The Meaning Behind “Corduroy” by Pearl Jam and How Eddie Vedder’s Thrift Store Jacket Became Expensive

Seattle’s grunge bands didn’t resemble the rock stars before them. Mötley Crüe and Poison spent hours in front of the mirror, teasing hair and applying makeup.

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However, the groups from the Pacific Northwest looked like they were just trying to survive a cold and rainy climate. Soon, the practical fashion of thrift store layers and flannel became chic as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and others replaced hair metal on MTV.

Eddie Vedder’s brown corduroy jacket was something like a uniform people wanted to copy. Millions who watched Pearl Jam’s MTV Unplugged performance searched for similar jackets in cities and suburbs across America.

For those without the patience to scour thrift stores, they headed to the mall. And it didn’t take long for clothing companies to cash in. They made brown corduroy jackets and sold them for hundreds of dollars. Vedder said he bought his for $12.

“Corduroy” appears on Pearl Jam’s third LP, Vitalogy. The song marks Vedder’s reaction to how youth culture had been co-opted and commercialized. And the album carried similar themes of discontent as the group did its best to push back against grunge mania.

Thrift Store Chic

Vedder rejects the copycats who can’t possibly know him, even when they go to great lengths to look just like the singer.

I don’t want to hear from those who know
They can buy but can’t put on my clothes
I don’t want to limp for them to walk
Never would have known of me before

In the ’90s, alternative rock bands seemed miserable. Most of them. Jane’s Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers looked like they were having fun. But not the Seattle bands. And Vedder was the avatar for incorporated frustration.

Meet the New Boss

Still, “Corduroy” remains a fan favorite. It distills Vedder’s feelings about the era better than any other song he’s written. Another track on Vitalogy, “Not for You,” also speaks to how intensely Vedder was raging against the media machine then.

You might find all this self-loathing difficult to stomach. But, in hindsight, how one views the world in their youth softens with age. And if you zoom out to Vedder’s larger argument, it has more to do with how corporate entities flatten culture.

This hasn’t gone away as tech companies have transformed the music industry.  

Same as the Old Boss

Also, even if you don’t care about any of this stuff, “Corduroy” is a banger. And Vitalogy remains one of Pearl Jam’s strongest records.

The intro riff sounds like Repeater-era Fugazi. Fugazi meets The Who. When the chorus hits, Vedder sounds resigned. But it wasn’t submission. He’s facing his predicament and finding a way to move through it.

One of the most impressive things about Pearl Jam is the group’s durability. Tragedy defines the ’90s Seattle bands as much as their music. Moreover, the deaths of Andrew Wood, Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, Chris Cornell, and Mia Zapata can’t be separated from the genre’s dark sentiments.

But Pearl Jam emerged as an institution. They were the most classic rock-sounding of the bunch, and now they are rock and roll’s elder statesmen. Surviving may be their greatest accomplishment.

“Better Man”

Vedder waited a long time to become a rock star. Yet, chasing dreams doesn’t allow for peripheral vision to see what might accompany success. You write songs, book gigs, and hope to have enough gas in the stinky van to get to the next town.

But when your band has colossal hits like “Even Flow” and “Alive,” suddenly, fashion designers are turning your singer’s clothes into grunge couture.

The waiting drove me mad
You’re finally here and I’m a mess.  

Photo by Paul Natkin/WireImage