Pearl Jam played their first show at the Off Ramp (now El Corazón (hey, i've been there!) on the 22nd of October 1990. Before Ten, before Matt Cameron, before they were even called Pearl Jam.
Pearl Jam gets criticized heavily by both grunge elitist and music critic alike. It makes sense given that they were definitely the softer of the "Big 4," with some of their biggest hits being about love and heartbreak...
And yet— they were the first band to call out Ticketmaster for their shitty ticketing practices, have stayed steadfast in their leftist politics (even criticizing Israel all the way back in 2014), and have continued to make banger albums to this very day. In my own personal "Big 4" tierlist, they are my number one.
FEATURED TRACK
DO THE EVOLUTION
Yield
I'm ahead, I'm a man
I'm the first mammal to wear pants, yeah
I'm at peace with my lust
I can kill 'cause in God I trust, yeah
It's evolution, baby
I'm at peace, I'm the man
Buying stocks on the day of the crash
On the loose, I'm a truck
All the rolling hills, I'll flatten 'em out, yeah
It's herd behavior, uh huh
It's evolution, baby
Admire me, admire my home
Admire my son, he's my clone
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
This land is mine, this land is free
I'll do what I want but irresponsibly
It's evolution, baby
I'm a thief, I'm a liar
There's my church, I sing in the choir:
(hallelujah, hallelujah)
Admire me, admire my home
Admire my son, admire my clones
'Cause we know, appetite for a nightly feast
Those ignorant Indians got nothin' on me
Nothin', why?
Because... it's evolution, baby!
I am ahead, I am advanced
I am the first mammal to make plans, yeah
I crawled the earth, but now I'm higher
2010, watch it go to fire
It's evolution, baby
Do the evolution
Come on, come on, come on