PJ20

Pearl Jam has long been one of my favorite bands.  During the years when I was making some major changes in my life, I related a great deal to the raw intensity of the sound and lyrics of this band.  Growing up always liking hip-hop and gangster rap, Pearl Jam was an exploration of music for me.  Of course I had listened to them when the early wave of Seattle "grunge" burst on to the scene (you couldn't miss it), but I never listened like I did when I cleaned up my act and found new meaning in my own life.  Plus Eddie Vedder has a crazy ass voice, the band can straight play, and I agree with much of what they stand for as artists.  As a PJ fan it was easy to become excited about one of the best rock journalists in Cameron Crowe making a documentary about one of your favorite bands and after watching it, I think it is easy to become excited if you are a fan of music during the last 20 years.  Pearl Jam is the only Seattle surviving band from that time period.  Nirvana (Dead) Alice (Dead) Soundgarden (on off break ups) and Mudhoney (still floating around never as successful).  Pearl Jam survived when alot of bands couldn't and the music has evolved consistently to deeper lyrics and as my buddy put it, rustic and raw sounding.  The documentary was excellent and unlike other rock docs, this one had a huge amount of unique footage as this generation has had recording technology since the 90's when PJ started.  Some great moments are: the 2nd PJ show ever where they sound exactly as they do today and the moment when Eddie Vedder became Eddie Vedder! Pretty dope.  The sounds are great and the story is well directed as well.  If you are a fan of roc docs, Pearl Jam, Seattle, or music in general this is an absolute must.

Pearl Jam Twenty from Pearl Jam on Vimeo.