Pearl Jam “Twenty”…
So I got to watch the American Masters documentary Pearl Jam Twenty over the weekend. The early 90’s was an incredible time in music. The Seattle scene landed in Boston with bands like SoundGarden, Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam and it was a phenomenon I never witnessed before or after. The raw artistry and creativity these bands showed was mind blowing and it was a huge departure from anything we witnessed in the 1980’s. The lyrics always seem to resonate….you could find something deep and heartfelt on every album. Our crew of friends were all 16 to 18 at the time…so it’s easy to understand how Seattle provided the soundtrack of our young lives. The first legible song I could play on guitar was written by Pearl Jam. Living in Dorchester gave many of us the access to see shows like this:
Nirvana playing at Axis on Lansdowne Street in 1991
Or Pearl Jam at the Orpheum in 1994
Years back I lost touch with Pearl Jam….The radio beat the sh*t out of their songs so I had to stop listening. But watching the Twenty documentary last night brought back a ton of great memories and made me realize how fortunate I was to witness that whole era in music. I’m probably going to start listening again….
WoW!! OMG! How did you happen to find this video of Nirvana at Axis!??
Those were the best of days brother!
Found your post through the Pearl Jam tag. I loved this film…I agree, the Seattle scene made some great bands. The Twenty movie introduced me to the music of Mother Love Bone…I always loved ‘Crown of Thorns’ from the Singles soundtrack, but the rest of their brief career was just as good!