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My Gen X Playlist: Jeremy – Pearl Jam

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Absent any new WordPress daily prompts, I pulled one from thecoffeemonsterzco.

If you could win a lifetime supply of something under $10, what would it be?

I remember when a Big Mac Value Pack was under $5. Now it’s close to 12 bucks. That’s a sure fire way to encourage me to eat healthier.

I used to buy t-shirts for 10 bucks. Now I’m lucky if I find one on sale for $15 to $20. Regular price is $30 to $50. Yikes.

I remember when beer at a bar was under 2 bucks and buying a round of drinks for your friends wasn’t too painful. I was at a Dodger game recently and a round of beers was over $100. Sure, they really jack up the prices at the stadium and maybe it should be expected. But I still felt the sticker shock.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have the most expensive beer at 99 cents per ounce for 16-ounce cans, which cost $15.99. Beer at Dodger Stadium cost 30 cents more per ounce than any other team. 

USA Today

I guess I’m making a few points.

Number one: I’m old. Only old people can rattle off these cheap prices and long for the good old days. My grandfather used to tell me things he bought for a nickel.

Number two: I have this base line price in my head that is now incongruent with reality. I need to reset my mental price to be more in line with today, not twenty years ago.

And number three: Shit is just expensive these days. It’s taken a while for me to get used to grocery store prices. We buy more at Costco these days and that means buying things in bulk, for just the two of us. Two gigantic bottles of peanut butter? Olive oil by the gallon? A big ass block of cheese? At least an occasional buck fifty hot dog and soda combo on my way out makes me feel not everything has gone through the roof. There is something to be said for moral victories.

All this to say, 10 bucks doesn’t go as far as it used to. I’m not sure what I’d want a lifetime supply of, but I’d settle with keeping those Costco food prices where they are for a while. It’s perfect for my occasional cheat days when I indulge on a slice of pizza or a dog and Coke. I’d be happy if you could grant me that for a little while instead. Just saying.

I drew a blank on songs with the number ten. Instead I’m pulling Jeremy from Pearl Jam’s Ten album. Enjoy.

–

For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

At home drawing pictures
Of mountain tops
With him on top
Lemon yellow sun
Arms raised in a V
And the dead lay in pools of maroon below

Daddy didn't give attention
Oh, to the fact that mommy didn't care
King Jeremy the wicked
Oh, ruled his world

Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today

Clearly I remember
Pickin' on the boy
Seemed a harmless little fuck
Oh, but we unleashed the lion
Gnashed his teeth and bit the recess lady's breast

How could I forget?
And he hit me with a surprise left
My jaw left hurting
Dropped wide open
Just like the day
Oh like the day I heard

Daddy didn't give affection, no
And the boy was something that mommy wouldn't wear
King Jeremy the wicked
Ruled his world

Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today

Try to forget this (try to forget this)
Try to erase this (try to erase this)
From the blackboard

Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in, spoke in
Jeremy spoke in, spoke in
Jeremy spoke in class today

Oh oh oh oh (spoke in, spoke in, spoke in)
(Spoke in)
Oh oh oh oh (spoke in, spoke in, spoke in)
Whoa oh (spoke in)
(Spoke in, spoke in)
Whoa oh (spoke in)
Whoa oh (spoke in, spoke in, spoke in)
Ah ah ah yeah
Ah ah ah ah (spoke in, spoke in, spoke in)
Yeah yeah ah ah ah (spoke in, spoke in, spoke in)
Ah ah ah ah

30 thoughts on “My Gen X Playlist: Jeremy – Pearl Jam”

      1. I don’t think pocket change is worth the space it takes up, to be honest. When once a pocket full of change would have me in penny candy for a week or two, now it’s more of a nuisance than anything else.

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  5. “I have this base line price in my head that is now incongruent with reality.” << THIS 😂 🎯

    I too am assaulted by the sticker prices. I look around for a grinning stock guy who has put joke prices on stuff. I also remember stuff from the late 70s/early 80s…at a fraction of the price. And the quality… some of these T-shirts are so thin you can practically see through them. Ugh.

    This concludes my rant 😂 Great song 😎

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  6. Same here – I’m getting used to grocery prices – $6+ for a loaf of commercial bread seems a bit much tho I just paid $6.49 for a pack of 8 small tortillas. I like when you can’t come up with a song to match – I know you use songs YOU remember but I like searching for ones when you can’t. Would “Ten Years Gone” by Led Zeppelin work for you?

    (I’m way older than you so if I dare to think about prices when I was a kid – I can only laugh and then the pragmatist in me says – but what were salaries way back then.)

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  7. That $12 “Value Pack” for fast food makes me NEVER want to eat there again. Granted I haven’t eaten at a McDonalds in 20 yrs anyway. But that’s ridiculous.

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  8. Whoa, I guess we’re getting a good deal in Canada as I think the Costco hot dog/drink combo is still only 1.50 in our lesser-valued dollar! I’ve only ever tried it once, though my sweety and I have shared the poutine. Do your Costco stores have that? It’s more of a Canadian thing…

    It seemed like prices really skyrocketed during Covid and just kept going up from there. Someone’s getting rich, and it ain’t the average consumer. I paid $10 for a loaf of bread the other day, but it was amazing. Some rare production method using wild yeast and long fermentation that reduces enzymes and stuff like gluten. It was cinnamon-raisin and so good I had to relax my limitation of bread to enjoy some with peanut butter slathered on it (Adam’s 100% natural in the two-jar wrap from, you guess it, Costco).

    I don’t know a lot of Pearl Jam so thanks for the intro; like Grace, I think it’s cool how you deal when it’s hard to find a song match.

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    1. So I had no idea what poutine was so I looked it up. Damn, I wish we had that at our Costco here! But then again, I may eat it too often!

      Prices are only going up. Gotta get used to it. Nothing else we can do. That bread sounds delicious…

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  9. I wrote a post a while back about how a million dollars isn’t the windfall it used to be, and someone who lives in the past ripped into me about being unrealistic. But honestly, one can’t even buy a house, car, pay the bills off and have much left to live off of with a million dollars. It used to be that if you won a million dollars, you’d be set for life. Not anymore.

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  11. Pingback: My Gen X Playlist: Buddy Holly – Weezer – MyGenXerLife

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