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Life Wasted

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"Life Wasted"
SinglebyPearl Jam
from the albumPearl Jam
B-side"Come Back" (live)
ReleasedAugust 28, 2006
RecordedNovember 2004 – February 2006
StudioStudio X,Seattle, Washington
GenreAlternative rock
Length3:54
LabelJ
Songwriter(s)Stone Gossard,Eddie Vedder
Producer(s)Adam Kasper,Pearl Jam
Pearl Jamsingles chronology
"World Wide Suicide"
(2006) 		"Life Wasted"
(2006) 		"Gone"
(2006)
Music video
"Life Wasted"onYouTube
Audio sample

"Life Wasted"is a song by the AmericanrockbandPearl Jam.Featuring lyrics written by vocalistEddie Vedderand music written by guitaristStone Gossard,"Life Wasted" was released on August 28, 2006 as the second single from the band's eighth studio album,Pearl Jam(2006). The song peaked at number 10 on theBillboardModern Rock Trackschart. OnPearl Jam,"Life Wasted" is reprised as a modified version on the album's tenth track, "Wasted Reprise".

Origin and recording

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"Life Wasted" features lyrics written by vocalistEddie Vedderand music written by guitaristStone Gossard.

Lyrics

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The lyrics for "Life Wasted" were reportedly written about the death of thepunk rockguitaristJohnny Ramoneand about the feelings one has after driving home from a funeral. In an interview withRolling Stone,Vedder stated:

When you leave that funeral, that drive is as important as any single stretch of road you'll travel on. You've got a renewed appreciation for life. And I think that feeling can last through the day, through the week, but then things start getting back to normal and you start taking this living and breathing and eating thing for granted. I think that song is there to remind you, 'This is that feeling'....The truth is—I'm a little sensitive and this is a close, personal relationship. I'll just say it. Fuck it. Right up front. Half the record is based on the loss of the guy who turned out to be the best friend I ever had on the planet. And that was Johnny Ramone.[1]

Release and reception

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A 7 "single for" Life Wasted "was released commercially in theUKon August 28, 2006. TheB-sideis "Come Back" from June 27, 2006 inSaint Paul,MinnesotaatXcel Energy Center.The single was also made available as a download from the UKiTunes Store.The song peaked at number 13 on theBillboardMainstream Rock Trackschart and number ten on theBillboardModern Rock Trackschart.

Kyle Anderson ofSpinsaid that "even though Eddie Vedder sings" Leave the fame to someone else "over the best riffPete Townshendnever wrote (on "Life Wasted" ), he actually chuckles just before the last chorus. It's a small detail, but it's a sign that Pearl Jam are taking themselves less seriously, and it fits them like a snug flannel shirt. "[2]This is misquoted however, as the line is "leave the pain for someone else"[3]

A cover of "Life Wasted" is featured in the 2007 video game,Guitar Hero II,for theXbox 360.[4]

Music video

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Themusic videofor "Life Wasted" was directed by Fernando Apodaca.[5]The video explores the song's themes of death and rebirth.[1]The video was filmed over 10 months in locations such asRomania,Seattle,Washington,andGeorge, Washington.[5][6]The video, which emulates the liner notes from the album, was done without the aid of special effects. Apodaca created the physical sculptures for the video. Life casts were made of each of the band members' heads. Vedder sacrificed his eyelashes for the process.[1]The busts were brought to life through the use of projection.[7]During the video, the heads are shown being lit on fire, drenched with water, and inhabited by worms and bugs. Other sculptures in the video were made from bronze, wax, and leather.[7]It also features footage of Vedder singing and the band performing the song.

Apodaca stated that the video portrays "the ambiguities of consumerism, obsolescence, deterioration, and growth. Within the film exists a fractured world which is both fragile and transitory, such as wax melting and bread voraciously consumed by ants. Various mythologies are revealed but not explained, opening doorways to interpretation."[7]The video was released on May 19, 2006 to the public onGoogle Videounder theCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licenseallowing copying, distributing and sharing.[8]This was most likely the first time that a video produced by amajor record companywas released under such a license. This video marked the first time Pearl Jam had released a conceptual video since "Do the Evolution"in 1998. It was nominated for aMTV Video Music AwardforBest Special Effectsin 2006.[9]

Accolades

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Live performances

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"Life Wasted" was first performed live at the band's April 20, 2006 concert inLondon,Englandat theLondon Astoria.[11]The band played this song when they appeared on theLate Show with David Lettermanon May 4, 2006 in support ofPearl Jam.Pearl Jam performed the song in 2006 forSessions@AOL.Pearl Jam performed the song for its appearance onVH1Storytellersin 2006. Since 2007, the band has played the song in the key ofC majorduring live performances. On the album and 2006 performances, it was played inD♭major.The change of key requires the de-tuning of the guitars to ahalf-step down(E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, B♭, E♭), and the use of acapoon the 3rd fret (first 5 strings only, open 6th) as opposed to the 4th fret. Live performances of "Life Wasted" can be found on variousofficial bootlegs,theLive at the Gorge 05/06box set, and the live albumLive at Lollapalooza 2007.A performance of the song is also included on the DVDImmagine in Cornice.

Track listing

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  1. "Life Wasted" (Stone Gossard,Eddie Vedder) – 3:54
  2. "Come Back" (live) (Mike McCready,Vedder) – 5:18

Chart performance

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Chart (2006) Peak

position

USAlternative Airplay(Billboard)[12] 10
USMainstream Rock(Billboard)[13] 13
Canada Rock (Billboard)[14] 8
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[15] 11
UK Singles(OCC)[16] 110

References

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  1. ^abcHiatt, Brian (June 16, 2006)."The Second Coming of Pearl Jam".Rolling Stone.Archived fromthe originalon May 28, 2007.RetrievedJune 22,2007.
  2. ^Anderson, Kyle."Pearl Jam,Pearl Jam(J Records) ".Spin.May 13, 2006.
  3. ^"Life Wasted | Pearl Jam - Ten Club".Archived fromthe originalon February 21, 2010.RetrievedJune 3,2010.
  4. ^Ekberg, Brian."CES 07: Guitar Hero II Hands-On".GameSpot.January 8, 2007.
  5. ^abJones, Alex."Alum awarded at SDFF"ArchivedSeptember 27, 2007, at theWayback Machine.The Daily Aztec.October 3, 2006.
  6. ^"McCready Talks About The Gorge".pearljam.com.May 8, 2007.
  7. ^abc"Ten Club Q & A With Artist Fernando Apodaca"ArchivedAugust 20, 2008, at theWayback Machine.pearljam.com.
  8. ^Steuer, Eric (May 19, 2006)."Pearl Jam Releases Its First Music Video In Eight Years Under a Creative Commons License".CreativeCommons.com.Archived fromthe originalon July 2, 2007.RetrievedJuly 15,2007.
  9. ^"2006 MTV Video Music Awards".Rockonthenet.RetrievedSeptember 5,2007.
  10. ^"san diego film festival 2007: award winners".July 3, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon July 3, 2007.RetrievedSeptember 23,2019.
  11. ^"Pearl Jam Songs:" Life Wasted ""ArchivedMay 21, 2009, at theWayback Machine.pearljam.com.
  12. ^"Pearl Jam Chart History (Alternative Airplay)".Billboard.Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  13. ^"Pearl Jam Chart History (Mainstream Rock)".Billboard.Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  14. ^"Chart History".Billboard.RetrievedDecember 9,2018.
  15. ^"Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia:: Związek Producentów Audio-Video ".Polish Airplay Top 100.Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  16. ^Chart Log UK: "Update 9.09.2006".UK Singles Chart.Zobbel.de. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
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