Smith, Vedder gave a soul-stirringly impassioned performance that dripped with resentment and determination.Another song that saw Eddie Vedder struggling with fame. Flanked by PJ guitarist Mike McCready and SNL guitarist G.E. The definitive cover of this song took place at the Bob Dylan 30th anniversary celebration in New York way back in 1992. But it was a damn difficult choice between that and this unforgettably incredible version. Later, he rocks out and bashes a hole in the floor with his mic stand as Neil Young leads the rest of the band into an apocalyptic, gear-smashing finish. This surprise at the ’93 MTV Video Music Awards was chosen for Vedder’s seething anger as he spat the lyrics to the second verse, barely containing a fit of fury just before the release of PJ’s sophomore record, Vs.

That was me in 2003, watching the downtempo performance of a fan-cherished cover at this show, entirely enraptured. But sometimes a song can bring back memories of a moment in time, of a perfect stretch of seconds where the weight of meaning in every molecule of our beings was almost too much to bear. nationalism, and the original is no slouch.

The words of aching frustration ring through loudly on this beautiful clarification of patriotism vs. Lamenting that “the tears have been falling all over this country’s face,” X implores us not to forget the Motor City, because “this was supposed to be the New World”. These days the message rings more loudly and relevantly than ever before.Īn upbeat heartstrummer tale of defiance that found Eddie literally hopping with excitement, we caught this jam at the band’s PJ20 anniversary festival in 2012, featuring X frontman John Doe.

the printed rights we stand by was a righteous riot. We caught this version of the Clash classic at Madison Square Garden in 2003, and the jaggedly cynical reminder of the deadly reality vs. Well familiar with their own, we now look to the impactful acts and tracks from years past through the lens of one of the best live acts in the history of rock music, Pearl Jam. On that momentum, we’ve put together a collection of the most powerful protest songs PJ has ever covered. A Superfan’s List: 30 Best Pearl Jam Songs of All Time

Protest songs by pearl jam