7/6/2023 0 Comments Eddie vedderThe band celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with a Labor Day music festival in Wisconsin, a documentary directed by longtime pal Cameron Crowe, a book and a series of album reissues. Also a leader when it comes to progressive social activism and ethical music business practices, Pearl Jam now defines what it means to be a fully grown rock band, still kicking as many of their peers flounder or find a spot on the nostalgia circuit. With Pearl Jam, Vedder helped invent the sound of millennial hard rock – an open marriage between punk, heavy metal and campfire folk songs that edged toward classic rock, partly because of Vedder's active engagement with influences like The Who and Bruce Springsteen. "A lot's different since I first picked up this instrument my life is quite different than I could have imagined." "The song selection was easy because those were the ones I had," said Vedder. Though the famously self-protective rocker declares that all the songs are "works of fiction," the more private writing process has led to a set of tracks that are more revealing, frank and sweeter than his usual output. Indeed, Ukulele Songs is a very personal collection - an arc of mostly love songs - dedicated to his wife, Jill McCormick, and their two daughters, Olivia and Harper Moon. "The songs were just written for my own benefit." "If it weren't for the ukulele I would have been by myself," he says of the period. For him, the modest chordophone itself has been a companion in times of loneliness. Some of the material collected on the record was written back in the mid-'90s after Vedder first picked up the instrument. Vedder said he hopes that Ukulele Songs would encourage listeners to step away from their computers and televisions and make some music of their own, preferably with friends. So it's like, imagine the possibilities with that little instrument!" And he played the most beautiful rendition of 'I Can't Help Falling in Love With You.' Elvis. "His hands were so big it was hard to imagine he could get chords out of it.
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