Confessions of a Former Flannel Shirt Wearer

I have a confession to make: I fell in love with Pearl Jam on the same day that I met and fell in love with my wife. I'm not trying to equate the two, I'm just letting you know that I know a good thing when I see/hear it.

While my love for my wife has grown, my love for Pearl Jam has cooled-down to a strong "like." The band may not be as powerful as they once were, but they somehow have managed to grow and maintain, long after record execs got tired of signing bands from Seattle.

So, that's why I'm posting about a new Pearl Jam album, for those of you who may think that the band doesn't matter anymore:

The self-titled disc contains 13 tracks, many of which, Eddie Vedder tells Billboard, were written by the grunge rock stalwarts out of anger and frustration at the reelection of President George W. Bush and the ongoing war in Iraq.

"It's understandable why someone would like their entertainment to provide an escape from modern-day worries and the reality of war," Vedder told the trade paper. "We feel this record creates a healthy opportunity to process some of these emotions rather than deny them."

You can download the first single, World Wide Suicide, for free via the Pearl Jam website or borrow it from me by clicking on the picture. You'll feel proud to rock out to this, I promise...

And, by the way: I wore flannel shirts in high school, back in the late seventies. I don't recall going back to flannel during the grunge years.