March 4 - Black

While many people found religion in Nirvana in 1991, I was not a convert. I have already covered my love for Soundgarden, but there was another band out of Seattle that was almost as important and powerful for me, and that was Pearl Jam. I remember driving in my dad's car, listening to Ungdommens Radioavis, the main radio program for youth in Norway at that time, and they presented this new album by a new band. The album was Ten, and the band was Pearl Jam. I don't remember if they did a feature presenting the album, interviewed them, or reviewed the album, but I remember being blown away by what I heard, and I promptly purchased the CD and taped it so I could listen to it in the car.

Pearl Jam was different than both Soundgarden and Nirvana. Their music was intensely emotional, yet powerful, and while I didn't pick up on it then, their love for The Who and their approach to music is evident even on Ten. However, rock journalists were trying to put a name to all the music that came out of Seattle, and labeled it grunge, which I believe has to have been one of the worst descriptors of a so-called music scene in the history of rock journalism. In my eyes, what appeared to have happened was that there was a very active music scene in Seattle, and Sub Pop records (regarded as the "grunge" label) was the main label that was willing to back the different bands that were emerging - and rather than having a unified sound, they had a unified passion for what they were doing (if you ever want to get an idea of the diversity of the Seattle music scene in the early 90s, listen to the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe's movie Singles - there is a huge difference between Soundgarden's Birth Ritual, Pearl Jam's Breathe, and Screaming Trees' I Nearly Lost You). But regardless of what I might think about the music scene or the grunge label, I really connected with Pearl Jam.

Beyond my personal connection with Pearl Jam, I believe that Ten simply is one of the all-time best debut albums of any band. I know I am not alone in believing this - a Rolling Stone Magazine readers' poll ranked it at #1 along with Appetite for Destruction by Guns'n'Roses. I am hard pressed to find fillers on the album, as the low points still are high - and the peaks... Just wow.

At any rate, Ten was a huge part of my soundtrack of 1991 and 1992. I think I wore out the tape I made of it, and the CD is well worn to the point that when it was rereleased a couple of years back, I picked up a new copy. One of my favorite tracks on the album is Black, which I decided to share today.