Pearl Jam teases Gigaton with telephone hotline, just like it's the '90s again

By Sam Barsanti | March 23, 2020 | 10:37pm

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Pearl Jam teases Gigaton with telephone hotline, just like it's the '90s again

Photo: Mike Coppola

Later this week, Pearl Jam will finally release Gigaton, its first new album since 2013's Lightning Bolt. If you still can’t wait a few days, though, the band has come up with a revolutionary new way to give fans a preview of Gigaton: A telephone line! Alright, so it’s not quite revolutionary or new, but it is… retro and very ‘90s, which are fun qualities anyway. Plus, Pearl Jam made it big in the ‘90s and were an iconic part of the whole flannel/grunge movement, so it does make sense even if it is a little silly. Also, we regret writing this as much as you might regret reading it, but you don’t have to touch anybody to call a phone number. Can’t get the virus through a phone!

Anyway, the phone number is 585-207-3275 (or 585-20-PEARL, but that’s not the normal phone number format), and Rolling Stone says callers are meter with a “classic telemarketer voice” asking them to either leave a message or “opt-in to receive updates from the band and preview the album.” It seems a little late in the game to be sending out updates, since Gigaton comes out on March 27, but maybe the updates will be more like the Corey Hotline from The Simpsons. (“Here are some words that rhyme with Eddie: Levee, Freddy, spaghetti, Ugly Betty.”) With the North American tour canceled, there are worse ways to get your Pearl Jam fix.