“Eddie Vedder” – Local H
(Words/music: Local H, available on As Good as Dead, Island 1996)
Both in sound and spirit, Local H typifies the “modern rock radio” era of American alternative rock. Sonically, the band squeezed as much sound as possible out of the guitar and drums duo. By adding bass pickups to his six string, Scott Lucas created a dense and heavy guitar sound that filled the space between Joe Daniels’ bashing percussion. Like many of their contemporaries, their songs draw on grunge’s sound, yet Local H have more in common with the slower, Black Sabbath-leaning bands like Alice in Chains and Soundgarden than the more popular sounding bands. As for their lyrics, Local H played up to the mid-90s “slacker” stereotype, writing songs about suburban frustration and boredom. There’s a unified front in many of Local H’s songs – Lucas’ words match the tone and feel of the band’s music (or vice-versa, I suppose). However, Lucas approached his songs with a touch of self-deprecation, arming himself with sarcasm to ward off an entire song built around gloom and doom.
“Eddie Vedder” finds Lucas’ protagonist asking if being the Pearl Jam singer would make him better liked, and it’s hard to tell exactly how he’s using Vedder in the song. It seems easy to hone in on Lucas’ reference to Vedder the Rock Star, asking if fame and fortune would make him more attractive. However, by 1996, Vedder was well into his second act as a reclusive personality. Pearl Jam was between Vitalogy, the last of their insanely popular albums, and No Code, and album that began Pearl Jam’s shift away from their platinum selling sound. Aside from the Vedder lyric, the song describes the rejection of superficial friends, with Lucas (ham fistedly) declaring that those types of people are “as good as dead.” Vedder made a similar retreat inward around this time by shunning the spotlight, so maybe Lucas sees that part of himself in Vedder. Still, it’s hard to hear the lyric and not think of Vedder as one of the giants of the era, and regardless of Vedder’s personality, some people might be more attracted to his celebrity than the protagonist’s bland anonymity. The song’s “I don’t give a shit” mantra serves two purposes – it’s the slacker’s rally cry and in 1996 this helped bring Local H to the radio. I still can’t help but think of it as a statement of personal resolve as well – Local H’s declaration to “be themselves” rather than try to make a Pearl Jam record. The band continues on, still plugging away with their same sound, refusing to be Eddie Vedder, or (in the ensuing years) Fred Durst, Jack White, or Brandon Flowers. They may not be as popular as these men (or as they were in Durst’s case), but as Lucas keeps insisting – they don’t care.
More on Local H: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm
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