Eddie Vedder's Embarrassing Tale: Naked in Public

Do you ever wish that you'd embraced the machine more? If you had even more of the spotlight on you, if you had completely gone for it and embraced it, then maybe you'd have more power to speak out politically. Do you ever think about that kind of thing?

I tell ya. I had the chance. I just didn't take the bait. Believe me, we put ourselves out there, with Nader, and whatever it is, as much as we can. But as a band we know our limits and as a human I certainly know my limits. I just have this deep kind of connection to reality of being like... in a way, I feel like a dock worker. I want to stay in connection with my dock-worker side, 'cause that's how I grew up...I'm not ready to be that guy who can meet with world leaders and all that. It's tremendous what Bono does. I don't know if I could do it, not the way he does. I don't think many people could. The physicality of what Bono does, the physicality of like, meeting with Mitterrand and then going and playing Sweden that night, and then more shows after that... I've told him that I was in awe of what he did, not only what he accomplished, but how he fuckin' did it, from the point of taxing his body. I told him this, and he kind of raised his eyebrows and asked for another drink. [Laughs]

Roger Daltrey once said to me that he felt rock music can speak to the concerns of adulthood and middle-age as well as it does to adolescence. What do you think?

I think you could do both. We're probably in a position to do that. I look around the audience, and there's so many faces, and I've looked into the eyes of at least the ones I could see -- there's at least 1,000 faces -- and I've communicated directly to them and seen where they're coming from. Those faces range from like twelve-year-olds, to tonight probably fifty-year-olds, and it seems like we are connected. They knew what was going on, singing along, not to the old songs but the new songs. They know how old I am, they know where I'm coming from. One thing I don't feel is separation from the crowd. I don't feel like we're speaking from a platform, I feel like we are communicating on the same level.

I mentioned before as a joke, why not go all the way? Why not go on TRL, for instance, and play on TRL and reach out to the masses of teens. What would be so bad?

I haven't even thought about it. It might be a great idea.

There might be a horrifying encounter with a host and stuff. But if you could just play...

If you could play a song...I would like to play on Ellen DeGeneres' show.

Nice, nice. So do it.

I think she's tremendous.

Yeah, she's cool.

But, you know what? I wouldn't do it based on know what her -- what's the word...?

Demographic?

Demographic. It wouldn't be based on that. It would be based on that I think Ellen DeGeneres has done. Tremendous things. Who hosts TRL? What have they done?

The real point is, that's what kids watch.

I'm sure the kids would have a good time watching our band play, I mean, I don't know. I think, to be honest, no one's approached the subject.

I think maybe, people think it's unthinkable, for some reason.

Could be.