Connections, f. Pearl Jam

Philly

I've lived on the East Coast for pushing 16 years now, the last 13 here in the Philly area.  At some point in the near future, I will have lived more of my life here in my adopted hometown than in my actual hometown.  This was a tough adjustment for me, personally.  It was the 2nd time in 3 years I moved somewhere I basically didn't know anyone (literally no one in Boston, and only my wife's friends here).

Since then, I've been blessed in developing the types of friendships here that we have back in Detroit - friends who are more like family.  The ones who you may not see all the time, but when you do, it's like you've never been apart.  In Detroit, it happened multiple times over many years, so there's no way to really pinpoint where those friendships started.  However, when it comes to my time in Philly, I can point to one man.  My first true friend here.  My longest true friend here (bro, you realize we've been friends nearly 13 years now?  Crazy).  We don't see each other as much as we once did, but when we do, it's like we live next door.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, I (re)introduce to you and share a piece of the story of how we got close to the man... the myth... the legend...the one who my boys back in Detroit know better than any other of my East Coast family...

Mr. J.B.

I think I've spent enough time here talking about the similarities between the Philly and Detroit cultures, e.g., loyalty, family, openness, kindness, community, so I'm not gonna go into all that.  Let's just leave it at JB, and subsequently all the friends I've met through him, being the near clone of the group of friends I have in the D - kinda goofy, a little crazy at times, fun-loving, but deep down, very humble, giving, caring, and genuinely good people.  The type of people who make you a better person without trying.

Looks like this, buddy

However, one does not just forge a friendship like that without some sort of "easier" connection, if you will.  For J.B. and I, it was a pretty simple combination - hockey, chicken wings, and beer (though not necessarily in that order).  J.B. just had to know what it was like to win the Stanley Cup grew up a die hard Flyers fan and seemed to appreciate someone who had grown up in Hockeytown.  It sort of just spiraled from there.  Hanging out more, drinking more, going to different bars, him introducing me to Queen Village and South Philly (when I bring friends from out of town into the city or when locals ask how I know some of the free places to park, they always ask how I know all this... J.B. is always the answer).  Drinking more, going to games, introducing him to Mojo at Army/Navy.  That somehow morphed into something bigger.  Supporting each other in difficult times.  Introducing each other to family.  His finally meeting my family and seeing Detroit with some other friends of ours, including his brother.

October 2009

It's funny how something as simple as hockey can bring people together.  Luckily, we met well after the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals or he may never have talked to me.  One of the things that brought us together was our love of Pearl Jam.  He was kind enough to invite me to one of the shows when they closed the Spectrum here in Philly, then again in April 2016.  Long story short, on one of our many phone calls, we came up with the idea to create a Mount Rushmore of Pearl Jam songs.  A monument to our friendship, if you will, of which pen finally met paper on an airplane on a guys trip to Vegas for Flyers v. Knights this winter, paid for by the best wives ever.  Side note - 8 of us were on that trip - all 7 of my friends I met either directly from J.B. or through another good friend of his, now our good friend.  So below is an admittedly very long breakdown of the best Pearl Jam songs ever, which also got broken down into multiple categories.  Which sort of sums up the often random, rambling nature of J.B. and my conversations.  You never really know where they will end up.

I'm going to close out the more serious portion of our blog now for those who don't tend to read the "silly" parts of the blog (their words, not mine).  I'm REALLY hoping Mojo sends me that blog updating us on his family's adventures in Europe cause I have NO IDEAS right now.  Well, maybe I'll write about my 2nd AOR adventures next month, but that's not til like May.  So if we don't publish again, blame Mojo.  He's like 4000 miles away, so he can't do anything to you.  Be well, all, see you when we see you.  Hasta.

When J.B. and I took on this challenge, we each casually mentioned it to multiple friends.  All of them, in some shape or form, said back, "are you including Ten or not?  Because that should have it's own list."  After about 10 seconds of debate, we agreed.  Always nice to get that type of feedback in advance.  I did my lists on the way back from the aforementioned trip to Vegas, aka, I had a lot of time on my hands.  (Some people suffer from ADHD... I thoroughly enjoy it).  Anywho, I made 6 Pearl Jam Mt. Rushmores, all on the way back, all while listening to Ten, with one quick break, which I will explain in a minute.  They are in the following 6 categories - Ten, Commercial/Public (Ten only), Commerical/Public (non-Ten), Cover Songs, Personal Slow Songs, and Personal Fast Songs.  My love of Pearl Jam depends on my mood, hence, the separation of Fast and Slow.  I think that's what make the band so great... no matter the mood, you can find the song, album, etc.  Anyways, case in point, here we "Go!"

Ten

1.  Release
2.  Porch
3.  Alive
4.  Once
Honorable Mention - Deep, Garden

Release is my personal overall #1.  I literally had to rank the entire album to figure this out.  Honestly, I think no matter what 4 you pick, it's hard to argue.  After searching "greatest rock albums of all time," I think these lists all short change Ten.  It's easily better than anything Van Halen put out, for example, and Van Halen is in the middle of the list I linked as an example above.  It's crazy to think this album is underrated, but when you think about it... speaking of underrated, No Code is one of the most underrated albums ever, IMHO.  I digress...

Ten - Commercial/Public

1.  Even Flow
2.  Jeremy
3.  Alive
4.  Black

I did this on what I feel like I hear most on the radio, with my perception of what the general public would say as a tiebreaker.  Even though I think most people would rate Jeremy or Alive as a better song, I hear Even Flow on the radio more often, so it gets the nod.  Again, it would be hard to argue with anyone who tweaked this order.  Which makes me wonder about that whole "Ten is overrated" argument again.  Maybe we need to do a blog about "underrated stuff," like Sour Patch Kids as a candy.  Hmmm...

Commerical/Public (non-Ten)

1.  Betterman
2.  Courdory
3.  Daughter
4.  Elderly Woman
Honorable Mention - Yellow Ledbetter, Rearviewmirror

I asked one of my boys on the plane to be the tiebreaker for #4.  I gave him my first three, and asked him to give me the first song off the top of his head.  Elderly Woman won.  I had Nothingman and Wishlist as possible entries here.  It's tough to argue the first 3.  They are on the radio all the time.  Yellow Ledbetter is never on the radio, but it's an iconic song.  Elderly Woman wins out, based on my boy's call, and it's radio play.

Cover Songs

1.  Baba O'Reilly
2.  I Believe In Miracles
3.  Sonic Reducer
4.  Rockin in the Free World

Quite frankly, 2 and 3 are the better covers, but Pearl Jam plays Baba O'Reilly so often at concerts, and its impact is so great, you can't deny it the top spot.  They recently started covering Comfortably Numb.  They played it at our show, and it was awesome.  I play I Believe in Miracles out loud on some of my runs, and to me, it's far and away their best cover, though I can't remember the last time they played it.  Must give Honorable Mention to Last Kiss, which is their most commercially successful cover.  So much so that I'd guess many casual music fans are unaware it's a cover.

Personal Mt. Rushmore (Slow Songs)

1.  Immortality
2.  Present Tense
3.  Just Breathe
4.  Yellow Ledbetter
Honorable Mention - Nothing as It Seems, Elderly Woman, Off He Goes, Sometimes

I haven't told the wife yet, but I want Yellow Ledbetter played at my funeral.  The top 2 were tough, and even as I wrote this, I almost flipped them back.  I've heard both live, and there's something about Immortality live that tips it for me.  Just Breathe is a beautiful song.  Their best on any recent album.

Personal Mt. Rushmore (Fast Songs)

1.  Rearviewmirror
2.  State of Love and Trust
3.  Given to Fly
4.  In Hiding
Honorable Mention - Lukin

So the break in listening to Ten while making my lists was to listen to 1-2 on this list to make a final decision.  I listened to both twice.  It was the end of Rearviewmirror that did it for me.  I found myself singing the end to myself and getting that rush when a song really hits you.  Not that State of Love doesn't do it, but Rearviewmirror, the end of that song... I don't know.  It just encompasses all that Pearl Jam is for me.  Just listen to the song, cause I'm out of words at this point.

I'm out.  J.B.'s turn...

I have been to several Pearl Jam shows. My first ever event at Madison Square Garden wasn’t a Flyers vs Rangers game, but a Pearl Jam concert. Two of the more memorable PJ concerts I have attended, (not counting the time a local Sportscaster was “ushered” to the front row to the anger of many Ten Club members), have involved LB.  There was what was supposed to be the last show at the Spectrum, (10/30/09), where they played for more than 3 hours and covered 31 songs.  Then there was the night where a rumor started in the parking lot of the Wells Fargo Center that they would be playing the entire Ten Album, something they had only done twice before.  The opening song was Once, and then they went right into Even Flow. The crowd now realizing the rumor was true, just seemed to erupt in appreciation.  (LB Note - it was nice to have a Philly detective with us who tipped us off to that rumor.  It's good to know people in high places)

Ten

1.       Even Flow

2.       Alive

3.       Jeremy

4.       Why Go

Honorable Mention: Black, Release

This is an album that took more than a year to reach the Billboard 200 list.  TEN was also accused of “jumping on the grunge bandwagon” even though it was recorded and released before Nirvana’s Nevermind.  Normally I thoroughly enjoy debating any topic with LB, however, he is correct that TEN is short changed by the Greatest Rock Albums of All Time lists.  It is certified 13x Platinum.  Yellow Ledbetter was bumped from original release and put on the B side of the single release Jeremy!  (LB Note - nice Ten knowledge there, buddy!)

Ten – Commercial/Public 

1.       Even Flow

2.       Black

3.       Jeremy

4.       Alive

Also done on the LB scale of what I hear most on the radio. Again, I love to debate anything that LB says, but he is right, again.  (LB Note - I'm never deleting this post).  Even Flow must be the most radio played song from the TEN album.  I feel like whenever I turned on WYSP, (RIP), Y100, (also RIP), or WMMR, it was always on.  It may have helped that a local radio DJ, Matt Cord, who was instrumental on pushing Pearl Jam in Philly, was a big fan of Ten and enjoyed playing it on his shift.

Commercial/Public (non-Ten)  

1.       Yellow Ledbetter

2.       Daughter

3.       Rearview Mirror

4.       Elderly Woman

Honorable Mention – Given to Fly, Better Man

Now, I will debate LB.  How does Yellow Ledbetter not make your Top 4?!  That’s just insane. Whoever your “boy” was on the plan ride back from Vegas should have called you out on not having Yellow Ledbetter.  It has one of the greatest guitar solos of our lifetime.  (LB Note - I don't know, it just isn't.  My "boy" is one of your boys who is a Red Sox fan like yourself, having grown up on the mean streets of Boston.  I agree Ledbetter is an amazing song.  I happen to enjoy it most at the end of concerns versus the radio.  Debate for next time we are at the bar... if Yellow Ledbetter were on the Ten album, where would you place it?)

Cover Songs

1.       Rockin in the Free World

2.       Baba O’Reilly

3.       Won’t Back Down

4.       You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away

While I agree that Baba O’Reilly has a more powerful impact, I picked Rockin in the Free World as the number one simply because the band has played it approximately 139 more times than Baba O’Reilly.  I was torn between You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away and Last Kiss, but the former is written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney so… (LB Note - I like your reasoning on Rockin in the Free World.  It was their first main cover song.  I contend, however, that your #4 is actually an Eddie Vedder solo cover, but it's also one of my favorite Beatles songs, so I'll concede the point.  I never knew or heard Pearl Jam cover Won't Back Down, and some of my favorite concert memories are of Tom Petty.  I'll leave this here for your listening pleasure and mine as we forge on).

Personal Mt. Rushmore (Slow Songs)

1.       Yellow Ledbetter

2.       Just Breathe

3.       Nothingham

4.       Elderly Woman

LB, how can Release be your #1 favorite and not make it onto your list here?  It was hard, (that’s what she said, happy LB), for me to pick between Yellow Ledbetter and Just breathe, but, I will stick by my earlier statement of it having one of the best guitar solos of our lifetime, which pushed it to the top of my list.  (LB Note - I forgot, sue me.  I think I kept Ten songs off it, but I can't remember since I wrote it like a million years before you sent me your half.  Thanks for the TWSS shout out, you just get me, boo.)

Personal Mt. Rushmore (Fast Songs)

1.       Spin the Black Circle

2.       Breakerfall

3.       Save You

4.       Lukin

Bro, how is Spin the Black Circle not even an Honorable Mention?  This was the easiest of lists to put together as I have all of these on my playlist for my morning/evening runs on the treadmill, (this was written prior to me reinjuring my ACL), and in this exact order.  (LB Note - I'll concede that misstep on my part, it should be in my Honorable Mention along with Breakerfall.  Well played, my friend).

If you made it this far, you earned this.  Given JB's love of this song and locale of his first PJ show, this seemed about right.  Enjoy it, my friend, and thank you for all you have done and always do for me and my family.  Hasta.