June 15, 2019: Most Vulnerable Song

Hi Jessi and Kate,

I'd first like to acknowledge a comment made by Jessi, that I literally have thought in my head for several years and never muttered the words.

If Tim Burton were to produce a Pearl Jam album, it would have been Riot Act.

It's great to hear someone else say that! This topic has never come up in conversation for me until now and I am so grateful to finally have expressed that opinion. The music all the way to album art reflects Tim Burton.

Right before you guys dropped the episode on "Thumbing My Way," Jessi had posted a question asking which song of theirs do you think is most vulnerable. I made a list of several songs, here are a few:

- Deep: which you guys covered a few weeks ago

- Footsteps

- Come Back

- Inside Job

- Black

- Hold On

However there is one song that I feel the vulnerability more than any other in the lyrics, music and in the tension of Eddie's voice. That song is "Immortality."

The era in which this song came out was probably when the band was the most vulnerable, given the rising tension from their rise to fame and the death of Kurt Cobain. You can feel the overwhelming nature of the song hit a high point at:

I cannot stop the thought

I'm running in the dark
Coming up a which way sign

all good truants must decide

The entire Vitalogy record expresses how much the band was fighting not to lose who they were at their core, despite their meteoric success. "Immorality" gives an incredible final act to the record, juts before chaos ensues during "Stuipid Mop."

One last thing to share is this version of "Immorality" I found on YouTube this afternoon. It's an even more stripped down version than the recorded version.

Forced to endure, what I could not forgive,

Chris

Comments

October 17, 2010: RIP Mozart for Guitar

Hi Brad and Brad, I first want to mention that I can't remember the last time I laughed as hard as I did while listening to you two and Clint Wells go on about spoonfuls of flour and uncooked spaghetti. I almost had to pull my car over as I was driving home during that part of the episode! Since Eddie Van Halen passed away on October 6th, I've been listening to a lot of Van Halen. I didn't really get into them until 10-15 years ago, but I consider them to be one of my favorite bands of all-time. Eddie was truly an innovator on shredding guitar solos and may be my favorite lead guitarist ever. I saw Mike's comment on Pearl Jam's Twitter feed referencing how he began playing guitar shortly after their first record came out. He goes so far to say "it sounded like Eddie was from another planet" and "Eddie was like Mozart for guitar. Changed everything and he played with Soul." I know the guys have covered Van Halen here-and-there and I looked

December 26, 2020: Someday at Christmas

Hi Brad and Brad, First, I hope you guys have had a Happy Holidays. Secondly, I really enjoy your solo episodes. They have a deejay format to them which also feels personable in getting to know each of your lives and what has influenced you to be who you are now. I hadn't taken the time to get to know Someday at Christmas until after listening to BradB's recent episode. Pearl Jam does a great job in covering the song, and I prefer Stevie Wonder's version over the Jackson 5. Especially, after reading the lyrics and reading some interpretations of the song. At the time the song was released, the Vietnam War was still underway. The lyrics seem to voice opposition to the war itself, but also express the hope for racial and economic equality. Unfortunately, that message still resonates strongly. Stevie Wonder was one of the artists that shaped my musical interests when I was a teenager. I'm very glad the guys chose to cover this song for a Christmas single and have

December 31, 2020: Low Light

Hi Jessi and Kate, I have been way behind on my podcasts the last several weeks. The main reason is because myself and a friend started our own podcast! It's not Pearl Jam themed , however it's consumed a decent amount of my week preparing for each recording. So we now have a hit on the Dink-O-Meter for both of you. First Jessi and now Kate! I can't remember if I have proposed the Dink-O-Meter to you yet, but I have it as a three-tiered system: Dinky: Just your average dinky, will only skip if streaming Rinky-Dinky: Automatic skipper, even when listening to vinyl Stinky-Dinky: It's like nails on a chalkboard to you Based on Jessi's response to Parachutes, I have that somewhere between Rinky-Dinky and Stinky-Dinky. I would have to let Jessi be the final judge on that. For Kate's remarks to Low Light, I have it somewhere between Dinky and Rinky-Dinky, however I'm inclined to believe it's closer to Dinky because I wasn't able to note as many hot

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