Friday Face-Off: Pearl Jam Edition
I'm excited about this coming Saturday night and you should be too! Why? Because "Pearl Jam 20" will premiering on VH1, VH1Classic and Palladia at 10PM ET. This is the second doc in the series, which chronicles the band's formation, their rowdy early years to their rise to stardom, and finally, their decision to step back from fame. It's one TV event you won't want to miss, so get your popcorn ready and your La-Z-Boy reclined. Oh yeah, and watch two of their awesome music videos to get totally pumped! Do you think Pearl Jam's music video for "Jeremy" or "Even Flow" deserves the winning title this week?
Team Jeremy
Pearl Jam "Jeremy" - The premise behind this song might not be the most uplifting, but it's definitely an excellent song despite this... possibly especially because of this. The song is inspired by the tragic and true story of a boy named Jeremy Delle who kills himself as a way to get revenge on students who bullied him in school. Another portion of the song refers to a similar situation - this time to one of Eddie Vedder's childhood classmates. It's clearly a dark song with painful themes running through it, but it's very powerful. Vedder's intention was to write something that could give a voice to the voiceless and raise awareness to heartbreaking events like these.
Team Even Flow
Pearl Jam "Even Flow" - This song recounts the life of a homeless man - again, not the most uplifting premise. From sleeping on a concrete pillow to begging those who pass him by for change, the subject's circumstances are obvious and heart wrenching. What makes this music video particularly interesting is how it's formatted as a live performance. You might notice that the band members aren't wearing the same articles of clothing in each shot - this is because the video is made of various segments and splices of performances pieced together. But piecemeal or not, we love this song and its video.