For Post Malone, ’90s rock was a big part of his upbringing, and during a recent visit on SiriusXM’s Howard Stern Show, the musician decided to cover a song that elicited a very special childhood memory for the musical. That song was Pearl Jam‘s “Better Man.”
“I remember my brother Jordan, he was a Marine, and he was stationed in Hawaii. And we went out to go see him. I was 12 or 13 maybe,” Posty recalled to Stern. “He was playing this song and this was on an island you could drive around in a couple of hours and he played it and I just have been thinking about that a lot.”
When asked to elaborate on the significance, Post Malone offered that “every moment” reminds him of his brother. “It makes me fucking cry,” said the singer. “He’s just a beautiful man and he introduced me to Pearl Jam in a big fucking way.” The emotion can be felt in Post Malone’s voice as he sings, with a little emotional crack to the vocal.
“Better Man” initially appeared on Pearl Jam’s third studio album, 1994’s Vitalogy. It hit No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock chart and No. 2 on the Alternative Airplay chart and remains one of Pearl Jam’s most popular songs.
The performance also has a Pearl Jam tie beyond the song as well. Frequent Post Malone collaborator Andrew Watt played guitar on the cover with some backing vocals as well. Watt also served as producer on Eddie Vedder‘s recent solo album, Earthling, that arrived earlier this year.
Post Malone’s grunge ties were further explored in the Stern interview, with the host asking about his benefit 2020 livestream concert where he covered Nirvana songs. Malone revealed that prior to the concert happening, he reached out for approval from Kurt Cobain’s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, as a show of respect to the musician he loved. One of Malone’s face tattoo is also a nod of honor to the late Nirvana frontman.