History is shaped by our hands.

Pearl Jam played Saturday Night Live this past weekend. For most of their career they have chosen not to promote their music through the industry standard methods, trading sales in favor of integrity. However, the band has chosen to do things a little more closer to "normal" with their new CD, including a radio single and an SNL appearance. They are doing this because they are excited about their new, small record label and are quite proud of the music.

With mass-marketed music comes mass-marketed fans. This week I've been browsing the forum over at Pearl Jam's web site to read people's thoughts of the SNL performance. This forum, which has been an oasis for long-time fans, has been overtaken. There are posts everywhere from "new" fans that have discovered Pearl Jam recently via radio or SNL. I put the word 'new' in quotes because these fans with 'Forum Member Since April 2006' attached to each of their posts, claim to have been fans from the beginning.

The big statement from these "new" fans is that they love the sound of "World Wide Suicide", the new Pearl Jam single, but can't stand the lyrics. They ask questions like, "Why are the lyrics so political now?" They follow this up with statements like, "I wish they'd just go back to the non-political lyrics from when they started."

Oh really? Look at these lyrics.

All the bills go by and
initiatives are taken up
by the middle... There ain’t gonna be any middle any more!

Those lyrics are from "Porch", a song on Pearl Jam's first album, ten, released in 1991. The lyrics are practically foreshadowing the extreme separation of the left and right in our government that we are seeing now. Other themes in this song are abortion and women's rights. Political? Ummm, yeah. Again, this is from their first CD when they started.

I have no problem with new fans. New blood is essential for a band that is 15 years old and is creating music in a genre that has not been a major monkey-maker for years. But do me a favor and admit you are new blood. Or don't make wild statements without doing a bit of research. "Alive" is not the only song in Pearl Jam's back catalog. And there's more than "Jeremy", too. They've written about politics since day 1. And about love. And about depression. And about vinyl.  And about whales.

Then again it is the internet and the internet is fueled by jackasses mouthing off when they really don't have all the knowledge to be doing it. Don't believe me? My blog is 2 years of proof.