One of my first musical memories happened when I was ten or so. I was given the record “Ten” by Pearl Jam, or as my wife calls them, Snore Jam, as a gift by a cousin whom I’m now estranged from. The record, as well as my love of the band stuck with me. Through the years I’ve caught up with some albums, and have paid marginal attention to their ascension as one of the best American rock n roll bands. Some albums have blown me away. Others have left me wanting more. That’s what makes this band so interesting, all these years later. They’ve never broken up, never had to replace a member who od’ed ( although Matt Cameron did join the band in 1998) and made a truly terrible album, and most of all, they’ve kept on doing exactly what the fuck they felt like.

This is very evident when I saw them a little over a month ago at the Voodoo Festival here in New Orleans. They played what they felt like, and they sounded A- Mazing. Low and behold, Pearl Jam still really kick ass. These guys, Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Cameron (also of Soundgarden), and Mike McCready truly are an important institution of United States rock n roll, no matter how much they seem to rebel at times. Here are ten of my favorite songs.

10. Tremor Christ, Vitalogy : From the opening cords, this is an uneasy song. Vedders voice is both vulnerable and extremely forceful. Very few bands can pull off the perfect the mid tempo jam, but Pearl Jam seems to have mastered it as early as their third album, which low and behold, this album falls in. Lyrically, Vedder has a knack for making complete sense on some songs and putting words together in a seemingly incoherent way in other ways. Sometimes these happen in the same song. This song is one of these. What exactly is a Tremor Christ? I’m not sure, but it sounds like something with big fucking teeth and long skinny arms. It also sounds like something I never wanna meet

9. Animal, Vs. : Probably the most in your face song on this list. The sounds are immediate, and quite frankly, pissed off. The lyrics are just as angry as the instrumentation. Words like “ Why would you wanna like me?” really showcase where they were as a band on this album. They had this huge hit with Ten, and were one of the biggest bands in the world, but they wanted to be big on their own terms. Fuck Hollywood is how I like to look at it. In the end they succeeded:They are a huge band and in a league of sell outs, they still do what they want.

8. Nothingman, Vitalogy : Even though this is a band very often overlooked in terms of genuine, beautiful “ ballads,” this is one of the best weapons this band has. Most are amazing, tear inducing, and heartfelt. This is the most obvious choice for me. It’s slow, somber, and wonderful. I’ve still never gotten to see this live, but hopefully someday I will. I’d like to talk more about this, but some songs are best left to let you hear, rather than for you to read about.

7. Corduroy, Vitalogy : I always felt like this was the best opening song they had in the catalog, but after seeing how seamlessly it fits into any set behing any other song I’d have to disagree with myself. The build up is awesome, and once it gets into it its pure dirty rock n roll. This band excels at that. Other than Radiohead, I really can’t think of many other bands that have been this stable and solid when it comes to output. Sure they haven’t sold Beiber numbers, but they’ve outlasted so many flavors of the months it’s ridiculous. Brilliant, solid songs like this are one of the reasons

6. Elderly Woman behind a Counter in a small town, Vs. : I don’t even know how to categorize this song, but it’s one that’s stuck with me since first heard it. When I was growing up, Tapes were the big thing, and knowing this album had just come out, I begged my mom to bring me to the local Wal Mart to purchase it. Wal Mart, really. Anyway, I get this awesome album from the evil empire and listen to it all the way through, and this wonderful, musically full songs leaps into my ears, over and over again, and decades later, I’m here telling you about it. Also, that Wal Mart was in Abbeville Louisiana, and it quite sucked. Don’t go there. Seriously

5. Immortality, Vitalogy : You’ve likely started seeing a pattern. This band has many great songs, but most of mine come in the first 15 years or so of their exposure to the world. These lyrics are dark, and a little depressing, but it drills the point home. All the members play their instruments well here, and the song winds along until the tail end where it crescendos into a dirty down home jam session

4. Last Kiss, No Boundaires: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees : A Cover song yes, but it’s still one of the best they’ve released if you ask me. Such a sad fucking song. I’d rather not imagine how my life would change if my beloved would perish under these circumstances, but I’m sure it would be terrible. Either way, the band does a beautiful rendition of this classic song. I think of this song being up there with Johnny Cash’s cover of “ Hurt” in terms of cover songs that potentially outshine the original.

3. Rearviewmirror, Vs, : This bad boy kicks all kinds of ass. It’s immediately in first gear, and the flow of the song never lets up, especially in the chorus. All around just a fun, out of the ordinary sing along. I love this chorus. That bass line going underneath everything also helps to tie the song into a perfect bow. The vocals at the end are what ultimately makes it a amazing song. It’s clear whatever he’s dealing with, he wants to be done, or as he says it, he wants it in his “ Rearview Mirror.”

2. Given To Fly, Yield : Overwhelmingly optimistic once you get through the rough parts. It’s a quite beautiful song, and the music alongside Vedders beautiful, soaring voice really help to bring me to a place where things are beautiful, and everything is right in the world. This song exemplifies so much of what life is really like. Darkness, murder, power, love and optimism. I can’t help but think that life is supposed to be experienced, and not to be ruined by pleasing other people, or how much money you have in the bank. Life is what happens when you’re busy trying to figure out whats next.

1. Black, Ten: One of their darkest songs, but as you can see from the placement on this list, it’s my favorite. This song is so emotional in so many ways. The song has so much sadness and desperation in it, but it still brings out pure raw emotions that ultimately make it a priceless song. This song has so much symbolism you’d think the creator of El Topo and Holy Mountain wrote this shit, but alas he didn’t. All joking aside, this song is one of the best I’ve ever heard in my entire life, and still to this day it’s emotional. Hearing it for the first time last month was easily one of the best single concert experiences of my entire life. If you haven’t yet heard this song, please track it down. It’s the emotional core of not only that album, but the core of the band.