Retrograde (Pearl Jam song)

2020 single by Pearl Jam

"Retrograde"

Single by Pearl Jam
from the album  Gigaton
Released| May 14, 2020 (2020-05-14)
Length| 5:22
Label| Monkeywrench
Composer(s)|

* Mike McCready

Lyricist(s)| Eddie Vedder
Producer(s)|

* Josh Evans
* Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam singles chronology
| "Quick Escape"
(2020)  | "Retrograde"
(2020)  | "Get It Back"
(2020)

|
|

"Retrograde" is a song by American rock band Pearl Jam. It was released as the fourth single from their eleventh studio album, Gigaton, on May 14, 2020. A music video featuring Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was released on the same day.[1] The song peaked at No. 9 on Billboard's Triple A chart.[2]

## Music video

[edit]

The music video for "Retrograde" was released on May 14, 2020 and was directed by Emmy-winning Australian filmmaker Josh Wakely and produced by the storytelling company Grace.[3] It focuses on spreading awareness of climate change and features a cameo by Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.[4]

The music video, a mix of animation and motion capture, begins with a lone wanderer (played by cinematographer Trent Opaloch)[3] driving through the rain and descending upon a strip mall. Visiting a psychic, the wanderer sees the destruction of the world in a crystal ball as the seas overtake the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Tower Bridge in London, and the Space Needle in the band's native Seattle. Fluid animation moves like an oil painting in motion as Pearl Jam's members step out of their respect tarot cards and into a march. As the water continues to rise, Thunberg appears behind the crystal ball as a clairvoyant.[5] Thunberg could not be on set due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for that reason, Wakely utilized existing footage of Thunberg with her permission, which was then grafted onto the body of another actress to create the finished video.[3] Wakely said that Thunberg sent him an email saying that she loved the video.[3] The fortune teller's storefront is located in a strip mall that is filled with references to Pearl Jam's previous albums, such as Ten (1991), No Code (1996) and Lightning Bolt (2013).[3] Around 140 tarot cards with 140 different real people were also used in the video, however, none of them met each other during the making as the animators were filming themselves.[3]

On May 29, 2020, Pearl Jam's official YouTube channel released a video showing the making of the music video.[6]

## Personnel

[edit]

Pearl Jam

* Jeff Ament – bass guitar, keyboard, guitar, drum loop
* Matt Cameron – drums
* Stone Gossard – guitar, keyboard
* Mike McCready – guitar, keyboard
* Eddie Vedder – lead vocals, guitar

Additional musician

* Brendan O'Brien – keyboard

## Charts

[edit]

Chart (2020)  | Peak
position

|

Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[7] | 23
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[8] | 40
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[9] | 9
US Rock & Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[10] | 41

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Ryan Reed (May 14, 2020). "Pearl Jam Envision Climate Change Destruction in "Retrograde" Video". Ultimate Classic Rock. Archived from the original on May 21, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
2. ^ "Pearl Jam". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
3. ^ a b c d e f "Pearl Jam Recruits Climate Change Activist Greta Thunberg for Cautionary 'Retrograde' Visual (Watch)". Variety. May 14, 2020. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
4. ^ Billboard (May 14, 2020). "Watch Greta Thunberg Make a Cameo in Pearl Jam's Climate Change Awareness Video for 'Retrograde'". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
5. ^ Blabbermouth (May 14, 2020). "Watch PEARL JAM's Animated Music Video For 'Retrograde'". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
6. ^ "Pearl Jam - The Making of the "Retrograde" Video". YouTube. May 29, 2020. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
7. ^ "Pearl Jam – Retrograde" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
8. ^ "Pearl Jam – Retrograde" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
9. ^ "Pearl Jam Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
10. ^ "Pearl Jam Chart History (Rock & Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2020.

## External links

[edit]

* Official music video on YouTube
* The Making of the "Retrograde" Music Video on YouTube

* v
* t
* e

Pearl Jam

Jeff Ament
Stone Gossard
Mike McCready
Eddie Vedder
Matt Cameron

Touring/session members
Boom Gaspar
Josh Klinghoffer

Former members
Jack Irons
Dave Krusen
Matt Chamberlain
Dave Abbruzzese

Studio albums|

* Ten
* Vs.
* Vitalogy
* No Code
* Yield
* Binaural
* Riot Act
* Pearl Jam
* Backspacer
* Lightning Bolt
* Gigaton
* Dark Matter

Live albums|

* Live on Two Legs
* Official Bootlegs
* Live at Benaroya Hall
* Live in NYC 12/31/92
* Live at Easy Street
* Live at the Gorge 05/06
* Live at Lollapalooza 2007
* Live on Ten Legs
* Pearl Jam Twenty
* 9.11.2011 Toronto, Canada
* Let's Play Two
* MTV Unplugged
* Give Way

Compilations|

* Lost Dogs
* Rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003)
* Pearl Jam Twenty

Extended plays|

* Merkin Ball
* The Last of Us

Videos|

* Single Video Theory
* Touring Band 2000
* Live at the Showbox
* Live at the Garden
* Vote for Change? 2004
* Immagine in Cornice
* Pearl Jam Twenty
* Let's Play Two

Singles|

* "Alive"
* "Even Flow"
* "Jeremy"
* "Oceans"
* "Go"
* "Daughter"
* "Animal"
* "Dissident"
* "Spin the Black Circle"
* "Not for You"
* "Immortality"
* "Who You Are"
* "Hail, Hail"
* "Off He Goes"
* "Given to Fly"
* "Wishlist"
* "Last Kiss"
* "Nothing as It Seems"
* "Light Years"
* "I Am Mine"
* "Save You"
* "Love Boat Captain"
* "Man of the Hour"
* "World Wide Suicide"
* "Life Wasted"
* "Gone"
* "The Fixer"
* "Just Breathe"
* "Amongst the Waves"
* "Crown of Thorns"
* "Mind Your Manners"
* "Sirens"
* "Can't Deny Me"
* "Dance of the Clairvoyants"
* "Superblood Wolfmoon"
* "Quick Escape"
* "Retrograde"
* "Wreckage"

Other songs|

* "Once"
* "Black"
* "State of Love and Trust"
* "Breath"
* "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town"
* "Glorified G"
* "Rearviewmirror"
* "Yellow Ledbetter"
* "Tremor Christ"
* "Better Man"
* "Nothingman"
* "Corduroy"
* "Red Mosquito"
* "In Hiding"
* "Do the Evolution"
* "Grievance"
* "Thumbing My Way"
* "½ Full"
* "Brother"

Tours|

* Mookie Blaylock 1991 United States Tour
* 1991 United States Tour
* Ten Tour
* Lollapalooza 1992
* 1993 European and North American Tour
* Vs. Tour
* Vitalogy Tour
* No Code Tour
* Yield Tour
* Binaural Tour
* Riot Act Tour
* Vote for Change
* 2005 North American and Latin American Tour
* 2006 World Tour
* 2007 European Tour
* 2008 United States Tour
* Backspacer Tour
* Pearl Jam Twenty Tour
* 2012 Tour
* Lightning Bolt Tour
* 2015 Latin America Tour
* 2016 North America Tour
* 2018 Tour
* Gigaton Tour
* Dark Matter World Tour

Related articles|

| Articles|

* Discography
* Band members
* Awards and nominations
* Monkeywrench Records

|

Bands|

* Green River
* Soundgarden
* Bad Radio
* Mother Love Bone
* Temple of the Dog
* Brad
* Hater
* Wellwater Conspiracy
* Hovercraft
* Mad Season
* Red Hot Chili Peppers
* Three Fish
* The Rockfords
* RNDM
* 3rd Secret

Albums|

* Mirror Ball
* Bayleaf
* Into the Wild
* Tone
* Ukulele Songs
* Water on the Road
* Moonlander
* Earthling

* Category

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