So PJ has had solid airplay since about '91, but have sorta drifted off into that space that REM, NIN, and to some extent Metallica exist in. Top ten on the charts for two weeks, then faaaaaade away, but still pull big audiences for tours. Am I alone in the feeling we may be seeing a resurgence in the popularity of PJ? It really does feel like 1991 all over again with shit economy and people growing tired of boring, mass-market crap music. Maybe it's just the hype machine, but I feel like more and more non-hardcore fans are talking PJ recently.

it would be nice--we'll see. I don't think the music industry is set up anymore to ever produce mega bands the way it was in 1991. The disaffected people who were targeted then are no longer a captive audience in the same way and are spread out amongst tons of smaller bands.

Just look at how many GDers have been coming to PJ Chat lately.

I wouldn't count on it. I think the album will do fine, but their commercial peak is definitely over.

They would have to come with something truly different and unique to the public eye, and it just won't happen. I think even if Pearl Jam released an album that would turn out to be a fans favourite in the years to come it wouldn't make a difference.

I like how this topic comes up in the midst of each new album release. I remember the band anticipated big things with Riot Act. They did a good amount of promotion and there was a small buzz before its release, but ultimately (by pop-music standards) flopped.

The fact that Avocado had some success may be a good springboard for this album, but it'll be impossible for the band to be as big as they were. Has there been a band that has come even close in the past 10 years? It's not just popularity, the fact that PJ was a part of "the scene" and were so influential, it places their early success in the stratosphere. It would take a lot for anyone to get to heights like that.

The market isn't set up for a aging band to take over the world. But the band is set up nicely for its core of fans to keep seeing their live shows every few years and enjoying their albums.

nobody sells records anymore.....the days of 10 million records sold are gone even for the most popular artists.

I think if such a thing was going to happen, it probably would have happened during Avocado. The songs were pretty accessible overall, and they accompanied them with a very significant marketing push. I think if they were going to break back in, that would've been the one. But I could be proven wrong by Backspacer.

they could have Miley Cyrus open for them.....

I think they are relevant. But we should define what the term relevant means nowadays.

No popular bands are really even...popular ...i mean...there aren't music videos....top 10's anymore...radioplay is kind of taken down to a total of 10 bands...

I mean, ok thats popular but its lnot like it was in the early 90's as far as the industry goes

I dont know, REM, NIN and metallica...they play all their old shit..except when a new single comes out....I dont think they are much different.

I ehar pj on the radio all the time, unfortunately its all from TEn, for the most part.

Well, I think the subject line and original post are 2 separate discussions. Will they be HUGE again? No, I don't really think that's possible unless they put out something really poppy like U2 or Green Day (highly unlikely - even if The Fixer is a relative "hit").

Back to relevance? I think so. Just in the last couple of years, I've seen a different reaction from the general rock, non-PJ fans. I think there's more of a respect there, rather than the "Pearl Jam? They're still together?" reaction. They're starting to get their due as rock legends. I think playing the big festivals again has helped with their overall relevance and popularity. As one post mentioned, S/T was an ok album, but I think its accessibility, combined with more promotional efforts in recent years, will help springboard Backspacer.

I have this theory that the band got a wake-up call during that VFC finale in '04. They could have blown the roof off the building, and instead they played a very strange setlist that left the non-PJ crowd confused. I think they got this feeling of, "Guys - WTF are we doing? Let's step it up" I noticed a big difference in energy from the band on the '05 tour.

Yeah, there was definitely a rise in energy from 2005 onwards. I think they're happy where they are right now, they have a solid and secure fan base, put on a terrific live show, and still are appreciated enough to headline any festival they want.

I'm interpreting 'relative' here to mean 'mainstream'...and I think what's more important than achieving that sort of status is them strengthening their legacy. They just need to keep putting out interesting material and keep true to themselves and that will be enough. They've done a good job of proving to be more than just a grunge band, and they've gained respect from all their idols and are taken very seriously. That's more important than if my mum can hum their latest song.

Of course Pearl Jam sells out concerts across the world, and has this amazing history, so they are huge already. There's a huge market for aging bands and artists. In Norway Bruce Springsteen sold out 100.000 tickets in no time at all last year, Metallica recently sold something close to that in just a few minutes. Small numbers for the world, but remember that this is in small Norway, split up over just a couple of concerts each. I remember what a massive draw Pearl Jam was for Roskilde 2000. The record buying audience may not be what they were, but people won't stop going to Pearl Jam concerts.

you guys live in the wrong town. This week on boston radio (WAAF, WBCN, WBRU, MikeFM, 85.5, and 101.1) I have heard....

Not for you, wishlist, corduroy, alive, brother, WWS, Life Wasted, I am mine, ledbetter, and either habit or tremor christ...

But we get PJ all the time. the lite rock stations play EWBTCOAST and daughter and such. WBCN pulls out the rare stuff (HTI, I got shit) and WAAF plays the hits (Alive, Even flow, Animal....)

They also get a TON of play on Sattelite. Lithium plays the hits, coffee house plays the acoustic live, and vedder solo stuff, and the other rock & alt stations play them quite a bit as well. I heard Big Wave on faction the other day.

Here's my 2 cents.....

Everything comes back around. The past few years saw a big resurgance in 80's type rock and I don't mean hair bands but more of the new wave era. Everyone is influenced by someone and usually when an era comes back ie quote un quote "grunge" those bands will be influenced by bands like nirvana, alice in chains, and pearl jam just to name 3. Anyone remember back in 91, 92 when these bands started blowing up. There was also a huge resurgance of the younger crownd really getting into bands like zeplin, floyd and hendrix. Again just to name 3. And a big part of that is because grunge had a lot of classic rock influences. Then there have already been bands that have had major combacks like arosmith, u2, greenday....some will argue the music sucks some will say its their greatest works. I for one feel that if pearl jam ever wrote their own "don't wanna miss a thing" and put it in a michael bay movie I may never buy another album. But I also think that american idiot was some of green days best work cause it actually stood for something other than masterbation jokes and drugs.

The debate could go on forever though when my point simply is that it is definately possible for them to be huge again. If the music hits a note with the youth of today, in the economy of today with the general war crisis' going on with the possibility of more in places like iran and north korea people look for salvation in music. Pearl jam did that once for the world when people were kind of hopeless and lost. Why can't it happen again? I'll get off my soapbox now......thank you for your time.

Fuck you I'm a hardcore pearl jam fan. I just don't act all fanboyish. Truth be told, I'm a huge fanboy.

nickelback still got pretty huge for a few years there. it might not be the same, but bands can still get huge.