So in my Philosophy of Rock Music class, we have to do a ten-minute presentation at some point during the semester. I've, of course, decided to do my on Pearl Jam. I'm pretty sure I'd like to use something from one of the DVDs, but nothing particular comes to mind. I finally watched Immagine in Cornice today (after buying it in October), but nothing performance particularly stands out on it (although it looks great!). I'm just trying to find a performance that's particularly memorable and I'll try to apply the theories from the class to the presentation afterward (instead of picking a song that reflects the theories).

I was thinking maybe Indifference from the Live at the Garden, or maybe Given to Fly from Touring Band. Does anyone have any particular favourites of a memorable performance from Garden/Showbox/Touring Band/Immagine in Cornice?

Touring Band gtf is awesome - loving the little dance Ed does with Kim (?) at the end. Also love his perfectly timed on the "well fucker's, he still stands" line.

Daughter/It's OK singalong is pretty special too.

You really do a "Philosophy of Rock and Roll" course? Sweet.

I'm pretty sure any philosophy of rock and roll would frown upon eddie's short hair, so 2003 is out

what is the point of the presentation? Are you supposed to be talking about something in particular?

Yeah, I have to tie some of the theories into the presentation and how they apply to whatever I'm presenting, but it should be easy enough to work something in, some of the theories are general enough.

Syllabus:

• Rock msic and race: Can white people sing the blues? What is the relation between a type of music, a community, a race, a people? What constitutes << authenticity >> in the performance of music?
  
• Performances: What is the relation of performance to composition in rock music? What values are intrinsic to performance? What is the relation of performer to audience? What is the meaning of performance?
  
• Noise and loudness: Recordings.
  
• Aesthetics of rock: Does rock music have its own aesthetic criteria? Musical content and lyrics; classical aesthetics and formalism; rock, the body, dance and loudness.
  
• Rock, sexuality and gender: What is the role of women in rock, as performers, listeners, technicians, producers, business executives? Is rock music inherently << macho >>? Or does rock blur gender distinctions.
  
• Rock aesthetics, group identity and class. British Beat music; musical subcultures.
  
• Rock music and the end of civilization: left-wing and right-wing attacks on rock music. Rock music and consumerism; rock music and immaturity.
  
• Is rock music << art >>? Progressive rock and the avant-garde. Case study: the Velvet Underground.

It would probably be easy to fit any song somewhere in there, especially the aesthetic categories, because that's fairly subjective. I'm just trying to find a good performance first, and then I'll try to apply the theories afterwards.

Wow I'd love to do that course

those 2 seems to me the ones that Pearl Jam can illustrate best.
the performance one: pick any of the songs with audience participation.

the second one I think fits with political themes. Bu$hleaguer of course is easy, and ties in with aesthetics.
BUt if I was you, I'd pick Daughter from the Showbox

At first I thought that the idea of a "Philosophy of Rock" course was pretty cool, and I guess that for many it would be, but after reading your theories and discussion points I must say that that course ain't for me.

Far too much thought going into something that (for me at least) is far more basic and undefinable. I think I'm with "The D" on this one - it's just gotta rock, I don't wanna discuss it, you know?

Go well with this one though. You're in the right place to get plenty of good source material. One that springs immediately to mind relates to this point here:



Have a look-see here:

RM Other Bands - How Rockist Are We?

well this looks like the best class ever

I'm taking a class on the beatles and a class on Rock Music in general. Best decision ever.

I had a class like that in college... best class I ever took.

Go with the DTE music video.

Now you're on to something.

I've used that video in a few classes.

is that video embedded up top from Showbox?? i might have to get that if so. i haven't seen eddie that pissed since like 94!!!

as for rock classes in college, i took both a history of jazz and history of rock class while going to school at Univ. of Miami and i aced both of them (in that order). i could not have been any happier taking those classes. i was a fucking stud, haha. i think i may have actually gotten an A+ in the rock class because i remember my prof. telling me i was the only one. haha. ok enough horn tooting

oh and as for what video for you to use? the DTE video is clearly a great choice but if you definitely want a live video then you can't go wrong with Alive from Imagine in Cornice. it's fucking unreal

funny, when I posted suggesting Daughter at the Showbox, I was at work and couldn't see what video was posted.

yep, it's what I was talking about and it's worth the price of the DVD on its own!

Yeah, I was considering the DTE video, though I really would rather use a performance than a music video.

Also, I was able to relate Pearl Jam to the discussion in class today. We were discussing how with classical music and such begins with the composition with the end result being the performance (though sometimes followed by a recording), whereas with rock music the end-goal is the recording with the performance intended to replicate the recording. We were talking about examples where this wasn't the case, and I brought up Pearl Jam bringing in Boom to play the organ at live shows (and eventually on Avocado), a factor that wasn't part of the equation on their recordings prior to Avocado. So thus, with Pearl Jam the performance had become the end result.

Then after class some girl asked me when I saw Pearl Jam, as she didn't know they had an organist. I felt confused.

It's OK tag from TB2000

I guess the video makes sense if you want to talk about the music having a politics attatched to it. If you want to talk about the nature of a performance then yeah, go with the live stuff