Pearl Jam Give "Just Breathe" a Man's Perspective
There are a lot of songs out there about breathing, especially country ones. Faith Hill's "Breathe," Taylor Swift's "Breathe," even Chris Cagle's "I Breathe In, I Breathe Out." So when someone played this new song, "Just Breathe," for me, I thought maybe it was some new country artist trying to copy Hill and Swift and give the "breathe" concept a man's perspective. It starts with some nice guitar picking, there's a sweet cadence to the melody and the vocals kind of have that pleading desperation sound. I like it. Well, I did like it. Until I found out that it was A PEARL JAM SONG. Pearl Jam, of the screaming grungy alt-rock fame. Not really my thing as a hardcore country fan. But since my gut reaction to this song was a good one, I think I'd better add it to my one-off playlist and keep it handy in case anyone ever accuses me of having a one-track mind.
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Michael says:
After reading some of your blogs, let me tell you, the last thing you’ll ever be accused of is being a hardcore country fan. Actually, you seem to know very little about it.
Patrick says:
I agree Michael. Faith Hill, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney and Toby Kieth are not “country”. They are pop music with twang and a southern accent. Real country music are bands like The Old 97’s, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon and Shooter Jennings. The list goes on. It’s sad to me that real country music is now relegated to the genre of “alt country” because of teeny boppers and soccer moms. Also Allison, who are you to say you liked the song until you found it was by Pearl Jam. Suddenly you don’t like it then? Isnt that a bit, I don’t know, hypocritical?
Bee Rose says:
Yea, you’re more like a hard core WWE style country music fan.
Stevo says:
You change your mind on a song because of the band?!?! Pearl Jam have a range of ballads. If you’re into Just Breathe - check out pearl jam’s Drifting, Thin Air, The End, Thumbing my Way, All or None among others. They won’t disappoint…
eyejacker says:
Grunge is a state of mind/being, not a type of music.
If you looked into it a little more, you’d find out that bands like Pearl Jam are influenced by many musical directions. It’s not all about “alt-rock fame”…
Especially by a band that just put out a self released record, avoiding large music industry corporations, and a band that fought for the fans’ rights (even yours) against Ticketmaster for so many years.
Since when do “breathing” songs fall into the category “especially country” for you to even blog about them and compare them.
Your post was a waste of time, and even more so was mine.
Goodbye.
A hardcore Pearl Jam fan…
hotelmotel says:
I can’t imagine someone who wants to be taken seriously saying something such as, “I liked this song. But then I found out it was by Pearl Jam, so now I don’t like it.” That sounds like something your average 13 year old has already grown out of.
OhSusannah says:
I usually enjoy reading your blogs! I do have to say that I’ve heard many country artists say categorically that good music is good music,it knows no bounds. Or genres. I grew up listening to very regular pop,radio-friendly music. It was only in my mid-twenties I kind of turned to country music as an alternative to a lot of genre-specific music coming into its own in the ’80’s and ’90’s.Even grunge, which was never a favorite of mine. I think as a reviewer or a blogger one should be open to new experiences in all types of music, not just country. There is now a ton of musical variety thanks to the Net. Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder are probably one of the best bands ever put together. They invented a genre of their own- grunge- so they do deserve some respect at least for that!
Plaid Sweats says:
“The day Kurt Cobain died, we just held each other and cried, but you made me feel a whole lot better when you said……..thank god it wasn’t Eddie Vedder”
Patrick says:
I agree Stevo, I love Pearl Jam not just for there hits like Alive, Jeremy etc, but also for songs like Angel, Drifting (like you mentioned), Hard To Imagine, Parachutes. For this woman who blogged on the topic to be shallow enough to stop liking something because of the band that played it is stupid. Also she hasn’t responded to anyone who has called her out on it. So Allison you are not only a hypocrite, but you also can’t face criticism apparently.
joe says:
pearl jam, is prolly one of the most prolific rock bands of my generation. the problem with this blog is that it is near-sighted, and narrow minded. if u like just breathe, then pearl jam has many songs that would qualify as just high quality rock and roll. the last thing i would say about pearl jam is that they are a screaming grunge band. also check out the into the wild soundtrack, the whole soundtrack is done by eddie vedder. what a great singer songwriter. just pure talent.
Pezz says:
Alison, I’ve got a feeling there will be a day when you look back and say to yourself, ‘what was I thinking?’ Pearl Jam is a treasure trove of musical prowess.
Me says:
Alison, grow up. As many others have said, good music is good music, pure and simple. And Pearl Jam is not good music, it is GREAT music.
DarthSpacegrass says:
I suggest some people forego a night of line dancing and pick up the Into the Wild soundtrack.
Patrick says:
Allison,
What’s the point in your blog if you don’t respond to anything your readers have said? Are you embarrassed because the article was terrible and we are right? At least try and defend yourself.
michael says:
wwe country music fans are all like this they love tracy adkins and toby keith . try MERLE HAGGARD or RYAN ADAMS. last year i saw EDDIE VEDDER at the RYMAN(HELLLOOO) PEARL JAM IS THE GREATEST BAND OF ALL TIME !!!!!
HJ says:
Obviously you are getting a lot of flack from PJ fans. Instead of contributing to the negative comments, I am suggesting you use this “one-off” song to expand your horizons and dig deeper into PJ’s music.. you will find they are not the “screaming grungy alt-rock fame” band you have so so so wrongly labeled them as (remember the commercially successful “Last Kiss” just to name one?).
I’m sorry, but you do come off as musically one-track minded. Even if you don’t enjoy their music, I hope you will come off with a better understanding of this fantastic band which will contribute more to the world than so many of your country idols.
mrocha says:
Pearl Jam lyrics’ are just incredible, I really have to stop and think about the lyrics in order to trully understand its meaning. Eddie Vedder is an amazing songwritter!!
Walt Ribeiro says:
Breathe is an awesome song. I’m a huge Pearl Jam fan, and actually just arranged “Even Flow” for orchestra = fororchestra.com/2010/09/25/for-orchestra-44-pearl-jam-even-flow/
Not that Pearl Jam is country, but glad they could bring you in to their varied style. Keep it up!
Country Heart says:
I am a huge country music fan. I love REAL country music but I also love alot of the newer “country” music too. However I gotta say that Pearl Jam are the one rock band that I like. They are really something else, they have so many songs that are different than just your typical rock song. Eddie Vedder the singer is probably one of the most talented singer songwriters alive today. Willie Nelson is one of my all-time favorites and he just got done recording a version of Pearl Jam’s Just Breathe. So with that I guess this blogger just got shit on.