The Pearl Jam song that “just didn’t work”
Riot Act was an incredibly diverse Pearl Jam record. Written in the aftermath of tragedy – following the September 11 terrorist attacks, and closer to home, the death of nine fans at Pearl Jam’s Roskilde Festival – it charted personal loss, political tension, and mortality. Vocalist Eddie Vedder once described it as an “optimistic yet disillusioned, hopeful yet frustrated” sound, which was not only reflected in the unusual tuning that featured on a handful of songs but also in its lyrics.
Even on such an inventive album, there was a song so unique it didn’t make the cut. The lyrics to the discarded song were written by Vedder, and the music was written by guitarist Mike McCready. Although it was readily recorded for Riot Act, ‘Down’ became a B-side to the ‘I Am Mine’ single, eventually winding up on the 2003 rarities compilation Lost Dogs.
Influenced by hardcore band Social Distortion after seeing them perform in Los Angeles, McCready wanted it to be a grittier track. “I was excited about it but I wanted it to sound heavier than it actually did when we recorded it,” he explained.
“I liked how it came out, but it just didn’t work with the rest of [Riot Act]. Even I had to admit it, but I didn’t want to – it was relegated to B-side-dom,” he added. “Originally it was supposed to be more of a crunch-type thing. It just came out a little bit lighter than I thought. But people seem to dig it when we play it live. I’m proud of it. I like the song.”
While the Orange County hardcore scene provided sonic inspiration, historian Howard Zinn’s socialist writings largely inspired the lyrics, with the line: “You can’t be neutral on a moving train,” an ode to one of his books. Vedder told AV Club he’d struck up a friendship with Zinn around the time of Riot Act’s release.
“Having a friendship over the past few years with Howard Zinn, sharing things about life, not just history and politics, that’s been a tremendous addition,” he said of his lyric writing. “As far as viewpoints, I think I’m more well-rounded and definitely more educated, and probably more hopeful than I used to be. I think when you’re young and you get into a cause, you get frustrated with it within a few years, or six months.”
Still, there was no escaping the fact the song suffered from what Vedder famously referred to as “one thing is not like the other syndrome” and was left off of the album. But it remains one of his favourites, potentially his favourite Pearl Jam had recorded for it. In the biography Pearl Jam Twenty, Vedder confessed it “should have been the single”.
