Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder hits out at “desperate” Donald Trump
Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has opened up about the band’s new album Dark Matter, confirming the track, ‘Wreckage’, is inspired by Donald Trump.
Vedder has vocally held disdain against Trump for many years, notably leading crowds to chant against him while he was in the Oval Office during concerts. Additionally, Pearl Jam’s 2018 track, ‘Can’t Deny Me’, is believed to be about the former host of The Apprentice, and when introducing the song during a performance in Amsterdam, Vedder told the crowd Trump is “crazy like a narcissistic motherfucker.”
Six years later, Trump is set to stand in another election against President Joe Biden, and for Vedder, it would be a tragedy if the Republican is successful at the ballot box.
The Pearl Jam frontman explained to The Sunday Times: “There is a guy in the United States who is still saying he didn’t lose an election, and people are reverberating and amplifying that message as if it is true. Trump is desperate. I don’t think there has ever been a candidate more desperate to win, just to keep himself out of prison and to avoid bankruptcy.”
Elaborating on Trump’s ongoing legal battles, Vedder added: “It is all on the line, and he’s out there playing the victim — at least they’re doing this to me, because if not they would be doing it to you — but you haven’t falsified your tax records. You don’t have classified information in your basement. So the song is saying, let’s not be driven apart by one person, especially not a person without any worthy causes.”
Despite Trump’s ongoing popularity, Vedder is optimistic that it will eventually come to an end, claiming, “Most thoughtful people are going through a bit of PTSD about it now.”
In the same interview, Vedder reflected on the monumental success of Pearl Jam’s second album, Vs, which he admitted was “kind of terrifying” and the band “didn’t know how to deal with what we were going through”.
Thankfully, Pearl Jam were able to learn from Neil Young, who took the band under his wing for Mirror Ball in 1995, which was a valuable experience for Vedder. He reflected: “To see someone who was on the other side of it all, who was carrying on regardless, made us realise that none of the stuff we were going through really mattered.”
Meanwhile, last week, Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard recently revealed plans for the band to get back into the studio to make “more music” despite the recent release of Dark Matter.
He remarked: “I think this record was an energising experience for everyone. It was a little bit of a journey, but working with Andrew [Watt]… I think Andrew really made a difference by his natural nature as a producer and as a fan. It would be cool to do more.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.