Let’s get this out of the way, “Not For You: Pearl Jam and the Present Tense” is a book every Pearl Jam fan needs to read. Released earlier this month, not only is it an excellent biography it is also the definitive unofficial Pearl Jam book for fans of the Last Grunge Band Standing.™
Unlike other rock biographies, what makes it so great isn’t that its pages contain insightful interviews, unearth never before heard anecdotes or spill the beans on untold tales of rock ‘n’ roll debauchery. You won’t find any of that here. Instead, you’ll find thoughtful breakdowns of setlists, insightful cultural commentary on national and global history and the author’s struggle to figure out why a band that hasn’t been culturally relevant for decades means so much to him.
It’s the latter that makes “Not For You: Pearl Jam and the Present Tense” so excellent. Author Ronen Givony’s passion for the band, which practically bleeds through the pages, and how he is able to effectively take it and tell a compelling story using global events, archival interviews and careful scrutinization of live performances is remarkable. That, combined with its unconventional structure, historical analysis and Givony’s meticulous attention to detail make this the book Pearl Jam’s faithful deserve.
Givony is very upfront about his fandom and outsider status at the beginning of “Not For You.” He isn’t a journalist reporting facts, or someone with inside sources and connections to the band’s camp. He is writing from the perspective of a fan well-versed in all things Pearl Jam and it is a welcome and refreshing addition to the discourse around Pearl Jam. He is honest about his fandom and attempts to be as objective as possible with his criticisms. Thankfully, that fandom isn’t of the obsessive “Lukin” variety (something Givony covers in the Self-Pollution Radio chapter) otherwise this book would be almost as unbearable as Kim Neely’s 1997 book “Five Against One,” which is another thing Givony briefly covers.
He isn’t afraid to attack sacred cows (sorry Mother Love Bone and Green River fans) and he makes it a point to not just analyze the band’s actions but also his own evolving relationship with the band. He also smartly couches a lot of his conversation about the band in historical context, which is what makes this such a compelling read and what sets it apart from biographies of other high-caliber rock bands.
Yes, you will learn a little bit about the meaning of “Yellow Ledbetter” and the Cobain v. Vedder “feud” gets an obligatory chapter. But you’ll also learn about Dr. David Gunn, who was the first abortion provider in America to be murdered by the pro-lifers and you’ll learn about the brutal 1994 Rwandan genocide among other things. And like it or not, you’ll also read an unnecessarily long chapter about Ralph Nader. Fortunately, that chapter is followed up by a touching chapter covering the life of Tomas Young and “Body of War,” providing a nice palate cleanser.
While Pearl Jam is very much an active band, recency bias is not in play. This book is more of a nostalgia trip without the use of rose-colored glasses than it is an in-depth review of the group’s albums. The band’s latest record, this year’s “Gigaton,” does get mentioned as does the rest of the Pearl Jam’s 21st Century output, but don’t read this book if you’re looking for a breakdown of “Riot Act” or need a detailed analysis of the group’s “Backspacer” marketing and distribution deal with Target. This is a book for anyone who either lived through or greatly enjoys Pearl Jam’s impeccable run of records during the decade of Discmen, Doc Martens and Dick Tracy.
The focus almost entirely on the band’s 90s output would almost be a disservice to its catalog if Givony didn’t do such a thorough job dissecting meaning out of performances and interviews while providing such rich historical context throughout the book. That, and the hard to ignore the fact it’s the period most every fan wants to relive and learn more about, makes the oversight of six albums worth of material mostly forgivable.
Perhaps if “Not For You” lands favorably with fans, which I predict it will, it will give Givony a reason to return to Pearl Jam’s catalog for a sequel where he analyzes his relationship with the group’s late-career catalog. Based on how much he reveres Pearl Jam’s legacy albums and the honesty he has with his relationship with the band, I’m guessing he might title it “Quick Escape: Parting Ways with Pearl Jam.”
Did you learn many new things by reading it or was more of a reminder of things that you already knew about?
What I really enjoyed about the book was that it included tons of archival interviews that I didn’t read at the time because I was a teenager and the Internet wasn’t readily available to find those sorts of things. So I wouldn’t say that I learned anything new because I already know quite a bit about Pearl Jam, but I did learn a whole lot of context for what I already knew and got a bunch of insight into why the band chose to do certain things and the ramifications of those decisions.