In your mind, what has been Pearl Jam's (or member's) biggest misstep in the past 20 years?

I'm gonna say this...

Honestly, probably not disbanding. I think the solo/side projects are more interesting at this point. They have a "this is a PJ song/this is not" mindset that makes PJ kinda boring. And the shows just aren't what they use to be, so what's the point?

Wow! This a downer post.

The decision to try to become a "relevant" band again post Riot Act. I think in the years that followed, they scuttled some of their creativity to the side in an effort to make Pearl Jam's album/concert focus to be more widely appealing.

their fan base.

This for sure. However, for awhile I was fine with it cause they certainly earned the right. Now it is just time to go back to being a cool band. Thanks.

Probrably Stone loosing his balls.

they definitely have earned the right to do what ever they want, and i dont hate the last 2 albums at all, but they have definitely done much much better and i hope they will again, i just wonder if their tastes have changed to the point that this newer music is exactly what they want to be putting out as apposed to it being an attempt to be mainstream again.

I think bleach-blonde Ed was way worse than mohawk Ed.

This is very true. There shouldn't be a "pearl jam song" category in their minds. This is why those middle albums are so loved... they weren't pigeonholing themselves with the idea of Pearl Jam. DTE, Sleight of Hand, Rival, NAIS, Help Help... those aren't classic PJ songs.

In that vein, one could argue that B'oB's take on Supersonic was trying to do just that..... make it not sound like PJ.

/thread.

Thinking they are or ever were punk?
Boom?
Marrying a model?
Avacado?
Backspacer?
Anti-corperation rants and then marketing the heck out of themselves..... through major corperations like Target and Best Buy?
J-Records?
Tim Beirman?

it would probably be more fitting to say their internet fan base

having kids

Favoring time frame (possibly tour based?) over their intentions on Binaural. If you're going to experiment sonically, and/or to attempt to redefine your songwriting to a degree, then it's just not going to happen as swiftly as your usual Neil Young-inspired approach. It's also going to be a lot harder, and require a great deal more legwork for fewer results.

Of course, it might not have been a time issue so much as their knee jerk paranoia regarding anything that feels like conflict during the creative process. Either way, if they'd taken the time, been flexible, and been committed and determined enough to see that experiment through, the end product would have been remarkable. It would have served as a rebirth and, I believe, made them much more confident about branching out further as time went by. Instead, it instigated an artistic retreat and eventual flatlining that left them pretty much an irrelevant nostalgia act.

And lock 'er up.

Not touring the south.

This is about as accurate a depiction of the way I feel about Binaural as anyone has ever stated. Including anything I've ever said.

Folks, we have our winner.