Hi Brad and Brad, Ever since BradB mentioned that “Present Tense” was his “Desperado,” I’ve had the song stuck in my head.  It’s my favorite track off of No Code and easily in my top 5 of all of their songs.  Just about anytime I have a moment of reflection, the beginning riff of the song by Mike starts playing in the back of my mind.  It’s such an incredibly layered song, having just Eddie and Mike through the first verse and chorus and then it gradually builds up into an incredible jam session.  My favorite part though is the outro where Eddie is strumming and the band continues to play along with the main riff of the song.  Eddie has a few other closing riffs like this and if you guys do another Riff Zone, I’ll probably write in about those.   One thing I am a little surprised about is that “Present Tense” has only been played live 136 times.  I feel if you talked to a lot of PJ fans, they would want to experience this song on the set list at a show.  My favorite perf

Hi Jessi, Great topic for your solo episode!  Before I forget, ever since the Yellow Ledbetter episode, I have been binging Friends on Netflix.  I'm almost to the end of season 4, where Ross just flew to London to try to catch Emily and she did the same flying to New York.  Anyway, I gave some thought to my favorite openers and am going to list them from least favorite to favorite.  5. Sometimes Part of my criteria is how well does the song stand on its own.  I don't think Sometimes stands alone as well as the other openers, but it's hard to ignore how unique it is and the transition into Hail, Hail is so powerful.  There are a lot of other records, by other bands who have done the same, but I always think back to my favorite example on The Who's, " Quadrophenia ." 4. Last Exit I love how eerie sounding the first few seconds are before Dave A begins destroying his snare.  Very strong rocker for an album, in Vitaology, that I

Hi Jessi and Kate, One of the things I've come to appreciate more as I've listened to the Podcast Community is "No Code." It's a record that I didn't really connect to when I first listened to it, but the older I get, the more I love it.  I thought it would be fun to write out my "initial impressions" of "No Code" versus how I feel about them right now.  Just to be honest, these aren't my actual feelings from several years ago, but I wanted to have fun with this. Track Initial Impression Current Impression Sometimes All right, ready for a heavy hitter…Once, Go, Last Exit…I'm ready to have my ear drums blown!   Um, I can barely hear this? Ah yes, the calm before the storm.   A nice slow burn before the roof is blown off! Hail, Hail Yes!   Now THIS is Pearl Jam.   I can’t wait to hear the rest of the record. Yes!   Now THIS is Pearl Jam.   I can’t wait to hear the re

Hi Jessi and Kate, I know you two took off next week, but it feels much longer than that since your last episode!  I look forward to a new dropping this upcoming week as I have been feeling the withdrawals.  Your last song covered, Bu$hleaguer, is a great topic.     Back when I r anked my favorite/least favorite tracks on Riot Act, I had elected this song as my least.  It's not that I don't enjoy this song and the chorus always gets stuck in my head from time-to-time. I remember when you sang That song about today Now it's tomorrow and Everything has changed When this song came out, I had just turned 21 and really didn't have a strong feeling either way on the political landscape.  It took me until my late 20's until I started to feel more strongly the way that I do now, and most of my core values back then were more liberal and progressive.  Talking politics back then, especially after 9/11, was a very uncomfortable thing for me. 

Hi Brad and Brad, Well you guys did it, 100 episodes discussing Pearl Jam (99 technically if you count the Metallica recap, but who's counting).   It's almost been a year since I found you guys and started listening on Episode 53.  I've loved this band for quite a while, but listening to your podcast has taught me several things about Pearl Jam that I did not know.  Here's just to name a few. Christmas Singles : I literally did not know about this.  I've only received one back in 2008 and kept it in good condition.  Now I find myself trying to collect them all.  It will probably take me several years to do so, but it's turned into a good excuse for me to visit any record store I pass by. B-Sides : I grew up collecting cassettes and CDs and honestly did not buy my first vinyl until this year's record store day.  I bought Lost Dogs when it was released, but did not know what a B-Side was until you two.  It seems sad when I typ