Chuck Klosterman mentions Sweet Lew on Grantland today
Posted: Tue July 09, 2013 5:16 pm
This has to be a first, a non fan page, non Lost Dogs review, mention of Sweet Lew. This is from a Grantland article today by Chuck Klosterman who is known for tying random pop culture pieces together, and is an excerpt from his upcoming book about villians in the media. Kind of interesting analysis of PJ's relationship with their fans, but more worth mentioning for the weirdness of bringing up and discussing one of PJ's deepest cuts.
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/936 ... -kareem-oj
"There's a B-side from the rock band Pearl Jam titled "Sweet Lew," written by guitarist Jeff Ament (the "Lew" in its title refers to Jabbar's Christian name). If you listen to the song casually, you wouldn't immediately perceive it as a criticism of Abdul-Jabbar, as the lyrics are mostly complimentary and kind of juvenile ["Wilt the Stilt had nothing on you / Lambchops and Afro-do, Milwaukee Bucks and a barbecue"]. But Ament's interior motive for writing the song was based on a negative encounter he had with Abdul-Jabbar upon meeting him at a charity event. Ament (a lifelong hoop fan and a decent player as a high school student in Montana) was deeply hurt by Abdul-Jabbar's abject lack of interest toward his personal fandom. He didn't even pretend to care. This is telling. What made Pearl Jam dissimilar from their platinum-selling peers (most notably Nirvana) was that — despite being completely suffocated by a level of fame they did not anticipate — they still felt an obligation to appreciate the people who bought their records. Perhaps they did this naturally, or perhaps they did this as a social compulsion. Either way, Pearl Jam has always felt a responsibility to return whatever adoration was directed toward their existence. The motive of that return is beside the point, because the effort is what matters. It's certainly possible to dislike Pearl Jam's music, but you can't hate them as people, unless a) you believe they are somehow fake and b) you have some kind of teenage punk fixation on realness. To any normal person, a facsimile of gratitude is enough; that facsimile is an acceptable amount of emotional access. When Ament met Abdul-Jabbar, all Kareem needed to say was, "Thanks, man. That means a lot. Good luck with your life." He would not have needed to mean any of those words. Even if he'd been transparently acting, it would have been enough to satisfy a person who had pre-decided to love him. But Abdul-Jabbar can't do that. He can't ignore the stupidity of that false relationship, which is why a song like "Sweet Lew" exists. Kareem (being Kareem) loves jazz music — but even if he loved rock, he'd never relate to Pearl Jam (except for maybe "Corduroy"). He would prefer mid-period Rush: "I can't pretend a stranger is a long-awaited friend."
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/936 ... -kareem-oj
"There's a B-side from the rock band Pearl Jam titled "Sweet Lew," written by guitarist Jeff Ament (the "Lew" in its title refers to Jabbar's Christian name). If you listen to the song casually, you wouldn't immediately perceive it as a criticism of Abdul-Jabbar, as the lyrics are mostly complimentary and kind of juvenile ["Wilt the Stilt had nothing on you / Lambchops and Afro-do, Milwaukee Bucks and a barbecue"]. But Ament's interior motive for writing the song was based on a negative encounter he had with Abdul-Jabbar upon meeting him at a charity event. Ament (a lifelong hoop fan and a decent player as a high school student in Montana) was deeply hurt by Abdul-Jabbar's abject lack of interest toward his personal fandom. He didn't even pretend to care. This is telling. What made Pearl Jam dissimilar from their platinum-selling peers (most notably Nirvana) was that — despite being completely suffocated by a level of fame they did not anticipate — they still felt an obligation to appreciate the people who bought their records. Perhaps they did this naturally, or perhaps they did this as a social compulsion. Either way, Pearl Jam has always felt a responsibility to return whatever adoration was directed toward their existence. The motive of that return is beside the point, because the effort is what matters. It's certainly possible to dislike Pearl Jam's music, but you can't hate them as people, unless a) you believe they are somehow fake and b) you have some kind of teenage punk fixation on realness. To any normal person, a facsimile of gratitude is enough; that facsimile is an acceptable amount of emotional access. When Ament met Abdul-Jabbar, all Kareem needed to say was, "Thanks, man. That means a lot. Good luck with your life." He would not have needed to mean any of those words. Even if he'd been transparently acting, it would have been enough to satisfy a person who had pre-decided to love him. But Abdul-Jabbar can't do that. He can't ignore the stupidity of that false relationship, which is why a song like "Sweet Lew" exists. Kareem (being Kareem) loves jazz music — but even if he loved rock, he'd never relate to Pearl Jam (except for maybe "Corduroy"). He would prefer mid-period Rush: "I can't pretend a stranger is a long-awaited friend."
