Allan Mortimer

Music 1010

EDDIE VEDDER

• Eddie Vedder was born Edward Louis Severson III December 23, 1964 in Evanston, Ill.

• Parents divorced while young.

• Grew up detesting his step-father.

BEGINNINGS

• The Who

• Neil Young

• The Doors

• The Clash

MUSICAL INFLUENCES

• Pearl Jam

• Temple of the Dog (Tribute Band)

• Solo Career

BANDS

• Ten (1991, Epic)

• Vs. (1993, Epic)

• Vitalogy (1994, Epic)

• No Code (1996, Epic)

• Yield (1998, Epic)

• Binaural (2000, Epic)

• Riot Act (2002, Epic)

• Pearl Jam (2006, J)

• Backspacer (2009, Monkeywrech)

DISCOGRAPHY WITH PEARL JAM

• Into the Wild Soundtrack (2004, Sony/BMG Int’l)

• Ukulele Songs (2011, Republic)

SOLO DISCOGRAPHY

Nominations:

• Critic’s Choice Award – Best Song for “Man of the Hour” (2004)

• Golden Globe – Best Original Song for “Man of the Hour” (2004)

• Critic’s Choice Award – Best Song for “Guaranteed” (2007)

• Grammy Award – Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for “Guaranteed” (2007)

• Golden Globe – Best Original Score for “Into the Wild” (2007)

Awards:

• Golden Globe – Best Original Song for “Guaranteed” (2007)

NOMINATIONS AND AWARDS FOR SONGWRITING

• Pro-Choice/Women’s Rights Advocate

• Supports the Surfrider foundation (non-profit focused on clean beaches)

• Vegetarian

• Environmentalist

ACTIVISM

COMPOSITION GUIDE“GUARANTEED”

• Written for the movie “into the Wild”

• Received the Golden Globe for Best Original Song

COMPOSITION GUIDE“BETTERMAN”

• Written While Vedder was a teenager

• Reflected his feelings toward his stepfather.

COMPOSITION GUIDE“I AM MINE”

• Self reflective song for Vedder

• Is about self reliance

COMPOSITION GUIDE“SPIN THE BLACK CIRCLE”

• About his passion for vinyl records.

• Released on vinyl before CD.

LISTENING GUIDE“Guaranteed”0:00 introduction; A single acoustic guitar plays notes quickly but clearly. The beginning almost sounds like a folk song. The song is in Major, the melody is calming.

0:20 verse 1: begins: The vocals have a baritone feel to them. The singer has inflection on the words but stays a higher baritone until the last few words of the verse he switches to slightly lower baritone. This emphasizes the verse is over. The rhythm is catchy but has an easy sound to it comforting the listener.

0:39 verse 2: begins again he has returned to the higher baritone to begin the verse

0:58 verse 3: begins: The vocals have returned to the high baritone again returning to a lower register on the last few words. The lowering of his voice adds darkness to the song.

LISTENING GUIDE1:12 verse 3: the vocals have again dropped even lower to emphasis the line “if there was someone to keep me at home, it would be you”. This emphasizes the emotion of the subjects that is leaving home and his hesitancy to leave only one person. He also stays lower for a longer section of the verse.

1:17 verse 4: The singer starts off with a softer tone in his voice while remaining baritone. This allows the singer to express the subject’s empathy for those that incorrectly judge him. He stays in this tone throughout the verse.

1:38 verse 5: The vocals begin soft again; the melody from the guitar stays the same throughout the song.

1:50 verse 5: the verse continues the singers voice drops in the middle of the line to emphasis the word “dead”. This shows the subjects fear on loneliness as he lives alone in the woods.

LISTENING GUIDE “Betterman”0:00 introduction, the song begins with dissonance, a series of high pitched notes from a single guitar accompanied by drums being played lightly. The tone of the guitar causes a sense of discomfort to the listener.

0:20 break

0:23 second intro. Single conjunct guitar plays melody for eight bars... The song appears to be in Major. The guitar builds anticipation.

0:38 Verse one begins, vocals are somewhat mono-tone, and the same guitar melody continues to play.

1:03 Chorus one begins. The tempo of the single guitar picks up, the chorus is somber based on the limited range of the vocals. The increased tempo adds energy into the song.

LISTENING GUIDE 1:42 Verse two begins. Second guitar begins playing adding nice timbre to the mix.

1:57 Bass and drums enter, tempo picks up significantly, the singer’s vocal inflection increases as well allowing the listener to hear all the instruments to be heard separately while playing together defogging the timbre.

2:15 Chorus 2 plays. All instruments of the band are now playing. The original melody continues but has changed from acoustic to electric guitar. The vocals increase in volume making this verse appear more dramatic for the listener than the previous verse. The energy of the song has increased substantially.

LISTENING GUIDE2:56 Bridge

3:00 verse three begins; mood of the song has changed. The vocals have an added edgy tone. Tempo and volume of the composition has changed. The new tone has an angry sound to it. This mirrors the text of the song regarding an abused woman returning again to her abusive partner.

3:43 guitar solo plays demonstrating the prowess of the guitarist.

3:50 non text vocalizing begins, melody continues.

4:23 fade out. This song feels to have been descending. It began after the original dissonance slowly and then ended with a more aggressive deeper sound. This song was in ABA format.

LISTENING GUIDE“I Am Mine”http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/pearl-jam/album/i-am-mine

0:00 Introduction, A single electric guitar strums the melody. This piece sounds conjunct.

0:04 a second guitar joins playing single notes about every other beat creating a homophonic texture.

0:10 drums begin playing a simple rhythm primarily on the cymbals emphasizing the third pulse of each beat.

0:17 Bass begins playing, drums roll until the vocals begin. The drumroll adds dissonance to the piece until the vocals enter.

LISTENING GUIDE0:20 verse one and vocals begin, the pitch of the vocals are deep in contrast to the higher range of the guitars playing. The melody and tempo remain the same throughout the first verse. The singer emphasizes the last syllable of each line. Ex. thINE and mINE. The lines seem almost a speech to the listener on how to live their life.

1:01 Chorus begins. Tempo of the song increases. Drums carry more emphasis on all of their beats. The bass gets noticeably deeper. Vocals mention sorrow and dying. This carries the song to become darker.

1:56 Verse two begins. A vocal shift to a higher register breaks the dissonance of the chorus. This is when the inverted arch shifts back up. The vocal text also changes saying “there is no need to hide” in the second line.

2:16 Bridge begins. Instruments playing standard eight beat emphases on the last four notes on the first line.

LISTENING GUIDE

2:34 chorus 2 begins at the end of the bridge, entering before the final beat of the bridge is played. The chorus is identical to the previous chorus in words and music.

3:14 chorus ends, guitar solo begins.

3:33 fade out; this song was in ABA format.

LISTENING GUIDE “Spin the Black Circle”http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/pearl-jam/album/vitalogy/track/spin-the-black-circle0:00 introduction. Electric guitar immediately starts playing a fast rhythm which gives the listener an understanding this piece will be high energy. You can envision a “mosh pit” forming to this song.

0:04 Drums enter; guitar continues to play the same rhythm as the same tempo. A second guitar enters playing the last four beats of the next two lines with four high pitched notes. The bass may also have entered but the timbre of this song could be called blurry. The instruments play at the same level and intensity of sound.

0:24 Vocals enter, verse on begins the same music has been played up until now. The vocals match the tone set by the other instruments. The singer is almost screaming instead of singing adding to the intense energy of the song. The singer emphasizes the last syllable by extending it another beat.

LISTENING GUIDE0:42 Chorus begins. Music is identical as previous versus. Consists mainly of the singer repeating “Spin, spin, spin the black circle”

1:00 Verse two begins. Music has changed. The timbre is still blurry not allowing the listener to clearly hear individual notes. The change primarily is in the rhythm of the guitars and the distinctive sound of cymbals “crashing”.

1:18 Chorus 2 begins with the same words as chorus one but the music is again that of chorus one.

1:37 bridge begins as the chorus ends, the singer let’s out an extended scream (no text)

1:48 music shifts to a higher note on all instruments, vocals continue with screams making the words difficult to understand adding to a blurred timbre.

LISTENING GUIDE2:04 Chorus 3 + add begins. The lyrics are the same as same however the music changes throughout, the veil on the timbre is lifted as the instruments begin to play different notes. ON guitar remains rhythm the other guitar begins playing a “solo” while the drums play a differently than previously while still staying on the same rhythm. It is almost as if each instrument begins playing a different song while the vocalist screams spin, spin.

2:47 single note of varying pitch plays from a guitar.

2:48 end of song. This song was in ABA format.

REFERENCESErlewine, Thomas Rovi. Rolling Stone. n.d. Webpage. 10 February 2012.

Hiatt, Brian. The Second Coming of Pearl Jam. 16 June 2006. Document. 01 02 2012.

Jam, Pearl. http://www.pearljam.com/. n.d. Webpage. 02 02 2012.

PJ20. Dir. Cameron Crowe. Perf. Pearl Jam. 2011. Documentary.

Songfacts.com http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1411. n.d. document. 08 February 2012.

Songfacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1275. n.d. webpage. 9 February 2012.