Not for You: Pearl Jam and the Present Tense

Ronen Givonyis the author of 24 Hour Revenge Therapy (or, The Strange Death of Selling Out), part of Bloomsbury's 33 1/3 series. He is the founder of New York's Wordless Music series and orchestra (wordlessmusic.org) – which the Village Voice named the city's “Best Moderately Snooty Concert Series" – and a contributor of liner notes for Nonesuch, Constellation, Thrill Jockey, and Temporary Residence. A native of South Florida, he has worked as a producer for concert venues and music festivals in the US and abroad.

There has never been a band like Pearl Jam. The Seattle quintet has recorded eleven studio albums; sold some 85 million records; played over a thousand shows, in fifty countries; and had five different albums reach number one. But Pearl Jam's story is about much more than music. Through resilience, integrity, and sheer force of will, they transcended several eras, and shaped the way a whole generation thought about art, entertainment, and commerce.

Not for You: Pearl Jam and the Present Tense is the first full-length biography of America's preeminent band, from Ten to Gigaton. A study of their role in history – from Operation Desert Storm to the Dixie Chicks; "Jeremy" to Columbine; Kurt Cobain to Chris Cornell; Ticketmaster to Trump – Not forYou explores the band's origins and evolution over thirty years of American culture. It starts with their founding, and the eruption of grunge, in 1991; continues through their golden age (Vs., Vitalogy, No Code, and Yield); their middle period (Binaural, Riot Act); and the more divisive recent catalog. Along the way, it considers the band's activism, idealism, and impact, from “W.M.A.” to the Battle of Seattle and Body of War.

More than the first critical study, Not for You is a tribute to a famously obsessive fan base, in the spirit of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch. It's an old-fashioned – if, at times, ambivalent – appreciation; a reflection on pleasure, fandom, and guilt; and an essay on the nature of adolescence, nostalgia, and adulthood. Partly social history, partly autobiography, and entirely outspoken, discursive, and droll, Not for You is the first full-length treatment of Pearl Jam's odyssey and importance in the culture, from the '90s to the present.

"[A] hefty and impressive work, digging into its subject with the kind of relentlessness any fan will appreciate … A thoughtful celebration of a band who’s still going strong, and should even be of interest to non-PJ fans, especially if they have an interest in alt rock of the ‘90s." - Record Collector News

“Near perfect Pearl Jam prose …'Not For You: Pearl Jam and the Present Tense' is a book every Pearl Jam fan needs to read. Not only is it an excellent biography it is also the definitive unofficial Pearl Jam book for fans of the Last Grunge Band Standing.™” - Guerrilla Candy

"Brilliantly contextualises the early ’90s socio-political climate from which the grunge icons emerged. It paints a vivid portrait … Not For You is a compelling examination of one of modern rock’s most enduring and compelling groups." - Kate Brayden, Hot Press

"An enjoyable book and, as a non-fan, I found myself coming around to their music and what they were trying to achieve. Whether you love them or not, it is clear they were trying to be genuine and reach out to their fans." - Simon Cocking, Irish Tech News

“Ronen Givony's Not for You does what Givony would like Pearl Jam to do: it rises above its immediate purpose. It is a critical annotation to a body of work which lifts off the ground and becomes an extravagant performance about time, rebellion, fame, disenchantment, civil discourse, the idea of the mainstream, the desire of a fan, and what a band can do to answer it.” ―Ben Ratliff, author of Every Song Ever

"[A]n insightful work for many reasons, not least its temperate analysis of fandom. Author Ronen Givony never forgets the whys and wherefores of the Seattle outfit and of how from their early days in the 1990s, despite their status as one of the mostpopular US acts, they sidelined traditional commercial channels in favour of servicing their fans … Givony incisively reflects on th[is] and more, but the primary selling point is what the band have meant to their fans across the years and the often-profound bonds that can be made." - Tony Clayton-Lea, The Irish Times

"The strength of Givony’s book lies in his readiness to make the tough call. His book is unreservedly opinionated, as so few these days are … Givony proves himself a master of the bon mot, the memorable soundbite, demonstrating ample literary chops throughout. If I had room, I’d quote a hundred worthy passages." - Des Cowley, Rhythm Magazine

"Givony trenchantly argues that Pearl Jam haven’t made a great album since 1998. Yet his sometimes contentious analysis is always delivered with a wry snap and bolstered by diligent sociocultural contextualisation, pinpointing one aspect of the band’s appeal; they’re more ‘for you’ than might initially appear to be the case." - Keith Cameron, MOJO

CHOICE Magazine’s “New Year Reads” 2021 - CHOICE

CBC’s “18 Books for the Holiday Season” - CBC