Saturday, August 31, 2013

Vitalogy and some Corduroy.....

Thanks for coming back
to delve into
Vitalogy again this week....
Just wanted you to see the massive size of this book
compared to the Pearl Jam booklet...
Today I'm going to keep it simple 
but maybe not sweet...
Did you ever notice page 17
in the PJ book?
A set of dental x-rays...
definitely fitting for the medical contexts
of the book right?
Did you look close enough to see that the x-rays
are labeled as belonging to Eddie Vedder?
With a date of 12/9/92?
Of course I have to wonder if that was the date
the films were taken
or is that some significant date Ed marked on there
himself?
More investigating to come.
When you look closely at the the bottom
box on the x-ray where the 
examiner should fill in their name
(usually the doctor is signed here in case of identifying needs)
there has been a label placed in to the box
with the word
Corduroy
Pearl Jam fans usually know all about the
premise of the song Corduroy...
Referring to a jacket that Ed used to wear.
When the whole "grunge" thing  exploded
and became exploited...
Ed felt that way about himself too...
exploited and not in control..
Seeing ads in fashion magazines
for "grunge" style clothing...
now going for hundreds of dollars
it was really quite ridiculous. 
"I don't want to hear from those who know-
they can buy but can't put on my clothes" 
exemplifies his feelings towards the frenzy...
"those who know" - I'm thinking the people who create the hype-
who "know" what's cool..where everything is happening...
what the latest and greatest is....
"they can buy" - self explanatory
"but can't put on my clothes"
 a person can't gain an identity
or acquire an attitude 
or walk in someone else's shoes -simply from a purchase..?
You can't be ME...
I know he thought is was pure stupidity and greed.

I'm going to examine Corduroy a little further in the future...
today was just the beginning...
This is when Corduroy was a "New song"
something they had just written-
not available in stores..
quoting Ed here...
take a listen...

Have a Rockin' Day guys! 

Friday, August 30, 2013

Photo Friday...Mike McCready / Shadow

Photo Friday....

I have a few fans working on some of
their personal photos....
so until they are ready
I thought I would give
Mike McCready a little plug here...

Today's photo is a self shot of Mike from his Twitter feed...


The story is...
Mike reunited with his 80's band
Shadow this week for a little
show at Easy Street Records in Seattle ...
The guys seemed to have a blast - old friends
having good fun and rocking out together.

I love that Mike always seems eager to help out
a friend with a cause, 
to take time to stop with fans,
 just loving life lately and so into his work.

He has talked about his struggles before
and of all the PJ members he was the only 
one I was surprised to hear he had so much
inner turmoil.

A song like Inside Job
(written by Mike)
that I featured in my personal photo
on Wednesday...
is a peek into the soul of someone
who is sharing their troubles and trying
to come out on the up side.

Here is the Shadow
show at Easy Street


I also want to give Mike my humble thanks for
trying to help shine a light on
Healthcare reform by sharing his story about Insurance 
coverage denial becasue of his Crohn's
I have had a similar experience with Healthcare
and it is scary and unfair.
I could tell a long story that would shock most
but we're all about music here - so we'll stow it for another time.
Mike has also lent his persona
to help friend Steve Gleason spread the word about
ALS.
I have written about my personal
experience with ALS on another blog
and I will share it here eventually.
(only because of Mike and Pearl Jam's involvement in the cause)
 
You can tell Mike has a big heart 
and his efforts
no matter how small he may think they are -
are greatly appreciated.

You can follow Mike on Twitter 
here

Have a Rockin' Day guys!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

New Music....Ben Shepherd - In Deep Owl

I wanted to throw in
an extra post this week
to share some
great new music.

Soundgarden bassist
Ben Shepherd
released a solo
project 2 days ago 
on August 27th,2013
titled
"In Deep Owl"

I have to admit I was not sure what
to expect from Ben.
I think he is a total animal on the Bass sometimes
and then others 
he's tearing it up
 but he looks totally bored.
He cracks me up.
He's entirely under-rated in my opinion. 

If you have an open mind
and don't expect everything to be
Soundgarden-esque
I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Of course I do hear the elements
that I hear in SG music here and there.
But at this point it's his DNA right?

Here is a track from the
album
called
 "Collide"


Check out his web-site 
for Information on the album
how to get it, FB,etc.

Congratulations Ben on a wonderful piece of work.

My point again -
these boys labeled 
"grunge" years
ago have many more complex layers
than what the media lets you believe.
Check out and explore music for 
YOURSELF!


Have a Rockin' day guys!

 

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Images from Lyrics....Inside Job



 make yourself a pact, 
not to shut doors on the past
just for today,... I am free


Inspired by Inside Job....
Pearl Jam...



Beautiful sound from Verona Italy 2006...

Have a Rockin' Day!

Monday, August 26, 2013

Vitalogy ,Lightning , and a game of 7 degrees?

Sometimes life gets in the way...
So today is Viatlogy Monday....

While reading early on I caught this
little fun passage about what to do
if struck by lightning....

 (excuse my photography)
Throw water on the person...use artificial respiration because
people who have been declared dead have recoverd
up to an hour afterwards?
Yeah - don't think any of those are going to work.
The best part is the last -
If you can find a battery pass an electric current 
up and down the spine and extremities for 2 minutes...
God only knows what an 1880's battery was like?
I'm hoping this was in the vein of forethought for
what we now use 
known as an AED or
 an  automated external defibrillator.
and here are some illustrations
of what "CPR" was like in this era...
  to help inhale...
 to help exhale....
I'm guessing most patients did not recover !
Yikes....
How am I relating this to PJ music today?
Well the whole lightning blot thing struck me as funny
because of the new album...
"Lightning Bolt"
and then this happened at Wrigley Field
the night they debuted the new track
titled aptly
"Lightning Bolt" as well...
 Pretty crazy huh?
So now we have started a 7 degrees of Vitalogy thing right?
Here is the track played at Wrigley Field...

and by they way...
lets make another connection -
1st the book-
2nd the title of the new album-
3rd - the lightning strike
4th - the song "Nothingman" on Vitalogy
the lines
"caught a bolt of lightning - cursed the day he let it go"
So we have made a connection from 1880 all the way around to 2013.
Hmmm....
things happen for a reason right?

Have a Rockin' Day guys!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Vitalogy Monday?.....

Hey guys!

Sorry my Vitalogy post had to be put on hold
until Monday.

Until then
enjoy some acoustics for
Sunday....


Peace.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Photo Friday.....Andrew Wood

The photo for today
 is more like a scan....
but following in my purpose
I think it does tell a story....
I came across several of these pages for sale
several months ago on E-bay....
Handwritten lyrics by Andy Wood...
(here is a link to the page E-bay)


The description says the seller acquired them
from someone close to Andy.

I have to admit the first time I saw them it actually made me sad.
I know we live in a capitalist society and what you own is yours to do with...
Andy was only 24 when he passed
and this year marked the 23rd Anniversary of his departure.
It seems un-real.
Like it was only yesterday....
It is so cliche' but the older we get time passes so quickly.
How is it possible it has been over 20 years?
That being said - I guess it made me
sad because it still seems too soon for things like this
to be bought and sold in my mind.
I'd like to think whomever gave it to this person
hoped someone would really
cherish ,appreciate , and preserve it.
Hopefully that will be the case.

That being said
 it is neat to be able to view something like this.
To get a peek into the mind of
the Man of Golden Words..
during 1983.
All this being said I would like to encourage you
to go and watch the movie
by Scot Barbour
The film really gives much more insight
into Andys life and where he was coming from.
Much more than what was in PJ20.
Interviews with friends, family,
 and a lot more footage of Andy that you have probably never seen.

To close today instead of music
I wanted to share a video
with some behind the scenes footage...
It was taken during the "baby" photo shoot
for Mother Love Bone
I think it just gives a nice glimpse into
the boys and Andy when they were
not "performing"...
Andy is "working" yet funny and being himself...




R.I.P 
Andrew...


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Images from Lyrics......Leash

Images from Lyrics.....


"I am lost, I'm no guide, but I'm by your side...
I am right by your side"


Now let's have a listen....
Leash by Pearl Jam....
College Park, MD
One of my favorite shows ever!


Have a Rockin' Day guys!

Monday, August 19, 2013

New Music from Seattle......The Walking Papers

Today I'm going to switch
things up a bit and talk about
some of the NEW music coming out of Seattle.

Today I'm going to share a bit about
The Walking Papers

There really is a lot of evolved music
STILL
coming out of Seattle...
I have to admit the first time I heard of
The Walking Papers was a few months ago.
Funny enough it was on Xana LaFuente's
website.
(our dearly departed Andrew Wood's fiance)
Then I started hearing more buzz about
them through other 10C fans.

When I finally pulled them up
I was pleasantly surprised.
They have been referred to as a 
"Supergroup"

The funny thing to me however is no one
made mention of the fact that
pretty much all of the band members are 
VERY well seasoned and well known musicians.
The chatter was just that they were this great new band...
not like they were trying to ride on
their past.
The fans seemed to not care about
where in musical history they came from.
Just that they were amazing and refreshing. 

Line up includes-
 Jeff Angell – lead vocals, guitar, piano
Duff McKagan – bass, backing vocals
Benjamin Anderson – keyboards, backing vocals
Barrett Martin – drums, percussion, upright bass, keyboards, backing vocals
Former members of great bands like
 Gun's and Roses
The Missionary Position
and
Screaming Trees
Mike McCready of Pearl Jam even made some contributions 
to the album.
Their album was mixed by Seattle legend Jack Endino
 and released in Oct. 2012

They recently played at great show at
Easy Street Records
alas - something was going
on with the mic and you really can't
hear the vocals much.
It was a great live performance though.
I decided instead to pull two songs to
show what I think represent the range
of 
The Walking Papers
The first I don't think you will expect from
a band with the members you just read.
It's haunting , beautiful, and a bit twisted ...
"The Butcher "

and now we will rock out
to
"The Whole World is Watching"
Pretty cool huh?
Not what you were expecting was it?!
Thanks to all the great bees who have been buzzing
about 
The Walking Papers!


P.S. - Just in case you did not know-
Duff McKagan is Seattle born and bred.
I'm going to get into a little bit of Duff's
 mad musical circles
from when he was a teenager
a little later on.

Have a Rockin' Monday guys!

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Vitalogy...Hysterics...and F-Me in the Brain

Today we're going to look
at a  fun passage in
Vitalogy...

This one I just love because it attempts to
explain what
Hysteria is and who normally suffers from it...

 Here is where I know the smart - alec men in the audience
are going to say "Oh - yeah" 
stuff they blame on P.M.S. etc...
I think the point at which the passage reads
"crowding of the intellect  to the neglect of the body;
solitary vice and novel reading are among the many causes of this disease;
also disappointments in love"
and I'll stop there.

For real Mr. 1800's doctor?!!
Reading a book or trying to learn is going to make a woman
hysterical?
Or we shall be driven mad by our disappointing love life?!
If this isn't a load of wad I don't know what else is?!
Remember the other day how I was commenting about
how people were twisting facts to control and influence people.
I take that back for this specific passage...
whomever wrote this one
obviously had no good relationships with any female
or at least he cared not to find anything out about the real
person or persons he was living with.
What a schmutz!
I don't think there is any Pearl Jam song other than
"F me in the Brain" that could
go along with this passage.
I often wondered why F me In the brain was only played
twice by the band...
maybe someone was just a little hysterical himself
and having "woman" problems?
The song was played on 
Nov. 5th 1993 in Indio, California
and on 
Friday Nov. 26th 1993 in Boulder, Colorado

Today let's hear the hysterical Eddie Vedder
sing
F**ck  Me In The Brain
at Indio
and to make it even more fun
it involves the
infamous
"Shoe the Shoe-less rant"
 If you've never seen this you are in for a ride!
and in case you can't guess
there is adult language used here...



Who's hysterical now?
Thanks to TwoFeet Thick for the great upload...

Have a rockin' weekend guys!

Friday, August 16, 2013

Photo Friday....Matt Cameron's postcard from the past.....

I'm really excited to
share today's photos....

A couple of weeks ago I was looking
for some albums on E-Bay...
I came across a listing for The Screaming Life EP
by Soundgarden...
an original pressing.

 I clicked on the listing and there was also a small picture
of a postcard the seller was willing to throw in with
the album...
and here it is....




 Big Deal you say...
let's look at the back...








 


(I'd blow it up bigger but the side bar covers the signature)


 Pretty neat huh?!
I did some research and indeed
the band was in Oklahoma on the date the postcard
was postmarked.
However it gets a bit confusing after that.
I can not find an MTV New Music Awards...
However there was something called  
the CMJ Radio Network which made an audio recording
of their Oct. 26th award ceremony which included
"Ugly Truth" from Louder Than Love
by Soundgarden. 

BUT
then there is this clip
that MTV taped for 120 minutes
and called it the CMJ Music Marathon...
 I'm assuming it was all bands from the CMJ shows
and some of their
videos on 120 Minutes... 
(God I forgot about that show)
Chris and Kim at their smart-alec best... 
Blast from the past huh?!
So I think it was just a mix up of events being that they
were both being held at the same time and intertwining.
I like how he was excited about the new bus and the chance
for some exposure.
There's great video footage out there of Jason Everman ,Stone Gossard
and Jeff Ament discussing this new "cool" bus...
that they had really wanted one with 
dragons on it, warriors, and Unicorns 
along with some other kinds of ridiculousness 
in the conversation. 
Maybe I'll share that later...
I have a few pics to share later of some early Soundgarden
in the van and those shared hotel rooms.
So who was  the postcard recipient Billy Atwell ?
Billy is also a drummer like Matt!
A new find for me - the band he refers to as the Inbred was
quite popular for a time in their circle.
Of all places in Morgantown, WVA.
Who knew WVA had a hardcore scene
back in the 80's?
I have to say I think that's pretty cool.
I have a nephew who lives in WVA and he's
always felt a bit out of place..
He's definitely more alternative compared to the scene
where he grew up.
Maybe this would make him have some renewed faith 
in sticking with being yourself.
If a hardcore punker Could make it in WVA in the 80's
you certainly can too!
I of course then had to look up the band 
and Billy is a kick-ass drummer!
The band is pretty darn good!
They broke up 
but Billy is still out there kickin' it!
He is still living in El Paso as far as I can tell.

It would be interesting to know 
how Billy and Matt met...
Look the Inbred up for some fun on You Tube along with album title Family Affair.

Hope you enjoyed this little peek into a bit of Matt Cameron
and a piece of his past...
Here is a 2011 live version of Ugly Truth
Matt's drumming is a lot more aggressive and polished at the same time
and I like the more mature control Chris has
over his voice.
The early versions are great but 
Chris always sang in that really high pitch 
and I prefer the one he is using now.
Have a Rockin' Day and come back tomorrow
for our weekly look into Vitalogy.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Images from Lyrics...Alone

Images from Lyrics...





Inspired by
Alone - Pearl Jam






I usually don't feel the need to explain...
but
that photo was taken at the end of my block.
A name scrawled into wet cement a long time ago.

2 lines in the song-
"On the street he's walking wounded"
"Anything to get his heart off Nicole"

That nickname "Nicky" and the red paint spatter....
how strange is that.
Just thought it was too cool not to share.

Rock on guys!

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

So who the Heck is Mookie Blaylock?.....

So who the heck is
Mookie Blaylock?

Well....
this is Mookie Blaylock ...

but wait...
this is Mookie Blaylock too...

Yeah...I know....
What?!

Die hard fans - you know this story...
New fans - here's a quick version...

Bass Player Jeff Ament was interviewed
by newspaper -The Missoulan
and this was his story...

"When we were recording our first record, we had a per diem of about $10. So when we got lunch at the store across the street, we'd always buy a pack of basketball cards. When we turned in our tape, we didn't have a name for the band yet so we put a Mookie Blaylock card in the case. We were about to go on a tour and still didn't have a name and needed one quickly. We were told it didn't need to be the name that we were going to use forever, just something for the tour. Someone saw the Mookie Blaylock card and said, ‘How about Mookie Blaylock?' We decided to go with it and did a 10-show tour with Alice in Chains as Mookie Blaylock. Mookie was cool about it, too—he didn't sue us. I actually got to meet him later on and shoot around a little bit. We also made a Pearl Jam T-shirt with a picture of him on it. I guess we owe Mookie a lot."

Of course we know they eventually changed the name
to
Pearl Jam
and the rest is history...

I'm sure Mookie never imagined being linked
 forever in history
to one of the best rock bands of all time...
 
Let's listen to a little Mookie Blaylock
shall we?


This video was taken at The Club with No Name
2-11-1991
Funny how the guy introducing them
says
"This is not Mother Love Bone"
This is the entire show
so if you have some time to kill
the footage includes Mookie Blaylock
and
Alice in Chains...

I know, I know....all my Ten Clubbers are like
tell us something we don't know!
Don't forget
 - we are helping to school a whole new generation of fans here...

Rock on guys!

P.S. - I forget to mention Mookie's number is 
 10....
hmmmmmm....

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Vitalogy....Whipping....

I'm sure many a fan
has opened the "Vitalogy" booklet
that came with their album
and flipped through it to ponder all the artwork.
Many probably flipped through-
thought it was cool-
and put it down and went on to the music.
Some just didn't get it at all and moved on...
Others scoured it and tried to dissect it....
That's a bit of what I'm going to do here every Saturday.
Dissect the actual Vitalogy book...
the music....
and the booklet that Jeff and Ed created .
Every week will offer something different
not just musical ties 
but some fun  with some of the wacky content 
this book contains. 
Why you ask?
Why not?

We want to know why people do the things they do?
As an artist - what inspires them to make their work?
Some may say - it's only Pearl Jam...
It is indeed....
and I think you won't find
as thoughtful or cryptic or poetically
expression filled lyrics from just any band
who has been around as long.
When we can relate to something we feel like it is our own...
"Welcome to the Jungle"
in it's own time a great song...
could I relate - NO...
"Black" from Ten
YES
You get my point ?



The word Vitalogy actually means
"the study of life"

That's what a lot of Pearl Jam's lyrics
are to us...
Stories- musical remembrances and hopes for life
as told by the band.
So what are we going to dissect today?
O.K. class today let's turn to page 9 in Vitalogy

Read along
"Health and Happiness"

"It has been fully tested and proven that children may be born
talented or imbecile, with cheerful disposition or gloomy ones,
with kindly natures or harsh and sour ones, according to the will
and wisdom of their parents.
Every one raising a family should read and carefully
study the article on page 19"
O.K. lets stop and see an actual bit of creativity at work...
This was an excerpt from the actual antique
Vitalogy book by E. Ruddock
 
The excerpt from the actual book says turn to page 19.
Take out your Pearl Jam booklet...

A photograph of a small girl sitting on a clowns lap
 and the above excerpt
were placed in the album booklet by Jeff...
Did anyone ever think to turn to page 19 in the booklet?
Did you just glance over it and not pay it a second look?
Well do it now...
Page 19 in the Pearl Jam booklet
top left begins
"No other one thing tends so strongly to bind and hold
the early affection of a married couple as the bringing
into the world of beautiful, healthy, intelligent, welcome children.
To bring into the world unwelcome children is one of the most
awful crimes of which the parents can be guilty. 
It brings a curse to the child, to the parents and to the world."

at the bottom of said page is a little
story of an unfortunate girl who had given birth
in a bathroom stall and thrown the baby in the trash.
Ed laments for the soul of the child and what
would drive a young woman to these measures
in such a horrible condition.
Now turn to page 14 and the lyrics for the song
"Whipping"
 Written on a copy of a petition
written on a copy of a petition to then president
Bill Clinton
asking for intervention
in the escalating violent tactics of Pro-Life activists.
Free speech I believe in but these activists are
obstructing freedoms of patients and doctors which are also
protected by law.
Coincidence? I think not.
Ed has been very vocal about his beliefs in
women's reproductive rights from the beginning.
Many a time did we see PRO-CHOICE
scrawled across his arm in black Sharpie
whenever he had the opportunity to be in the
media's eyes.
I also want to look at this sentence
a little closer

"It brings a curse to the child, to the parents and to the world"
The die-hard Pearl Jam fans
know that Ed has referred to the song
"Alive"
from Ten
as a story about
"The Curse"
I'd like to think he's re-enforcing the fact
that his parentage issues 
did indeed feel like a curse to him by including this passage?
It didn't just affect the person who carried the secret
but it drastically affected the child and the whole
world they all lived in.
This one simple thing.
????
These of course are my own thoughts.

Could all this be purely coincidental ?
Maybe -
but I like to think that Ed and Jeff are pretty meticulous
and a lot of thought is put into the artwork
for the albums.

What do you think?
 .

If you have any counter points or other thoughts
feel free to comment.
Please let's remember to keep it debate and be nice.
One always learns from looking at a subject from many points of view.

I hope this was an interesting look
into just a snippet of Vitalogy.

Thanks for stopping by!
Rock on...

George P.Wood and E.Ruddock-Vitalogy, Chicago , MA Donohue and Company 1904

Friday, August 9, 2013

Photo Friday.... Pearl Jam Wrigley Filed 2013

Friday's are going to be reserved 
for photos that tell a story...

I'm proud to have our first 
from
Ten Club member
Andrew Hess













 Andrew was lucky
enough to be in the "pit"
or general admission area
 at the Epic Pearl Jam Wrigley show
on July 19th.
Andrew snapped this when Ed hopped into the crowd during
Porch.

We haven't seen Ed do much crowd surfing in the last few years.
The early days of climbing like a jungle chimp over every and any
stage or building he came upon....
freaking out his bandmates who just hoped he wouldn't fall to his death...
Maybe that has been replaced with
"I do have kids now - 
BUT
I'm Eddie freakin' Vedder-
I'll just jump in instead of dive off the scaffolding"
The Wrigley show sold out in minutes and
was highly anticipated by fans
all over the world.
Despite the crazy weather - 
the appearance of the lightning bolt-
and an almost 2 hour delay...
the band played until 2 a.m. 
and delivered a set that more than made up for the wait.
Shortly after Andrew posted his pic 
it blew up on sharing sites with fans...
He had no idea until later in the week.
I contacted him to ask about using the picture because 
I wanted him to have credit for such a great 
split second shot.

A great memory from an amazing night.
 Thanks for sharing your moment with us! 

Andrew requests that if you'd like to use the photo 
to please contact him by e-mail-

andrew.j.hess@gmail.com

If you're a fan and have pics you'd like me to share or feature
feel free to contact me.
The music is also about the experience....


Come back tomorrow for our next delve into
Vitalogy....Have a great Friday and Rock on!

Monday, August 5, 2013

The Men in The Box....Alice was next....

After Soundgarden
my next peek into Seattle was
through Alice in Chains...
Again - MTV was what I had to rely on.
Pretty sure no one 
 was playing them on radio here...
so again-
Headbanger's Ball to the rescue...
which seems very funny now for some reason.
Same as Soundgarden...
Where do we put these guys?


Man in the Box-
I was blown away by the sound...
no one else like them around.
It just haunted you...and it was kind of groovy under all
that distortion in certain places...
Layne mimicking the guitar
his voice was just so unique for that time...
unforgettable,
and
unmistakeable.
Jerry complimented him so well-
for a long time I never even realized how much
of Jerry's voice was really on each track
they seemed like one..


Soon to follow -

Would? 
from the Singles soundtrack...
I was in love...

Alice was the "bar" band in the movie...

Then DIRT came out ...
Would? Angry Chair , Them Bones, Rooster, Down in a Hole...
This album felt a bit moodier to me
and
it also showed off a bit more of their musical range...
they slowed down some - 
but then packed the punch when you were least expecting it.

I won't delve in to every album
because this was just the beginning for me...

This footage is from Seattle favorite
The Off Ramp Cafe
1990
some of the best Alice you've never heard.
Facelift music...
none of the post "grunge" explosion MTV stuff
Again - I love this kind of live footage
where the crowd is on fire
and you get that small venue feel...
You'll always find those vids of MTV appearances, etc.
We'll save that stuff for later.
Pure raw original Alice here...

This was when you could see two
great bands for like $8!

Roughly 6 months after this show
some friends in a band called Mookie Blaylock
opened for them in the same venue...
The rest is history.
If you don't know who Mookie Blaylock is
I'll school you soon.

Rock on guys...




Sunday, August 4, 2013

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

HeyFoXYmopHANdlemama...

Just
some Housekeeping here...



You can follow me with Bloglovin
over there on the sidebar !

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Vitalogy and Self Pollution......

We hinted at
where the whole
"Self Pollution" thing came from
earlier in the week...

Jan. 8,1995 - "Self Pollution Radio" was broadcast
by Eddie Vedder and various friends
over the airwaves of participating  stations 
from a small home in Seattle...
(Mad Season,Soundgarden,Mudhoney - Christ Novoselic, a tape submitted by
Dave Grohl of his new project  the Foo Fighters , Mike Watt, members of The Gits and more)
We will go deeper into the broadcast at a later date.

Where did the term come from?

A little big book that made it's way into the hands of
Eddie Vedder called
Vitalogy

Any good self respecting Pearl Jam
fan knows about Vitalogy.
If you don't and you're new to Pearl Jam...
Here's a little insight...
Pearl Jam's 3rd album was made to look like
a copy of this book , contained reproduced inserts, and was basically
an inspiration for the album.

 
The book was published in 1889
in Chicago, Illinois.
Pertinent? Maybe - Ed grew up in a town near Chicago
called Evanston...
How he got his copy I have no idea.
It is an interesting read - that- I will admit.
Something that caught my eye on this page
may be part of what caught Ed's too...
 I see several lines that pertain to songs on the album....
But the last line - 
if I was Ed - 
that would have been my "sign"...
Words of Pearl...

 How cool is that?!

Vitalogy
is a basically an 1800's manuscript for
Home, Health, and Happiness.
Filled with medical diagrams and imagery...
Opinions on how to be a better man, wife, girl and boy.
These were touted as fact.
Considering where we are now in 2013
 - very interesting to see...
how speculation and opinion can be fed to people
as serious facts they should abide by in life .

The contributors were doctors
 and people given to authoritative positions.
Probably one of the reasons Ed was hoping
 people would  look close enough at it  
and realize...
"Hey - this kind of ludicrous stuff still goes on today"
The media - our leaders - give us "facts"...
only to find out later it was simply opinion, 
an attempt to make money, 
a way to control people 
and keep us from forming our own opinions,etc. 
One or more of all the previous.
I'm going to explore the whole book with you every Saturday 
and we'll enjoy music..

O.K. enough right?!
WTF is Self Pollution? 
Well if you haven't figured it out yet...just sit and think about it.
I know Ed was probably trying to point out a double meaning
beyond the obvious.
Here are two great images from the book as to what
"Self Pollution" does to you in a short time...
 (notice this is an 1880's photograph)
(3 years later!)
Poor Mr. Burton - on his way to
an asylum for have indulged one too many times...
(notice that obvious hand done re-touching)
Another example of readers
 - the general public- 
being manipulated by the media.
They've been doing it to everyone for hundreds of years
and it still goes on today.
This book is a great historical document that proves it.
I know that knowledge always changes
 -  but come on - 
these guys purposefully
re-touched these photos to push THEIR point.
No way can we say -
"well they just thought they knew what was right for the time."
That photo has blatant painting over it - something
the average American would not have known at that time.
We'll look at this craziness every week...
I have to close with some more radio!
This is the nice mash up they made for PJ20
of original practice and live footage along with the air date audio...
 Rock on....