20 Thoughts for Pearl Jam 20

Since I couldn't score tickets for the premiere at TIFF, I had to settle for watching PJ20 last Friday night on PBS. Here's 20 random thoughts that crossed my mind while watching the documentary or in the week since.

1. I love Pearl Jam!
2. The documentary was good, but if they'd consulted Alan Cross I imagine it would have been even better.
3. In a few of the more recent scenes where Ed was rocking a centre part in his shoulder-length hair he looked a lot like Alan Rickman with curls.
4. I had a sudden urge to grow my hair long again, especially seeing Stone.
5. I can't think about long hair without hearing a medley of 54-40, Hum, Pavement and Tesla / Five Man Electrical Band.
6. It's always going to be grunge music to me, even if Pearl Jam and Soundgarden never used that word in reference to themselves.
7. Temple of the Dog was fanfreakingtastic (Side note - did I only have this on cassette? That needs to be corrected).
8. Speaking of side projects, Mad Season was one of the finest albums ever created. A more rocking version of Jar of Flies.
9. I regret that I never owned a pair of Doc Martens in high school.
10. I still remember the summer my brother loaned me his Ten tape; and that it was the first CD I ever bought a few months later.
11. Starting with Vs. I bought a handful of Pearl Jam CDs the day they came out.
12. I can't think of seeing Pearl Jam live without hearing the fans behind me screaming 'Brazil' and smacking me in the head with their flag.
13. I might not see eye to eye with PJ on all of their various sociopolitical causes, but it was fantastic as a teenager to see artists who stood for things and who wanted to make good music above all else.
14. I'm bummed that Soundgarden split up, because Pearl Jam didn't improve commensurate with Matt Cameron's infusion of talent, and because Audioslave was so regrettable (even if I try to deny it from time to time) - we'd all be better off if PJ, Soundgarden and Rage remained whole and uninterrupted.
15. I still love Pearl Jam!
16. I think I've missed an album or two amongst all the greatest hits packages they've put out over the past five years ... something about getting old and out of touch.
17. I think it's chic that CD stores have gone the way of record stores, although it sucks that they are no longer on every street corner. Seriously, I went for a walk the other day and the only CDs I could find were the top 20 at Futureshop.
18. There is something magical about opening a CD for the first time - the new smell concealed by the plastic wrap, the crisp liner notes, cracking the plastic to release the CD, scrolling through the tracks to see if there is a hidden / unlisted song. So many good memories.
19. I hadn't watched PBS in years, didn't even know we still got that channel, but I'm glad PJ20 was free of commercials and telethons.
20. Have I mentioned that I love Pearl Jam, and that they have been a constant companion over the past 20 years (well, okay, more like 19.5 since I found out about them)?