The music industry has witnessed many conflicts among celebrated musicians and bands, and one of them was among Pearl Jam and Nirvana, which are the two successful bands of the ’90s. Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder and Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain made some harsh statements about each other’s bands, escalating their rivalry.
When Pearl Jam released their debut album named ‘Ten’ on August 27, 1991, it was evident they would have a massive impact on the rock industry. With his incredible talent, Eddie Vedder stood out as the band’s frontman, which significantly contributed to Pearl Jam’s success. Besides eleven studio albums with Pearl Jam, Vedder also continued his solo career and contributed to a few film soundtracks.
Throughout their successful career, especially in the ’90s, Pearl Jam was not alone in this path, as another influential band, Nirvana, accompanied them. Nirvana’s debut album didn’t attract as much attention as their second album, ‘Nevermind,’ which was a turning point in their career. The album achieved great success, and Kurt Cobain as the lead singer and songwriter took the band’s lead.
Why Did Kurt Cobain Hate Eddie Vedder And Pearl Jam?
Back in 1993, Kurt Cobain gave an interview to Rolling Stone and talked about why he didn’t like Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam. He stated that he had nothing against Eddie Vedder and actually liked him. However, he criticized Pearl Jam as a band for their commercial music. Nirvana frontman Cobain claimed that Pearl Jam aimed for commercial success, but Vedder cannot be held responsible for that.
When asked about the feud with Vedder in the interview, Cobain explained:
“There never was one. I slagged them off because I didn’t like their band. I hadn’t met Eddie at the time. It was my fault; I should have been slagging off the record company instead of them. They were marketed, not probably against their will. But without them realizing, they were being pushed into the grunge bandwagon.”
Cobain was also asked about whether he felt empathy towards them and responded:
“Yeah, I do. Except I’m pretty sure that they didn’t go out of their way to challenge their audience as much as we did with this record. They’re a safe rock band. They’re a pleasant rock band that everyone likes. God, I’ve had much better quotes in my head about this.”
It is a known fact that Nirvana tried to keep away from the mainstream, and they liked challenging their listeners. Apparently, Kurt Cobain thought Pearl Jam tried to captivate their listeners with catchy songs, which he hated. However, Cobain, later on, realized that their record company was responsible for their musical strategy. Maybe they were also willing to do that, but they didn’t notice that they were being pushed to the mainstream.
Eddie Vedder Regretted Not Connecting With Kurt Cobain
It was evident that after Cobain’s tragic death in 1994, the feud between these two successful names seemed meaningless. Eddie Vedder had spoken to SPIN magazine in 1995, and it was republished to celebrate ‘Vitalogy’s 25th anniversary, which gained significant commercial success and became the second-fastest selling album in the music industry.
During the interview, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder reflected on the difficulties of their quickly acquired fame. He stated that being on stage requires full concentration, but it is tough to maintain it in their busy schedule. After some point, he feels like his moves on the stage become automatic, but he doesn’t think it is the right way to sing.
Vedder then was asked about whether there is any similarity between what he and Cobain went through. He said that he completely understands Cobain, and there are definitely some parallels in the difficulties they went through. The two seemed to have problems with each other, but Vedder seems to regret not being closer with Cobain at the time.
Eddie explained that when he met Courtney Love, who told him all about Kurt and his appreciation of Vedder, he realized that he and Cobain actually shared many common points. He pointed out that they could have built a more intimate relationship if they had bumped into each other more frequently.
Here is how Eddie explained his regret with Cobain:
“That’s exactly how I feel right now, which is just weird. Sometimes—I don’t sit around and think about it all the time by any means – I wish that Kurt and I had been able to, like, sit in the basement a few nights and just play stupid songs together, and relate to some of this. That might’ve helped us to understand each other, that he wasn’t the only one, or that I wasn’t the only one.
We kind of knew that in the back of our heads, but we certainly never… I mean, we had a conversation on the phone, but we didn’t really address that. Courtney told me later that he was so excited about a song he’d written with Pat Smear about beans. And that was exactly where I was coming from at the time. I don’t want anything to do with this larger-than-life bullshit.”
It seems like if given a chance, the grunge pioneers could have developed a strong bond and even helped each other in the difficult path they stepped on. Maybe it could have made everything easier, especially for Cobain.
