Ongoing History of New Music

Ongoing History Daily: Pearl Jam’s weirdest song

The strangest song in the entire Pearl Jam catalogue can be found on the Vitalogy album. If you’re a fan, you already know that I’m talking about a track called “Bugs.” It features Eddie Vedder screaming about insects that have appeared in front of him like he’s in the middle of a really bad tequila-and-LSD hangover. What’s the deal with that song?

There’s actually not much of a story, really. Eddie found an old accordion in a thrift shop, took it into the studio, turned on the tape machine, and started ad-libbing some gibberish. The song appears on Vitalogy as sort of a joke, a poke at people who thought Pearl Jam is too serious.

Missed the post yesterday? It featured The Clash’s arrest on suspicion of being terrorists. And don’t forget to check out my podcast The Ongoing History of New Music where you listen on SpotifyApple PodcastsGoogleStitcher, or wherever you get your on-demand audio.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38000 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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