1992’s bestselling rock album was treated by its own band as a disaster

Evidence

At more than three million copies sold, the Seattle band Pearl Jam’s debut, Ten, was the top-selling rock album of 1992—a complete disaster. “With any more popularity,” fretted lead singer Eddie Vedder, “we were going to be crushed, or our heads were going to pop like grapes.” He started wearing a helmet everywhere. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 3

Categorization

• CANDY: A top-selling rock band treating success as catastrophe is a funny, self-contained anecdote for conversation.