Era of the moment: 1993-1994

[liebzz]

Got Hard To Imagine in 2008. Wash too that year. And I think I'm one of the few people out there who wasn't completely disappointed in the shows they saw that tour.

I went to the two MSG shows that year and was exceptionally happy with the quality of those shows.

[EJ]

Got Hard To Imagine in 2008. Wash too that year. And I think I'm one of the few people out there who wasn't completely disappointed in the shows they saw that tour.

Nah, I really enjoyed both MSG shows that year. I loved that they brought back Who You Are and WMA on this tour. They were both highlights of the shows I saw.

Back on topic -

I was pretty into Ten the time Vs was released. But, PJ wasn't my favorite band yet. I was still kind of phasing out of my interest in hip-hop.

But, after buying and listening to the album on the first day it sold, they quickly became my favorite band. The juxtaposition of songs like Animal and Daughter really floored me. Animal - with its driving riff and masculine Vedder grunting right next to the delicate and tuneful ballad of Daughter.

Daughter became my instant favorite song off the album - I couldn't believe that this guy with the huge soaring vocals could attempt and yet deftly pull off such a delicate topic so well. It was songs like this in the early days of this band, that really made me dive deeper into and appreciate lyrics. That might have been the biggest reward I've gained from listening to early Pearl Jam.

Vs remained my favorite album for several years. I think Yield eventually passed it sometime in 1998, and then it became a neck-neck race between Yield & Vitalogy.

But, I will always have big memories from this time period. In fact, I'm pretty confident that Vs. was the first album I ever bought on the day it was sold.

[liebzz]

Vitalogy was mine. This was such a great era.

Aside from the albums, which are both monstrously amazing, my strongest memory of this time period was April 3, 1994. Atlanta show on the radio. Me huddled against my boombox with a blank tape recording and a J card in my hand feverishly writing down the songs as they started and obsessively watching the tape to make sure it did not stop recording. It was on Z100 which would only broadcast the show through Blood. I did not hear any more of the show until I managed to obsessively seek out the 3 disc Dissident import single, which took months and months of going to Media Play and The Wall to find that elusive Disc 2.

This is what it was like to be a music fan in 1994. I miss this.

[EJ]

Vitalogy was mine. This was such a great era.

Aside from the albums, which are both monstrously amazing, my strongest memory of this time period was April 3, 1994. Atlanta show on the radio. Me huddled against my boombox with a blank tape recording and a J card in my hand feverishly writing down the songs as they started and obsessively watching the tape to make sure it did not stop recording. It was on Z100 which would only broadcast the show through Blood. I did not hear any more of the show until I managed to obsessively seek out the 3 disc Dissident import single, which took months and months of going to Media Play and The Wall to find that elusive Disc 2.

This is what it was like to be a music fan in 1994. I miss this.

Nice. And, its also funny to remember that Z100 used to be a really good rock station. How times have changed...

[nightmareblack0206]

Remember krock? How about Q104.3. (NYarea)

[EJ]

Remember krock? How about Q104.3. (NYarea)

KRock was 92.3, I believe. Great station.

WDRE 92.7 was another great alt station in the 90s. Actually, that was the one I listened to the most living in CT. The signal was just strong enough to get across the Long Island Sound.

[stip]

Remember krock? How about Q104.3. (NYarea)

i listened to the radio quite a bit in high school. what the hell happened to the NY area?

[stip]

Vitalogy was mine. This was such a great era.

Aside from the albums, which are both monstrously amazing, my strongest memory of this time period was April 3, 1994. Atlanta show on the radio. Me huddled against my boombox with a blank tape recording and a J card in my hand feverishly writing down the songs as they started and obsessively watching the tape to make sure it did not stop recording. It was on Z100 which would only broadcast the show through Blood. I did not hear any more of the show until I managed to obsessively seek out the 3 disc Dissident import single, which took months and months of going to Media Play and The Wall to find that elusive Disc 2.

This is what it was like to be a music fan in 1994. I miss this.

I got the whole show. That was an amazing night. I had never really gotten to hear PJ live outside of the unplugged and SNL style spots, so this was like a gift from the gods.

[warehouse]

so am i the only one who hear the rumor that vitalogy was supposed to be a rock opera? anyone? beuller?

[stonefury]

Vs is what officially hooked me on the band, and to this day I still consider my favorite album of all time. The album that got me into music. Up until Vs, I just knew Pearl Jam as that band with the creepy looking dude singing about the kid blowing himself up in class. I didn't pay much attention to anything else they put out. I wasn't into music beyond standard popular radio. My friend in grade school was so excited for the release of Vs and would repeatedly talk about it. When it was finally released, he begged me to listen to it because it would change my view on music. He played a couple of songs for me (Go and Daughter, I recall), and I was immediately hooked. I went to the mall the Friday after it was released, bought it (along with Red Hot Chili Peppers - What Hits? and Wreckx n Effecx - Rump Shaker), and voraciously listened to it on repeat. The next week, I bought Ten and shortly thereafter Temple of the Dog. I could not get enough. The sun rose and set with the band, and it was my gateway into music in general. So it holds a special place in my heart and always will.

I can't describe the level of excitement I had for Vitalogy, pre-release. When it finally arrived, it was actually a major disappointment for me. I liked a handful of songs (Not For You, Tremor Christ, Corduroy, and Immortality were the only four I liked my first few listens), but there was so much that I could not stand. Coming from liking just about every song on Vs, it was a huge let down. Eventually I would grow to like a solid 3/4 of the album, but I just could never get over the hump. It is still my least favorite of their 1990's albums by a pretty wide margin. Every other album spoke to me upon my first listen.

I just wish I was into live music back in this era. I would give a limb to have seen the band during this time. My first PJ show was 1998, which was a great tour but not the same. And I only made it to the Phoenix show, which I think everyone can agree had pretty much the lamest setlist of the entire tour.

[nightmareblack0206]

Vitalogy was somewhat a disappointment to a lot of PJ fans when it was initially released. Pretty much the entire album was on the radio months prior. So after hearing most album 50 times a day then getting the album and all that was new to hear were the filler tracks ruined the whole experience. As for me? I was hooked. Till this day its difficult for me to play Nothingman due to some difficult memories of adolescence.

[nyquillyn]

Vitalogy was somewhat a disappointment to a lot of PJ fans when it was initially released.

I don't remember this at all. There seemed to be nothing but love for it. Even if you had heard all the songs, the packaging alone made it worth the purchase.

[dimejinky99]

That Atlanta 94 broadcast did more for Pj than any other single thing in their entire history.
In a way it's a shame they were too busy being angry about everything to realise it and make the most of it.

[warehouse]

That Atlanta 94 broadcast did more for Pj than any other single thing in their entire history.
In a way it's a shame they were too busy being angry about everything to realise it and make the most of it.

what do u mean "make the most of it"? release it as a live album?

[Norah]

Got Hard To Imagine in 2008. Wash too that year. And I think I'm one of the few people out there who wasn't completely disappointed in the shows they saw that tour.

I went to the two MSG shows that year and was exceptionally happy with the quality of those shows.

Yeah I loved the Mansfield shows that year. Maybe they got better as the tour went on?

[Norah]

Remember krock? How about Q104.3. (NYarea)

i listened to the radio quite a bit in high school. what the hell happened to the NY area?

It's not what happened to NY it's what happened to music radio. The answer is Bill Clinton killed it with the telecommunications act of 1996.

[Strat]

My mother took me to the Midnight sale. My best buddies mother took him. We both bought the cassette and cd as i did not have a cd player in the car at the time and did not want to wait to get home to hear it. I brought my cd player and the album to school the next day. 7th grade. I would leave class on occasion to go the bathroom and listen. What a loser. Great era though.

[nyquillyn]

Damn. I'm old.

[VinylGuy]

Vitalogy was somewhat a disappointment to a lot of PJ fans when it was initially released.

I don't remember this at all. There seemed to be nothing but love for it. Even if you had heard all the songs, the packaging alone made it worth the purchase.

yeah i remember that...most of my friends who listen to the record, didnt quite care about the punk approach they had.

and also, betterman and nothingman.

[liebzz]

Remember krock? How about Q104.3. (NYarea)

i listened to the radio quite a bit in high school. what the hell happened to the NY area?

We had WXRP 101.9 for a while. They did some cool stuff, including broadcasting a Ben Harper and Relentless7 concert before they even released their album, but it died out quick. Now we only really have 104.3 that plays some classic rock (though by classic they have managed to mostly define as 1975-1982) and CBS 101.1, which is starting to modernize its playlist some. Otherwise, the closest you can get is pop raio and fun./Lumineers/Mumford & Sons on repeat.