Pearl Jam linked to Discovery Channel Hostage Crisis?

Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder predicted the Discovery Communications hostage crisis more than a decade before it happened.

Okay, not really, but there is a sort of contrived link between the two. When the story of James Lee broke, I read that he mentioned in his "manifesto" that he was inspired by the novel My Ishmael, and I was immediately reminded of a Pearl Jam song from the late 90s. It happens to be a favorite song of mine, even though I'm not otherwise much of a Pearl Jam fan.

The song to which I'm referring is Do The Evolution, and the link to James Lee's manifesto is that the song was inspired by Daniel Quinn's novel Ishmael (My Ishmael is the sequel to Ishmael). The Pearl Jam song and accompanying music video do a better job of articulating the themes of the novels... perhaps because the ideas aren't being filtered through the mind of a batshit insane person. The eerie thing is that Eddie Vedder mentions the year 2010 in the lyrics (the song was released in 1998). The prophetic lyrics read: "I crawled the earth, but now I'm higher. 2010, watch it go to fire." Was this possibly a prediction of the James Lee standoff?

I've included a youtube link to the offical music video, and I definitely recommend watching it. Not only is the song badass, but the music video is EXTREMELY badass. It was co-directed by Todd McFarlane, creator of the Spawn comics, and contains tanks, bombs, explosions and a T-Rex ripping a shark in half. Yes, you read that right... a T-Rex ripping a fucking shark in half. Sadly no squirrels, though :(.

http://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=aDaOgu2CQtI
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Maybe James Lee decided to stage his onslaught in 2010 because the song said he should. That's not a prediction. It's a suggestion.

by OneHitKill on 09/04/2010 07:55:32 AM EST

Thanks for all of this information.
First, "Yield" is my favorite album, and "Do the Evolution" is probably my favorite Pearl Jam song.

You informed me of things that I didn't know and that I forgot
(Miss Teen South Carolina voice)
mmmm, such as
"2010 watch it go to fire"
and I didn't know that the video was made by Todd McFarlane. I have met that guy a few times. He is one of my fave comic artists.
Also, the song is based on a book? WOW.

by FlaccidMember on 09/04/2010 03:58:33 PM EST

should have written "favorite PEARL JAM album"

by FlaccidMember on 09/04/2010 03:59:07 PM EST

[ Parent ]
"Night Prowler" is the last song on AC/DC's album, Highway to Hell, released in 1979. Five years later, Richard Ramirez, a big fan of the group, went on a murdering binge that lasted over a year, leaving 30+ victims in his wake. He claimed the song told him to do it.

As a result of this and other cases, people started believing heavy metal music was Satanic and led people to commit evil deeds. This is an example of a moral panic. These get spread by demagogic types, capitalizing on people's fear of the weird, that can be left, right or center. This time, the right is going to be blaming the Lee incident on Daniel Quinn, Al Gore, Barack Obama, Lady Gaga, the prophet Muhammad and the purple Teletubby.

by LudwigVan on 09/05/2010 05:15:52 AM EST

I saw Al Gore open for Barack Obama at First Avenue in Minneapolis. Fucking unreal, man. Played all the hits.

by OneHitKill on 09/05/2010 07:36:32 AM EST

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