Eddie Vedder & Pearl Jam -The Last Pearl of Grunge
The early to mid 1990s. A music scene incubating in the Pacific Northwest keeping largely to itself. Blew up almost overnight. The scene of popular music shifted from the flamboyant frat party rock debauchery of the Vegas Strip. To the more introspective type of artist and band. The days of bands like Guns n Roses, Motley Crue & Cinderella was out. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains were in. However, before that would happen, in the late 80s as the shift was starting to happen. A band existed called Mother Love Bone. The members of Mother Love Bone would eventually go on to form Pearl Jam after they found a singer named Eddie Vedder. When the “Grunge” boom happened, it was almost overnight. Nirvana had released Bleach in 1989 but it wouldn’t be until Nevermind and Smells like Teen Spirit in 1991. That Grunge would completely take over the airwaves and MTV.
During that time frame, Pearl Jam would form from the ashes of Mother Love Bone and singer Andrew Wood’s heroin overdose (heroin would deeply affect the Seattle music scene, by Kurt Cobain & Layne Staley the OG singer of Alice in Chains example). When Pearl Jam released their debut album Ten, it would eventually go gold by 1992 and gave us the singles of Alive, Even Flow & Jeremy. Ten would stay on the Billboard 200 for 5 years and eventually go 13x Platinum. Kurt Cobain would have an axe to grind at first, he thought Pearl Jam were commercial sellouts. From what Eddie Vedder has said though, eventually he and Kurt would reconcile and be more accepting of each other before Cobain’s death in 1994. During that time from a Fashion standpoint. The flamboyant leather of 80s glam rock. Would give way and make flannel shirts, torn or faded jeans, converse and Doc Marten boots all the rage. Durable and timeless thrift store clothing would become a fashion statement. An antifashion statement maybe, something ridiculous about seeing the idea of what might be lumberjack fashion on the runway. Eddie Vedder would wear Doc Martens, Snapback hats, mostly loose clothing. However, it would have its impact in its day. Fashion Designer Marc Jacobs in 1993 would release a spring collection inspired by Grunge.
In 2013 Saint Laurent tried to bring Grunge fashion back to the runway. Around the same time 20 years had passed since Grunge’s mainstream commercial peak. Pearl Jam would continue throughout the years. Enduring the trends and peaks of various forms of popular music and fashion trends. Pearl Jam would release an album called Lightning Bolt that year. It would be their 10th and 5th album to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200. Eventually in 2017 they would be inducted in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and in 2020 they would release another album called Gigaton. It would be well received critically. Commercially it would debut at #5 their 12th top 10 album.
Throughout all the trends ups and downs musically in the culture. Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder would endure. Well beyond Grunge’s peak past the lifetimes of many of their contemporaries. While Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, and Chris Cornell are sadly gone. Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam would continue. The last remnant of a bygone time when Alternative Rock would kick down the expectation of the flashy flamboyant frat party rock music of the 80s. Changing music forever, showing that introspective and harsh subjects lyrically could be commercially viable. That not all fashion had to be flashy, or the latest top brands as expected. But Fashion could be the regular, taken from thrift store clothing and a statement made that even the mundane and emotional hard subjects can be viable & celebrated.