Hi Jessi and Kate, I just finished spinning Gigaton for the first time in weeks.  This was largely motivated by your discussion on River Cross.  One thing I love about Pearl Jam's albums are their closers.  More often than not, they are a slow burn with a lot of deep meaning.  River Cross is the deepest closer since Indifference, in my opinion.  We need to make sure to keep wearing down Brad Blazek so that someday he'll actually give the song a chance. I don't have a lot to say about River Cross, because I felt you guys did this track justice.  The only thing I want to point out is how incredibly jarring and ironic this lyric is to me.  I honestly didn't realize it until listening to your episode on the track.  It encompasses everything happening right now. Folded over, forced in a choke hold Outnumbered and held down All of this talk of rapture Look around at the promise NOW,... Here and now For any of those who are feeling hopeless right now, keep saying to yourse

Hi Brad and Brad, I've said this many times, but Vs. is still the only record where I can honestly say there is no skippable track for me.  It's not my favorite record, but it's still their most solid from start-to-finish.  Sometimes when I have a 15-20 minute drive from one place to the next, I'll put on W.M.A. and listen through Rearviewmirror.  The only other sequence of three songs that is rivaling this trilogy of tracks for me is on Gigaton strangely enough, and I have two different options from that record (Who Ever Said through Dance, Superblood through Quick Escape). What I love about this sequence is that after the first five tracks, which sound very alternative rock for that era (including BradB's favorite track Dissident), you get a very new sound in W.M.A. that you would not have expected from the band at this time.  I literally could play W.M.A. on repeat the entire day and never get sick of it.  Then you transition into what I consider to be the hardes

Hi Jessi and Kate, I'm about 8 months late on writing about Insignificance, but I felt compelled to do so because I have been on a serious Binaural binge over the past couple of weeks.  I remember you guys covering this song, but didn't realize it was all the way back on Halloween of last year !  This was arguably one of your best episodes, because you two really dissected this track from the music and the lyrics as thoroughly as any song you've covered.  I've liked Insignificance, but never considered it a track that I could get close to.  Then again, I could say that about a lot of Binaural until now.  Ironically, there are a lot of political and humanistic situations all berating us at once, which I've found Binaural to put into music very bluntly.  There are so many angles I could take on giving my take on Insignificance.  One thing I disagree with you both on, is that I think this is one of the more eclectic songs on the record.  The music is probably the most

Hi Brad and Brad, First, I want to wish both of you in advance a Happy Father's Day.  I hope you both and your families are doing okay with everything going on around us right now.  I wanted to write to you guys about Binaural.  It's somewhat interesting how I found myself diving further into this record.  It started with Jessi and Kate covering "Sad" on the Porch podcast, then finding myself getting hooked on " Grievance " more for how the song is hitting me during the Black Lives Matter movement.  Binaural has always been an overlooked record for me.  What I appreciate so much about this record is the production by Tchad Blake.  What I appreciate so much about this band is how from Vitalogy to Binaural, you can pretty much single out each record very distinctly as each has a different emphasis in the making of the record.  Before I go into my opinions on the track list, would it be possible to have Brad B pronounce this word for me? Ethereal ( əˈTHirēəl)

Hi Branden, I just listened to your Intermission episode from Season 4 .  A lot of what you said is what I needed to hear right now.  Racial discrimination has been an issue that has bothered me for as long as I realized it existed.  One thing you mentioned was the fact that the individuals who don't want to believe in White Privilege (I refuse to put that in quotes anymore, because it insinuates it's not real) want to see those fighting wear themselves out.  This week has been difficult, because I have felt burnt out.  I hadn't engaged with the people who are in denial of White Privilege until Monday of this week.  The main reason why I want to do the episode on Grievance is how I feel the lyric, especially the chorus, strikes a nerve with the peaceful protesting of Colin Kaepernick.  I have a subscription to The Athletic and read a story titled, " Roger Goodell and players have spoken. Now, an action plan for what comes next." Normally, I don't

Hi Jessi and Kate, I am admittedly behind on your episodes, but I did take the chance to listen to your episode on the song "Sad." To premise this, I have found it difficult to stay connected with the things I have enjoyed the most since the pandemic started and now after the death of George Floyd.  I've found that music and especially Pearl Jam has always been therapeutic when I have faced times of distress, but it was more personal than global.  The infamous image of what occurred in Minneapolis is burned into my memory.  A lot of outcry we are seeing was ignited on Memorial Day, but there have been countless other times in this country's history we have gone through the viscous circle of pushing back against the equality of our society and then things calming down and seemingly going back to a status quo.  Racism and inequality has struck a nerve with me most of my life and it's long overdue for so many of us to look in the mirror.  Strangely enough, &