There’s My Church, I Sing in the Choir
Pearl Jam’s longevity helps us all feel cool
I’m not sure how many Pearl Jam shows I’ve been to…
I’msure you have all heard that one before. I find myself saying it…but NOT in a smug music afficionado-kinda-way.
I just don’t keep close tabs on the concerts I’ve been to anymore…or so I thought. I’m not a die-hard fanatic. I’m not part of the TEN club. My brother is, however. And I do enjoy going to as many shows as possible. He and I even met Eddie Vedder once. I’ve been maybe 9 times or maybe as many as 12…I dunno. Some folks think thats a HIGH number, while others will turn their nose up at my lack of commitment. But what I do know is that on Friday, October 17th we will be going again and that this will be my daughter Kamryn’s 4th show.
I think that tells you something about experiences. Well, at least my experiences. To me, there is something terribly satisfying about passing along YOUR music to YOUR children. Maybe its because (grumpy old man voice) their music is terrible and I feel like I am doing her a favor. Or maybe its just that despite age and circumstance we are still able to connect with our children over something as heavenly and simple and complex as music. So that makes me feel cool. But she walks with a certain step, knowing that she is going somewhere ‘normal’ 1st, 3rd, 4th and now 5th graders don’t usually go.
And that makes her feel cool.
I don’t know if this is what Pearl Jam had in mind when they starting this thing…but I’ll take it as a by-product.
It’s not hard to imagine, but there might not be any specific reason for us to connect in places like Indianapolis, Seattle and now beautiful Moline, IL. Suuuure, we’ve been to Wrigley Field before. We’ve been to a number of Cubs games. But those hardly compare to an Evening with Pearl Jam at the friendly confines.
NO RELIGION TOO
So let’s wrap this up with a short story: Yesterday in the car ‘going-to-church’ came up. And she said,
Its not that I don’t believe in God, its just that going to church is weird. ‘Worship’ I don’t really like that word…and appliance, I don’t like the sound of ‘appliance’ or the name ‘Chuck’.
To which I replied,
You’re right, when you stand back and think about it, it’s a bit of a strange thing ‘worship’. Don’t worry…you aren’t alone thinking that. You’re a good kid, with a good heart — you know right from wrong. And if for some reason you don’t…you’re smart enough to ask. As for the name Chuck…I have no beef with ‘Chuck’ or ‘appliance’.
Oddly enough on October 1st — when Eddie Vedder released his cover of Imagine — Kamryn had to write about a song and to explain it to her class as part of her school’s Anti-Bullying program.
Together, unbeknownst of the release, we dissected the famous song, with its famous message.
You may say I’m a dreamer
but I’m not the only one
I hope some day you join us,
And the world will live as one
And it’s funny, because as I am writing this, I realized 12 or 13 years ago I wrote about the same song for a Philosophy paper on the idea of a ‘single world organism’ while at West Point. **By the way, this was one of the few positive remarks I recieved while at West Point. So I am basking in its glory…I mean c’mon…’unusually creative, succinct & scintillating’!!! I’ll take that. Thanks Dr. Pojman — many your gentle & wise soul RIP.
“To inspire young minds to take the next step…” Concerts are just one way to connect— they are pretty good at creating a united world, where else can you get 10's of thousands of people to agree on something.
One thing really great about connecting over music…you never know when it will pay off…maybe you flip on the car radio and BAM! “Kam, do you know who this is?” “Is it Pearl Jam?” yes, yes it is.
Those moments add up.
So, tonight will join together for 2–3 hours and our ‘world(s) will live as one’
Thanks Music!
