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Eddie Vedder Takes on American Issues in ‘Made in America’ Trailer

Ron Howard Eddie Vedder Made in America Video Interview

When you’re Jay Z, it’s no trouble to put together a music festival bill featuring everyone from Pearl Jam to Kanye West to Skrillex to Run-D.M.C., as was the case with 2012’s inaugural Made in America. And when you’re director Ron Howard, hired by Jay Z to document said fest, it’s no trouble nab a little intimate interview time with the aforementioned artists. We already saw everyone’s favorite Arrested Development narrator get schooled in dubstep by Sonny Moore. Now, in the Wall Street Journal premiere posted below, we get Eddie Vedder putting the plight of our nation into terms that intersect quite nicely with the title of Pearl Jam’s new album, Lightning Bolt.

“There are so many issue to talk about. And it’s so detailed, and so complex, that it almost shuts you down,” Vedder begins. “People are just trying to work their jobs, raise their families, discipline their kids, and have a good life … Politics has just become like bad weather. And they deserve clear skies.” Though this footage is over a year old, the Pearl Jam frontman and his bandmates have been hitting upon some similarly stormy imagery in recent interviews with Carrie Brownstein, director Judd Apatow, and various sports heroes thanks to Danny ClinchLightning Bolt is out October 15, and is streaming right now in full via iTunes. Howard’s Made in America airs on Showtime, Friday, October 11 at 9 p.m.