Pearl Jam, Live on Two Legs (1998)

A lazy Sunday afternoon yesterday led to the rediscovery of this little gem - Eddie Vedder singing quite possibly the greatest Split Enz song of all time. One thing led to another and before you know it, my Vedder curiosity piqued, I found myself listening to Pearl Jam this morning.

There are two things I particularly like about this album. Firstly, it's an album that gets better as it goes on. There's no track 9 or 13 graveyard here (be honest, it's rare you find an album that really holds your attention with quality songs the whole way through....) the conclusion to the album is superb, feat. 'Nothingman', 'Even Flow', 'Off He Goes', and 'Black' among others. I spose you'd expect this characteristic of most live albums, and not something unique to this one - but this album isn't just a recording of one live show, it's a collection from across a tour (which I spose is reflected in the title, when you think about it), so the tracks have been arranged into some kind of mega set-list. And I like it.

Disclaimer: I'm not a big Pearl Jam fan, so I'm not particularly interested in hearing obscure tracks or weird demos. If I listen to Pearl Jam, it's because I want to hear the classic, anthemic songs of my youth. I only own two Pearl Jam albums (the other being a greatest hits) so I don't know all their material well. When it comes to Pearl Jam, I'm that kid in the crowd that the real fans hate because I only know the singles. So I like it that the album is made up of big singles, but obviously I appreciate others would find that a little boring and cliche. And I readily admit it's totally hypocritical given my previously documented position on live sets particularly of bands whose entire back catalogue I am familiar with.

The second thing that I love about this album is the prominence it gives to guitarist Mike McCready. It wasn't until I saw Pearl Jam live in London in August 2009 that I realised just how much of a genius this guy really is. In my (admittedly limited) experience, the recorded works tend to focus on that big ticket voice of Vedder's. Without taking away from that (I do think he has a lovely voice), McCready really gets a chance to shine in the live stuff. He is a total star, was amazing to watch and is a joy to listen to.

(Incidentally if anyone can recommend some Pearl Jam for me, and preferably stuff that makes the most of Mike McCready, let me know.)

Postscript

After my post last week I had been genuinely worried about the fate of The Eastern. So I was thrilled to see they're not only alive and kicking, but also supporting the ever-amazing UC Student Volunteer Army down in Christchurch. Rock on.

Stone Temple Pilots, Thank You (The Best Of Stone Temple Pilots) (2003)

Packed with hit after hit after hit, for me this album is 87-odd minutes of notsalgia. It's full of tracks from my youth that I loved at the time and, as years have gone on, simply forgot existed. Who remembers "Plush" from 1992's debut 'Core'? "Big Bang Baby" from their 1996 effort, and the spectacular "Lady Picture Show" from the same album? And then there's "Insterstate Love Song", which I confess is one STP song that I had not forgotten I adored. There's heaps of other absolute classics, and it's just a superb, easy collection to listen to. The acoustic version of "Plush" at the end is a real treat - generic '90s rock voice or not, Scott Weiland really can sing.

Stone Temple Pilots have been described as making "music that sounded great at the time, and even better now" - I can't disagree with that.

Silverchair, Frogstomp (1995)

For some reason I felt like transporting myself back to 1995 by listening to this album. Emo grunge, done only as a bunch of 15 year olds can. I haven't listened to this since I was about 15 myself. It was surprisingly enjoyable.

if nobody speaks of remarkable things

I can't really bring myself to listen to - let alone write about - music at the moment. Which is why I'm filling my blog with pretty little poems. I've saved these from a friend's "Poem of the Day", because something about them was a bit optimistic, or a bit meaningful in some way.

I love my homes. I love Dunedin, and I love Wellington. And I know there are those who feel the same bond with Christchurch, and who are hurting at the thought of the devastation of the city they love.

This morning this little excerpt struck a chord. 

     -- if nobody speaks of remarkable things [excerpt] --

If you listen, you can hear it.

The city, it sings.

If you stand quietly, at the foot of a garden, in the middle of a street, on the roof of a house.

It’s clearest at night, when the sound cuts more sharply across the surface of things, when the song reaches out to a place inside you.

It’s a wordless song, for the most, but it’s a song all the same, and nobody hearing it could doubt what it sings.

And the song sings the loudest when you pick out each note.

     -- Jon McGregor

On the kindness of strangers

As I was lugging a rather heavy bag down the street this morning, a kindly bus driver gave me a free ride to work. I had my coins out ready to pay, but for some reason that I still can't figure out, he decided to let me ride for free. There's no way he could have known I was shifting my things so that a 'quake stricken family could take refuge in our house - it was just a random act of kindness. A small gesture but it made my day.

I think this poem is beautiful, and a timely reminder of the importance of doing nice things for strangers.


     -- Optimistic Little Poem --

Now and then it happens
that somebody shouts for help
and somebody else jumps in at once
and absolutely gratis

Here in the thick of the grossest capitalism
round the corner comes the shining fire brigade
and extinguishes, or suddenly
there's silver in the beggar's hat.

Mornings the streets are full
of people hurrying here and there without
daggers in their hands, quite equably
after milk or radishes.

As though in a time of deepest peace.

A splendid sight.

     -- Hans Magnus Enzensberger (translation: David Constantine)

The Eastern, Arrows (2009)

What can you say? Our poor, brave little country, is weathering yet another devastation.

This little gem of a band is from Lyttleton, at the epicenter of this tragedy. I saw them live just a month ago. And any listen to the opener to this album, "Engineer's Promise" leaves you feeling haunted, despairing and moved.

Like I turned to Mel Parsons during Pike River, something this morning made it feel totally right to listen to The Eastern. I'm overly sentimental because the poor South Island has been given such a battering recently. Regardless of where in the world I end up, the South is my home - it's just different there. The sky is bigger. The air is fresher. The mountains are more majestic. The sea is more wild. Being in the mainland just feels right. And to me this music reflects that little something special about the South. What is it about small South Island towns that embodies that spirit? It's about real people, a bond to the land and the sea and the mountains, about folks who work in and with the elements, and always have.

The band's bio says it much better than I ever could: "They bring… backpacks full of road songs, battered acoustics and no name electrics, banjo and glockenspiel, mandolin, harmonica, foot stomps and old time singing, straight from the gut, the fist and the heart… They believe in kicks and sadness, heartbreak and hope, 12 bar blues and 12 round rock’n’roll, fistfights and dust, road songs and trains, justice and freedom, holding it up and putting it down, that long lonesome sound, the river rise, the gospel plow, scratches and skips, static and hum, bleeding fingers and beating hearts... boots on the floor, dirt in the cracks, guts, harmony melody and soul, thinking and walking.... [Christchurch is] home but Lyttelton’s where the hearts is, they drink with the sailors... they play ‘cause they have to..... they play because they care, about the songs about the show about the folks they meet and the hands they shake. They play like it matters, like it’s all they know how to do, ‘cause it does and it is."

I am desperately homesick.