Nearly simultaneous with the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic to the US, Pearl Jam shared their eleventh album Gigaton, an effort that proved the band was reliable at a moment when nothing else was. While the album proved to be a good one from the band, Pearl Jam was unfortunately forced to cancel the remainder of their Gigaton Tour as a result of the pandemic.
Despite being forced off the road, the band did share something new amid the ongoing pandemic on Saturday, sharing an uncensored video of their 1991 track “Jeremy” to honor National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
Announcing the release on their Instagram page, Pearl Jam shared a length Instagram caption explaining their reason behind sharing the video, which features some difficult images that were controversial upon its original release.
“In addition to the equity protests taking place around the country, today also marks National Wear Orange Day. The increase in gun violence since the debut of ‘Jeremy”’ is staggering,” the band said. “We can prevent gun deaths whether mass shootings, deaths of despair, law enforcement, or accidental.”
The track, which details the story of a troubled teenager who ends up shooting himself in front of his classmates, comes from the band’s 1991 album, Ten. In addition to the uncensored video, Pearl Jam has also re-released their “Choices” T-shirt which was originally available in the 1990s. The shirt features a young girl reaching for a handgun that lays in the midst of Crayons.
