Dissident (song)
"Dissident" is a song by American rock band Pearl Jam, released in 1994 as the fourth single from the band's second studio album, Vs. (1993). The song peaked at number three on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and in Denmark, number two in Norway, and number seven in Finland and Ireland. "Dissident (Part 2)" was also released as a single, reaching number two in the Netherlands and number 19 in France, and two live versions of the track found success in Denmark and Norway.
"Dissident" | ||||
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Single by Pearl Jam | ||||
from the album Vs. | ||||
B-side |
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Released | May 16, 1994 | |||
Recorded | March–May 1993 | |||
Genre | Grunge | |||
Length | 3:35 | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Pearl Jam singles chronology | ||||
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The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003).
Lyrics
Eddie Vedder said about the song "Dissident":
"In 'Dissident,' I'm actually talking about a woman who takes in someone who's being sought after by the authorities for political reasons. He's on the run, and she offers him a refuge. But she just can't handle the responsibility. She turns him in, then she has to live with the guilt and the realization that she's betrayed the one thing that gave her life meaning. It made her life difficult. It made her life hell. But it gave her a reason to be. But she couldn't hold on. She folded. That's the tragedy of the song."[1]
At Pearl Jam's March 17, 1994 concert in West Lafayette, Indiana at Purdue University's Elliot Hall, Vedder said that the "holy no" in the song refers to date rape, explaining that "a woman's word is sacred and the no means no and that's what a 'holy no' is."[2]
Release and reception
While the "Dissident" single was released commercially to international markets in 1994, the commercial single was not released in the United States until June 27, 1995 and was only available as a more expensive import version beforehand. "Dissident" peaked at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Outside the United States, the song peaked at number 97 in Germany, reached the top 30 in France, and was a top ten success in Finland, Ireland and Norway. It was a top 20 success in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Part two of "Dissident" reached number two in the Netherlands and the top 20 in France.
Live performances
"Dissident" was first performed live at the band's May 13, 1993 concert in San Francisco, California at Slim's Café.[3] Live performances of "Dissident" can be found on the "Dissident" single, various official bootlegs, and the Live at the Gorge 05/06 box set. A performance of the song is also included on the DVD Touring Band 2000.
Track listing
All songs written by Dave Abbruzzese, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, except where noted:
CD (US, Austria, Germany, Japan, and South Africa) - part 1
- "Dissident" – 3:35
- "Release" (live) (Ament, Gossard, Dave Krusen, McCready, Vedder) – 4:54
- "Rearviewmirror" (live) – 5:30
- "Even Flow" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:04
- "Dissident" (live) – 3:24
- "Why Go" (live) (Vedder, Ament) – 3:49
- "Deep" (live) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 4:44
CD (US, Austria, Germany, Japan, and South Africa) - part 2
- "Jeremy" – 5:30
- "Glorified G" (live) – 3:20
- "Daughter" (live) – 5:08
- "Go" (live) – 2:58
- "Animal" (live) – 2:45
- "Garden" (live) – 6:52
- "State of Love and Trust" (live) – 3:58
- "Black" (live) – 5:46
CD (US, Austria, Germany, Japan, and South Africa) - part 3
- "Alive" – 5:09
- "Blood" (live) – 3:39
- "W.M.A." (live) – 6:25
- "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" (live) – 3:44
- "Rats" (live) – 4:37
- "Once" (live) – 3:21
- "Porch" (live) – 11:01
- "Indifference" (live) – 5:00
CD (UK) (Part 1)
- "Dissident" – 3:32
- "Release" (live) (Ament, Gossard, Krusen, McCready, Vedder) – 4:54
- "Rearviewmirror" (live) – 5:30
- "Even Flow" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:04
- Live tracks recorded on April 3, 1994 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
CD (UK) (Part 2)
- "Dissident" – 3:32
- "Dissident" (live) – 3:24
- "Why Go" (live) (Vedder, Ament) – 3:49
- "Deep" (live) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 4:44
- Live tracks recorded on April 3, 1994 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
CD (Austria and The Netherlands)
- "Dissident" – 3:35
- "Release" (live) (Ament, Gossard, Krusen, McCready, Vedder) – 4:54
- Recorded on April 3, 1994 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
7" Vinyl (The Netherlands and UK) and Cassette (UK)
- "Dissident" – 3:32
- "Rearviewmirror" (live) – 5:08
- Recorded on April 3, 1994 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
Alternate versions
Two alternate versions of the "Dissident" single were released that do not contain the song "Dissident" at all. The track listings of the alternate versions are as follows:
"Dissident" #2 CD (Europe and Germany)
- "Jeremy" (live) (Vedder, Ament) – 3:00
- "Glorified G" (live) – 3:19
- "Daughter" (live) – 5:07
- "Go" (live) – 2:57
- "Animal" (live) – 2:48
- "Garden" (live) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 6:52
- "State of Love and Trust" (live) (Vedder, McCready, Ament) – 3:58
- "Black" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:45
- Live tracks recorded on April 3, 1994 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
"Dissident" #3 CD (Europe and Germany)
- "Alive" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:08
- "Blood" (live) – 3:39
- "W.M.A." (live) (with Doug Pinnick and Jerry Gaskill of King's X) – 6:24
- "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" (live) – 3:43
- "Rats" (live) – 4:37
- "Once" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 3:21
- "Porch" (live) (Vedder) – 11:01
- "Indifference" (live) – 5:00
- Live tracks recorded on April 3, 1994 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
"Dissident"/Live in Atlanta
Altogether, the three "Dissident" singles compile the band's April 3, 1994 concert in Atlanta, Georgia, with the only omissions being three songs from the yet-to-be-released Vitalogy ("Whipping", "Better Man", and "Satan's Bed") and the Dead Boys cover "Sonic Reducer". All three singles were available as a box set entitled Live in Atlanta released in Europe.
CD Box Set (Europe) Disc one
- "Dissident" – 3:35
- "Release" (live) (Ament, Gossard, Krusen, McCready, Vedder) – 4:54
- "Rearviewmirror" (live) – 5:30
- "Even Flow" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:04
- "Dissident" (live) – 3:24
- "Why Go" (live) (Vedder, Ament) – 3:49
- "Deep" (live) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 4:44
Disc two
- "Jeremy" (live) (Vedder, Ament) – 3:00
- "Glorified G" (live) – 3:19
- "Daughter" (live) – 5:07
- "Go" (live) – 2:57
- "Animal" (live) – 2:48
- "Garden" (live) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 6:52
- "State of Love and Trust" (live) (Vedder, McCready, Ament) – 3:58
- "Black" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:45
Disc three
- "Alive" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:08
- "Blood" (live) – 3:39
- "W.M.A." (live) (with Doug Pinnick and Jerry Gaskill of King's X) – 6:24
- "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" (live) – 3:43
- "Rats" (live) – 4:37
- "Once" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 3:21
- "Porch" (live) (Vedder) – 11:01
- "Indifference" (live) – 5:00
- Live tracks recorded on April 3, 1994 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
Charts
Weekly charts
"Dissident"
"Dissident (Part 2)"
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Live in Atlanta 2
Live in Atlanta 3
Year-end charts"Dissident (Part 2)"
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References
- Jones, Allan. Pearl Jam - The Illustrated Story, A Melody Maker Book. Hal Leonard Corp, 1995. ISBN 0-7935-4035-6
- "March 1994" Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. PearlJam10YearsAgo.no.sapo.pt. April 7, 2002.
- "Pearl Jam Songs: "Dissident"" Archived May 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. pearljam.com.
- "Ultratop.be – Pearl Jam – Dissident" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11 no. 24. June 11, 1994. p. 14. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
- "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11 no. 24. June 11, 1994. p. 12. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- "Lescharts.com – Pearl Jam – Dissident" (in French). Les classement single.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Pearl Jam – Dissident". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Dissident". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 26, 1994" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Pearl Jam – Dissident" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Pearl Jam – Dissident". VG-lista.
- "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- "Pearl Jam Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- "Lescharts.com – Pearl Jam – Dissident (Part 2)" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 50, 1994" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Pearl Jam – Dissident (Part 2)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11 no. 49. December 3, 1994. p. 13. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11 no. 24. December 10, 1994. p. 14. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Pearl Jam – Live in Atlanta 2". VG-lista. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11 no. 52. December 24, 1994. p. 10. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Pearl Jam – Live in Atlanta 2". VG-lista. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- "Jaaroverzichten 1994" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved October 24, 2018.