Albums may be dying, but if these albums are in the CD player, I must listen to ...

Even the most tech-savvy among us may cringe at what the computer age has done to music. It's not downloading itself that's the problem. The music industry has always been focused on hit singles - just listen to any "hit" record from the past decade and you'll find a couple of good songs floating in a miasma of mediocre music - and as albums sales continue their nosedive, industry folks are most likely thinking of doing away with albums entirely. After all, years ago many successful musical acts would only release singles, a business model easily replicated today with the a la carte selections available online.

Why do I cringe at the singles-only business model? Perhaps it's nostalgia - I still don't have an MP3 player - but I still believe some albums should be experienced as moments on to themselves. Instead of flipping the MP3 player on random, or creating a playlist of our favorite songs, we should take the album, slip it into our player and press play. In many cases, there's a reason why the artist(s) decided to order the songs in a specific way ... and here's my first relevant pop culture reference:

"The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules. Anyway... I've started to make a tape... in my head... for Laura. Full of stuff she likes. Full of stuff that make her happy. For the first time I can sort of see how that is done. "

(You know, I purged everything by and about me on the Internet for a reason. Starting over. Keeping up the same old habits, though, like the references. Montaigne-like. Still my greatest influence. Moving on.)

Anyway, devoted artists usually sequence the album because they intended the listener to hear it that way. Further, there's an aesthetic quality to wanting to hear a certain album, finding it in your pile or stack, taking it out, holding it, turning it over in your hand, deliberately inserting it into the player and pressing play in anticipation. The ritualistic proceedings add to the overall experience.

I'm not even talking about vinyl here - which has its own beatified status - but any kind of album, whether on CD, cassette or whatever. I once read an interview with Eddie Vedder that I wish I could find online right now; years ago, Vedder (a noted vinyl advocate - Pearl Jam still releases all their fan club Christmas Gifts on 45s and mine are on display to my right at this desk) lamented the onslaught of the digital music age. Specifically, he spoke about simply browsing a record store, sparking conversations with other people, hearing music you didn't know in the store, flipping through a random section and finding something new. All those physical experiences that are, in turn, emotional and personal experiences as well. I find the same personal experience involved in finding the exact album I want, holding it in my hand, blowing on it so I can dust it off or, in a Sisyphean effort, buff out the scratches that I know from past experience will probably kick in at 2:23 on track 8.

When it comes to albums I want to listen all the way through from start to finish, I also don't mean concept albums. The rise of rock and roll as an art form - and I hate to sound like Jeff Bebe here - can be tied, at least chronologically, to the prominence of true albums that are complete works, as opposed to singles. Singles were still very much in vogue in the early years of rock and roll, up until this point in 1967, while concept albums, as linked to earlier, have a long and storied history. There mustn't be a thematic link between every song on the album or a complete story told; merely an artist or artists that take great care in writing and performing a collection of songs, before winnowing those songs down to a select few. Much like a great short story collection, a great album need not a linear narrative or theme, but merely a selective artist.

(By the way, do you own Pet Sounds yet? No? Click on the last link and buy it right now. I'm not even joking. I might fight you if you don't. Not much of a threat, but it's all I got.)

All of this was brought on by a drive I took earlier tonight. Per usual, it was a drive to nowhere, merely a chance to experience the sensation of movement. During this drive, struck by an acute yet ambiguous malaise that had plagued me most of the day, I realized I needed to listen to Vs. (Wish I still had that original cassette labeled "Five Against One." It might even be around here somewhere.) A feeling did not wash over me, nor had anything happened during the day that directly related to a nostalgic feeling associated with that album. Simply, it was the right album at the right time. I leaned over from the driver's seat, while driving on a 25 mph speed limit street in a residential neighborhood and going 35-40 mph, fumbling for a CD case. I flipped through it and found nothing, not even hidden behind other CDs clumsily shoved into their tenuous plastic cases.

I reached back for the second CD case, far less bulky due to the limited number of CDs stored within - why is one CD case so gorged why the other largely empty? - and began flipping through it with one overhead light switched on, one eye on the road and another on the CD case. I must find this CD. I finally found Vs., blew on it with an O-shaped mouth, gently rubbed it in a circular motion on my jeans, on my right thigh, and inserted the CD into my player, anticipating the first few harmonic rattlings of Mike McCready's guitar before Jeff Ament begins playing that riff. I drove around for approximately 46 minutes and eventually made my way home as the last organ chords of "Indifference" faded out.

Call it catharsis or whatever term you can relate to, but I arrived home and felt pure again. I had left everything out on the road.

As my mind wandered, as it usually does, I thought about which songs affected me most, which in turn made me think of Greatest Hits collections. Those "greatest hit" collections never hit the mark. Any Bob Dylan fan could give you a personal, unique list of songs that I sincerely doubt would match track for track any of Dylan's greatest hits releases.

So here's a list of my favorite Pearl Jam Songs That Have Been Released on Albums, including the B-sides and rarities collection Lost Dogs. These are the songs that, if a particular album is my CD player, I must listen to before ejected the CD, with notes and comments afterward including my Top Pick and Oddity. It's worth noting that the prevalence of the songs has played a part in these selections - you won't see "Jeremy" on here - because the need to listen to a particular song is likely diminished, as rarity always increases value, whether we like it or not ... and if as on cue, "WorldWide Suicide" begins playing on Channel 1814, the alternative music channel on Verizon TV playing in the background in this room.

Ten:

• Oceans
• Garden
• Deep
• Release
  

Comments: The aforementioned prevalence of songs explains the absence of "Alive," "Evenflow," "Porch" and "Black." Of course, it's odd on this album, widely considered to their best (although not by me) and certainly their most hit-heavy, to have only four songs. However, I have to listen to all these songs above all others. "Garden" is obtuse at first, but one of the best anti-war songs I've ever heard (picture that playing in Arlington National Cemetery); Deep just hits hard, while painting a compelling narrative between an unrelated heroin addict and a passerby on the street; despite having the same experience as Vedder (who could?), "Release" is a song for any son and father relationship; "Oceans" is just stirring.

Top Pick: Oceans

Oddity: Deep

Vs.

• Go
• W.M.A.
• Rearviewmirror
• Leash
• Indifference
  

Comments: Again, prevalence of songs makes me leave out "Daughter," "Elderly Woman" and "Dissident," simply because I hear them all the time. When I put Vs. into the CD player, the songs I need to hear before ejecting. "Go" hits hard, while "W.M.A." is socially acute (based on a true story) and sobering because of its truth. "Rearviewmirror" is one of those songs everyone can relate to; "Leash" is a generational anthem (members of the Jamily, please don't call me a "Leash p*@#y"); "Indifference" epitomizes one of my long standing themes - beautiful desperation.

Top Pick: Rearviewmirror

Oddity: W.M.A.

Vitalogy

• Last Exit
• Nothingman
• Corduroy
  
• Satan's Bed
• Immortality

Comments: "Corduroy" is the first song that eschews the "too prevalent/overplayed" mold ... I simply can't get sick of that song. Selfishly, I relate to it every time I hear it (or play it with the guys), even though Stoney never bought me a corduroy jacket that was mass produced for corporate profits. "Last Exit" is also one of those "I relate to this!" songs; "Nothingman" is beautiful and oddly accurate; "Satan's Bed" is like a modern Who song; "Immortality" is a beautiful cry in the dark wood we all wander through.

Top Pick: Corduory

Oddity: Satan's Bed

No Code

• Sometimes
• In My Tree
• Present Tense
• I'm Open

Comments: Now we're getting into the experimental phase, so the "prevalent" song theory is shot down ... "Sometimes" has beautiful lyrical imagery and the music is subtle, yet unnerving. "In My Tree" is, without hyperbole, possibly my favorite Pearl Jam song of all time - Vedder, while reclaiming his innocence, reclaims the listener's. "Present Tense" is the song I want played at my funeral. "I'm Open," despite it's status as the token 'weird' song, speaks to the loss of innocence we all continuously feel. It's difficult to overstate how much I love "No Code."

Top Pick: In My Tree

Oddity: I'm Open

Yield

• Brain of J
• Given to Fly
• Do the Evolution
• Low Light
• Push Me, Pull Me

Comments: The guys start rocking harder again, certainly in comparison to No Code, but it almost feels forced. Still, "Brain of J" is a longtime live favorite they finally put on an album and is an inspired playing selection when I'm feeling political. "Given to Fly" avoids the "prevalence" tag - when asked whether it was about Jesus, Vedder said it was up to listener, and I like that. "Do the Evolution" is Pearl Jam at its hard-rocking cynical best. "Low Light" comes back to the idea of "beautiful desperation," thank you Jeff. "Push Me, Pull Me" is one of the 'weird' songs - although "red dot" might take that title on this album - has some of my favorite Vedder lyrics of all-time. A sample:

"I had a false belief /I thought I came here to stay/ We're all just visiting/ All just breaking like waves" ... and ... "So if there were no angels, would there be no sin?/ You better stop me before I begin/ But let me say, if I behave can you arrange/ a spacious hole in the ground/ Somewhere nice, make it nice /Where the land meets high tide" ... and ... "Like a cloud dropping rain/ I'm discarding all thought/ I'll dry up, leaving puddles on the ground/ I'm like an opening band for the sun." OK, that's almost the whole song.

Top Pick: Do the Evolution

Oddity: Push Me, Pull Me

Binaural

• Nothing As It Seems
• Insignificance
• Of the Girl
• Grievance
• Sleight of Hand
• Soon Forget
  

Comments: Binaural's an odd album for me. It's not that I dislike the harder hitting songs, but like "Yield" and the forthcoming "Riot Act," they almost sound forced, hence my list. Jeff Ament nails it again with "Nothing As It Seems," pinpointing the quiet discomfort of a small community, while "Insignificance" is the 2nd best song about the futility of political dissent, after The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again." "Of the Girl" is without question the greatest breakup song of all time; "Grievance" not only imports the feeling of political unrest, but social unrest as well; "Sleight of Hand" should be listened to weekly by anyone working in a corporate job, but has this uplifting ending. It's ephemeral yet immediate, and up there with "In My Tree" for favorite Pearl Jam song. "Soon Forget" is an opportunity to Vedder to showcase his underestimated sense of humor that's both funny and poignant - Bill Hicks would be proud.

Top Pick: Sleight of Hand OR Of the Girl ... it's hard to pick between those two.

Oddity: Soon Forget

Riot Act

• Can't Keep
• Love Boat Captain
• Thumbing My Way
• Arc
• All or None

Comments: "Can't Keep" is the best Pearl Jam album opener since "Go"; it sets the mood for the album and there's something intensely personal about it. "Love Boat Captain" co-opts The Beatles more than just lyrically; like "Hey Jude," it's bittersweet. "Thumbing My Way" is some of Vedder's best lyrics and foreshadows his work on the "Into The Wild" soundtrack. "Arc" is devastating (this list is about album songs, but hearing that live was one of the most memorable moments of my life ... the crowd fell quiet as he began chanting into the microphone). "All or None" is just a thoughtfully composed song.

Top Pick: Arc

Oddity: Honestly, it'd be "Arc" again, given its nature.

"Avocado", a.k.a., Pearl Jam

• Comatose
• Severed Hand
• Gone
• Wasted Reprise
• Army Reserve
• Come Back
  

Comments: Pearl Jam hasn't rocked this hard since this Vs./Vitalogy days. Thanks, W! Speaking of rocking hard, "Comatose." Jesus. Put this song on and pan the sound all the way to the left, so you can hear a faint guitar and Vedder just screaming for the first 10 seconds or so. "Severed Hand" is heavy hitting while imparting a reoccurring theme in Vedder's lyrics ("once dissolved we are free to grow"), while "Gone" similarly carries on Vedder's tradition of writing terrific songs about getting away with integrity intact. "Wasted Reprise" almost upstages the actual "Life Wasted" and I think Pearl Jam gets it too, based on how much they play it live. "Army Reserve" is on par with "Arc" for how devastating it is - a real human face is put on the war. Every time I hear "Come Back," I think of a particular friend who died a few years back. It's exactly how I feel about him.

Top Pick: Come Back

Oddity: Wasted Reprise, even though its only odd for being short and an organ-only track (Booooom!)

Lost Dogs (by disc)

Disc One:

• Sad
• Down
• Education
• Undone

Comments: I still don't know how "Sad" got left off "No Code," especially with its Middle Eastern-themed main riff. Everyone I know who has listened to "Down" - Pearl Jam fan or not - thinks its a great song, and they're right. Wish I asked Zinn about it the one time I met him at BU. "Education" follows Vedder's great tradition of introspective, yet familiar political songs; "Undone" doesn't have to be political - it can lift your mood no matter where you're going (as it says in the liner notes, it should be played in car turned all the way up).

Disc Two

• Fatal
• Hard to Imagine
• Footsteps
• Wash
• Drifting
  

Comments: Changing "the answers in Plato" to "the answers are fatal" in "Fatal" completely changes the song (for the better), but the musical composition is what makes this song. "Hard to Imagine" is a song to sing to yourself with arms outstretched in a summer rainstorm. "Footsteps" still hits hard after all these years; "Wash" is another summer rainstorm song, although coming from a far more desperate place; "Drifting," like "Soon Forget," displays Vedder's underrated sense of humor while being the type of song you can hum to yourself on your way to the corporate office and make you feel a little better about your place in the world.