Hot or Not: Pearl Jam's Fixer

Pearl Jam in Toronto recently

I was in college when Pearl Jam hit the college music scene. They were not as suicidal as Nirvana, but still pretty damn angry. Yet, there was something very genuine about their sound and Ten became one of my favorite albums.

Since Ten I've bought almost every Pearl Jam record, but they've never hit a new level. Lots of quality work, nothing quite as emotionally resonate.

And then the other day I caught The Fixer on KROQ. As soon as I heard it I knew it was Pearl Jam, and I waited for the anger, the hate. Soon I was bobbing my head along to the beat as I listened to the vocals.

Why so upbeat I instantly wondered? Where is the angst? How about some damn Bush bashing for crying out loud?

Instead, something that almost sounded like, well, and I hate saying this, I really do,....but I heard something that sounded like hope.

I don't know what the hell happened to Ed, but it sure sounds pretty damn good. Makes me very interested in the upcoming Backspacer album.

Damn, are Ed and I becoming mature?

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