[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

In [the book], in fact, the themes of free will and determinism, innocence and hope are analyzed as well as, more extensively, the very important and recurring political and aesthetic issues that mark the parable of one of the most important rock bands in history.

Il Cubo