Red Mosquito

How are PJ perceived by teenagers nowadays?

When I was in in my mid teens (89-93) there were the bands that you adopted and obsessed about from earlier eras. For me it was Led Zep, Dylan and Iron Maiden but other mates adored/obsessed over Doors, Pistols, Hendrix, Velvets, Sabbath, Cohen, Joplin, ACDC, Oils, Floyd etc. My brother-in-law who is only about 8 years younger was always borrowing STP, Dino Jr, Kyuss etc while he was in high school and I was wondering if now PJ are adopted in a similar way.

Where's Tig?

I was born in 1987.

Virtually no one has even heard of Pearl Jam.

For a different perspective: I'm currently teaching English in Moscow to kids/teenagers. Russia is a strange barometer for general taste/consensus, but the teenagers here barely know of Pearl Jam. Green Day and Nickelback are very popular, and the average 'rock' fan will know a couple of Nirvana and Chili Peppers songs.

Also, I've never heard Pearl Jam on a classic rock radio station here, but I have heard Puddle of Mudd. Tragic.

when I mention pearl jam in my classes (these are college kids so slightly older) they recognize the name but rarely exhibit any real familiarity.

I feel like it must be like a lesser version of how teenagers saw the Grateful Dead in their last years. The average kid might have known "Touch of Grey" (emphasis on might), and knew that a lot of people liked their stuff and their shows, but were otherwise oblivious. The handful of kids that joined in were serious about it. (I sat with some teenage-ish folks at Toronto 2011, and they were pretty serious, to a point that surprised me a bit.)

Or maybe Widespread. I'm a music geek, I know who they are, I know a lot of people like them, their shows seem to consistently sell out, but I couldn't name one of their songs, and have no interest in seeing them live.

I wouldn't be surprised if more teenagers have purchased Nirvana t-shirts in the last year than Pearl Jam. (I feel like Nirvana is to this generation what Joy Division was to mine in the early-90s.)

Kid's born in 1990 are in their 20s. What do they know about teens today?

All of my relatives and friends who are younger than me seem to be living in some sort of alternate reality.

Modern songwriting sounds good to them, old music is "boring".

"Derivative" is the new "Creative".

My cousin was born in 1989 and she hold Pearl Jam in high regard, and I have pretty much 0 musical influence over her (or at least I didn't when she got into 90s rock). She posts Corduroy lyrics to Facebook frequently.

Someone born in 1989 is now entering their mid-20s. Not relevant.

Hey Jorge.

theplatypus wrote:Someone born in 1989 is now entering their mid-20s. Not relevant.

Let's make it a loose post 1985. Or rephrased as some one whose music taste developed post 2000.

LetMeSleep wrote:

theplatypus wrote:Someone born in 1989 is now entering their mid-20s. Not relevant.

Let's make it a loose post 1985. Or rephrased as some one whose music taste developed post 2000.

Lots of posters here are born post 1985.

cutuphalfdead wrote:

LetMeSleep wrote:

theplatypus wrote:Someone born in 1989 is now entering their mid-20s. Not relevant.

Let's make it a loose post 1985. Or rephrased as some one whose music taste developed post 2000.

Lots of posters here are born post 1985.

wtf

knee tunes wrote:

cutuphalfdead wrote:

LetMeSleep wrote:

theplatypus wrote:Someone born in 1989 is now entering their mid-20s. Not relevant.

Let's make it a loose post 1985. Or rephrased as some one whose music taste developed post 2000.

Lots of posters here are born post 1985.

wtf

Jorge, for one.

cutuphalfdead wrote:

LetMeSleep wrote:

theplatypus wrote:Someone born in 1989 is now entering their mid-20s. Not relevant.

Let's make it a loose post 1985. Or rephrased as some one whose music taste developed post 2000.

Lots of posters here are born post 1985.

Okay. Of the many posters here born post 1985 and if you discovered PJ in your teens, how was PJ and your taste perceived by your peers? That could be in 2000 or 2009.

And was your first toe in the water their latest release (whichever time period) or did you discover one of the 'classics'?

83' so this may be irrelevant but even as early as 94-95 I only knew one other Pearl Jam fan. I met a second one who was a bit older than me in 2000. General consensus in my high school years 98-02 was that "Pearl Jam sucks", "they sang that Jeremy song right? Yeah that song is ok", "OMG I love Last Kiss". Saw a guy wearing a No Code shirt once in the cafeteria and said "No Code is awesome". He replied "Nah it fucking sucks".

Born in '86. Got into the band in 2000/2001. Most of my peers just knew a few radio tunes, but not many did. I get judged a bit still for liking the band by my peers, but I think true music fans respect the band and know more than just the Ten hits.

I would think if a kid was really into music they would dive in a sample all the different eras and scenes and eventually hit Seattle. It's so easy now-a-days you can get your hands on any bands entire discography in 10 minutes. It used to be work. If music is just background noise then I doubt PJ would stand out.

I've made a lot of mix CD's for friends over the years and it seems like most people are struck by how earnest and diverse the band is. One friend, who is a music fan, said it best, "these guys are so much better than their stereotype, like night and day better."