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"Dissident" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released in 1994 as the fourth single from the band's second studio album, Vs. (1993). The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003).

Contents[]

 [hide*1 Origin and recording

Origin and recording[edit][]

An early primitive jam version of "Dissident" can be found in the commercial breaks of the band's MTV Unpluggedperformance. After "Black", during the commercial break, the band jammed into a short progression that would become the basic "Dissident" guitar riff. This is clearly evident in bootlegs and video.[citation needed]

Lyrics[edit][]

Vocalist Eddie Vedder about "Dissident":

In "Dissident", I'm actually talking about a woman who takes in someone who's being sought after by the authorities for political reasons. He's on the run, and she offers him a refuge. But she just can't handle the responsibility. She turns him in, then she has to live with the guilt and the realization that she's betrayed the one thing that gave her life meaning. It made her life difficult. It made her life hell. But it gave her a reason to be. But she couldn't hold on. She folded. That's the tragedy of the song.[1]

At Pearl Jam's March 17, 1994 concert in West LafayetteIndiana at Purdue University's Elliot Hall, Vedder said that the "holy no" in the song refers to date rape, explaining that "a woman's word is sacred and the no means no and that's what a 'holy no' is."[2]

Release and reception[edit][]

While the "Dissident" single was released commercially to international markets in 1994, the commercial single was not released in the United States until June 27, 1995 and was only available as a more expensive import version beforehand. "Dissident" peaked at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Outside the United States, the single was released commercially in AustriaGermanyJapan, the NetherlandsSouth Africa, and the United Kingdom. "Dissident" reached the UK Top 20. "Dissident" peaked at number 97 in Germany, reached the top 30 in France, and was a top ten success in Ireland and Norway. It was a moderate top 20 success in the Netherlands.

Live performances[edit][]

"Dissident" was first performed live at the band's May 13, 1993 concert in San FranciscoCalifornia at Slim's Café.[3] Live performances of "Dissident" can be found on the "Dissident" single, various official bootlegs, and the Live at the Gorge 05/06 box set. A performance of the song is also included on the DVD Touring Band 2000.

Track listing[edit][]

All songs written by Dave AbbruzzeseJeff AmentStone GossardMike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, except where noted:

CD (US, Austria, Germany, Japan, and South Africa)
  1. "Dissident" – 3:35
  2. "Release" (live) (Ament, Gossard, Dave Krusen, McCready, Vedder) – 4:54
  3. "Rearviewmirror" (live) – 5:30
  4. "Even Flow" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:04
  5. "Dissident" (live) – 3:24
  6. "Why Go" (live) (Vedder, Ament) – 3:49
  7. "Deep" (live) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 4:44
CD (UK) (Part 1)
  1. "Dissident" – 3:32
  2. "Release" (live) (Ament, Gossard, Krusen, McCready, Vedder) – 4:54
  3. "Rearviewmirror" (live) – 5:30
  4. "Even Flow" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:04
  • Live tracks recorded on April 3, 1994 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
CD (UK) (Part 2)
  1. "Dissident" – 3:32
  2. "Dissident" (live) – 3:24
  3. "Why Go" (live) (Vedder, Ament) – 3:49
  4. "Deep" (live) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 4:44
  • Live tracks recorded on April 3, 1994 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
CD (Austria and The Netherlands)
  1. "Dissident" – 3:35
  2. "Release" (live) (Ament, Gossard, Krusen, McCready, Vedder) – 4:54
    • Recorded on April 3, 1994 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
7" Vinyl (The Netherlands and UK) and Cassette (UK)
  1. "Dissident" – 3:32
  2. "Rearviewmirror" (live) – 5:08
    • Recorded on April 3, 1994 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.

Alternate versions[edit][]

Two alternate versions of the "Dissident" single were released that do not contain the song "Dissident" at all. The track listings of the alternate versions are as follows:

"Dissident" #2 CD (Europe and Germany)
  1. "Jeremy" (live) (Vedder, Ament) – 3:00
  2. "Glorified G" (live) – 3:19
  3. "Daughter" (live) – 5:07
  4. "Go" (live) – 2:57
  5. "Animal" (live) – 2:48
  6. "Garden" (live) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 6:52
  7. "State of Love and Trust" (live) (Vedder, McCready, Ament) – 3:58
  8. "Black" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:45
  • Live tracks recorded on April 3, 1994 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
"Dissident" #3 CD (Europe and Germany)
  1. "Alive" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:08
  2. "Blood" (live) – 3:39
  3. "W.M.A." (live) (with Doug Pinnick and Jerry Gaskill of King's X) – 6:24
  4. "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" (live) – 3:43
  5. "Rats" (live) – 4:37
  6. "Once" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 3:21
  7. "Porch" (live) (Vedder) – 11:01
  8. "Indifference" (live) – 5:00
  • Live tracks recorded on April 3, 1994 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.

"Dissident"/Live in Atlanta[edit][]

Altogether, the three "Dissident" singles compile the band's April 3, 1994 concert in AtlantaGeorgia, with the only omissions being three songs from the yet-to-be-released Vitalogy ("Whipping", "Better Man", and "Satan's Bed") and the Dead Boys cover "Sonic Reducer". All three singles were available as a box set entitled Live in Atlanta released in Europe.

CD Box Set (Europe)

Disc one

  1. "Dissident" – 3:35
  2. "Release" (live) (Ament, Gossard, Krusen, McCready, Vedder) – 4:54
  3. "Rearviewmirror" (live) – 5:30
  4. "Even Flow" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:04
  5. "Dissident" (live) – 3:24
  6. "Why Go" (live) (Vedder, Ament) – 3:49
  7. "Deep" (live) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 4:44

Disc two

  1. "Jeremy" (live) (Vedder, Ament) – 3:00
  2. "Glorified G" (live) – 3:19
  3. "Daughter" (live) – 5:07
  4. "Go" (live) – 2:57
  5. "Animal" (live) – 2:48
  6. "Garden" (live) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 6:52
  7. "State of Love and Trust" (live) (Vedder, McCready, Ament) – 3:58
  8. "Black" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:45

Disc three

  1. "Alive" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:08
  2. "Blood" (live) – 3:39
  3. "W.M.A." (live) (with Doug Pinnick and Jerry Gaskill of King's X) – 6:24
  4. "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" (live) – 3:43
  5. "Rats" (live) – 4:37
  6. "Once" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 3:21
  7. "Porch" (live) (Vedder) – 11:01
  8. "Indifference" (live) – 5:00
  • Live tracks recorded on April 3, 1994 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.

Chart positions[edit][]

Chart (1994) Position
Norwegian Singles Chart[4] 2
US Mainstream Rock Tracks[5] 3
Irish Singles Chart[6] 7
Dutch Singles Chart[7] 14
UK Singles Chart[8] 14
French Singles Chart[9] 24
German Singles Chart[10] 97
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