Pearl Jam Partners with Target, Plays Conan

In 2007, Eddie Vedder ventured Into the Wild, and it's been awhile since we've heard anything from him or the rest of Pearl Jam, with the exception of some previously unreleased tracks on the reissue of their 1991 debut, Ten. And though it seems as if our wait will be over before too long, we might not be seeing the capitalism-loathing Pearl Jam we've come to know and love.

Last Thursday night, Pearl Jam played a secret show at Seattle's Showbox Theater. The audience members didn't even know what was in store for them when they showed up at the door. The 300 people who were lucky enough to catch the exclusive performance were all hired extras for an unnamed performance scene for an unnamed project. Turns out the unnamed project was a commercial for Target directed by Cameron Crowe that will reportedly feature the unreleased tune titled "The Fixer."

If it seems bizarre that Pearl Jam would be filming a live performance for a Target ad, the reason might seem even stranger. The group has recently confirmed that its upcoming album, Backspacer, which is slated to be released early in the fall, will be part of a partnership with Target stores, a decision that just doesn't entirely make sense given the band's history fighting Ticketmaster and the like.

But Kelly Curtis, the band's manager since its beginning, argued the opposite in a recent interview with Billboard. "Everyone's making assumptions because Target is a big corporation," she said. "It's important to remember we just got out of this 18-year relationship with Sony, and I'm pretty sure they are a bigger corporation than Target."

The new album will be released through Universal Music Group. Curtis also explained that although Target will be the only "big-box" retailer to sell the album, it will still be available from Ten Club, Pearl Jam's official fan club, and the band is working on partnerships with a network of smaller indie retailers, a gaming company, a mobile partner and an online retailer. So all the hype that Pearl Jam had given up on its beloved little guy might have been a little hasty, but it does seem that perhaps the group isn't prioritizing him the same way it once did.

Watch the world premiere of "Got Some," performed on last night's The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: