(Credits: Far Out / Gage Skidmore / Danny Clinch)
Sat 19 April 2025 4:00, UK
Grunge might have started out as a cult DIY music scene confined to the city of Seattle, but the abrasive punk sounds of the movement soon came to define the American rock scene of the 1990s. Groups like Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam were essential in breaking grunge into the mainstream, and they amassed colossal audiences in the process. Pearl Jam, in particular, were adept at defining mainstream rock in the 1990s, much to the chagrin of folks like Bill Burr.
One of the most prominent stand-up comedians in the world, Bill Burr has amassed a colossal audience over the years, and a large part of his persona revolves around complaining about things. In his typically impassioned, hysterical manner, the Massachusetts-born comedian has railed against everything from tyrannical billionaire Elon Musk to the entire city of Philadelphia. On a few occasions, he has also targeted some of grunge’s most successful sons, Pearl Jam.
Entering his 20s at the same time that grunge broke into the mainstream, the advent of groups like Pearl Jam disrupted the future comedian’s love of 1980s metal and hard rock. He has repeatedly rallied against Pearl Jam as a result, once declaring, “I hated Eddie Vedder’s stupid ‘I’m in a trance on purpose’ face.”
Instead, Burr always tended to favour the timeless classic rock sounds of groups like Led Zeppelin or AC/DC. Explaining his hatred of grunge during a recent appearance on Late Night with Seth Myers, the stand-up recalled, “Pearl Jam, that was the band that made me realise my youth was over. I was watching all the hair metal, all those bands, and I was loving them, and then Nirvana came in, and I was like, ‘What’s this?’”
Grunge was eye-opening for many kids of Burr’s generation, but he didn’t view the scene as favourably as some of his peers. “All my bands, Skid Row and all of them, were gone. And it was just these sad guys singing about being under a bridge and not being happy. And I’m like, ‘What happened to nothing but a good time and ignoring all your problems with cocaine, right?’ Like, that was all over.”
Pearl Jam and the grunge scene did seem to put an end to the popularity of metal and hard rock, which seems to be the reason that Burr has criticised Vedder and the band a few times over the years. Ever a champion of personal growth, however, the comedian soon came round to the infectious quality of tracks like ‘Even Flow’. However, when Burr ran into Vedder on the set of SNL50 earlier in the year, there was certainly a potential for awkwardness.
“I got to sit next to him,” the comedian recalled with a smile. “I did it in good nature. I was like, ‘Man, I hated your band. You ended my thing.’ And he was cracking up.” All is well that ends well, as the saying goes, and the pair managed to make amends during the show. “I go, ‘Do you know how long it took me to admit how great a band Pearl Jam is?’ Because now I love ’em. But it was like 20 years where I just, like. ‘I’m not listening to those guys.’”
We all grow up to become the thing we hated as teenagers, and it is difficult to imagine a young, rock-obsessed Bill Burr seeing his future self rub shoulders with the harbinger of the grunge revolution with much favour. However, Burr’s story is a reminder that, not matter how hard you resist, the pull of Pearl Jam’s enduring grunge rock excellence will consume you eventually.
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