Not for You: Pearl Jam and the Present Tense

by Ronen Givony

Overview

There has never been a band like Pearl Jam. The Seattle quintet has recorded eleven studio albums; sold some 85 million records; played over a thousand shows, in fifty countries; and had five different albums reach number one. But Pearl Jam’s story is about much more than music. Through resilience, integrity, and sheer force of will, they transcended several eras, and shaped the way a whole generation thought about art, entertainment, and commerce.

Not for You: Pearl Jam and the Present Tense is the first full-length biography of America’s preeminent band, from Ten to Gigaton. A study of their role in history – from Operation Desert Storm to the Dixie Chicks; "Jeremy" to Columbine; Kurt Cobain to Chris Cornell; Ticketmaster to Trump – Not for You explores the band's origins and evolution over thirty years of American culture. It starts with their founding, and the eruption of grunge, in 1991; continues through their golden age (Vs., Vitalogy, No Code, and Yield); their middle period (Binaural, Riot Act); and the more divisive recent catalog. Along the way, it considers the band’s activism, idealism, and impact, from “W.M.A.” to the Battle of Seattle and Body of War.

More than the first critical study, Not for You is a tribute to a famously obsessive fan base, in the spirit of Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch. It's an old-fashioned – if, at times, ambivalent – appreciation; a reflection on pleasure, fandom, and guilt; and an essay on the nature of adolescence, nostalgia, and adulthood. Partly social history, partly autobiography, and entirely outspoken, discursive, and droll, Not for You is the first full-length treatment of Pearl Jam's odyssey and importance in the culture, from the ’90s to the present.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501360671
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/21/2021
Pages:	440
Sales rank:	289,392
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Ronen Givony is the founder/producer of New York's Wordless Music series and orchestra (wordlessmusic.org), and the founding music director of the concert venue Le Poisson Rouge. A native of South Florida, he has worked for Nonesuch Records and Lincoln Center, and received his bachelor's and master's degrees in English literature from Yale University. He is the author of Jawbreaker's 24 Hour Revenge Therapy (2017), part of Bloomsbury's 33 1/3 series.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Introduction: A Personal Preface 1

1 The Cast 13

2 A Dozen Moments in the Prehistory of Pearl Jam 31

3 The Bacchanal, San Diego (November 21, 1989) 39

4 The Off Ramp, Seattle (October 22, 1990) 57

5 "Jeremy," "Garden," "Yellow Ledbetter" (1991) 67

6 J.C. Dobbs, Philadelphia (July 12, 1991) 79

7 The Palladium, Hollywood (October 6, 1991) 87

8 Cow Palace, San Francisco (December 31, 1991) 97

9 MTV Unplugged (March 16, 1992) 105

Interlude: Thirty Covers (A Contrarian Ranking) 113

10 Pinkpop Festival, Holland (June 8, 1992) 117

11 The Singles Soundtrack (1992) 127

12 Stadio Flaminio, Rome (July 6, 1993) 137

13 Lakefront Arena, New Orleans (November 16, 1993) 157

14 Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid (1993-94) 173

15 Civic Center, Pensacola (March 9, 1994) 181

16 Bayfront Amphitheater, Miami (March 28, 1994) 199

17 Patriot Center, Fairfax (April 8, 1994) 217

18 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC (June 30, 1994) 229

19 Dave (1994) 245

20 Self-Pollution Radio, Seattle (January 8, 1995) 253

21 Soldier Field, Chicago (July 11, 1995) 265

22 38th Annual Grammy Awards (February 28, 1996) 281

23 Cox Arena, San Diego (July 10, 1998) 289

24 Binaural and the Battle of Seattle (1999) 301

25 Roskilde Festival, Denmark (June 30, 2000) 313

26 Madison Square Garden, New York (October 15, 2000) 323

27 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale (April 30, 2003) 335

28 Thin Air (2006-2013) 355

29 Tonus Young and Body of War (2007-16) 365

30 Altice Arena, Lisbon (June 20, 2019) 383

Afterword (For Chris Cornell) 401

Acknowledgments 409

In Memoriam 409

Notes 410

Bibliography 414

About the Author 416

Index 417

Editorial Reviews

Ronen Givony's Not for You does what Givony would like Pearl Jam to do: it rises above its immediate purpose. It is a critical annotation to a body of work which lifts off the ground and becomes an extravagant performance about time, rebellion, fame, disenchantment, civil discourse, the idea of the mainstream, the desire of a fan, and what a band can do to answer it.” —Ben Ratliff, author of Every Song Ever

“An enjoyable book and, as a non-fan, I found myself coming around to their music and what they were trying to achieve. Whether you love them or not, it is clear they were trying to be genuine and reach out to their fans.” —Irish Tech News

“Brilliantly contextualises the early '90s socio-political climate from which the grunge icons emerged. It paints a vivid portrait … Not For You is a compelling examination of one of modern rock's most enduring and compelling groups.” —Hot Press

“Near perfect Pearl Jam prose… Not For You: Pearl Jam and the Present Tense is a book every Pearl Jam fan needs to read. Not only is it an excellent biography it is also the definitive unofficial Pearl Jam book for fans of the Last Grunge Band Standing.™” —Guerrilla Candy

“[A] hefty and impressive work, digging into its subject with the kind of relentlessness any fan will appreciate… A thoughtful celebration of a band who's still going strong, and should even be of interest to non-PJ fans, especially if they have an interest in alt rock of the '90s.” —Record Collector News

“[A]n insightful work for many reasons, not least its temperate analysis of fandom. Author Ronen Givony never forgets the whys and wherefores of the Seattle outfit and of how from their early days in the 1990s, despite their status as one of the mostpopular US acts, they sidelined traditional commercial channels in favour of servicing their fans … Givony incisively reflects on th[is] and more, but the primary selling point is what the band have meant to their fans across the years and the often-profound bonds that can be made.” —The Irish Times

“The strength of Givony's book lies in his readiness to make the tough call. His book is unreservedly opinionated, as so few these days are … Givony proves himself a master of the bon mot, the memorable soundbite, demonstrating ample literary chops throughout. If I had room, I'd quote a hundred worthy passages.” —Rhythm Magazine

“Givony trenchantly argues that Pearl Jam haven't made a great album since 1998. Yet his sometimes contentious analysis is always delivered with a wry snap and bolstered by diligent sociocultural contextualisation, pinpointing one aspect of the band's appeal; they're more 'for you' than might initially appear to be the case.” —MOJO

“CHOICE Magazine's “New Year Reads” 2021” —CHOICE

“CBC's “18 Books for the Holiday Season”” —CBC

From the Publisher