The Fixer (song)
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"The Fixer" is a song by the
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 ...
. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist
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 ...
and music co-written by drummer
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 ...
and guitarists
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 ...
and
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 ...
, "The Fixer" was released on August 24, 2009, as the first single from the band's ninth studio album, ''
Backspacer ''Backspacer'' is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on September 20, 2009. The band members started writing instrumental and demo tracks in 2007, and got together the following year to work on an album. It was ...
'' (2009). The song debuted and peaked at number two on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Rock Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alternati ...
chart and reached number three on the ''Billboard''
Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
chart.


Origin and recording

"The Fixer" features lyrics written by vocalist
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 ...
and music co-written by drummer
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 ...
and guitarists
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 ...
and
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 ...
. Cameron wrote the majority of the song's music in 2008, while Gossard and McCready would end up writing the song's
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
. In an interview with ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' in February 2009, Vedder discussed a song matching the description of "The Fixer". Vedder stated, "That could have been a seven-minute, weird, sideways kind of artsy song with a cool groove...I tinkered with it after everyone left, and we shrunk it down and turned it into something else....I'm thinking about set lists: 'Will this be a song we'll play every night?'." Gossard on the song:
With that song, Matt came in with a riff and we worked out a few different arrangements. Then Ed took it and re-arranged it with Pro Tools, to get the parts he needed in the right place. You don't want to get a final arrangement for a song before he's had a chance to screw around with it, because once he gets it, it can all change. What you thought was a chorus can end up being a verse. There was a real collaborative effort on the whole album. Ed, in particular, worked with everyone on their songs.


Composition

"The Fixer" is composed in the key of
D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...
, and uses odd
time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
s and switches between them regularly throughout the song. The song starts in 5/4, then switches to 6/4 for the verse, while the chorus and bridge are both in 4/4. Gossard stated, "It's relatively straightforward, but it has Matt's love of odd time. It also breaks back down to something very three-chord and fun. We need that. If Pearl Jam is thinking too much, we're not very good. We're much better when we're not thinking." Gossard on the song:
I think the band definitely progressed and did some things we haven't done before. When people talk about "pop" I think it's about a simplicity of melody and a simplicity of arrangement that doesn't over complicate a good idea or a great lyric. I think "The Fixer" is a great example. You really hear something about Eddie's personality in the lyric and you get a view that a lot of people don't get from him which is a sort of optimistic and playful melody and lyric.


Lyrics

Commenting on the suggestion that he is "The Fixer" referred to in the song's title, Vedder stated, "My answer is, aren't we all? Maybe I'm wrong to think that, but it seems like we are...I'm thinking more on a worldview or a community view." Vedder on the song:
Men, we all think we can fix anything. It's not necessarily a good thing. In a relationship, a woman will say 'This is wrong,' and we're like, 'I'll fix that, don't worry about it, we can fix it.' These wonderful people, the woman you're in a relationship with, they don't want you to fix it. They just want you to listen to what's happening: 'Don't fix it, I want you to own this with me—feel it.' This is a reminder song to me, to stop fixing.


Release

On July 14, 2009, a 30-second clip of "The Fixer" was featured on
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
's broadcast of the
2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 80th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 14, 2009 ...
. "The Fixer" was released to radio airplay on July 20, 2009. A 7" single for "The Fixer" was released commercially through the band's official website on August 24, 2009, accompanied by the
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
"Supersonic", also from the album. The song was also made available commercially as a single download minus the B-side "Supersonic" from
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
on the same day. The same track listing that is featured on the 7" single is also featured on a UK CD single release and a digital download from the UK
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
store, both of which were released commercially on September 7, 2009.


Chart performance

The song debuted and peaked at number 56 on the ''Billboard''
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
, number ten on the ''Billboard''
Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...
chart, and reached number three on the ''Billboard''
Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
chart. In
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the song reached the top 20 on the
Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...
. "The Fixer" reached the top 100 in the UK and peaked at number 27 on the Australian Singles Chart. It also reached the top 20 in
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and the top 100 in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.


Critical reception

Stephen M. Deusner of ''Pitchfork'' said in his review of the song that "neither the band nor Brendan O'Brien has a light touch for this sort of
classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
-oriented pop...Vedder, whose default is tortured defiance, can't help but add too much gravity to these lyrics, as if fixin' things was an obligation instead of a calling. They work too hard here trying to have fun." Jessica Letkemann of ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' said in her review of the song that it is "shot through with optimism at a level not seen since Pearl Jam's 1998 '' Yield''." She added that "with Vedder mixed down among Stone Gossard and Mike McCready's warm guitars and the throat-ripping moments of his delivery somewhat muted, there's a sense of reserve that makes 'The Fixer' a tease for hearing PJ in its uninhibited natural setting: live." Josh Modell of ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' said that "'The Fixer'... xploitsPearl Jam's leanest, punkest tendencies...when Eddie Vedder pulls out that indignant yet inclusive snarl and proclaims, 'When something's gone, I wanna fight to get it back again,' you can probably assume 'it' is his band's mojo." In his review of ''Backspacer'',
Rob Sheffield Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at ''Blen ...
of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine said, "There's a definite positivity to the 'yeah, yeah, yeah' choruses that jump out of 'The Fixer', which evoke the old openhearted vulnerability of ' Wishlist'." In its review of ''Backspacer'', ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' stated that "when Eddie Vedder yells of a 'fight to get it back again' on 'The Fixer', he is surely referring to the band rediscovering their mojo." "The Fixer" was nominated for
Best Rock Song The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...
at the
52nd Grammy Awards The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Pe ...
, losing to "
Use Somebody "Use Somebody" is a song recorded by the American rock group Kings of Leon. It was the second single from the band's fourth studio album ''Only by the Night'' (2008), released on December 8, 2008. The single received heavy airplay in Scandinavia, ...
" by
Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern rock and gar ...
.


Other uses

In September 2009, "The Fixer" was made available as downloadable content for the ''
Rock Band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...
'' series as a master track as part of the album ''Backspacer''. The song is included on the soundtrack of the anti-nuclear documentary ''
Countdown to Zero ''Countdown to Zero'' is a 2010 documentary film by British filmmaker Lucy Walker. The film argues that the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons has increased since the end of the Cold War due to terrorism, nuclear proliferation, theft of nu ...
'', where it plays over the end credits. The song is included in the baseball video game
MLB 2K10 ''Major League Baseball 2K10'' or, in short, ''MLB 2K10'', is an MLB licensed baseball simulation video game published by 2K Sports. ''MLB 2K10'' was available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wi ...
, although it is exclusive to the
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
version.


Music video

The
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for "The Fixer" was directed by
Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American journalist, author, writer, producer, director, actor, lyricist, and playwright. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, for wh ...
. The video was filmed at The Showbox in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington in May 2009. The video consists of a filmed live performance of the band rather than a conceptual video. The video was released in August 2009. Footage from the video was used for a commercial for
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
advertising ''Backspacer'' which features "The Fixer".


Live performances

"The Fixer" was first performed live at the band's August 8, 2009 concert in
Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
,
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
at the
Virgin Festival The Virgin Fest, known as the Virgin Mobile FreeFest in the United States, was a rock festival held in the United States and Canada, a spin-off from the V Festival held in the UK. In North America the Virgin name, and more recently the Virgin Mo ...
. Despite being a popular single, it has only been played four times since the end of the Backspacer tour in 2012. When the song is played live, the band plays it in the key of
D♭ major D-flat major (or the key of D-flat) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B and C. Its key signature has five flats. It is enharmonically equivalent to C-sharp major. The D-flat major scale is: : Its r ...
, which institutes the de-tuning of the guitars to a half-step down (E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, B♭, E♭). Live performances of "The Fixer" can be found on various official bootlegs.


Track listing

All lyrics written by
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 ...
. ;CD (UK), 7" Vinyl Single, and Digital Download (UK) #"The Fixer" (music:
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
) – 2:58 #"Supersonic" (music: Gossard) – 2:40


Chart positions


References


External links

*
Lyrics at pearljam.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fixer, The 2009 songs 2009 singles Pearl Jam songs Songs written by Eddie Vedder Songs written by Stone Gossard Songs written by Mike McCready Songs written by Matt Cameron Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Universal Music Group singles Monkeywrench Records singles