Pearl Jam and Philosophy - by Stefano Marino & Andrea Schembari (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The first scholarly discussion on the band, Pearl Jam and Philosophy examines both the songs (music and lyrics) and the activities (live performances, political commitments) of one of the most celebrated and charismatic rock bands of the last 30 years. The book investigates the philosophical aspects of their music at various levels: existential, spiritual, ethical, political, metaphysical and aesthetic. This philosophical interpretation is also dependent on the application of textual and poetic analysis: the interdisciplinary volume puts philosophical aspects of the band's lyrics in close dialogue with 19th- and 20th-century European and American poetry. Through this widespread philosophical examination, the book further looks into the band's immense popularity and commercial success, their deeply loyal fanbase and genuine sense of community surrounding their music, and the pivotal place the band holds within popular music and contemporary culture.

Review Quotes

"[The] volume has a very specific purpose, that is to investigate, interpret and decipher the contents and philosophical meanings (at various levels: existential, spiritual, ethical, political, purely aesthetic) that are present in the production of the band, combining passion for music with the deepening and rigor of philosophy and literary criticism of the songs." --Rockol (Bloomsbury Translation)

"[A]n interesting curation of high-quality essays that capture the diversity of affects and themes in Pearl Jam songs, as well as their engagement, oftentimes critical, with the culture industry." --Phenomenological Reviews

"Sometimes certain books come along that stop you dead in your tracks, jolt you and challenge your thinking. This is one of those kinds of books. The kind of book that philosophers and anyone interested in the power of music to provoke and make change would relish. Stefano Marino and Andrea Schembari bring Pearl Jam into the Academy for the first time and along with them an arsenal of thinkers. Stop and listen up. It will give you all the answers." --Vicki Karaminas, author of Gaga Aesthetics. Art, Fashion, Popular Culture and the Upending of Tradition (Bloomsbury, 2021)

"An absolute must for fans of Pearl Jam and the Seattle scene - and also for anyone captivated by the power of popular music. The authors combine a deep appreciation for the band with probing philosophical analysis." --Jeanette Bicknell, author of Philosophy of Song and Singing: An Introduction (2015)

"Eloquently traversing the philosophical tradition from the Ancient Greeks through Simone Weil, Wittgenstein, Adorno and Richard Rorty, this scintillating collection of essays shows how philosophically tempered the music of Pearl Jam is. In so doing, the volume helps us to discern, perhaps against its own resistance, the buried redemptive longings inherent in popular culture." --Samir Gandesha, Associate Professor, Simon Fraser University, Canada

About the Author

Stefano Marino is Professor of Aesthetics at the University of Bologna, Italy. He is co-editor of The "Aging" of Adorno's Aesthetic Theory (2021), Kant's "Critique of Aesthetic Judgment" in the 20th Century (2020) and Philosophical Perspectives on Fashion (Bloomsbury, 2016). He is author of La filosofia dei Radiohead (2021), Aesthetics, Metaphysics, Language: Essays on Heidegger and Gadamer (2015) and La filosofia di Frank Zappa (2014).

Andrea Schembari is Assistant Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature at the University of Szczecin, Poland, where he also holds courses on Italian songwriting. He is visiting professor at the Department of Human Sciences of the University of Catania, Italy. He is author and co-editor of articles and volumes on Leonardo Sciascia's work and other Sicilian writers and critics between 18th and 20th centuries, as well as on women's writing in Italy and Europe.