Does Eddie Vedder Even Want Republican Fans?
If I’m ever stranded on a desert island with a solar-powered iPod HiFi, and I was allowed to have just one album, I would probably choose Pearl Jam’s "Ten".
In my opinion, “Ten” is the perfect album. When it first came out, the primal power of its music and the raw, beautiful sincerity of Eddie’s lyrics transformed me every time I listened to it. And I listened to it a LOT.
I was a Mother Love Bone fan before there was a Pearl Jam. Sometime after the demon Heroin took Andrew Wood, and Stone and Jeff's demo tape found Eddie surfing on some windswept California beach, I discovered Pearl Jam.
I bought their debut CD before their legendary CD release party at the Off-Ramp (which I unfortunately missed). And I listened. And I listened. And I listened.
I saw them live several times. What a show! Eddie’s a whirlwind onstage, barely containing his energy. The freewheeling improvisations of Jeff, Stone and Mike are unbelievable.
But then something happened.
Eddie drove me away.
You see, I’m a Republican. I voted for George W. Bush. Twice. I voted for W because I preferred him over Al Gore and John Kerry. I don’t agree with everything the President does. But I voted for him.
And Eddie doesn’t like George.
Which is fine. That’s his right.
Except Eddie’s hatred and anger seems to extend to anybody who voted for Bush or anybody who’s a Republican.
That includes me.
It would be different if Pearl Jam's anti-Bush opinions were expressed in a thoughtful manner that was inclusive of Republican fans. But it's not. It's expressed in the same way Eddie smashed a George Bush mask on stage in 2003 - all rage and no tolerance for differing opinions.
I can’t listen to Pearl Jam any more. Their albums have all become anti-Bush screeds.
But we’ll always have “Ten”.
posted by The Phantom Republican @ 9:10 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Eddie Vedder is a closet republican. He axed the drummer that was key to putting the drive into the music that the first 3 albums exemplified. Dave A's musical rhythmic orchestral talent combined with his energy and verve was in large part the wave that Eddie rode on. Dave A. had an innate position of power simply because he was the driving musical force of the band. Eddie, like any good republican, sought solitary control for himself only. He was willing to sacrifice the natural creative possibilities of the band as a whole in favor of total control for himself. Classic republicanism: If the people in power take measures to insure their power by extending their expanding their wealth and parameter of control at the sacrifice of the benefit of the people as a whole, then their actions are justified. Thus, we have diluted, tamped down, uninspiring offerings at the behest of Eddie and his surf buddy who is the lame excuse for a drummer in the band now.
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