted.  To Jessi's point, it's frustrating there are Pop artists making it in over these extremely talented musicians.  I had highlighted Sonic Youth, because they really illustrate the theory that a lot of the award winners are winning a lot of business.  One of the knocks on Sonic Youth is that they don't have the record sales (money) that would prove them to be one of the best of their era.  Nevermind the fact that they played together for 27 years and revolutionized the sounds a band that make with your "standard" lineup of drums, lead, rhythm and bass guitars.  They didn't need synthesizers or computers necessarily to create their sound.

Forced to endure, what I could not forgive,

Chris

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