Or more specifically, an Eddie Vedder addict. You know how in Single White Female the psychopath befriends the main character because she wants her life and must therefore kill her in order to achieve her ultimate goal? Well, I shit you not, if ten years ago someone had told me that this was a sure-fire way to nab one Mr. Eddie Vedder, I would have done it. Hands down would have done it: I would have moved to Seattle, been charming and adorable in my potential flatmate interview only to proceeded to shove pieces of his girlfriend's body into a black rubbish bag until all that was standing between him and I was markedly different levels of sanity and a murder trial.
OK, I guess I'm kind of exaggerating in the above: the most obsessive I got was memorizing lyrics of every Pearl Jam B-side from print-outs on the plane on the way over to their Brisbane Entertainment Centre (that's right, Gold Coast whadup!) show, and the closest I got to touching him was a dream in which all the fans left said Entertainment Centre leaving only my friend and I to 'casually' bump into him. Part of me thinks that perhaps the only reason I became a music journalist was so I could, one day, interview him, and although they've released several new albums and toured here, that opportunity hasn't been presented once: promoters take note please.
These days my obsession is more refined. It's limited to defending him in arguments where other people describe him as the 'worst thing to happen to rock music' (FOOLS), and to muse on how excellent both his movie soundtracks (I recommend this one and this one) and ukelele-only albums are. But I just don't love him like I used to (even though I still find him extremely attractive), which has gotten me to thinking about the reason for my ardent adoration at the time, and I have a conclusion. That grunge music is basically all about being an angsty, angry passionate teenager; about emotional extremes right? So I couldn't just LIKE Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, I had to LOVE them. Be OBSESSED with them. So, without further ado, just like Kat did yesterday, here are the nineties grunge songs that define being an obsessived, aliented little brat for me. I'm sure I have missed your favourite and I would also like to discuss the merits of my boyfriend Eddie Vedder, so please, get disagreeing in the comments section.
Courtney Sanders
Pearl Jam: 'Corduroy'
Pearl Jam: 'Spin the Black Circle'
Pearl Jam: 'Black'
Nirvana: 'Lithium'
Temple of the Dog: 'Say Hello 2 Heaven'
Mudhoney: 'Touch Me I'm Sick'
Soundgarden: 'Black Hole Sun'
R.E.M: 'Losing My Religion' (not specifically part of the grunge movement but of the whole 'college radio-to-mainstream' thing more generally, and I LOVE Michael Stipe).
Stone Temple Pilots: 'Interstate Love Song'
Even though my better judgement knows that some of these songs (none of the Pearl Jam ones, obvs) are truly awful, I just cannot bring myself to believe or publically denounce them as terrible. Ever. Even though they brought this scourge upon us:
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