Rival
Summary
“Rival” is Stone Gossard’s unsettling meditation on school-shooting violence, written in the aftermath of the 1999 Columbine massacre. At 3:38, it’s a terse, coiled thriller—Gossard’s riffing and Eddie Vedder’s snarling vocal create an “in-the-room” immediacy thanks to the binaural recording technique. It’s one of the rare songs where Gossard wrote both music and lyrics. Never released as a single, it’s been performed live only about 22 times, making those appearances notable events for fans who know its dark reputation. The liner notes asterisk it to denote the binaural recording, one of eight tracks on the album to use Tchad Blake’s 3-D microphone technique.
Background & Inspiration
Stone Gossard has stated that “Rival” emerged from his attempt to “process Columbine” and imagine the fatal mindset that precedes a school shooting Wikipedia Binaural . MTV News previewed the track in April 2000 as “Columbine-inspired,” noting its stark lyric and prowling groove. The grim subject matter fit Binaural’s broader focus on social critique and malaise. Musically, Gossard arrived at the studio with a nearly complete demo; Vedder retained most of the lyric, only tightening phrasing during vocal takes Wikipedia Binaural . The song’s working title on early sequencing sheets was “Rival,” but Vedder joked onstage in Dallas (21 Oct 2000) that an alternate name was “Growing Up Gay in Littleton” – a sardonic nod to Columbine’s Colorado suburb Pearl Jam Deep Archive .
Lyrics & Interpretation
Because the full text is copyrighted, the following lines are paraphrased.
| Line (paraphrased) | Possible reading |
|---|---|
| “All my rivals will see what I have in store / My gun” | Fantasised vengeance; the narrator frames violence as theatrical revelation. |
| “Bring your barrels full / Not one” | Suggests preparation for maximum casualties, echoing accounts of mass-shooting stockpiles. |
| ”They’re all drowned and so are you” | Violent cleansing or nihilistic equality in death; some fans link “drowned” to media saturation Reddit r/pearljam . |
Many listeners identify the song’s repeated water imagery (“drowned,” “rivers”) as a metaphor for the flood of media attention that accompanies a shooting. Reddit discussions frequently note the chilling perspective shift: instead of empathising with victims (as in “Jeremy”), the lyric coldly channels the perpetrator’s anticipation Reddit r/pearljam MoreThanTen .
Composition & Arrangement
| Element | Details |
|---|---|
| Key / tuning | Drop-D (D-A-D-G-B-E); tonal centre oscillates between D5 riff and E♭ tritone embellishments. |
| Structure | Intro-Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus-Outro (tight 3:38 runtime). |
| Riff | Gossard anchors verses with a staccato D5 figure on the low strings; McCready layers discordant fills panned hard-right (enhanced by binaural mic placement). |
| Rhythm | Matt Cameron plays a swung, tom-heavy 4/4, accelerating subtly into choruses. |
| Harmony | Choruses pivot to a chromatic rise (F–F♯–G) underscoring the lyric’s rising menace. |
| Texture | Sparse overdubs; main guitars are double-tracked but left dry, placing focus on spatial room miking. |
Production & Recording
Binaural was cut at Studio Litho (Seattle) Sept 1999 – Jan 2000 Wikipedia Binaural . Producer/engineer Tchad Blake clipped binaural “head” mics to guitar amps for ambience; “Rival” is one of the clearest showcases, audible when the main riff snaps from left to right channels. Brendan O’Brien, returning only as mix consultant, handled final two-inch tape mixes of track 10, giving it a slightly hotter master than Blake’s own mixes Wikipedia Binaural . Minimal compression preserves Cameron’s dynamic tom rolls, while Vedder’s vocal is run through light slap-back echo.
Themes & Motifs
- Violence & alienation – Narrator seeks notoriety through destruction.
- Competition (“rivals”) – Schoolyard hierarchies escalate to lethal score-settling.
- Media spectacle – River/flood metaphors mirror saturation coverage.
- Moral void – Absence of catharsis; unlike “Jeremy,” there is no reflective coda.
Critical Reception & Legacy
Because “Rival” was not a single, contemporary reviews focused on the album. Entertainment Weekly called it “menacing and effective,” while Spin cited the track as proof of Gossard’s “writerly growth” Wikipedia Binaural . Fan esteem has grown: in 2022, subreddit polls consistently rank it among Binaural’s top five songs Reddit r/pearljam . The track’s Columbine link keeps it in cultural discussions of music that addresses school violence (alongside “Jeremy”). Its scarcity in setlists has made 2016’s Toronto full-album performance a collector’s highlight Rolling Stone Toronto .
Live Performances
- Debut: Pinkpop Festival, Landgraaf – 12 Jun 2000 Setlist.fm .
- Typical slot: Mid-set following a faster rocker, to reset mood.
- Arrangement tweaks: Vedder often elongates the final “My gun!” line; McCready adds wah-drenched leads in 2016 rendition (Air Canada Centre).
- Play count: 22 documented performances, with a 13-year gap (2003-2016) Setlist.fm .
- Fan reaction: Noted as a “white-whale” request; audible crowd roar when intro riff surfaces on the Deep archival streams Pearl Jam Deep Archive .
Covers & Reinterpretations
No major-label covers exist; however, numerous guitar play-throughs circulate on YouTube, and hardcore outfit Brave Rival name-checked the song as inspiration for their moniker. The scarcity of professional covers likely stems from its heavy lyrical theme.
Music Video & Visual Elements
“Rival” did not receive an official video. Live bootleg DVDs (Touring Band 2000) capture its stark red-wash lighting and minimal stage movement—Vedder remains fixed at centre stage, spotlighting the lyric’s severity.
Personnel & Credits
Eddie Vedder – vocals, acoustic guitar Stone Gossard – rhythm & lead guitars, lyrics Mike McCready – lead guitars, feedback textures Jeff Ament – bass guitar Matt Cameron – drums, percussion
Additional Tchad Blake – production, engineering Brendan O’Brien – mix engineer (track 10) Matt Bayles – assistant engineering
Fan Theories & Trivia
- On some early bootlegs Vedder introduces the song as “Stone’s evil twin.”
- A persistent theory ties the lyric’s “rivers” to the nearby South Platte River (Columbine’s geography).
- The Dallas 2000 quip about “Growing Up Gay in Littleton” is interpreted by fans as a jab at conservative culture in Columbine’s suburb Pearl Jam Deep Archive .
Comparative Analysis
Unlike Pearl Jam’s earlier shooting narrative “Jeremy” (first-person victim), “Rival” flips to the perpetrator’s lens, foregoing empathy for shock. Musically, it mirrors the taut aggression of “Go” or “Spin the Black Circle,” yet its drop-D sludge hints at Soundgarden’s influence—no surprise with Cameron on drums. Within the alt-rock landscape of 2000, it occupies thematic territory later explored by System of a Down’s “Boom!” (2002) and My Chemical Romance’s “Teenagers” (2006), but with a more journalistic detachment.