Pearl Jam announced they were going to play some songs about hands in Raleigh on May 11th [2025] and proceeded to play Upper Hand and Severed Hand, somehow forgetting that they did have a third song with "hand" in the title as part of their repertoire, Sleight of Hand. Ed seemed to have caught the mistake and made good on the full trilogy at their show in Pittsburgh on May 16th.
Well, this got us thinking! We all know about the infamous Mamasan (or Momma-Son) Trilogy (Once, Alive, and Footsteps), and a few lucky fans have heard the "Man" Trilogy (Leatherman, Nothingman, and Better Man), played together in Detroit in 2003, but can we think of some other trilogies? Can we dig through Pearl Jam's catalog and mix up some better ideas? Will Pearl Jam play them after reading about our ideas on TheSkyIScrape.com and then endorse our book, I Am No Guide: Pearl Jam Song by Song?
We don't know the answer, but we're going to see what comes of it. Each Tuesday (when we remember, and until we get sick of it), we're going to present a Pearl Jam trilogy of songs that we think goes together. Maybe the titles match, maybe the songs tell a story, maybe the covers of the 45s look pretty together. Either way, we should have some fun with this. You can even suggest ideas via BlueSky.
Let's start this off with the trilogy that started us down this dangerous, likely stupid, path: Sleight of Hand, Severed Hand, and Upper Hand. Give a listen to the songs form Pittsburgh this year, and see if you're not inspired to enjoy Pearl Jam in a new way.
