Pearl Jam at 20: New Satellite Channel, More Bridge School

Twenty years have passed—today—since Pearl Jam took Seattle’s Off Ramp stage and played as a band for the first time, baritone-throated San Diego surfer Eddie Vedder at the mic.

The band is still together. Playing another Bridge School benefit this weekend, in fact. And yes, you are that old.

To commemorate the date of its inaugural 1990 show and provide further proof that Pearl Jam is its generation’s Rolling Stones, the band will commandeer outer space to unleash a commercial-free, 24/7 stream of tunes: Pearl Jam Radio. Cue the official announcement:

Pearl Jam Radio will launch with a special airing of the band's 10th anniversary concert recorded in Las Vegas on October 22, 2000. The concert will be heard in its entirety on Friday, October 22 at 6:00 pm ET. The first day of Pearl Jam Radio on SIRIUS XM will also feature rarely heard highlights from the band's very first concert performance on October 22, 1990 at Off Ramp Cafe in Seattle, Washington.

In addition to these launch day specials, Pearl Jam Radio will feature archival concerts from throughout the band's celebrated 20-year career, rarities, unreleased material from the band's personal music library and music from the band's side projects, including solo and pre-Pearl Jam music.

In other words, your music collection just got trumped. Now you can hear PJ, Mother Love Bone, Green River, Bad Radio, Brad, Three Fish, Rockfords, Mad Season, Jeff Ament’s solo work, Stone Gossard’s solo work, Eddie Vedder’s solo work, possibly Soundgarden, and lord knows what else—Shadow? Deranged Diction? Hater? Wellwater Conspiracy?—whenever you want.

To paraphrase (or nearly quote) the first fan to comment on Pearl Jam’s site: “This is fucking awesome. This will actually make it worth paying an XM subscription.”

Oh, but there’s more:

Additionally, Pearl Jam Radio will offer listeners a unique, interactive experience with the weekly show The All Encompassing Trip, a fan roundtable hosted by Tim Bierman, Manager of Ten Club, Pearl Jam's official fan club, and long-time Pearl Jam enthusiast and radio veteran Rob Bleetstein. Pearl Jam fans will be invited to participate in conversations on a different theme each week pertaining to the music, news and touring world of Pearl Jam.

Now retrieve your jaw and get thee to a satellite feed. That’ll be SIRIUS channel 17, XM channel 39, XM Radio Online, and the SIRIUS XM app for mobile devices.

Here’s to another 20 years, guys.