Last weekend, PBS aired Cameron Crowe's new documentary on Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam Twenty, a retrospective on the 20-year career of the Seattle musicians who dominated American rock in the 1990's and have settled down, stayed together, and are now moving into their third decade.
It's Crowe's first film since his 2005 misfire Elizabethtown, which was excoriated by critics. In addition to this music documentary, his We Bought a Zoo (now being criticized by PETA) hits movie theaters this Christmas.
And Pearl Jam Twenty? It's a loving tribute to one of the country's biggest bands of the 1990's, bringing back the memories, especially doting on their first three releases that led the grunge movement, 10, Vs. and Vitology.
Of course, I was never that huge of a PJ fan – Nirvana was my Seattle grunge band of choice, up until 1994.
This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 2, 2011.