There ain't gonna be any middle anymore

#20 Pearl Jam, Ten (Epic Associated, 1991)

Yes, nostalgia pick. Duly noted. Feel free to move on.
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Since you are still here, let me make 2 observations re: PJX.

1) I think it’s worth recalling what this record sounded like in 1991/2. Amidst the decadent posturing of late-period hair metal and old skool hip hop (let’s not even mention the country boomlet), Ten was, if not revolutionary (I wasn’t that ignorant of history), at least a breath of fresh air. In those days, before the “Jeremy” hit the fan, blasting Ten out the car window was a declaration of hipness, of being in the know about something new. (Utterly surprising, then, was the fact that actual coolness was still the impossible dream – I still can’t fully comprehend why the girls didn’t flock to a 15 year old with a mathletic build who drove a cream-colored 1985 Celebrity. Didn’t they understand that I rocked the Pearl Jam??).

2) W/r/t the 90s grunge signposts, Pearl Jam signified the crusty classic rock to Nirvana’s hardcore, yet sensitive hipster, the dorky BTO-fan uncle to the mysterious and hot tattooed 2nd cousin. But tell me if PJ didn’t pull off the more impressive (and more interesting) feat by making the impossibly uncool cool, even if only for a brief time. By contrast, is it really that great of a cultural achievement to make disaffected power punk important to disaffected suburbanite punks?