subject: A Homage To Pearl Jam [print this page] As I was catching up on the music world last week, I found myself reading an article with the published results of a survey. This survey polled American music fans, asking them who they felt the greatest rock band in American music history was. You might be surprised by the fact that more people voted Pearl Jam than any other band.
We're not talking about the best band of the alternative music movement and we're not talking about the best band of the last 20 years. This is the best American band of all-time.
I was so sure of the fact that many other bands could easily find themselves ahead of Pearl Jam on the list. This didn't make sense to me, despite the fact that I do happen to be a pretty big fan of the band and its music.
That's when it dawned on me. All of those bands are British, and so are others who might come to mind. I'm a big fan of The Band, but they were Canadian.
There are recent bands like Wilco and the White Stripes, but they haven't been around for long enough. There are bands like Journey and Bon Jovi, but they don't have as many hits. There were guys like Bob Dylan and Billy Joel, but they were solo artists and not bands. No one was able to best Pearl Jam.
I was truly stumped. Was there really no one better than Pearl Jam when it came to American rock history?
The fact that Pearl Jam continues to write some great albums to this day only builds the case they make as the greatest American rock band. They just recently came out with Backspacer, and this critically acclaimed album is being called their best of the decade.
Music lovers also praised the fact that Pearl Jam has stayed true to its own musical interests, never caving into the wishes of major labels. They say that Pearl Jam has always kept ticket prices reasonable, and continues to have a great time churning out new music to this day.
