Okay, here’s an unnecessary, wholly-opinionated rant for you all that I’ve been thinking about:
Pearl Jam wishes they could be as relevant as Sleater-Kinney.
Seems weird that I’m comparing two bands that are pretty much nothing alike, right? Except, you know, they’re both political af and they have punk rock and alternative rock in common even if Pearl Jam’s musical influence encompasses much more than that (though I am not suggesting Sleater-Kinney is weakened in any way by employing fewer genres as their main influences). Plus they toured together 2-3 times. I dunno – you could get them confused. (Just kidding.)
But, being a fan of both bands (and I’ve been a Pearl Jam fan for three years now, whereas I’ve been a Sleater-Kinney fan for just half a year), I’ve seen comments that other fans have made on their social media accounts and on their Youtube videos. Long story short, PJ fans are annoying af asking for “the new album” every single time their account posts anything at all, and it seems like there are a lot of ignorant dudebros minimizing Sleater-Kinney’s ingenuity (not to mention the mindless comments toward SK by PJ fans that I’ve read).
A few months ago I started writing a post where I ranted about how I couldn’t care less about a new Pearl Jam album because, based on their last album, it doesn’t seem like they’re about to go anywhere new musically or lyrically. (Side note: I read an interview where Eddie Vedder mentioned that he wrote Lightning Bolt lyrically the way he did because he wanted to stop playing “word games.” But after reading the lyrics to those songs, I was like ‘Shit, man, at this point, BRING BACK THE WORD GAMES. THOSE WERE BETTER.’) And while I doubt all fans are literally salivating for a new album, I wish, for the ones who DO care so much, that I could push them toward Sleater-Kinney and be like “LISTEN TO THIS FUCKING BRILLIANCE IF YOU WANT SOMETHING NEW, RELEVANT, AND AMAZING. *whispers* It will change your life…“
I have to wonder if people aren’t willing to pay attention to Sleater-Kinney because they’re a trio of women (now duo, PLEASE DON’T REMIND ME – I AM SAD) and maybe they think, ‘Oh, there’s no way I’ll relate to this.’ I say: if you’re willing to listen to and enjoy bands like The Police, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Nirvana, and Green Day, then Sleater-Kinney are 100% worthy of a chance. Plus, they’ve released nine studio albums throughout their career – there’s bound to be something worthwhile for everybody. Seriously, not only are they geniuses lyrically, but also musically in the way their arrangements interact with each other and the fact that THEY TOTALLY HAVE THEIR OWN SOUND THAT, APPARENTLY, NOBODY ELSE IS WILLING TO REPLICATE which is why they came back and thank the UNIVERSE they did. Unlike Pearl Jam who had posers in the fucking ’90s when they were still relevant…yikes. You sadly misguided, straight, white dudes in rock. I wish you’d know when to stop trying because there is N-O-W-H-E-R-E LEFT FOR YOU TO GO. Cry about it! Support women, queer people, and people of color. Those are the voices we need to hear. The end. Also, you could argue that I am saying this @ Pearl Jam, too, if you’d like. I mean, I won’t stop you.
Overall, I just want to tell everyone to listen to Sleater-Kinney – including their new album The Center Won’t Hold – and Pearl Jam fans need to calm the fuck down and ALSO listen to Sleater-Kinney (it should sate your appetite for awhile).
P.S. I’m guessing that Pearl Jam themselves probably don’t care about being relevant. But the fans do, obviously, or they wouldn’t be hounding all of the band’s social media accounts for a new album.
Writing for Pearls 