Rival (Pearl Jam song)
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| “Rival” | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Pearl Jam | |||||
| Album | Binaural | ||||
| Released | May 16, 2000 | ||||
| Recorded | September 1999–January 2000 at Studio Litho, Seattle, Washington | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | ||||
| Length | 3:38 | ||||
| Label | Epic | ||||
| Writer | Stone Gossard | ||||
| Producer | Tchad Blake, Pearl Jam | ||||
| Binaural track listing | |||||
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"Rival" is a song by the rock group Pearl Jam off of the band's 2000 album, Binaural. It is the tenth track on the album. According to the lyric page in the album's liner notes, the song's subtitle is "Growing Up Gay in Littleton".
Contents |
[edit] Origin and recording
It was written by guitarist Stone Gossard and recorded using binaural recording techniques. Gossard said, "I just came up with the riff and we played with that for a while."[1] The song's intro is an audio recording of producer Tchad Blake's dog, Dakota.[1]
[edit] Lyrical meaning
"Rival" is a reflection on the massacre that occurred in April 1999 at Columbine High School near Littleton, Colorado. When speaking about the song in an interview, Stone Gossard stated:
[It's] kind of almost a cartoony look at male ego and sort of anger, violence...what makes people kind of snap and how people are unpredictable. [There was] just kind of a melody that went through my head and right after Columbine happened. It kind of maybe took on a little of that, where I put myself in the mindset or tried to think about what those guys may have been thinking the night before.[2]
[edit] Live performances
The song was premiered live at the band's June 12, 2000 appearance at the Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, Netherlands.[3] The song was played on the band's 2000 and 2003 tours, but has not been performed on any tour since.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Stout, Gene (2000-05-16). Pearl Jam's 'Binaural' ear-marked by unusual sound mixing. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
- ^ Manning, Kara. "Pearl Jam On Columbine-Inspired New Song". MTV.com. April 19, 2000.
- ^ a b "Pearl Jam Songs: "Rival"". pearljam.com.
