If people say something sounds like Pearl Jam, it usually means there is a low, mumbling singer with bad annunciation. I recently realised that it's unlikely that you'll hear a piece of music alone and be able to say 'typical Pearl Jam'.

The Pixies had the loud/quiet thing, Led Zeppelin had fairly idiosyncratic riffs, Hendrix pretty much had his own guitar tone...but what do PJ have besides that voice?

This isn't a criticism, just an observation. I'd be interested to see if people could pick out patterns in their songs, or maybe individual writers from the band's songs - structures, melodic phrasings...whatever...I'm sure there are a few.

references to the ocean

but serious, no. ed's voice is the reason for pearl jam

I think when "the others" out there (read, non-obsessives like us) think of Pearl Jam, they think of songs like:

Alive
Evenflow
Jeremy
Betterman
Given to Fly

Big songs where Eddie is front and center. Basically Eddie unafraid and unashamed. That's what the folks out there respond to (and copy).

Pearl jam have a wealth of kind of annoying mid tempo rockers..unemployable, ghost, cropduster, bland bland bland

thankfully when they're amazing they really are amazing. Given to fly...

Given To Fly is probably the all time best Pearl Jam song.

I agree..it's their most representitive song, moreso than Alive for sure. Or any other by my reckoning.

strangely enough, when i think PJ, Sweet Lew immediately springs to mind.

gtf is missing one important ingredient-a huge mike solo. porch gets my vote.

Porch? can i have your dealers number?

Corduroy.

Corduroy is up there.

I don't know if I'd say that they are typical but Alive, Corduroy, and Given To fly are the three songs that really get to the heart of what the band is about. GTF is not one of my all time favorites, but it is really important

1.800.724.8038

I've said it before but i love the way this band has something for everyone..like i'd never pick Porch, i love that S/T causes such debate..there's a song for everyone no matter what you like..

I Pj

Dime, what do you think of comatose?

I don't think there's such a thing as a "typical" PJ song. It's just that they're too inconsistent. Not even what they pick as singles are similar songs. I mean one of their most successful singles is Last Kiss but no one would call that typical PJ.

why is it their "most representative?" not that i disagree, just curious...

I kinda like it for what it is, literally a 3 chord rocker that any kid starting out on guitar could learn easily, but in that, i kinda expect more from them and i definitely think we've been here before when i hear it, and we've been here better..STBC and Lukin come directly to mind. I think they should back away from that kind of song, it's getting to be like U2 writing that stuff to keep themselves feeling young, punk and vital, and really i'm not sure Pj are any of those things.

I want them to head off in a Neil Young tangent, grow old gracefully.

This song and songs like it at their age is highly questionable and that's being polite about it.

Evenslow-for me, it's the sound, the story involved, the soaring vocal, excellent guitar work. It's the song i'd give to someone were I trying to convert them to Pearl jam. It beats Alive to the punch 'cos generally they haven't done an anthem since really since Ten, that I can think of at the moment anyways..I could be wrong though.

See I think the subject matter and delivery saves it from that critique. It's an abstract but tightly focused and utterly searing indictiment of Bush's America and the Americans who inhabit it and you can practically choke on the contempt that flows out of it. I can see your point with a song like Big Wave (and I agree with U2) but here I think they executed perfectly.