Pearl Jam – “Backspacer”

October 5, 2009 • By Graham Issacs

backspacer-cover1

Pearl Jam
“Backspacer”
Monkeywrench

If I were Eddie Vedder would you like me any better:
10 reasons you don’t like Backspacer

10. Is not “Ten,” you are not fourteen years old.
9. Have never actually enjoyed the music of Pearl Jam, only discussing their continuing relevance or lack thereof with each consecutive release.
8. Haven’t heard it; too busy staring at the cover to Contra. Who is that girl? What is she thinking about?
7. As David Emanuel Duet, former singer of Cat Butt, you feel Pearl Jam stole the fame that is rightfully yours.
6. Existence of Pearl Jam an irritation to your music blog and its set regimen of stories about Kanye West, Grizzly Bear, Girls and the new Thom Yorke project.
5. As writer for anti “mainstream indie” blog you fear that admitting a love of Pearl Jam will ruin credibility.
4. Prefer Stone Temple Pilot’s general oeuvre.
3. Don’t like the music that much.
2. Too many of their fast rockers/slow ballads, not enough of their slow ballads/fast rockers. They need to grow up and stop living in the past/get that old energy back and stop being such pussies.
1. Target? Really? Really?

That said, is it good? Its pretty good. If you haven’t heard it and made up your mind by now you probably don’t care that much, but whatever. Backspacer isn’t a career-defining masterpiece, and in some ways that’s its own disappointment; the boys in PJ seem to be energized and actually giving a shit about whether people give a shit about them again so it’d be great if they made something spectacular. They didn’t, but it’s solid; there are a few clunkers but just as many songs that grow with repeated listens. “The Fixer” is probably their best single of the ‘00s and they still sound like themselves. If you never liked them, you won’t miraculously change your mind, but if you have, you’ll find stuff to enjoy here. Plus, this one doesn’t have an avocado on the cover.

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31 Responses to “ Pearl Jam – “Backspacer” ”


  • Carlos Sierra -- Oct 5th, 2009 at 11:14 pm

    Buddyhead has never been the “we-love-pearl-jam” kinda place but to be honest, this album is pretty good.

    The last PJ album that I really loved was VS (1993) but this one -far from being their best record- IS a cool album, good tunes, great time. I really liked it.

  • PantherInCrime -- Oct 6th, 2009 at 7:12 am

    I back Yield as their best

  • mic -- Oct 6th, 2009 at 9:48 am

    This album should die in a fire. BARF.

  • derf -- Oct 6th, 2009 at 1:51 pm

    I saw the target commercial and instantly thought lame vh1 grandpa rock. After a few listens to the single, I have to admit that it is actually pretty damn good.

  • XIAN -- Oct 6th, 2009 at 2:19 pm

    the only thing left that i still like about eddie is his wife

  • Brandon -- Oct 6th, 2009 at 2:45 pm

    Listened to the first track and upon the first verse I immediately thought of “No Natural Law” by The Catheters off of Howling… it Grows and Grows!!!

    What the fuck…

  • smallpoxchampion -- Oct 6th, 2009 at 5:54 pm

    I like it!

  • sem -- Oct 6th, 2009 at 7:18 pm

    They only did the Target bullshit in America. You know, so their aging fan base could pick up the album at the same time as buying diapers for their kids. If it had been Best Buy they legally would not be able to sell the record on their own website. Yah, fact. BB doesn’t let unique products be sold anywhere else.

    The rest of the world was able to choose how and where to purchase this credible record or just go to an independent retailer like Easy Street Records.

    Ten is probably their weakest record. Anyone stuck in the 90s should grow up.

  • Jay -- Oct 6th, 2009 at 7:21 pm

    Pearl Jam will never be as relevant as they once were, but they’re still doing what they do while maintaining their credibility and I can’t knock that.

    Plus, if you see them live you’re pretty much guaranteed a stellar opening act, ie. Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, Ted Leo, Sleater Kinney(RIP), Buzzcocks, Iggy Pop.

  • The Warchild Collective -- Oct 7th, 2009 at 6:03 am

    still boring, still uninspiring still overrated still pearl jam. no problems with the lads and what they are all about. god i will never understand why boring bands like soundgarden pearl jam and that band that use to be alice in chains were popular. i realize in their prime they wrote music that i would sometimes find myself not turning the dial but at the same time i fuckin despised this bullshit when it was out. look, this isnt about their music but it really bummed me out when they were wearing pajamas on stage with cargo shorts and rasta hats. like a bunch of fuckin circus clowns. i guess if i was tripping my tits off i would be wearing the same shit as well. i’m honestly just posting to say again none and i mean none of these 90’s acts meant more, or said more, or did more than FUGAZI. The other only band that ever mattered. alright lads, suck a dick.

  • The Warchild Collective -- Oct 7th, 2009 at 7:17 am

    one more thing. i dont buy cd’s anymore only records and i dont download songs either cuz i retarded and i just burn cd’s to my computer and then put them on my small r2d2 unit and listen when running or driving. while the artwork on a bands album is not the most important thing it can be a turn off in many ways to see shitty artwork on the cover of a record. and pearl jam has by far some of the worst covers ever. seriously look at this fuckin cover, wtf? i love radiohead and admit freely that they have terrible covers as well except in rainbows which i thought was better than their normal crappy sketches they throw on records. i like modern art and doodles and shit but radiohead’s album’s are TERROBO!

  • The Warchild Collective -- Oct 7th, 2009 at 7:29 am

    i thought this was one of those korn records with the shitty comic book art.

  • dharma69 -- Oct 7th, 2009 at 3:18 pm

    Love Pearl Jam. Love their passion to still move within the sound. Love their battle to still matter to themselves. Love the tag team of McCready/Gossard who are surely underrated masters of riff & rhythm. Love the lightness of this album compared to the societal ball and chain of the last. And I hate avocados.

  • Caligula -- Oct 7th, 2009 at 5:47 pm

    Dude, “The Fixer” is pretty fucking gay, and not like “that’s kinda lame” gay but full on “that dude is wearing banana republic daisy dukes, gettin’ wild on amyl nitrate and punching “Zac Effron Nudes” into google images” gay. If that’s the best track on the album, logic dictates, that album will give you a sore sphincter.

    Corporate rock still sucks y’all.

  • rodoris -- Oct 8th, 2009 at 10:56 am

    “Is not “Ten” you are not 14 years old.”
    amen

  • smallpoxchampion -- Oct 8th, 2009 at 3:49 pm

    Interesting, how do you consider Pearl Jam corporate rock when they put records out on their own label?

  • The Warchild Collective -- Oct 9th, 2009 at 7:25 am

    i know you were not responding to me and i dont care if they are corporate rock or non profit rock, the bottom line is they are boring me to death for over 15 years rock. love your screen name though, smallpoxchampion is a top jam. i wish fugazi would get back together and have pearl jam open for them.

  • The Warchild Collective -- Oct 9th, 2009 at 7:26 am

    actually i dont want pearl jam opening, i dont want any bands.

  • surforia -- Oct 9th, 2009 at 8:03 am

    Got Some is a cool song.

  • From Space -- Oct 10th, 2009 at 1:34 pm

    “Eddie Vedder” was a great song off of a really solid post-grunge album that was largely overlooked for some reason. I caught the reference. Anyway personally I’m glad Pearl Jam is still together and making music. They’re not my favorite, but I think it’s worse to just give up because you feel “too old”.

  • If Boners Could Kill... -- Oct 13th, 2009 at 11:03 am

    PJ are good guys, for sure, but is it me, or is there hardly ever any actual music on a Pearl Jam record? I keep wondering when they’ll discover a little thing called “melody.” I never got where they were coming from, but good for them for still giving a shit.

  • jimbo jones -- Oct 16th, 2009 at 10:02 am

    im glad they still play too. i must i havent loved a record of theirs since no code but i still love the fact they play by their own rules and theyre old. they clearly love a bit of what fugazi was trying to say and a bit of neil young was trying to do. which is? stay true to yourself no matter what the fuck the man or the so-called fans say. so what if they dont write great melodies anymore. as long as they think they do, which means i like them, which means i like mediocre melodies lol better than good ones played by shitty aor/emo bands.

  • Chris -- Oct 17th, 2009 at 10:20 pm

    Pearl Jam is still the best live band in rock. Although their eponymous Avocado album was very solid, Backspacer is almost certainly the group’s strongest overall effort since Yield in ‘98. The simple and clean 3.5 minute songs off of the new record will translate beautifully into blistering 8 minute songs when performed live.

    The value of a rock band should be judged almost solely on how they perform on stage. Pearl Jam, love them or hate them, are the best. Plain and simple.

  • Someone -- Oct 23rd, 2009 at 1:50 am

    I’m not gonna hold Target against Pearl Jam. Sony kept that band in a sheep-pen for over ten years. Sony is a much bigger company then Target.

    My favorite tracks are “Got Some,” “The Fixer,” and “Amongst the Waves.” Though I confess I also love “Just Breathe” and “The End.” PJ’s secret strength has always been it’s ballads. Eddie Vedder can croon like an angst-riddled, heavy-smoking Sinatra when he decides he wants to.

  • Someone -- Oct 23rd, 2009 at 1:59 am

    Also, for a brief moment, Paramore was NOT on the top of the Rock Charts. My Least Favorite Band Ever dethroned. By PEARL JAM.

    That’s close to karmic nirvana.

  • Hey! -- Oct 23rd, 2009 at 2:01 am

    Avocados are delicious!

  • Ruhtard -- Oct 27th, 2009 at 1:58 pm

    A retard could have written a better album review than that. Why do people read this bullshit site again? Isn’t there actual rock journalism out there you would rather consume? Buddyhead suh-uh-uh=ucks.

  • Hamburger Paws -- Nov 2nd, 2009 at 3:20 pm

    Never got the whole PJ thing, although I saw them open for Nirvana and RHCP in 91 and they owned. Never bought an album, but this new one is pretty good. And Fugazi? Really? Is it 1990 already? I loved the first few albums, but c’mon. Make a fucking T-shirt already. wahhhh! Corporate blah blah, fuck you.

  • mike -- Nov 2nd, 2009 at 4:53 pm

    Chris-

    You sound like Patrick Bateman with that shit. Knock it off.

  • gideon -- Nov 11th, 2009 at 5:55 pm

    pearl jam.
    I remember they were on the radio in the mid-nineties; maybe they’ve been on the whole time. I don’t know any of the albums and am, in particular, confused there’s even a review here. It’s one thing to say you liked guns ‘n’ roses or nirvana but this is a whole other ball-game.

  • shartybgood -- Jan 7th, 2010 at 4:55 pm

    Pearl Jam: saw them live two years ago. Washing dishes is more exciting then Eddie’s preaching and “whoa-hooooo” vocals

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