Exploding onto the world stage in 1991 with their astounding, multi-platinum debut, Ten, Pearl Jam courted controversy and conflict from the start. The pressures of fame soon began to take their toll, on the fragile Vedder in particular. Martin Clarke brings the band s tumultuous history to life from their beginnings amidst Seattle s grunge underground, through the excesses of superstardom, to their current incarnation as mature rock heavyweights.
In this major biography, Martin Clarke investigates one of the most popular and influential bands of our time, painting a detailed portrait of its enigmatic leader, Eddie Vedder. Pearl Jam exploded onto the world stage in 1991, captivating a generation with their inspirational live shows and being hailed as the kings of grunge . Their first album, Ten, went multi-platinum and won four MTV awards. Yet this massive popularity brought problems. In a rivalry fanned by the media, Kurt Cobain condemned Pearl Jam s popularization of grunge, calling them a corporate group. He later apologized, but the remark damaged the band s reputation. They won it back with multi-million sales and critical acclaim. Vs. became the fastest-selling American album of all time and its follow-up, Vitalogy, was equally successful. By this stage, however, the pressures of fame on the band, and on the fragile Vedder in particular, began to take their toll. Band tensions, personnel changes and substance abuse reared their ugly heads before Pearl Jam returned with the lauded album No Code. It proved to be a turning point, with subsequent albums Yield, Binaural, Riot Act, Pearl Jam and Backspacer placing Pearl Jam at the forefront of alternative rock. In Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder: None Too Fragile, Martin Clarke brings to life the band s tumultuous history; from their beginnings amidst Seattle s grunge underground, through the excesses and pressures of superstardom, to their current incarnation as mature rock heavyweights."
More than any other band, Pearl Jam embodies the alternative style that dominates rock today. From their early days as fame-ducking grunge pioneers, through their headline-making battle with Ticketmaster, to their current status as self-assured survivors, Five Against One brings to life Pearl Jam's tumultuous ascent to superstardom in rich detail. A compelling portrait of the band's elusive leader Eddie Vedder and family photos never seen before by the public make this a must-have for every Pearl Jam fan.
This bestselling book by GOP presidential candidate John Kasich offers an honest, insightful, and revealing portrait of the man called by the New York Times, “the only plausible choice for Republicans tired of the extremism and inexperience on display in this race.” Where do you go when the water rises? For more than twenty-five years, starting long before he was a Republican presidential candidate facing down Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, before he was twice elected Governor of Ohio, John Kasich has sought the answer to this question and to many of life’s most fundamental challenges in an unlikely place: his twice-a-month lunches with an irreverent, thoughtful, and spirited circle of guys who are members of a Bible study group. Every other Monday over lunch at an Italian restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, Kasich and half a dozen friends use the stories of the Good Book as a launching pad to discuss big ideas like integrity, justice, ambition, as well as the small trials and triumphs of daily life. This group, in reaching for life’s biggest mysteries while standing firmly rooted in the everyday, became a cornerstone of Kasich’s life, one to which he consistently turns when the waters threaten to rise. Full of funny and fascinating anecdotes and poignant memories drawn from Kasich’s personal and professional life, Every Other Monday is an honest look at how to build faith, find strength, and stay resilient—even during the most challenging of circumstances.
Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Hole and Alice in Chains are the names that come to mind when we talk about grunge. But never before has there been a complete history of grunge with razor-sharp critical analysis—until now. Grunge, a style of music that wed classic rock riffs with punk ethos, was the musical movement that defined the 90's and left an indelible mark on the music scene at large. But how did this musical phenomenon emerge from the Seattle underground to become a universal beacon of despair for millions of restless kids around the globe, and why did it resonate with so many disenchanted outsiders? Kyle Anderson answers these questions and more, examining the connection between grunge and punk, how Kurt Cobain's disdain for Axl Rose propelled Nirvana to instant success, the singer who officially killed off grunge with his trite lyrics and pseudo-grunge attitude and the band the ripped off Pearl Jam, made millions of dollars by selling out to the media and went on to become the most hated band ever. Accidental Revolution is an essential guide to the triumphs and defeats of a musical revolution and its unforgettable icons.
“Total F*cking Godhead brings Chris Cornell, the voice of a generation, alive on the page. Impressively researched and compulsively readable, Godhead pulls no punches in recounting Cornell’s remarkable life and prolific career. It’s an inspired chronicle of an impassioned soul. Read it!” —Greg Renoff, author of Van Halen Rising With input from those who knew and worked with him—together with his own words—Total F*cking Godhead recounts the rise of Chris Cornell and his immortal band Soundgarden as they emerged from the 1980s post-punk underground to dominate popular culture in the ’90s alongside Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Nirvana. “From his days as a struggling Seattle musician at the forefront of the grunge scene to becoming a global icon, Total F*cking Godhead thoroughly chronicles the life story and prolific output of one of the greatest and most influential singers of all time. You will discover the man and his music all over again.” —David de Sola, author of Alice in Chains: The Untold Story Seattle resident and rock writer Corbin Reiff also examines Cornell’s dynamic solo career as well as his time in Audioslave. He delves into his hard-fought battle with addiction, and the supercharged reunion with the band that made him famous before everything came to a shocking end. “For those of us still trying to sort out the tragedy of Chris Cornell's death comes this loving look back at the man's life and music. I wrote my own book about grunge, and I still learned a lot from this excellent biography." —Mark Yarm, author of Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge
"What corporations fear most are consumers who ask questions. Naomi Klein offers us the arguments with which to take on the superbrands." Billy Bragg from the bookjacket.
Have you sensed it? Chaos. Violence. Confusion. Anxiety. How do we know what's true when there are so many differing voices telling us what to do? After traveling the world for 23 years in a rock band, John L. Cooper has noticed one consistent issue: people are desperately confused. Awake & Alive to Truth tackles the reigning philosophies of our day of post-modernism, relativism, and the popular view of the goodness of man and combats these viewpoints by standing on the absolute truth of the Word of God. Awake & Alive to Truth answers some of the most asked questions in modern culture. Go on a journey through some John Cooper's personal stories, the doctrine of original sin, the authority of Scripture, the danger of trusting your emotions, and end with the greatest news possible: God wants to rescue you from the chaos and the darkness and bring you into His glorious light.
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.
Vs. is the sound of a band on fire. The same confluence of talent, passion, timing, and fate that made “grunge” the world's soundtrack also lit a short fuse beneath Pearl Jam. The band combusted between late 1992 and mid-1994, the span during which they planned, recorded, and supported their sophomore record. The spotlight, the pressure, the pace-it all nearly turned the thriving act to ash. Eddie Vedder, the reluctant public face of the band, responded by lashing out lyrically. Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Stone Gossard, who beheld success with varying degrees of anxious satisfaction, attacked their instruments in solidarity. Dave Abbruzzese welcomed the rock-star lifestyle, and left his mark on the record with more than just potent percussion. Vs. roils with fury-and at times, gently steams-over the trappings of fame, human faults, and societal injustice. The record is a thrashing testament to Pearl Jam's urgent creativity and greater-good interests, and the band's logistical calculations behind it drew a career-defining line in the sand. It promised the world that Pearl Jam would neither burn out nor fade away. This book weaves research, little-known details, and band members' memories into a definitive account of how Vs. set them on a path toward enduring integrity and relevance.
