July 28, 2019: All Encompassing Trip

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 performance that I have seen so far is the one you guys covered where they had the exclusive concert after being on Letterman. I love it when Eddie throws the first chorus over to the crowd and when they pan out to the crowd, I can’t point one person who is not singing the chorus. I haven’t seen them play it live in person, but I hope that if I get to see them again, they’ll have it on the set list that night.

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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