Not for You

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.

Ronen Givony is the author of 24 Hour Revenge Therapy (or, The Strange Death of Selling Out), part of Bloomsbury's 33 1/3 series. He is the founder of New York's Wordless Music series and orchestra (wordlessmusic.org) - which the Village Voice named the city's "Best Moderately Snooty Concert Series" - and a contributor of liner notes for Nonesuch, Constellation, Thrill Jockey, and Temporary Residence. A native of South Florida, he has worked as a producer for concert venues and music festivals in the US and abroad.

Introduction: A Personal Preface
1 The Cast
2 A Dozen Moments in the Prehistory of Pearl Jam
3 The Bacchanal, San Diego (November 21, 1989)
4 The Off Ramp, Seattle (October 22, 1990)
5 "Jeremy," "Garden," "Yellow Ledbetter" (1991)
6 J.C. Dobbs, Philadelphia (July 12, 1991)
7 The Palladium, Hollywood (October 6, 1991)
8 Cow Palace, San Francisco (December 31, 1991)
9 MTV Unplugged (March 16, 1992)
10 Pinkpop Festival, Holland (June 8, 1992)
11 The Singles Soundtrack (1992)
12 Stadio Flaminio, Rome (July 6, 1993)
13 Lakefront Arena, New Orleans (November 16, 1993)
14 Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid (1993)
15 Civic Center, Pensacola (March 9, 1994)
16 Bayfront Amphitheater, Miami (March 28, 1994)
17 Patriot Center, Fairfax (April 8, 1994)
18 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC (June 30, 1994)
19 Dave (1994)
20 Self-Pollution Radio (January 8, 1995)
21 Soldier Field, Chicago (July 11, 1995)
22 38th Annual Grammy Awards (February 28, 1996)
23 Cox Arena, San Diego (July 10, 1998)
24 Binaural and the Battle of Seattle (1999)
25 Roskilde Festival, Denmark (June 30, 2000)
26 Madison Square Garden (October 15, 2000)
27 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale (April 30, 2003)
28 Thin Air (2006-2013)
29 Tomas Young and Body of War (2005-2014)
30 Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia (April 29, 2016)
31 Altice Arena, Lisbon (June 20, 2019)
Afterword (For Chris Cornell)
In Memoriam
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Index
About the Author