mixtape maestro

Just as we had finally started to come around to the seemingly bizarro reality of Pearl Jam being the cats behind this past summer’s irresistibly catchy rocker “The Fixer” (and don’t act like you didn’t have a hard time pairing the band with the feel-good single either), the grunge godfathers go and throw us another mind-jumbling curveball by including an actual LOVE BALLAD on their newest release, Backspacer. And by love ballad, we don’t mean a depressing romantic lament that would have fit in line with everything we’ve come to expect from PJ after all these years; no, with the beautifully folksy “Just Breathe”, they’ve created something that could perfectly soundtrack the walk down the aisle of your wedding!!!

Supported by a lightly orchestrated, country-tinged frame of tender acoustic guitar flickerings and cinematic strings (yes, strings!!) that prettily nail a rustic-like serenity, Eddie Vedder’s hardened growl is leavened with vulnerability as he pauses for a moment of self-reflection at the mid-life point. Realizing how fortunate he is to be able to “count on both hands the ones I love” when others have to settle for one or none at all, he’s moved to pull his lover to the side to announce his appreciation for her presence in his life.

How amazing it is to hear this mucho masculine-sounding man’s man get in touch with his sensitive side, his apologizing for any previous lack of clarity concerning his feelings for her (“Did I say that I need you?/ Did I say that I want you?/ Oh, if I didn’t I’m a fool, you see/ No one knows this more than me/ And I come clean, ah…”), touching pleas for her to “Stay with me…” and lump-in-throat-evoking final couplet of “Hold me ’til I die/ Meet me on the other side” all enough to mist up anyone’s eyes.

Find out about Backspacer‘s purchasing info via the band’s website.

“Just Breathe”:

“The Fixer”: