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Pearl Jam “Alive” – Credit Eddie Vedder for being one modern songwriter who is able to write story songs with force and conviction. His use of imagery, metaphor, and language both vernacular and elevated provides the ideological balance that the furious, exotically tinged music (mostly courtesy of rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament) needs.

This song is taken from the Ten album, which is one of those albums that you can hear once and you know that it is a classic. Eddie Vedder’s emotion and intensity are beyond outstanding and are almost spine chilling. The guitars, drums, and bass are equally outstanding along with the intensity. The thing that I really love about this cd is that it is not shallow or meaningless. The complexity of vocals and instruments somehow just make one think and think. This is not a “fun” album; this is a mature and thoughtful album. If you like one-hit wonders and simple catchy choruses, you do not deserve to listen to this album unless you can appreciate it for all that it is worth.

Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – This is the epitome of angst and righteous rage! Kurt Cobain’s songs reach a level of truth and reality, depressing and dark as it is, that few others have ever managed to achieve. Driving these twisted lyrics is Kurt’s raw, brilliant voice which communicates the feeling’s lying beneath the verse. One hears pain, passion, honesty and joy in his voice. Adding to this is Kurt’s thunderous guitar, Dave Grohl’s percussion and Krist Novascelic’s bass, all combining to create the distinctive sound of this album. This song is a perfect example of how well sincere emotion, depth, and passion can substitute instrumental perfection and compositional intricacies. It’s as simple as rock’n’roll can be – drums, bass, guitar and voice. But it manages to touch something deep in your soul and leaves you thinking about this record for the rest of your life. If there is darkness and pain in your soul, you need to hear this album!