Yet another classic example of grunge: Pearl Jam. Eddie Vedder’s vocals can carry a person to new places, and a guitar solo by Mike McCready is heaven. The group speaks out when they see wrong doings; I like their music almost as much as their values.

The group’s first and probably most iconic album is Ten; it includes their most popular songs such as Black, Alive, and Even Flow. My personal favorite song, though, is a cover that first showed up on their Rearview mirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003 album; the song, titled Last Kiss, tells a tragic story in a beautiful way and displays Eddie’s voice in a different way. Grunge gets a bad name because of the sometimes slurred words, but if you listen, really listen, the lyrics can be absolutely incredible. I’m always searching for music that hits as hard as grunge and other early genres of rock, and rarely if ever do I find any.

The band’s humble beginnings in Seattle are not at all reflective of the levels of success that they’ve achieved. Pearl Jam did not end as tragically as Amy Winehouse or Kurt Cobain; in fact they are actually still together today. Their highly anticipated, new album was released on April 24, 2019; from what I have listened to, there doesn’t seem to be any new stuff, but man, they still have it. One of the most notable marks that they’ve left on the music world is Coachella which traces its origin all the way back to a 1993 concert at the Empire Polo Club put on by Pearl Jam itself. The reason for this concert is the best part: they were boycotting Ticketmaster. The upcharge on all of the tickets that were sold through the site outraged Eddie Vedder and so began Pearl Jam’s very deliberate venue choices (only locations that were not under Ticketmaster’s control).

The darker undertones of Pearl Jam bring the words and music to life. Pearl Jam 20, a documentary marking the band’s 20th anniversary, tells their story wonderfully (available on PrimeVideo). Eddie Vedder is a lyrical and vocal genius but would be nothing without his musicians. If you haven’t yet, give Pearl Jam a listen; I would recommend their album Ten.