"Retrograde" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

. It was released as the fourth single from their eleventh studio album, ''

Gigaton ''Gigaton'' is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released March 27, 2020. It was preceded by the singles "Dance of the Clairvoyants", " Superblood Wolfmoon" and "Quick Escape". It is the band's first studio album in six ...

'', on May 14, 2020. A music video featuring Swedish activist

Greta Thunberg Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation. Thunberg's activism began when she persuaded ...

was released on the same day. The song peaked at No. 9 on ''Billboard'''s Triple A chart.

Music video

The music video for "Retrograde" was released on May 14, 2020 and was directed by

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning Australian filmmaker

Josh Wakely Josh Wakely is an Australian director, screenwriter, and producer who owns the rights to the music publishing catalogues of The Beatles, Motown, and Bob Dylan, as well as Universal Music Group’s library of recorded master and publishing catalogu ...

and produced by the storytelling company Grace. It focuses on spreading awareness of climate change and features a cameo by Swedish environmental activist

. The music video, a mix of animation and motion capture, begins with a lone wanderer (played by cinematographer

Trent Opaloch Trent Opaloch is a Canadian cinematographer best known for his work with directors Neill Blomkamp and the Russo brothers. His major works include ''District 9'' (2009), ''Elysium'' (2013), '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' (2014), '' Chapp ...

) 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 The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...

in Paris, the

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule and Suspended-deck suspension bridge, suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones (architect), Horace Jones and e ...

in London, and the

Space Needle The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, it was built in the Seattle Center f ...

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. Thunberg could not be on set due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, 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. Wakely said that Thunberg sent him an email saying that she loved the video. The fortune teller's storefront is located in a strip mall that is filed with references to Pearl Jam's previous albums, such as '' Ten'' (1991), ''

No Code ''No Code'' is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1996 through Epic Records. Following a troubled tour for its previous album, '' Vitalogy'' (1994), in which Pearl Jam engaged in a much-publicize ...

'' (1996) and '' Lightning Bolt'' (2013). 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. On May 29, 2020, Pearl Jam's official YouTube channel released a video showing the making of the music video.

Personnel

Pearl Jam *

Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician and songwriter who is best known as the bassist of the American rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Prior to his wo ...

– bass guitar, keyboard, guitar, drum loop *

Matt Cameron Matthew David Cameron (born November 28, 1962) is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Pearl Jam. He first gained fame as the drummer for Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986. He appeared on each of ...

– drums *

Stone Gossard Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician who serves as a guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. G ...

– guitar, keyboard *

Mike McCready Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. McCready wa ...

– guitar, keyboard *

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...

– lead vocals, guitar Additional musician *

Brendan O'Brien Brendan O'Brien may refer to: *Brendan O'Brien (bishop) (born 1943), Roman Catholic archbishop of Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Brendan O'Brien (cricketer) (born 1942), Irish former cricketer *Brendan O'Brien (journalist), senior Irish journalist on R ...

– keyboard

Charts

References

External links

* * {{Pearl Jam 2020 songs Pearl Jam songs Monkeywrench Records singles 2020 singles Songs written by Mike McCready Songs written by Eddie Vedder Songs about climate change