VinylGuy wrote:Noaheb wrote:joostone wrote:Ahhh 1997..the year of the horse.....
and the year I discovered PJ...I was 13 years old at that time. And never in my life art had impacted me bigger than that moment I first heard 'TEN'. The following months I would buy all their records....'No Code' was their newest born at that time. And to this day I consider 'No Code' a masterpiece. A couple of months later 'Yield' was announced. The thrill to hear GTF on the radio for the first time..days later I would buy the single on the day of it's release. 'Pilate' and 'Leatherman' as b-sides. I must have listened to that single non-stop for over a month.
I would buy my Pearl Jam record on a release day on februari 3rd 1998.
The rest of the year I would discovering PJ websites. I was anticipating tour rumours...a EU tour was likely but somehow never happened.
Single Video Theory was broadcasted on tv later that year...I remember watching that a dozen time.
LO2L was released...
I discovered old bootlegs of performances through a friend...
ahhh..memories. This was the era where I started to love the band after being in love for the first couple of months.
Fivehorizons.com
That web page was a great source of information...i didnt have any and, all of a sudden i have a whole page with pics, info about the records, Fucking setlists!!....Amazing web page.
Five Horizons enhanced my whole experience. I poured over old setlists and loved watching them come in the next day during the 1998 tour. I rarely posted on MFC (the forum), but I loved reading everyone’s thoughts.
I got my first 2 bootlegs in 1997. No Fuckin’ Messiah II and I paid 50.00 for the 10/1/96 – Buffalo show which I wore out. It was the first time I noticed that different drummers effect the sound of the music (Jack vs. Dave). I was so new to thinking about rock music in the live setting and variations during concerts was a huge deal. The Save it For Later tag and the Blood>Fame>Heaven blew my mind. I played that bootleg for everyone that came near my dorm room and they all loved it. Everyone I knew had at least been a Pearl Jam fan and my new obsession with them helped get a couple people back into them. I met my best friend because of that bootleg and we ended up seeing 12 shows together over the 98/00/03 tours.
During this time I searched and scavenged to find all of the singles I could. I remember the Go single with Alone was a special find. I appreciated the artwork, both on the covers and the discs themselves. Yield’s Given to Fly and Faithful cd singles were a cherished commodity. I love that live Brain of J from Australia.
In the middle of this obsession, which was completely justified, you start to feel like others wonder what your problem is. Why are you listening to Let Me Sleep and Bee Girl so damn much? Yeah, Stephen we’ve heard State of Love and Trust live. Don’t you already own the album, why are you buying that single song? Now no one asked me these questions buy I was paranoid enough to think they wanted to.
I was ringing bells for the Salvation Army in Dallas over the Christmas break in 1997. There were about 20 of us from my college that did it. You ring from 8:00 in the morning until 8:00 at night and then you get up and do it again for 7 days straight. All you hear that is fucking bell ringing in your sleep and you start to not like human beings. Anyway we are all on this big van driving back to the motel we are staying in and Given to Fly is about to be previewed on the radio. The one friend I had there was driving the van and he made everyone shut up and 15 of us listened to in silence for the duration of the song. Country fans, Nirvana fans and people that didn’t like music all had a special moment listening. Like a college basketball team you route for, it feels like we all have a part in the team and I was filled with pride that Pearl Jam could produce such a universal perfect piece of music.
From 97-98 I was the perfect age and they were the perfect band.
