Nirvana v Pearl Jam

[robertkay]

Which one is better?

I was watching Channel V last night and they had Nirvana's film clips followed by Pearl Jam. It only last for 90 minutes but it was truly great music and made my day. So.. Which one of the two is the greater band?

They both brought out there legendary breakout albums in 1991 that brought them accalimed stardom, ten and nevermind.

There is Alive, Daughter, Even Flow, Jeremey against the likes of Smells Like Teen Spirit, Come as You are, In Bloom, Heart Shaped box etc etc.

So which band is the greater?

This debate has probably been on this forum before but since I missed it, Lets do it again.

Kurt Cobain once said "It's better to burn out than to fade away"

Did Nirvana burn out? and is Pearl Jam fading away?

 

[Fraser]

IMO, Kurt and Nirvana went out on a high. There will never be another Nirvana sadly
There are too many bands out there that rip off Eddie Vedder too
Overall, Nirvana by far. Pearl Jam's new material sucks IMO. It's enough to stop me listening to them. I could listen to Nirvana anyday though. I LOVE the song 'Pennyroyal Tea'. Nirvana's unplugged performance was great too! But, I didn't like the unreleased song though that was just released.

oh, a little off topic but, I hope Courtney Love dies and burns in hell.

cheers

 

[robertkay]

Originally posted by Fraser
IMO, Kurt and Nirvana went out on a high. There will never be another Nirvana sadly

cheers

I wouldnt call killing yourself a high, he was depressed. Kurt was gone....he had nothing left in him which was a real shame. Yes I agree Nirvana were still going strong but i dont think kurt had much in him at the end.

He still had the magic though as shown in his final session with nirvana in 1994 with the recording of one live take "you know your right". incredible.

 

[The_Flying_Egg]

PJ were miles better for the 5 minutes they were both releasing music and because of Kurts appetite for lead have confirmed for the best part of a decade since that they crap on Nirvana

How can people argue that Nirvana are better because they don't like what PJ are doing now? Nirvana have done nothing since the day Kurt left their fans davastated. PJ on the other hand have kept on going and releasing great albums.

In my opinion Nirvana are one of the most over-rated bands of all time, while PJ are the Worlds greatest band

 

[robertkay]

Originally posted by The_Flying_Egg
PJ were miles better for the 5 minutes they were both releasing music

1991-1994 is Hardly 5 minutes.

How can people argue that Nirvana are better because they don't like what PJ are doing now? Nirvana have done nothing since the day Kurt left their fans davastated. PJ on the other hand have kept on going and releasing great albums.
[/B]

Its quality not quantity.

Pearl Jams older stuff sh*ts on its newer music...by a country mile.

 

[Portia]

For me, Pearl Jam went back to being just an average band after Ten.

 

[Richmondfan#1]

I can't go past Nirvana. In lyrics and musical composition, I just love them. Pearl Jam are good but in my opinion Nirvana kick arse.

 

[Fansquad]

Originally posted by Porthos
For me, Pearl Jam went back to being just an average band after Ten.

I agree.

Pearl Jam are a great band.

Nirvana are something more. How songs of the quality of Silver, Dive and Been a son can be on a stop gap b side album still amazes me to this date.

 

[dreamkillers]

I'll take the cop out option as I believe both bands were greats and were part of an era of change in the commercial music industry..............

I don't like judging one band against another.........it's like people comparing the Stones to the Beatles - both were great like the above 2 bands - I much prefer just enjoying the music itself.........

Some of my many favourites from that era I still love to listen to today (in no particular order)..........

Pearl Jam
Nirvana
Soundgarden
Faith No More
Alice In Chains
Stone Temple Pilots
Smashing Pumpkins
Mudhoney
Mark of Cain

apologies to the many others I've missed but my CD collection is packed getting ready for a house shift..........

 

[Mr Eagle]

(Actually Def Leppard said "It's better to burn out than fade away" decades ago. They should have taken their own advice, of course.)

As a personal preference, I'd say Pearl Jam simply because Cobain's tuneless screaming in every third song detracted terribly from Nirvana's good material.

But you really can't compare the myth of what Nirvana may or may not have done with the reality of PJ's actual work. Nirvana I am quite certain would never have repeated its early successes, particularly with the way the music industry diverted towards teeny-pop and R&B in the late 90s. Had Kurt not mistaken his sawnoff for a chicken sandwich, he would probably be in the same position as Eddie Vedder now - a god to his fans, a museum piece to the mass market.

 

[Mcchawk]

Originally posted by dreamkillers
Some of my many favourites from that era I still love to listen to today (in no particular order)..........

Pearl Jam
Nirvana
Soundgarden
Faith No More
Alice In Chains
Stone Temple Pilots
Smashing Pumpkins
Mudhoney

Yeah I hear you great bands, pity most can't tour here because drug problems, broke up, dead etc etc

 

[dreamkillers]

Originally posted by Mcchawk
Yeah I hear you great bands, pity most can't tour here because drug problems, broke up, dead etc etc

Possibly but I've been lucky enough to see all of them live at some stage............and as aways their music lives on no matter what............

Faith No More did a tour of Australia just before their chart success where they played at smaller club venues around the country and were awesome to see in that environment............

 

[Whitey]

Pearl Jam are better, but not by much.

Pearl Jams older stuff sh*ts on its newer music...by a country mile.

Every album is a little different - that's the great thing about Pearl Jam IMO - their music changes - but it's still quality. I'd be dissapointed if they kept putting out songs in the mold of "ten" etc. Point taken tho - i like their older stuff better, but i don't mind the new stuff still.

and is Pearl Jam fading away?

Perhaps, PJ are fading away in terms of sales, but the quality of their music hasn't wavered.

 

[Carlos]

I was never a big Nirvana fan but i'm very glad they were around due to the influence they had on helping to blur the lines between "alternative" and "commercial" music. Hence perhaps i'm not the best person to voice an opinion here.

That said, and this is purely speculative, i dont really see much scope for where Nirvana could have taken their music had Cobain not copped out and been a weak prick. The 3 cord, fuzz pop/grunge thing can only go so far before it becomes a parody of itself IMO. And as much as he was capable of writing some tremendous pop music, i couldnt ever see him "selling out" and going that path. I think he would have ended up becoming more and more self indulgent and going down a Sonic Youth path of sound. But like i said, i was never the biggest fan of his band.

I think it is pointless comparing them. For a start, if we are referring to influence and relevance and not just popularity and sales, then any such discussion has to include the likes of Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Mudhoney and Smashing Pumpkins to name but a few. Pearl Jam should never have been considered a "grunge" band or whatever the trendy catch phrase for that stuff was back in the early 90's. They were lumped into that that whole wave of music only because of location (Seattle), but were always only a very classy rock band capable of the odd angry moment with a front man who had one of the most distinctive voices and personas in music.

They have proven to be one of the most enduring rock acts ever. Sure, the angst may have gone, and with it their appeal to the disillusioned angry youth that help boost the album sales of any band claiming to be "punk rock" or "alternative", hence their decline as far as shifting units goes . But they are still relevant IMO and still making great music, if not a little less obvious and immediate as the "Daughters" and "Alives" etc etc. And i think the fact they still sell out tours as quickly as they do reflects what they mean to people.

 

[Mcchawk]

Originally posted by dreamkillers
Possibly but I've been lucky enough to see all of them live at some stage............and as aways their music lives on no matter what............

Faith No More did a tour of Australia just before their chart success where they played at smaller club venues around the country and were awesome to see in that environment............

Nah mate STP is who I really want to see live, with my mate Mr J

 

[BW]

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28160&highlight=nirvana+vs+pearl

 

[Port1978]

Nirvana are better by far. But I do like Pearl Jam as well.

 

[M29]

Originally posted by Mr Eagle
(Actually Def Leppard said "It's better to burn out than fade away" decades ago. They should have taken their own advice, of course.)

Hehe.

(That was actually from Neil Youngs Hey Hey, My My.)

 

[M29]

Not a fan of either. But, I'd rather listen to nirvana even if kurt was a junkie. That acoustic set they did on MYV was pretty good. eddie vedder ****s me for some reason.

 

[Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk]

am glad my favorite band of all time Nirvana went out when they did otherwise they may have ended up like Pearl Jam and Silverchair. Changing their sound in a sell out to commerical radio and alienating their original fanbase. Kurt was well before his time and obviously saw what was coming!

While on the topic, anybody seen the new Kurt Cobain diary type book thing? 50 bucks and all it is really is just pages and pages of Kurt's scribbles and original handwritten lyrics. Wouldn't be a bad thing to have but, will buy it eventually!

 

[dreamkillers]

Originally posted by Mcchawk
Nah mate STP is who I really want to see live, with my mate Mr J

Funny how Mr J turns up at most shows............

 

[Richmondfan#1]

Originally posted by Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk
While on the topic, anybody seen the new Kurt Cobain diary type book thing? 50 bucks and all it is really is just pages and pages of Kurt's scribbles and original handwritten lyrics. Wouldn't be a bad thing to have but, will buy it eventually!

Yep me and a friend flicked through it a few weeks ago. Looks a great, involving read. My friend said that it felt almost wrong to read his inner most thoughts and feelings. In a way it is although it's so interesting to know what went on his his head. I would like it but for $50, I might wait for it to go down.

 

[Dipper]

Originally posted by Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk
am glad my favorite band of all time Nirvana went out when they did otherwise they may have ended up like Pearl Jam and Silverchair. Changing their sound in a sell out to commerical radio and alienating their original fanbase. Kurt was well before his time and obviously saw what was coming!

Didn't he feel that's what they did(sold out) to some extent with Nevermind & that's why In Utero was less poppy, in fact he originally wanted In Utero to be mixed differently so that it was even harsher & complained that he didn't like the eventual mix.

There's probably a quite a percentage of the (few) people who originally bought Bleach who felt that Nevermind was a sell out.

Anyway it's Nirvana by a long way for me, a genuinely great band rather than a very good one.

 

[The_Flying_Egg]

Originally posted by Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk
am glad my favorite band of all time Nirvana went out when they did otherwise they may have ended up like Pearl Jam and Silverchair. Changing their sound in a sell out to commerical radio and alienating their original fanbase. Kurt was well before his time and obviously saw what was coming!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Pearl Jam selling out to commercial radio??? They've gone the other way. They released Nothing as it Seems on their 2nd last album, knowing radio wouldn't touch it. They released I am Mine on Riot Act, hardly a Fox FM or Mix FM favourite. They're albums now are far less commercial friendly than albums like Ten and Vs.

PJ haven't alienated their original fanbase. They've alienated everyone else. They're concerts still sell out in 5 seconds because they still have their original fans. Its just that its only their original fans still buying the albums, because they're music doesn't appeal to the mainstream

You might be happy that Kurt didn't like his brains and Nirvana are dead, but I don't think you're as happy as those with PJ tickets for a few weeks time.

U make Kurt sound like a hero for getting out because he apparently 'saw what was coming'. The reality is he was a pathetic, weak nutbag. He didn't do his fans a favour by killing himself, he let them down

 

[JMAC5]

Oasis

oh and Pearl Jam by a mile, imagine how people would rate them if Eddie killed himself

Death, it does amazing things for peoples careers