{"id":1912,"date":"2016-05-14T14:15:49","date_gmt":"2016-05-14T18:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bandsiusetalike.com\/biul\/?p=1912"},"modified":"2016-05-21T14:16:17","modified_gmt":"2016-05-21T18:16:17","slug":"last-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bandsiusetalike.com\/biul\/last-exit\/","title":{"rendered":"“Last Exit”"},"content":{"rendered":"

When was the last time the name “Pearl Jam” sounded weird to you? Can you even remember when it didn’t sound like a band?<\/p>\n

\"Eddie<\/a>

Eddie Vedder<\/p><\/div>\n

Vitalogy<\/em>, Pearl Jam’s experimental third album, was finally released in November of 1994. By that time, the record store I had assistant-managed was consumed by Blockbuster. Originally, I worked at “Tracks”, which was where I experienced Pearl Jam’s debut disc\u00a0Ten<\/em>, around ten times a day for several months. This resulted in a loathing of that album that burns to the present day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maybe it’s due to Pearl Jam’s success, but I recall the release of their second and third albums very clearly. Against all odds, I made off with the coveted promo of\u00a0Vs.<\/em> in 1993; only recently did I give it away to a friend. Back then\u00a0I had a strong urge to belong, and I was grateful that I could stand music from a chart-topping group, “grunge” or otherwise. In 1994, I discovered Frank Zappa, and got my shit straight.<\/p>\n

However, I was still reasonably excited about Pearl Jam’s third effort, when it finally<\/em>\u00a0bowed. Eddie Vedder\u00a0had\u00a0found a Victorian-era book at a garage sale, and the whole band got gooey about using it for album packaging. This is one of the most enlightening aspects of the “band experience”, when everyone is on the same fruitful creative wavelength. “Vitalogy” was found\u00a0to be under copyright, despite its ancient age, which required extra time, design work and legal fees to sidestep. Pearl Jam stuck with it, and the result was their finest album, easily.<\/p>\n

We didn’t know this in 1994. In fact, we were a bit grumpy about how these fancy-shmancy book-CDs would fit in the anti-theft shells. For endcap displays, we had to stick an rectangular anti-theft sensor onto the shrink wrap (Blockbuster had “necessitated” six-foot scanners at the front of the store). This made it easy for shoplifters to peel the plastic off and pocket the CD. It\u00a0fit loosely enough in the anti-theft shells to make thieves think they could wiggle it free, resulting in dozens of copies of\u00a0Vitalogy<\/em> with mashed corners.<\/p>\n

The thing is, intentionally or not, Pearl Jam created an album that looks better the more it’s damaged.<\/p>\n

\"Front<\/a>

Front page of Vitalogy<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

Anyway, the Tuesday morning we checked\u00a0Vitalogy<\/em> (about 100 worth) into inventory, I popped one open for in-store play. The best thing about working in a record store is, when the doors are locked, you are free to blast music at your own discretion. Before rap took over, it was a lot of fun. Now it’s just a fucking migraine.<\/p>\n

At the time, I barely cared\u00a0about Pearl Jam. I just hoped the album wouldn’t drive me to suicide if I had to hear it a million times, like\u00a0Ten<\/em>. I dug a handful of tunes on\u00a0Vs.<\/em>, even though it seriously depressed me. (The inside-cover photo of the band hanging out is achingly bittersweet.)<\/p>\n

This is what I heard, louder than God.<\/p>\n