Pearl Jam Give "Backspacer" Art Hunters "Speed of Sound" Demo

Pearl Jam fans who participated in yesterday's Backspacer scavenger hunt to find all nine pieces of their Seattle band's new album artwork received a pretty nice reward after completing their mission: A demo of Eddie Vedder performing the Backspacer track "Speed of Sound." Vedder recently performed the song when he embarked on his solo tour, but the demo represents a more fleshed out version with layered vocals and guitars. Similar in style to past PJ cuts like "Off He Goes," "Thumbing My Way" and Vedder's own Into the Wild soundtrack, fans will get to hear "Speed of Sound" in its final incarnation when Backspacer is released on September 20th.

If you didn't get involved in yesterday's hunt, you still can, with the Ten Club message boards and our own comment section from yesterday making the search a lot easier. Wikipedia has a picture of the nine pieces of artwork from the hunt. (That pimp with the teal coat sitting on a tricycle in the bottom middle was Rock Daily's contribution to the game.)

At the puzzle page there's also a stream of Backspacer's first single "The Fixer," which hit radio last week. A third song off the band's ninth album, "Got Some," made its debut when Pearl Jam performed on the premiere episode of The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien. Vedder also performed Backspacer's "Unthought Known" and closer "The End" during his solo tour, so five of the album's 11 tracks have appeared in some capacity.

As Rock Daily previously reported, Target has the big box retail exclusive on Backspacer, which will also be sold at independent record stores and the band's official Ten Club, who currently have the album available for pre-order. Backspacer shares a name with the turtle that Pearl Jam sponsored in the Great Turtle Race. According to the National Geographic site, Backspacer finished in first place.

Related Stories:
• Pearl Jam's "Backspacer" Art Goes Viral: Grab a Piece Here
• Pearl Jam's New "Backspacer" Single "The Fixer" Hits Radio
• Pearl Jam Play Secret Seattle Show for Target Ad as Band Strikes Deals for New Release

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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