I just don't get it. I had a bad night to say the least. A friend of mine went out of his way to express his hatred for Pearl Jam last night, and none of my other friends came to my rescue. I was outnumbered, depressed and lonely (and three shots of whiskey didn't help the situation either). I just don't understand why some people have such a misconception about Pearl Jam. They think they're just a crappy pop band (because they heard Last Kiss on the radio a few times), or they complain that Ed's a whiny crybaby (because he has the balls to get political at times and speak his opinion), or they just associate Pearl Jam with the grunge fad of the '90's and seem almost offended that PJ keeps trying to "make a comeback", or they just have a natural pre-disposition against them that will never change. I'm starting to think that the latter is the strongest influence.

Then I asked my friend who his favorite band was and he said the Grateful Dead. When I told him that Pearl Jam is the new Dead, I thought he was going to take a swing at me....

I could use some suggestions. What do other people do in this situation?

Personally, that would require giving a flying fuck what anyone thinks. Sing it with me: "everyone's a cunt, 'cept me".
This thread already sucks.

Don't try and make excuses to anybody why you like what you like. And don't give a rat's ass what anybody thinks about it, either. You learn to do those 2 thigs, and life will be much easier. Trust me on this.

Just remember, they at life.

I'd get new friends.

I'd make them themed mix tapes until they were converted.

I'd make them mix tapes, then get new friends.

This CD did the trick for me

01. Of the Girl
02. Sad
03. In Hiding
04. Comatose
05. Rearviewmirror
06. Fatal
07. Off He Goes
08. No Way
09. Insignificance
10. Parachutes
11. State of Love and Trust
12. Light Years
13. Man of the Hour
14. I Got Shit
15. Down
16. Yellow Ledbetter (Benaroya Hall)

mind you, even some PJ fans dislike I Got Shit, or despise Release as a show opener or even give the at Brendan O'Brien's return. some FUCKED UP people exist, i tell ya!
and for your friends, well, they don't know what they're missing but i acknowledge that this band has been polarizing from day one - and this probably stems from the grunge tag they've been given, the Nirvana vs. PJ nonsense and their huge success back in the 90s. people are often suspicious about very successful bands, and most of the time they're right. fact is, PJ's evolved quite a lot since their heyday and the casual radio listener only heard a few early singles, Betterman and, a few years later, Last Kiss
i wouldn't even bother making a mixtape for friends who seem so close-minded about this band. if they hate EV's voice, there's not much one can do about it...

Yes, thank you. Some constructive feedback on why you think PJ is so polarizing. That's the discussion that I was trying to create. I should have made a disclaimer that the "who gives a flying fuck" comment is already obvious and need not be stated. I'm not an idiot loser looking for acceptance from my peers.

I just want to know people's thoughts on why PJ is so polarizing as a band.

One thing I've noticed when i accidentally stumbled on people mentioning them around the web is that they are very caricatured. They are either seen as grunge relics (just like flannel), and nobody cares about that, or blamed for Creed, or people make fun of Even Flow and Ed's mumbling on that.
That early image when they were everywhere is the one that people who aren't familiar with their repertoire know.
People have an opinion because they were so huge but than became relatively obscure when it comes to the rest of their material.
I think the strong opinions come more from the fact that they were so huge rather than anything else.

This is good.

I think people tend to do this to all music though.

Hell, I'll go even further and say people do this regularly in most every scenario every day.

Stereotypes, misconceptions, lack of desire/interest/attention to learn. We all do it to some degree.

This thread would have been better if Coach started it.

I agree with the reasons posted by Mastaflash/Mine as to why PJ get some negativity. I do however think that they're acquiring more respect over time. Their activism work is doing a lot for their reputation and legacy...and by this i don't just mean the VFC tour and Ed's political rants..but also the way they go about making their cds, making sure they're using the right materials...tracking their carbon footprint...giving money from each ticket purchase to a charity...etc etc.. Furthermore, they're aligning themselves with all the right artists - artists who have an integrity about them...Neil Young as done them many favours, and on top of that Ed singing with the Doors (sans Jim obviously), covering Cat Stevens and Tom Waits on his recent tour, inducting REM into the Hall Of Fame, et cetera et cetera! And they're even playing with some of the new kids on the block - Kings of Leon, MMJ, The Strokes.

People are begininning to view them with a respect which should have always been there, but was just absent due to an ignorance - believing that this band only had 2 and a half albums. On top of this they've proved themself as a headline worthy band at festivals in the last couple of years whilst still playing a set that features a good overview of almost all of their discography.

Given 10 more years i think their legacy can only continue to grow.

This kinda connects to something the missus and I were talkin' about the other day. I've always been of the school of thought that I don't give a rat's arse who Ed's politician of the moment is, and he should just shut up and rock at the gigs. But then I agreed with all the pro-Tibet demonstrations during the Olympic Torch relay. Some girls at work were talking about how the Olympic relay and politics should not be entwined, and that the pro-Tibet demonstrators were out of line using the Torch relay as a platform for their politics. I disagree. My missus says: "is Ed doing the same thing about the things he cares about. He's using an entertainment platform to espouse his political views". Couldn't argue with her really. Bugger.

Punch 'em in the face and tell them that they like them.

A couple of friends pretend they hate PJ to attempt to annoy me. I normally just make fun of their favourite bands to get them back

The best part about this thread is that you can just change the band name, genre tags, and get rid of the part about a comeback and you have a thread that is probably taking place on a panic at the disco, fall out boy, my chemical romance, the academy is forum right now.


...throw back in the part about a comeback but change it to successful and you have green day.

Here you have a list of genres affected:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rock_genres

by clicking the genre you also got the list of the bands and other info.

I don't know about that...


How can anyone hate porn rock?