When anyone asks me my favorite singer or band, there is no hesitation that it is Pearl Jam. Lollapalooza 1992 pretty much defined my musical interest in this band, and there has been no turning back.

I was challenged to come up with my Top 10 favorite songs by this band, led by Eddie Vedder. I would say their catalog consists on the order of 175+ songs, and I like a bunch of them. Narrowing the list down to 10 was horribly difficult. But I did it. I quickly narrowed down the list by grabbing my “5-star” rated songs off of iTunes. There were about 25 of those. Then I listened to those 25 to come up with my decision.

Without further ado, here is the list of all Pearl Jam lists, with video samples so you can get an idea of how great these songs are:

10.

Down (Lost Dogs, 2003): An uplifting song off of their Lost Dogs album, I have no real main reason for liking this song other than I just like it. It almost has an R.E.M type feel to it. Talks about being lifting yourself up from the depths of some sort of despair. I would say this is the most “poppy” song on my list. At least it is not “Last Kiss”, I guess (although, I like that song better than a lot of people). By the way, for the video below, I was at that concert in San Francisco

9.

Love Boat Captain (Riot Act, 2002): This song starts builds from slow to fast and ends slow. A great blend of melody and singing. It is actually a very emotional song, especially to Pearl Jam. It is dedicated to nine people that died during a concert Pearl Jam was giving in Denmark in 2000. “Lost nine friends we’ll never know, two years ago today”.

8.

Rearviewmirror (Vs., 1993): A hard-hitting, fast-paced song with Vedder on the guitars. The beginning instruments just captures you. And then “I took a drive today/Time to emancipate”. For some reason, I initially thought this song was about some sort of date rape, but them came to realize it was about becoming free of abuse of someone who was hated with a passion. Apparently, this is about Vedder hating is stepfather. The end of this song gets your air guitar going. Oh, and for you Cold Case fans, this song was featured in a two episode series featuring Pearl Jam (right after their greatest hits album “Rearviewmirror” came out).

7.

State of Love and Trust (The movie “Singles” soundtrack (1992) / Rearviewmirror, 2004): This was written for the 1992 movie “Singles”. A song about love and faithfulness, this is just one of those songs that jams. It is fast and the ending guitar playing is awesome.

6.

Yellow Ledbetter (Lost Dogs, 2003 / Rearviewmirror, 2004): Mainly a very popular concert ending song, the lighters get thrown up when this song is played. It has been admitted that Jimi Hendrix was “ripped off” for this song. Not a fast song. Lyrically powerful. I believe Vedder has mentioned this being about someone dying in war. I love the song-ending guitar. Another Cold Case featured song.

5.

Black (Ten, 1991): Number 1 on many Pearl Jam fans’ lists, Black is probably the song I would introduce to a new listener of Pearl Jam…especially one who is more inclined to softer ballads. One of their most emotional songs, I believe it is about a couple’s breakup and the pain that goes with it (others say it is about a suicide or an abortion). The sticking lyric – “I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life, I know you’ll be a star in somebody else’s sky, but why, why, why, can’t it be, can’t be mine?”. And another Cold Case featured song.

4.

Porch (Ten, 1991): The best song on their debut album Ten in my opinion. Just beating out Black. There really isn’t a whole lot to the song, actually. A quick intro, an awesome beginning riff, verse, awesome instrumental, verse, awesome ending. Quick and hard hitting 3 minutes. A great concert song. This song got me loving Pearl Jam. Period. In a way, this song will always be my favorite. By the way, the crowd jump in the second video below from Pink Pop 92 is freaking amazing (about 2 minutes and 50 seconds in).

3.

I Got S**t (Merkin Ball, 1995 / Rearviewmirror, 2004): The made for release title is “I Got ID”. I like the original title better Capturing me with its initial guitar sequence by Eddie Vedder and Neil Young (yes, that Neil Young), the lyrics start off depressing and emotional. And it stays that way. Great riffs. Neil Young adds a bunch to this song.

2.

Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town (Vs., 1993): I think this is the longest title of any Pearl Jam song. It is a fairly popular song. Having an acoustic feel, this song really showcases Vedder’s lyrical and singing ability. About a woman working in a small town who sees a long lost love interest. I love it!

1.

Immortality (Vitalogy, 1994): This song actually snuck upon me as my favorite song. While popular, it is not as well known as songs like Jeremy, Alive, EvenFlow, Last Kiss, etc. In fact, I would call it is a nice gem. I am not quite sure I understand the entire song, although rumors are it is about Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and lyrics were added after his death. For those musical instrument inclined (not me), I think it is a simple enough song. But it is the perfect blend of great vocals, melodies and instrument play that make this tops on my list. And, in case you are interested, it is featured in Cold Case

[Other songs in consideration for the top 10: Life Wasted (Pearl Jam), Comatose (Pearl Jam), Corduroy (Vitalogy), Given to Fly (Yield), Faithful (Yield), Dissident (Vs.), In Hiding (Yield), Unthought Known (Backspacer), Animal (Vs.), Evenflow (Ten), Sad (Lost Dogs), Alive (Ten), Thin Air (Binaural)]

I am looking for full body support to help keep my back as pain free as possible. My sciatic nerve is really irritating me. I am willing to spend a pretty fair amount for a chair that will keep me comfortable and pain free.

Some others I am considering are:

The Kneelsit

The Mirra

The Aeron

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

Ding! Obviously spam or a scam, without even opening the message. How do I know? Well, first the sender’s name has no capitalization. What kind of professional uses a name without capitalizing the first letter of their first and last name? Secondly, the subject screams out programmatic email with the brackets being used as a key to insert website names.

So, what other giveaways are there? I decided to open the message:

So here is what I see

1. Message was dated 6:46 PM and I got it 2 hours later. Not sure that means much.
2. Email address has about 10 digits after the name ellie. So, there is obviously a program generating email addresses. I mean, come on, at least have lisarey123456789@gmail.com
3. The greeting addresses me as “Website Owner”. Another indication of automation and spamming is not addressing you by your real name.
4. An address, but no company name or link to company website. They even say “Our company is on the first page when you search on Google for our primary search term ‘SEO Company’”. REALLY? But you won’t tell me what the name of your company is, huh? (btw, here is the search result for “SEO Company” on Google.
5. They say “Simply reply with opt out if not interested to hear from us”. Not very good English, if you ask me.
6. I also did a search on Google and found other people seeing these types of emails.

So I wonder what would happen if I replied?? Not sure I am going to try to find out

Anyway, I was looking at my iTunes playlists today and found one called “Top 25 Most Played”. I looked in there and was surprised what I saw. Now these are the most played since I moved my music to iTunes in May 2008. Here is the list:

1. Last Name — Carrie Underwood (Played 33 times)
2. Walk Away — Kelly Clarkson (31 times)
3. Life Wasted — Pearl Jam (29 times)
4. SIgned, Sealed, Delivered — Stevie Wonder (25 times)
5. All Mixed Up — 311 (25 times)
6. Killer Queen — Queen (24 times)
7. Hello (American Idol Performance) — David Cook (21 times)
8. Seasons of Love — Rent the Musical (20 times)
9. Comfortably Numb [Live] — Roger Waters with Van Morrison (19 times)
10. Gloria — Van Morrison (18 times)
11. Because of You — Kelly Clarkson (18 times)
12. Killing Me Softly With His Song – Fugees (16 times)
13. Since U Been Gone — Kelly Clarkson (16 times)
14. Drops of Jupiter — Train (16 times)
15. No Diggity – Blackstreet & Dr. Dre (14 times)
16. Higher Ground – Stevie Wonder (14 times)
17. Don’t Know Why – Norah Jones (13 times)
18. Wanted Dead or Alive – Bon Jovi (12 times)
19. Jump Around — House of Pain (12 times)
20. Illusion, Coma, Pimp and Circumstance – Prince (12 times)
21. It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye — Boyz II Men (11 times)
22. Don’t Let Love Go — En Vogue (11 times)
23. Upside Down — Jack Johnson (11 times)
24. Behind These Hazel Eyes — Kelly Clarkson (11 times)
25. Verse Chorus Verse — Nirvana (11 times)

(Moving up quickly: Independence Day — Martina McBride, Kiss from a Rose — Seal, Alone — Heart, On the Other Side of the Truth — Sex Police, Animal — Pearl Jam)

So what does this list show? Well, that I have a pretty diverse musical taste. I like American Idol (yes, I admit that with no shame). Kelly Clarkson seems to be my favorite artist (although it really is Pearl Jam). And…..that I let my kids listen to the Curious George Soundtrack a little too much (WHAT THE HECK IS JACK JOHNSON DOING IN HERE )

Hola a todos, en mi primer post me gustaría compartir algo con vosotros, Ya sabéis que para buscar y descargar música en internet, tenemos muy pocas opciones, generalmente utilizamos el emule o el ares, pero yo personalmente encuentro bastante frustrante bajarme una canción y que no sea la que busco, porque pierdo bastante tiempo encontrando material de calidad.
Una amiga me recomendó utilizar Altavz como mi buscador de música, y la verdad es una gozada.
Además de poder escuchar la canción, descargarla o agregarla a tus listas preferidas puedes encontrar a otros usuarios y compartir tu música con ellos.
Hace mucho que no utilizo emule, sino este [url=http://www.altavz.com][b]buscador de música[/b][/url].

Which, using Google Translator, loosely means:

Hello everybody, my first post I’d like to share something with you, You know that
search and download music online, we have very few options, we generally use
emule or ares, but I personally find it quite frustrating to get a song and
I’m looking for is not because I lose time finding enough quality material.

A friend recommended I use as my browser Altavz music, and really enjoyed one.

Besides being able to hear the song, download it or add it to your favorite lists can
finding other users and share your music with them.

Long time do not use emule, but it [url = http://www.altavz.com] [b] finder
music [/ b] [/ url].

Well, spammer, thank you for the “useful” information.

LONG BEACH, California (AFP) – Microsoft founder turned disease-battling philanthropist Bill Gates loosed mosquitoes at an elite Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) Conference to make a point about the deadly sting of malaria.

“Malaria is spread by mosquitoes,” Gates said while opening a jar onstage at a gathering known to attract technology kings, politicians, and Hollywood stars.

“I brought some. Here I’ll let them roam around. There is no reason only poor people should be infected.”

Gates waited a minute or so before assuring the audience the liberated insects were malaria-free.

Well, I guess if he made a mistake, and a mosquito or two did have malaria, Bill Gates has the money to fight off some of the lawsuits (although not as much money as he used to have — so he had better be more careful).

I reflected on what happened to Steve Jobs yesterday. I thought about how someone with that amount of resources at his disposal is still as human as any of us, and thus can suffer the same fates as any of us can. I got to thinking about something indirectly related…how to approach my life.

I admit it. In one respect I am a bit cowardly. I tend to avoid possibly controversial or uncomfortable situations, especially when it comes to something personal (I am a bit better when the topics are business related, etc.)

For reasons I won’t go into here, that needs to change. I am making it my mission to be more forthright with my opinions — even if the consequences could be an awkward or uncomfortable situation. It is just not healthy to ignore certain situations or try to brush situations off as “nothing”. Definitely not healthy for me in the long run, I can tell you that. 

Now, that does not mean I am going to be spouting at the lip about every meaningless topic, but I do need to find a middle ground because right now I am very much on the extreme other end of the spectrum. And, of course, that does not mean I am going to blog about these personal issues that may arise.

But I am a believer that honesty is the only way to establish “reality” so to speak. And living in reality is a lot better than living in fantasy (well, for most things ).

The only reason I am writing this particular post is to force me to get to work on making this reform of my “inner Joel” happen. I figured publicly posting something like this is a good first step at being open and honest.

Now off to write an email to someone close to me…..

Symbolics.com is the oldest (Who?? )

You will see companies like Intel, AMD, AT&T, HP, Adobe on this list, but one company that was surprisingly missing was Microsoft. I would have figured that they would have been one of the first domain names. Back in the late 80s Microsoft was still finding its roots and wasn’t the success it is today; but still, it was interesting to see this omission. They didn’t buy their domain until 1991.

Octopus.com is on the list, but not microsoft.com

Just to be in the holiday spirit, I thought I would share my Christmas and Holiday song list that I have compiled for this season. I think it is pretty good. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or just general happiness to all!

• Blue Christmas – Elvis Presley
• Happy Xmas (War Is Over) — John & Yoko
• Sleigh Ride — Amy Grant
• Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! — Frank Sinatra
• My Grown-Up Christmas List — Kelly Clarkson
• I Wish Everyday Could Be Like Christmas — Bon Jovi
• Here Comes Santa Claus — Elvis Presley
• The Little Drummer Boy — Bob Seger
• Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) — U2
• Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas — The Pretenders
• Do You Hear What I Hear — Carrie Underwood
• Winter Wonderland — Eurythmics
• White Christmas — The Drifters
• The Christmas Song — Hootie & The Blowfish
• Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town — Bruce Springsteen
• Jingle Bell Rock — Daryl Hall And John Oates
• Wonderful Christmastime — Paul McCartney
• Run Rudolph Run — Chuck Berry
• Last Christmas — Wham!
• Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me) — Elvis Presley
• Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
• Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer — Gene Autry
• Seasons of Love — From the Musical “Rent”
• Auld Lang Syne — Barenaked Ladies

I think I have worked out most of the kinks.

But there is one thing that I am still trying to ensure is working probably. So, if you read this, could you please leave a comment (any comment will do – although I would prefer something “clean” ). And if you leave a comment and you see it has not posted, please email me by clicking on the link above my picture at this blog.

I make no money with this blog; so I am not trying to increase any click through traffic or anything. This is purely a technical review.

Much appreciated.