The history of Pacific Northwest-born grunge music is often sad if you get down to it. With the likes of Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, Andrew Wood, and more all dying young, the genre saw more than its fair share of heartbreak.
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But within that sordid past is the iconic band Pearl Jam, which has not only lasted through the decades but flourished. And that success has come on tour, in records, and on film, as the trailers below indicate. Here are three films that every fan of Pearl Jam should see.
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1. Singles (1992)
This quintessential 1990s movie was written and directed by Cameron Crowe, who would go on to do other musical works like Almost Famous (and another on this list). This romantic comedy features a number of big-name grunge artists from Seattle, as Crowe was a fixture in the city and the former husband of rock icon and Seattle native Nancy Wilson of Heart. Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament, and Stone Gossard are all featured, as are Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. Check out the trailer below.
2. Pearl Jam Twenty (2011)
Speaking of Cameron Crowe, he directed this documentary about Pearl Jam, released in 2011, some 20 years after the band released its debut album, Ten. The doc, which was cut down from a reported 12,000 hours of film, highlights the band’s history from early incarnations to the behemoth it became in the 1990s and beyond. Check out a trailer for the doc below.
3. Water on the Road (2011)
Also released in 2011, this movie showcases the band’s poetic frontman Eddie Vedder as he ventures out on a 2008 solo tour. Performing solo songs, covers, and songs from Pearl Jam, Vedder is the star of this offering. Check out a stirring trailer for the movie below.
(Photo by Troy Augusto/Newsmakers)
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