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Alive is a song by Pearl Jam which was written by guitarist Stone Gossard before the band had a lead singer. It was part of a 3 song instrumental demo they made while looking for a vocalist. Jack Irons, a friend of Gossard's and drummer for The Red Hot Chili Peppers, gave Eddie Vedder the demo tape. Vedder wrote lyrics and recorded a version with his vocals. The band liked what they heard and made him lead singer.
The demo was titled "Dollar Short." It was changed to "Alive" after Vedder wrote lyrics for it.
Vedder's lyrics are about a boy who finds out his father is actually his step-father, and that his real father is dead. Vedder later revealed that the song was autobiographical, and the chorus of "I'm still alive" was what he considered his curse, as he struggled to deal with the strained relationship with his step-father and the fact that his real father was dead. In an episode of VH1's Storytellers, Vedder explained that the interpretation of the song had changed, as fans would react to the chorus by jumping around and celebrating - they heard "I'm still alive" as a positive thing, an affirmation of life. Said Vedder: "When they changed the meaning of those words, they lifted the curse."
Eddie's mother divorced his father when he was one year old, and was raised by his step-father without him knowing it. Eddie had even met his true father without even realizing they were related. Eddie's mother told Eddie about how his parents had divorced when he was 13, and Eddie also learned to play guitar at 13 - both of which are mentioned in the song. (thanks, Elliot - St. Louis, MO)
The other 2 songs on the demo follow this story. After Vedder put lyrics to them, the songs became "Once," where the boy goes nuts and starts killing people, and "Footsteps," where the boy is sentenced to death and blames his mother. Vedder called this the "Mamason" trilogy.
Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready based his guitar solo on the one Ace Frehley played on the Kiss song "She." In an issue of Guitar Player magazine, Frehley said that his solo in "She" came from Robbie Krieger's guitar work on The Doors' "Five To One." (thanks, Ken - LaSalle, Canada)
In the US, this was the first song Pearl Jam released as a single.
The drummer in the video is Matt Chamberlain. He took over after Pearl Jam's first album, but left soon after to join the Saturday Night Live band.
In 2000, the band was playing the Roskilde Festival in Denmark when 9 fans were crushed to death in the mosh pit. They were about to play this, but stopped the show when they saw people being pulled out of the crowd in real bad shape. Some of the 40,000 people in the crowd began singing "I'm still alive," unaware that the event had turned tragic. Pearl Jam left the stage and the next band, The Cure, refused to go on out of respect for the dead.
Released on marketplace 2017 |
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"The Stage" • "Trust" • "Dead Memories" • "Wake Me Up" • "Celebration" • "Party Rock Anthem" • "Swing, Swing" • "Some Nights" • "Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)" |
Songs in Rock Band Unplugged |
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"3's and 7's" • "ABC" • "Ace of Spades '08" • "Alive" • "Aqualung" • "Buddy Holly" • "Carry On Wayward Son" "Chop Suey" • "Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated)" • "De-Luxe" • "Drain You" • "Everlong" • "Float On" "Gasoline" • "Holiday in Cambodia" • "I Was Wrong" • "The Killing Jar" • "Kryptonite" • "Laid to Rest" "Less Talk More Rokk" • "Livin' on a Prayer" • "Message in a Bottle" • "The Middle" • "Miss Murder" "More Than a Feeling" • "Move Along" • "Mr. Brightside" • "My Own Worst Enemy" • "Our Truth" • "Painkiller" "The Perfect Drug" • "Pinball Wizard" • "Rock Your Socks" • "Show Me the Way" • "Spoonman" • "Today" "The Trees" (Vault Edition) • "What's My Age Again?" • "Where'd You Go?" • "White Wedding, Part 1" • "Would?" |
Starter Pack |
"Everlong" • "ABC" • "Buddy Holly" • "Ace of Spades '08" • "What's My Age Again?" |
Downloadable songs |
"Afterlife" • "All I Want" • "Back from the Dead" • "Black Sunshine" • "The Boys Are Back In Town (Live)" "Bring Me to Life" • "California Über Alles" • "Casey Jones" • "Constant Motion" • "Crushcrushcrush" "Dr. Feelgood" • "Excuse Me Mr." • "A Favor House Atlantic" • "Feed the Tree" • "Flathead" • "Funk #49" "Gimme Three Steps" • "Had a Dad" • "Headknocker" • "Heartbreaker" • "Here Comes Your Man" • "Hysteria" "I Stand Alone" • "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" • "Inside the Fire" • "Jeremy" • "Just a Girl" • "The Kill" "Know Your Enemy" • "Kool Thing" • "Lonely as You" • "Losing My Religion" • "Love Spreads" • "Lucid Dreams" "Monkey Wrench" • "My Curse" • "My Iron Lung" • "My Old School" • "The Number of the Beast (Original Version)" • "Pride and Joy" • "Red Barchetta" • "Renegade" • "Riad N' the Bedouins" • "The Rock Show" "Sex Type Thing" • "She's Not There" • "Sin Wagon" • "Smooth Criminal" • "Still Alive" • "Toxicity" "The Trooper" • "Typical" • "Under the Bridge" • "Wake Up Dead" • "Waking the Demon" • "Wonderwall" "You're No Rock N' Roll Fun" |
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