I got home from SXSW last night and drove straight from the airport to the office to pick up my copy of the "Super Deluxe" Ten reissue — which was released today in a variety of different complexities — and then drove straight home to devour it, without so much as collecting dinner or bothering to take my suitcase out of the car. And here is my snap judgment:

I can’t make a snap judgment on this! WTF are you talking about? In my possession I now have the original remastered version of Ten, a remixed version from Brendan O’Brien that includes a bunch of bonus tracks, a demo cassette, a wax paper packet of photos and stickers and ticket replicas, a composition notebook that serves as a photo album, a DVD of the band’s MTV Unplugged show, and three vinyl LPs, including the 1992 Drop in the Park concert. The record sleeve for the latter depicts Vedder soaring over a flannel-drenched crowd. I spent 20 minutes staring at it last night. I also spent most of my week in Texas driving around with the O’Brien remix advance in the car stereo, and am still finding new and exciting tweaks to these songs I’ve known for half my life. Absorbing all of this is going to take some time.

Additionally — and perhaps more shamefully* — I don’t own a record player, and neither Best Buy nor my local music equipment store were able to sell me one this morning. (Apparently the only people still in the market for turntables are DJs, and I do not require the technology for "scratching.") So while I wait for a Craigslist transaction to go through in order to properly review this thing, I open the floor to you, M-Dubs: Who’s got a copy? Who’s got an opinion? Share it in the comments! And meanwhile, check out this phenomenal hip-hop cover of “Why Go,” which incorporates nearly everything this post was about!

*please do not take the time to write in just to troll me for not owning a record player. I KNOW. and I’d make excuses, but whatever. the situation is being rectified. thank you for understanding.

When this week’s Billboard charts came out, some here at Music Mix headquarters were shocked to see Pearl Jam’s “Brother” in the top ten of both rock lists — #4 on Modern, #8 on Mainstream (where, thank god, Nickelback’s “Something in Your Mouth” still reigns supreme). Your Aunt Whittlz, on the other hand, was not shocked in the least: Pearl Jam has always sounded great on the radio, and “Brother” is vintage brew, the first song released from the upcoming Ten reissue.

The track is an outtake from those long-ago sessions, until now available only as a bootleg or in instrumental form on 2003′s Lost Dogs. But as of March 24, the fancy Brendan O’Brien remixed version can be yours, along with other bonus remixes like “State of Love and Trust” and the band’s never-before-officially-ownable MTV Unplugged show. Those wishing to get a jump on things can stream “Brother” and more on the PJ MySpace page, or play this very angry-making online game to unlock additional content. My Super Deluxe version is apparently waiting for me back in LA, because I am a very lucky girl. I have never wanted SXSW to end so quickly.

We’re trying to get a band member on the horn to discuss all this for ya, but meanwhile — what do you think, Mixers? Surprised at PJ’s newest chart success? Do you think all that airplay is more a testament to the quality of the track or the power of Eddie et. al.’s enduring sound? Might this old-school radio success equal old-school sales success for the reissue, too? And can you think of any other remixed outtakes that have hit the top ten?

More on Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam to remaster, remix, and reissue ‘Ten’
Pearl Jam at Bonnaroo 2008
Eddie Vedder on his solo soundtrack work
It’s a Pearl Jamily Affair
2006 interviews with all five band members