And so goes the debate between music fans over which band rocked it better: Pearl Jam, or Nirvana? But how can you compare the talent of these two iconic groups whose sounds are so distinct yet are both forever linked to the Seattle alt rock / grunge movement from which they were born?

You can’t. But what about a discussion of which band was more influential?

Clearly, both had staggering early success. The difference here is that Nirvana’s landmark Nevermind followed their lesser-known debut album Bleach, while Pearl Jam’s first release, Ten, was a huge breakthrough success.

That said, Nevermind cemented Nirvana as the “face” of a new music movement. Not only did its success help make grunge popular, but it proved the commercial viability of alternative rock in general.

In contrast, the success of Ten brought out a host of early detractors, including Cobain, who accused Pearl Jam of selling out with a guitar-lead style that was less than alt rock.

Much of this changed, however, when the masses began to see Pearl Jam in concert. The band’s powerful live performances helped establish their identity, and their refusal to make music videos (after Jeremy) — followed later by their infamous Tickemaster boycott — further formed their anti-establishment identity.

Does Cobain Reign, or is Vedder Better?

Yet another fruitless comparison. While Cobain’s prominence followed by his early demise may have elevated him to cult-like status along the lines of James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, or Jim Morrison — Pearl Jam’s remarkable success and longevity (including its lead singer’s solo projects) give Vedder equal iconic claim.

In the end, both Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder represent individual talents of the top order, whose distinctive voices and creative visions helped propel their bands into the hearts and minds of American youth. Although Nirvana’s run was short but sweet, the continued impact of the band’s albums and the success of its progeny (i.e. The Foo Fighters) put them on equal turf with Pearl Jam, who Allmusic named “the most popular rock and roll band of the ‘90’s.”

Indie darling Sufjan Stevens new album, which he announced a bit over a week ago, is due to be released in a couple weeks. Recently his record label, Asthmatic Kitty, posted a letter to the public on their site criticizing the lower digital pricing practice that Amazon has used. For those not in the know, Amazon frequently offers a lower price for certain records for limited time periods, often below the sticker price that the record labels themselves offer the albums at.

The letter, which one would assume was written by Sufjan, states:

I operate under the conviction that people buy records because they want to own them, not because they want to hear them. It is too easy these days to hear a record without having to buy it. I don’t resent that fact, rather I feel we at Asthmatic Kitty embrace it through streaming albums and offering several free mp3s (even whole free albums). And why do they want to own it? They want it to illustrate to others their taste and identify who they are as a person. I also believe they want to be part of something bigger than themselves, they want to belong.

Our job is no longer to sell folks things they want to hear. They want an experience and to identify themselves as part of a community. Ownership then becomes a way of them supporting your community through investing in that community. Fostering that in an honest, transparent and “non-gross” way takes a combination of gracefulness, creativity and not taking oneself too seriously, while still taking art and music seriously.

We have mixed feelings about discounted pricing. Like we said, we love getting good music into the hands of good people, and when a price is low, more people buy. A low price will introduce a lot of people to Sufjan’s music and to this wonderful album. For that, we’re grateful. But we also feel like the work that our artists produce is worth more than a cost of a latte. We value the skill, love, and time they’ve put into making their records. And we feel that our work too, in promotion and distribution, is also valuable and worthwhile.

The letter later points out alternative retailers and different methods for obtaining the upcoming record at a fair price, as it’s guaranteed to fly off the shelves. His new album Age of Adz is set to be released October 11th.

For more info visit Asthmatic Kitty.

What do you think? Does a cheaper price tag devalue good music or is it designed to make it more accessible?

Always the innovator, Bob Dylan has decided to sell tickets for one of his upcoming West Coast shows in a slightly different way than most ticket sellers nowadays. The tickets for the August 25th show at Warfield will be sold on the day of for cash only, in order to do away with surcharges and credit card fees. Attendees won’t be allowed to line up until noon, the doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the show goes on 8 p.m., at which time every one with a ticket must enter.

Many artists have tried similar tactics in order to discourage scalpers, however this method seems pretty straightforward. The only issues, as many online have noted, is the security requirements will be heavy, as one commenter on the Consequence of Sound notes, “A couple of thousand people, each holding $60 cash in one of the worst areas of San Francisco seems like it could be a bad idea. Hopefully they’ll have a ton of security out there.”

While this method may seem pretty standard to the older generation (remember this was how tickets used to be sold pre-internet), the younger crowds may be a bit annoyed, especially if they’re employed. I’ve seen Thom Yorke’s offshoot band, Atoms For Peace, do a similar tactic at their NYC shows at Roseland Ballroom. The result was a lot of unhappy people standing in line in the rain all day to not get in, but that’s the way things used to be. Either way, I’m sure a lot of artists and promoters will be keeping an eye on how this tactic works this week for future endeavors.

What do you think? Should artists sell tickets this way to discourage scalpers and lower surcharges? Or should they continue to do it online so everyone can have a chance to get a ticket?

More Bob Dylan Tour dates are below, I’ll be at the Seattle show if you want to hang:
08/21 – Monterey, CA @ Monterey Fairgrounds
08/22 – Lake Tahoe, NV @ Harveys Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena
08/24 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
08/25 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
08/27 – Bend, OR @ Les Schwab Amphitheater
08/28 – Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield
08/29 – Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield
08/31 – Missoula, MT @ Orgen Park @ Allegiance Field
09/01 – Post Falls, ID @ Greyhound Park
09/03 – Yakima, WA @ Yakima County Stadium
09/04 – Seattle, WA @ Memorial Stadium (Bumbershoot)

Recommended Listening:

• String Quartet Tribute to Bob Dylan

The annoucment came yesterday that Trent Reznor and his wife Mariqueen Maandig, former singer for LA band West Indian Girl, have formed a group called How to Destroy Angels. Their new site www.howtodestroyangels.com shows Maandig in a video playing some very NIN-like music on some type of instrument with keys. A self titled EP has been disclosed as being self-released this Summer, putting an end to the questions of just what would Reznor do after putting NIN to bed.

To add to the rumors of this, Twitter, Youtube, Vimeo and Myspace accounts have been setup for the band, leading one to believe that there’s a lot of footage to be released in the near future. The name of the band is said to probably originate the band Coil’s single of the same name, a band Reznor has claimed were a big influence. In fact, Coil’s Peter Christopher had been involved in many NIN projects as a music video director, producer, and even remixer.

You can check out their videos on Vimeo.

Hard to say what this will yield, but I’m guessing some very dark music with the lovely voice of Maandig over the top. What do you think? Does this new husband/wife collaboration interest you?

Lollapalooza has a ton of awesome bands lined up this year. With headliners like Soundgarden, Green Day, and Lady Gaga this summer festival is bound to draw out an obscene amount of music fans. The 2010 Lollapalooza lineup covers a wide range of musical genres featuring bands like The Arcade Fire, Social Distortion, and Erykah Badu. There’s something for almost any type of music fan…but we’re wondering…who are you most excited to see?

View the full 2010 Lollapalooza Lineup

We love compilations, as you can probably tell from our recent slew of digital-only albums like The VSQ Dinner Party Companion and VSQ Study Guide Companion. Now it’s your turn to create the tracklist! It’s time for a “best of” album and we want your help deciding what would make the cut as the best VSQ tracks ever.

Tell us favorite tracks in the comments below to submit your votes and don’t forget to tell your friends! Everyone who submits a vote is entered to win a copy of the Vitamin String Quartet album of their choice!

Voting ends on November 30th at 12pm PST.

Five winners will be picked at random from the comments. Please be sure to leave your email address so that we can contact you if you are the winner.

Not sure of your favorite tracks? All VSQ titles are available on iTunes.