The ’90s – When Grunge Was King
With the last few weeks of 2010 in front of us, Your It List is looking back – way back to the 1990s with The ’90s: Inside Stories from the Decade that Rocked by the Editors of Rolling Stone.
Each week we will bring you back into the ’90s through photos from the biggest names in music from Metal to Pop, Hip-Hop to Jam Bands.
This week we remember When Grunge Was King.
The Grunge chapter includes articles about Pearl Jam by Cameron Crowe, The Seattle Scene by Michael Azerrad, Soundgarden by Kim Neely and Kurt Cobain by David Fricke, as well as an introduction from Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden fame.
Buy your copy of The ’90s today.
Why Pearl Jam matters
Its taken a week to wrap my head around Pearl Jam’s show at Madison Square Garden on May 21st - and to get my voice back to normal. Without a doubt, Pearl Jam always puts on an amazing show. Though not seeing them for several years (after seeing them a dozen times in a few short years with the exception of Eddier Veder’s solo acoustic show), maybe I forgot how incredible a group they are.
So…my thoughts on why Pearl Jam matters….
- Ed’s ever-present bottle of wine on stage to, you know, keep his throat from getting dry
- Tribute song, “I’m Open,” dedicated to Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States
- How Eddie still acts amazed when he stands on stage and lets the crowd sing “Better Man” to him
- The crowd clears out for bathroom breaks during a “popular radio song,” (ie “Daughter”) but no one moves when he stands on stage and talks to the crowd
- No matter how massive a Pearl Jam fan you are, you will hear at least one, possibly two, songs you don’t know
- No matter how massive a Pearl Jam fan you are, and how many times you’ve seen them in concert, you will hear at least one song performed that you have never heard them perform live before
- After doing this for twenty years, the band still brings it like its their first concert and keeps it going like it might be their last
- Because even though they will forever be linked by time and place, Pearl Jam is not Nirvana, which is a good thing for both bands
As incredible as the show was as a whole (I would have paid just to hear Eddie belt out “Neverman”), the show was stolen when Eddie invited Ben Bridwell (Band of Horses) out to accompany him on “Hunger Strike.” Watch that performance and sometime around 45 seconds into it Bridwell seems to realize what he is singing and who he is singing with. The only thing better than the look of awe on his face is the look of pride on Ed’s face.
Pearl Jam, Madison Square Garden, May 21, 2010
Main Set:
Corduroy, Hail Hail, Do the Evolution, Worldwide Suicide, Got Some, Breath, Nothingman, I’m Open (Dedicated to Howard Zinn), Unthought Known, Grievance, Amongst the Waves, Present Tense, Not For You/Modern Girl, Push Me Pull Me, Rats, Daughter/WMA, The Fixer, Why Go
Encore 1:
The End (w/ string quartet), Just Breathe (w/ string quartet), Slow Lukin (w/ strings), Black Red Yellow, Sweet Lew, Given to Fly, Spin the Black Circle, Rearviewmirror
Encore 2:
Wasted Reprise, Betterman, Black/We Belong Together, The Real Me, Hunger Strike, Alive, Kick Out the Jams, Yellow Ledbetter/Star Spangled Banner
Thank you all from the pit of my burning, nauseous stomach
Sixteen years ago today the world learned of Kurt Cobain’s suicide. It was – and still remains – a massive loss to music and to an entire generation. It has all been said before, by people much more capable to capture this, so I won’t try to do that here.
For people who were not born when JFK was killed or when man first walked on the moon, Cobain’s death became the first “where were you when” moment. I was in eighth grade, biology class, a little before 2:00 in the afternoon. My friend Ken, appropriately dressed in a flannel shirt, walked into class, tossed down his bag and said “Kurt’s dead.” It was one of those moments.
MTV’s blog has a great post today about Cobain’s death - it seems appropriate to read it from MTV (remember MTV?) as I remember that day, sixteen years ago, going home and sitting in front of Kurt Loder on MTV for hours on end with news updates, tribute messages, videos and a few days later when Courtney Love talked about Kurt for the first time after his death and read parts of Cobain’s suicide note where he thanks his fans from the pit of his burning, nausous stomach and quotes Neil Young “its better to burn out than to fade away.”
The irony lies in the fact that by killing himself so young, at 27, he ensured that Kurt Cobain will never fade away.
Our Favor!te Things 2009: Kevin
Considering he saw (500) Days of Summer eight times (at last count), we’re pretty surprised that our marketing head honcho Kevin Callahan actually had time to enjoy other pop culture delights this year. Apparently he did, and apparently these were his favor!tes.
Favor!te Film: (500) Days of Summer. Because “this is not a love story.” Because in the hands of actors less talented than Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel the movie could have taken an entirely different direction, but what they do in it is remarkable. Because I want to live in Tom Hansen’s apartment. Because of this.
Favor!te Concert: Nirvana, Live at Reading. Because very rarely can you be transported back in time and witness something amazing happen.
Favor!te Album: Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown. Because five years ago Rolling Stone wrote “Tell the truth: did anybody think Green Day would still be around in 2004?” and Green Day not only proved their importance then with American Idiot but far-surpassed it in 2009 with 21st Century Breakdown. Because seeing Billie Joe Armstrong in concert is a religous experience. Because What’s the latest way that a man can die / Screaming hallelujah? Because even though Billie Joe has a son in high school, you still believe him when he tells you how mom and dad will never understand.
Favor!te Book: The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, Reif Larsen. Because every now and then you can get completely lost in the mind of a book’s character and forget that he doesn’t actually exist. Because Reif Larsen has created an inventive forms of storytelling. Because the interrior looks like this.
Favor!te Art-type thingy: Hamlet. Because Jude Law made the funny lines actually funny. Because he didn’t over do “To Be or Not to Be.” Because the scene of Polonius’s murder was the best version I’ve ever seen. Because in my opinion Getrude is the toughest role to have and Geraldine James was incredible in it. Because the costumes and set decorations were brilliant in their simplicities. Because it snowed on stage. Because I’m a Hamlet snob so for me to like it as much as I did, it must be good.
Favor!te Fashion: Hoodies. Because a hoodie under a blazer is warmer than a winter coat. Because 2007 was the last time GAP made a decent hoodie. Because 2007′s hoodies are now perfectly worn-in.
Favor!te TV Show: Gossip Girl. Because I lost a little faith after Seaon 2, but Season 3 has more than made up for it.
Favor!te Blog/Website: HTMLGiant. Because it contained the Best Essay of 2009: Blake Butler‘s “James Joyce does not exist.”
Favor!te Real Housewives: Dina Manzo and Caroline Manzo from Real Housewives of New Jersey. Because they are thick as thieves.
Favor!te Twitterer: @God. Because, well, he’s God.
Favor!te You Tube Video: When Pandas Attack. Because this is the video proof that underneath all that fur, pandas are mean fuckers.
Bonus:
What are you most excited about for 2010? Emile Hirsch’s Hamlet may surprise a lot of people. Ed Westwick as Heathcliff and Gemma Arterton as Cathy in a new Wuthering Heights. And I still have high hopes for Shutter Island.
Who do you most want to smooch on New Year’s Eve? Patricia Highsmith. Because “My New Year’s Eve Toast: to all the devils, lusts, passions, greeds, envies, loves, hates, strange desires, enemies ghostly and real, the army of memories, with which I do battle — may they never give me peace.” – Patricia Highsmith, January 1, 1947. 2:30 am.
