If this page ever gets big enough, I'll consider making a book out of it and sending it to the band.
Love Pearl Jam? Me too. This site is dedicated to a band who has inspired us since 1990. Please enjoy and share the videos, lyrics, news, and fan art. Rock on!
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Your PJ Story
Each and everyone one of us has a relationship with Pearl Jam. Maybe it's a casual friendship and they've been a band you turn up a little when they're on the radio. Maybe you saw them in concert once and have a story to share. Or maybe this band means more to you than you're able to describe to your friends without sounding crazy! This is a safe place of fellow fans. Tell us what Pearl Jam means to you...
If this page ever gets big enough, I'll consider making a book out of it and sending it to the band.
If this page ever gets big enough, I'll consider making a book out of it and sending it to the band.
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I had always liked Pearl Jam throughout the years. I knew the "popular" songs and some others, but I never really gave them a second thought. They were just part of a passing soundtrack throughout my adolescence. 20 years later, they have become one of the most important influences in my life. There are a lot of bands out there that get the unfortunate credit of influencing people in the wrong way, being blamed for violence and otherwise unsavory acts. Well, here's a story of how a band can influence someone in the right way.
ReplyDeleteAbout a year ago, I was at an all-time low. I had been diagnosed with an anxiety/panic disorder that seemed to have taken over my life. I couldn't do things I used to enjoy. Simple things like going to the movies, going out with friends or even just going to work became a nightmare. I became a shell of the person I used to be. To me, this was no way to live. I saw no way out and began to contemplate "alternative options." I got to the point where I felt I was ready...ready to end it all. I prepared myself emotionally, even had letters written to specific people explaining everything. This was the only answer I saw to my problems. The more I tried to dig myself out, the more I felt like I was sinking into the hole. What was the point of trying anymore? I was too far gone.
I was in my room one day and had my iTunes going. Pearl Jam's "Dissident" came on. I was about to skip the song, but decided to leave it...I hadn't heard it in a while. It was one line in the song that forever changed my outlook. "Escape is never the safest path." Those six words stopped me from ending my life. I listened to the song a few more times after that. I went back on my iTunes and pulled up other Pearl Jam songs I had. Of course I only had "Alive," "Jeremy," "Elderly Woman," "Daughter". I decided to download some more of their music. Obviously this was a band I wrongfully overlooked. As I listened to more songs, I felt this overwhelming sense of calm. It was something in Eddie Vedder's voice. A mix of conviction and compassion. I went online to read some lyrics and found myself completely breaking down (in a good way), reading the words to songs like "Unthought Known" and "Present Tense". I wasn't completely out of the woods, in fact my road ahead was long. But I suddenly felt like I didn't want to give up. I didn't want to die.
I've told many people that seeing Pearl Jam: Twenty is what really got me into them. Sure, the documentary added to my new found respect and admiration for them. But it was that day, about a month before the movie came out, that I truly became a fan. Since then, I've made it a habit of listening to Pearl Jam at least once a day (although usually it's more than once) to unwind and relax. I'm not "cured" of my anxiety/panic disorder, but it has subsided to the point where I hardly thing about it. I had been prescribed Xanax but after "discovering" Pearl Jam, I ended up giving it to a friend that needed it more. I no longer have daily panic attacks. I'm getting back to the outgoing, fun and less restricted person I once was. I have a better feeling about life and I'm working on turning myself completely around. It's been hard work, but with Pearl Jam providing the motivation, nothing has been impossible.
They may never know what they did for ONE fan and I may never get to say it to them in person, so let this serve as my "THANK YOU" to the guys in Pearl Jam. They have literally saved a life.
Hello, I'm 30 years old, I'm from Colombia..... I have enjoyed read your story because I have experienced something similar with Anxiety disorder and my husband recommended listen Pearl Jam's music and from the first moment I noticed positive changes in my mood. I already knew his music but never had dedicated me to listen to his lyrics and it's amazing how much this helped me.
DeleteThanks for sharing your experience.
By the way, I'm very happy because this year I'll see Pearl Jam for the first time live . We already have our tickets .
Well, I always knew the name. Thought of them as just a very well known rock band but didn't give them any thought until I got into Alice in Chains about 18 months ago. Then I became more aware but didn't listen to them until this last June when I thought it seemed appropriate to give the "grunge" scene music a listen since I liked Nirvana and Alice in Chains so much. I really got into Ten and Pearl Jam took peak position of music for my first holiday abroad in August. A good memory is flying by myself for the first time ever, looking over the cloudy Atlantic region mid-flight listening to "Alive" and thinking "fuck, this is a special moment". There one of these bands that when I hear a certain song it brings up these memories despite them being so recent. "Deep" reminds me of a really shitty Pasta meal I ate on this flight and whenever I hear it, it's like I'm sat back on that plane eating that shitty food and watching a shitty movie again. "Release" never did much for me but it reminds me of that same flight and was also that typical generic song I listened to following a traumatic break up (this is all connected)and reminds me of that to the point that whenever I listed to it I tear up, which is odd because I'm not usually that sort of person. Seems that any song I listened to in the summer has emotional significance. Another PJ relation is "Twenty". Wont bore you with the details but it took me from the deep depths of complete depression and hopelessness and gave me a pivotal push of optimism. Because, apart from anything else, it's just an awesome film. Also without their albums, ranging mostly from Ten to No Code I have no idea how I would have survived the last few months and they literally have been a savior of a band. Absolutely determined to see them live!
ReplyDeleteIm from Chile,Im a PJ fan since 1993 when i was 11..my family, wife and friends thinks im crazy¡¡ i never left pj, never¡¡ isaw them for the first time in 2005 twice, but it was in 2011 when i saw them at the first place in the stadium, Ed gave us the bottle and micke gave me his pick,..was unbelievable..My son loves pj and he reconnaissance them at the radio (he is 3year old)...they change my life and made me a better person..this year 2013 its may own PJ20. and im already celebrating with my unic and favorite band ever¡¡
ReplyDeleteWhat Pearl Jam means to me:
ReplyDeleteBack in 2007 I played a little game called Guitar Hero III. On this game was a song called Even Flow. Back then I had always known that Pearl Jam were around - they were always 'one of those bands' that I had to get into at some point in my life but it was not a priority at that point. I knew briefly of their history in the Seattle grunge scene but not into too much depth.
But then came Eddie's amazing voice - bellowing at me like a lion roaring through the TV speakers as I played on the plastic guitar hero controller. I had heard this song before for sure but it had never ever sounded so fresh. It must have been a coincidence/fate/the universe directing me into the direction of PJ but the next day my brother is about to go shopping and asks me 'would you like me to get you a CD?' I immediately say 'Pearl Jam - the one with Even Flow on it - I think it is called Ten'.
What followed is indescribable. My cousin is an avid PJ fan and when he found out I had heard Ten - fate reared it's head again. He had leant me his copies of Vs along with some live bootleg albums and that school day morning where I heard the scratching guitars and metallic tint bass of 'Go' I was HOOKED. All day at school I was repeating to everyone 'LISTEN TO THS SONG LISTEN TO THIS BAND. Fate AGAIN reared it's head on my 18th birthday - I had been given a copy of Vitalogy, No Code and had already purchaed Yield.
The music was great - vintage yet modern. Relevant yet distant. I was converted. The themes of the songs, the spiritualistic aspect to them all.
Eddie has this amazing talent of captivating you with a single line of lyrics - his story telling is unbeknownst to any other lyricist I am aware of and it was only in moments of sadness that I understood what he was saying - well how it related to me anyway. I have felt things I have never felt before with listening to PJ. They have bettered me in how I write lyrics, how I structure songs, how I drum, how I sing and how I play guitar.
What amazes me the most is how other musicians are so openly accepted with their songs - songs written by Jeff, Matt, Stone and Mike are all included on these albums and it provides so much diversity.
So what do PJ mean to me? They mean everything to me. Me discovering them through that guitar hero game was a written part of my existence in this life. You know a band mean a lot to you when they shape how you live your life.
If there is one band in this world who hasn't sold out, who has done things their own way, who has stuck it to the big fat cat companies for their fans, and came out the other side WINNING it is this band.
I hope one day I am able to make music that is as captivating and inspires people to live their life in a new way - because that is what music is all about. Living.
Thank you! :D
Beautiful story! Thank you so much for sharing that. It's amazing how this band can carry itself forward generations at a time.
DeleteI have 26 years old and I’m from Chile.
ReplyDeleteI want to star for the beginning. My childhood was really difficult. My father abandoned us and my mother tried to give us, me and my two brothers, everything that she could, and after going from one place to another, the music was my only refuge. One day, when I had 11 years old a PJ’ song come to me and this song was Release. I felt really attracted for the music and immediately ask to my old brother: What are you listening? And he said: Pearl Jam. From that moment I began to listen your music, and looking for the meaning of the lyrics. When I started to knew the meaning of every word my life began to change. That amazing lyrics came inside to me and they burned in my heart and skin. I can’t describe with words what happened in that moment but for the first time in my life I didn’t felt alone.
Over the years, my life began to improve, my mom knew someone to make her really happy and for me He is a dad that God sent to us. But, I and my depression never get better, the music was an inspiration but my illness was still there. One year when nothing goes well, my mom and dad almost died, my life felt down. I couldn’t breathe, I felt that my world fallen apart again. I was hospitalized for over a year and one of these days; a friend brought me to the hospital a cassette with a lot of recorder songs from the radio. One of these songs was Alive. What a surprise! I felt alive again. OMG! I had a long time without listening PJ.
For that moment never stop to listening PJ. They save me, they brought me to life. I feel really thankful for every song and every day need to listen at least one song. They give the strong to start my own life, to give a jump for that bed and live without regrets. I could study like a normal kid and go to College. Now I have a work and try to never lose my spirit and my desire to live.
I hope one day they know my story and realize how important are for me. Ed, Jeff, Stone, Mike and Matt, You and your music save me! Thanks U! You are everythig to me! EVERYTHING!
Angel Lenfent
I hope you understand, my English is not the best.
DeleteAngel, your English is just fine and I understand what you meant. :-) Your story is a lot like mine.
DeleteI was a 15 year old kid circa 1991 or so....Had MTV on.....A 'Buzzworthy' video came on.....ALIVE......Was hooked and have been a lifelong fan ever since......Pearl Jam~~~~The soundtrack of my life....Cheers!
ReplyDeleteWhen Pearl Jam began in 1991 i was a young mother with 3 children and music had taken a back seat in my life at that time. I do remember hearing their music and seeing a few clips on the T.V. but i was so busy it was just good music in the background. In 2006 i saw an article in the paper that Pearl Jam were coming to do some concerts in Australia so i decided i would see them when they came to Melbourne, they were touring their new album (Avocado). I was blown away and it rekindled my interest in this band i could remember hearing those years before. At this time my daughter had been going out with her high school sweetheart since 2004 and he was a big PJ fan and we talked about the band and he was jealous about us going to the concert but excited for us. In late 2008 we lost that gorgeous boy in an accident and it devastated all of us but especially our daughter, he had been a big part of our family for more than 4 years and it hit us very hard. At Lindsay's funeral his brother had prepared a tribute to his brother and it was a series of photo's of his life and the background track was 'Given to Fly'. This uplifted all of us because it was so appropriate to our boy and left us in tears but inspired about his short but obviously busy and fast paced out their personality. Lindsay left us to 'Yellow Ledbetter' his favorite PJ song picked for him by my daughter. Needless to say Pearl Jam have become very important to me so much more so since we lost Lindsay, they are my link to him and when i listen to their songs ( which i do all the time ) he is always with me. So i thank Pearl Jam for making life a bit easier to cope with and giving me something to smile about every day. <3
ReplyDelete22 years ago my friends and I were driving on our way to a club to listen to some live music. One of my friends was singing along to a song (Black) they had playing in their car. I listened, asked who the band was and my friend turned to me and said "Pearl Jam!" then kept singing along. They already knew all the lyrics. I had'nt heard anything like this before. The music was awesome! So after that night I had to go out and get my own copy of Ten. I was hooked. But at that time in my young life my focus was on paying my own way through college, working two jobs during time off to afford books and art supplies for architecture school. Most of my friends were either still into the hair band scene or all about Rap and Eminem. So years passed and sadly, I never got to attend a show. I made sure to watch whenever they came on Letterman, SNL and especially Unplugged. Unplugged was just amazing! I had the VC set and ready to go as soon as it aired! Then VS came out, or "Five Against One" as my cassette tape reads, and thats when I first heard my all time favorite song, Indifference. I was floored! So as the years passed and they slowly faded from the MTV video screen and radio play I felt like my favorite band were really trying too hard to keep things on the down low but I remained faithfull. I knew these guys were in it for the long haul. They were'nt going anywhere even if I wasnt able to see them live at the time, I knew someday, somehow I would. Fast forward to 2012. My best friend suffered a bad fall and injured his spinal cord and had several facial fractures. We had just been out that night. It was a week before Christmas. He just helped me pick out my tree and carry it in the house. Now he was in ICU waiting for swelling to subside on his spinal cord so he could have surgery. At night I found myself listening to Long Road repeatedly. These guys. That one song just seemed to get me through that time. So I joined Ten Club again. I originally had joined waaaaay back in the day but let the membership lapse. I also learned they were working on a new album and I was sure a tour would follow. And it did! So here it is 2013 and after all these years I'm finally going to see these guys live! My friend has to have two more surgeries on his spine but he's still here and for now at least thats all that matters. That and the music!
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
DeleteI was driving in the car with my three children on July 8, 2013 when the radio station we were listening to (93.3 WMMR - who would later be given the one and only privilege of having a radio interview with Vedder) announced a BIG concert announcement. We stayed in the car even when we reached our destination to hear that PEARL JAM would be returning to Philadelphia on Oct. 21 and 22!!! I instantly turned to my 9 year old son and said, "We must go!!!" He agreed.
ReplyDeleteFast forward to the night before the first show…
We've been following ticket sales (mostly on StubHub) to see if there was an abundance of tickets. I knew that tickets prices drop considerably if there are a lot of tickets left… I was starting to panic, especially when the same radio station thought it would be great to play the 3+ hour last show at the Philadelphia Spectrum - uninterrupted!!! Oh, how the tickets started to disappear!! I panicked and went to the regular stadium ticket sales to see what I could find… clicked "best available" and got 1st row, directly behind the stage. I purchased three tickets for me, my husband, and my son.
That night, my husband and I were watching some videos of the recent shows on youtube and came across the Buffalo show on 10-12-13. We watched how the band turned to acknowledge the crowd behind the stage and I noticed someone holding a not-so-big sign… so clearly with the houselights up. As the band began to serenade the crowd with Elderly Woman, I turned to my husband and said, "Hey, I just came across a white sheet that I haven't used in the kids' closet!"
After some deliberation and careful planning, I was up til 3 in the morning the night before our first (and not last) Pearl Jam show.
The rest can be seen here…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROP4Vrr-9Ss
And then, beyond our wildest dreams, the honor continued with a different view and a different setlist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPDmfsY7uks (Preview)
We have a whole new perspective of this amazing group of friends and so do our children…
Who now will all have to attend the next time the band is scheduled to come back to Philly… which is hopefully sooner than later!! And, I am hoping that, after buying the "family pack" of tickets, that this is not a "once in a lifetime" chance!!! We still are holding on to the euphoria!
I hope you check out our experience - thanks for letting me share it once again!
Love it!!!! what a fantastic man Eddie is and what an unforgettable experience for you and your family....
DeleteHaving come of age about the time Ten came out, Pearl Jam was the soundtrack of some of my best and worst times. After getting pregnant and abandoned at the same time I would listen to PJ as I fell asleep to sooth my pain. I would put the headphones to my belly so my daughter could enjoy. 21 years later she is just as much a die hard fan as I am. Now thats how ya raise a kid!
ReplyDeleteI love Pearl Jam!! I can shut my eyes and feel the passion in everything they do!!
ReplyDeleteI went to High School and lived near Seattle.The first 3 albums have always been my favorite; after that they kind of lost me. Not sure if that's because I had a family and could devote less time and money to supporting this band or what the deal was. I'm the same age as most of the members of Pear Jam and I really related to them, but more to the music than the lyrics. In my opinion Stone Gossard create a new genre of music with impacts still felt today and as they used his music less and less, they really lost me and became a different band. That's only my opinion, and I still love these boys like it's 1992. But Ten, Vs., and Vitalogy are works of art. Don't get me started on Dave Abruzzese and that whole thing...
ReplyDeleteI've survived physical, sexual abuse and even a suicide attempt because of the song Daughter pjcolumbus.WordPress.com
ReplyDeleteIm not sure I can explain how this works out for me... the music hit me in a way that I felt I was familiar with already. It struck chords I enjoyed feeling but yet to have shared. This was at my teenage crest where I found I was completely unbreakable and deeper than I was ready for..... it narrated feelings as I felt them in many ways, and the ways that it didnt, was a comfortable serene daydream like experience. The concerts I went to were different in each way, but one time, the crowd finally felt the flow, and the Pearl Jam began. The environment began to fill me with the recognition I had found early on and brought it all to a euphoria that was so awesome. It was like everything was in slow motion. I could see a cup fly thru the air for what seemed like minutes. People raised their hands like we were all on the same ride.The power I get there is who I try to be all the time. My goal is only to share it and teach it. If the band really is feeling all this, I am so glad I found it, or it found me. This was the beginning of a profound feeling that at first I thought was just music. It was a welcoming to a daydream I was already living. Incredibly, I love this band no matter what they had named their selves or what they looked like. I am sure I am being honest when I say this was the best thing I ever ever heard, I thank God for the experience and the motion of its power. I know when I hear a song I will be there in spirit. will you?
ReplyDelete