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Pearl Jam’s Ten, the Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream, and Nirvana’s Nevermind were the trio of albums that came through and absolutely fucked up a bunch small town kids like myself in the early 90’s, quickly leading to lifetimes of musical geekdom.  Ten, therefore, seems like the obvious Pearl Jam choice for any list, but it’s pretty much a known commodity.  It rocks.  It’s angry.  Jeremy’s spoken, we all know the story.  Vitalogy, though – this record is creepy.  It’s heavy in spots.  Even the light shuffle of hits like “Nothingman” aren’t exactly comforting.  For the first time, you get the feeling that Pearl Jam is a little depraved.  They’re stranger than you thought they were.  But they’re also self-conscious.  They seem a little concerned about where their own heads took them.  In other words, Vitalogy was the first indication that Pearl Jam, already a good band, could be great.

When I first went to Southlake Mall and picked up Vitalogy, I stopped and literally thought to myself “What in the goddamn shit is this?  No inspirational high-fives or weird-ass goats?".  It’s funny how you remember things – I kept taking the disc out of my coat pocket and looking at it.  Before I had even heard a note, it already looked and felt like a departure to a 14 year-old kid.  And it was.  I didn’t necessarily like songs like “Bugs”, and “Aye Davanita”, but I couldn’t stop sitting in my room and listening to them. 

When Eddie Vedder growls “Everything has changed / Absolutely nothing’s changed” in “Corduroy” (a 90’s grunge classic called “Corduroy”, please allow yourself to love that), it’s the sound of a band that only had a vague idea of where they were going.  The best thing about Vitalogy is that it doesn’t meet your expectations but it doesn’t necessarily let you down.

Ramones Division:  Pearl Jam has never been shy about embracing its Ramones / Buzzcocks roots.  Hell, Eddie even gave a speech.

Honorable Mention:  Beastie Boys – Ill Communication
 


Comments

Penis Vagina
12/15/2009 09:20

I think the cashier at Target in 1994 when I bought this, hit on me just because I was buying this album. Did I mention I was with my mother at the time and I was only 14? Weird.

Side note- I always hated the CD case because it never fit in any CD holder because it was oversized and cardboard.

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Jack
01/07/2010 14:42

Damn, I'm glad to see Ill Communications was honorable mention...i still turn that record on am immediately back in the summer of '94. Saw Beastie Boys twice that summer, the venue that is now the 9:30 Club in DC and Lollapalooza in Charles Town, WVA...."this next one is the first track on our new album..."

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