Pearl Jam: Jeremy, Color Version

Equal parts of greatness and shock, fascination and controversy, the clip of "Pearl Jam: Jeremy" is a must-see music video. Its timeless quality both as an artistic visual statement and as a dark synthesis of high school period has never been matched and with great reasons. The kind of video that motivates discussion over its main topic, how it addresses conflicted teenagers, school shootings, suicide, disfunctional families, but also invites the thoughts about every single frame shot by Mark Pellington, long before he become a filmmaker (please watch "Arlington Road", another mindblowing experience). Last but not least, a great time to get to know and hear Pearl Jam at the top of their game with a massive hit - and this music video is part of the reason.

I've seen "Jeremy" several times and it's a little hard to express everything about it - I tried once but my review of years ago vanished into an Error 404 and sadly wasn't saved. I find it as one of the most disturbing music clips of all time, and when the uncut version was made available I was even more spooked than before. It's all dark - the colors, the song, Eddie Vedder's crazed expressions while performing the song - those fast cuts showing bits and pieces of Jeremy's life at home, at school, or some solitary moment running through the woods; plus the many titles describing the time and place of a tragedy with some newscasters voices echoing over each other in the beginning. It leaves you glued into putting the pieces together about what really Jeremy spoke in that class, that afternoon on an affluent suburb.

Mr. Pellington is right in expressing frustration over the "censored" version that I grew up watching, as it gives the impression of a school shooting scenario rather than the boy (greatly played by Trevor Wilson) killing himself - but if one pays attention to the iconic and unforgettable image of his classmates, fronzen and all dressed in white with a bright red painted on them, the frozen hands up in the air and the shock in their faces, none of that looks as they were the victims. The kid had issues within himself, but it's interesting to see the other idea as acceptable since it became more common massive tragedies on schools than a suicide only, and hence why the video managed to create some debate in the following years of its broadcast.

And there's something about the song that makes it very appealing, tragic yet fascinating with Eddie's magnificent and powerful voice, and the lyrics, a cinematic poem. Timeless just like the video, one of the greatest ever made. 10/10.