Robert Hilburn Quotes

This is embarrassing to admit, but I didn't really know anything about Pearl Jam. Of course, I knew who they were, but I had never really sampled them.

Everybody got away from what Pearl Jam are supposed to be.

When 'Nevermind' came out, my roommate had the CD. At first, I actually thought, 'This is too polished and commercial.' It was a little off-putting. But then I was like, 'This is the best music ever.' It felt so close to what I wanted to do.

When 5150 came out rock was king. Post Nirvana and Pearl Jam 1996 is a different story.

I like Nirvana, but I couldn't say that I was influenced by them. I like to tell a story.

I never really followed grunge.

I've always been a huge Butthole Surfers fan. The first time I saw them was in the early '80s when all they had out was their first EP. I thought they were amazing. They've always been a huge influence and one of my all-time favorite bands.

I'm really into Sweet 75 right now, and I dig playing Nirvana, don't get me wrong. Even if Kurt never died, more than likely I'd be in Sweet 75 today still.

Pearl Jam were a part of my growing up.

A lot of my friends loved Pearl Jam, so whenever I'd hang out with them, that was usually what CD - not album - back then, it was what CD, maybe even tape, but what CD was playing.

I grew up on the Beatles; I love Linkin Park and Green Day. I heard hip-hop for the first time at 11 and realized what I was missing.

Mike, the best band to ever come out of Seattle was, of course, Pearl Jam. And that's what I expect the Seahawks to do - just jam it up the middle.

I love Soundgarden, I love Rage Against the Machine, Simon & Garfunkel.

Best two rock voices I've heard in a last few years both have been from grunge bands: it's Eddie Vedder and the other one is Chris Cornell from Soundgarden.

And if I'm honest about it, I was obsessed with Nirvana and Pearl Jam. This is like '92, right in the throes of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam and Nirvana. I think I probably wanted to be Kurt Cobain.

I like Mutemath a lot.

I never listen to 'Nevermind.' I haven't listened to it since we put it out. That says something.

I have a whole iPod full of exceptionally bad music, truly awful stuff including a disproportionate number of one hit wonders from the early '80s and lots of hair bands. I find it utterly impossible to love a song until I know every single word, so listening to live music or new bands is pretty much out.

I'm still digging long-established bands like U2 - they're new to me!

I was on the pro-Nirvana, anti-Pearl Jam bandwagon.

There was a period of time where I really hated rock music.

I turned popular music on the radio, and I never listened to it again after that, in about 1985. That's when I switched over to classical music, and I pretty much stayed with that since then.

I really like The Beatles.

My first albums as a little kid were Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,' Simon and Garfunkel's 'Greatest Hits' - and 'Workingman's Dead.' How many other people still listen to the music they liked at age 12?

I loved Interpol when they came out, but I never wanted to be in Interpol.