Last Kiss

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

Alternative rock isn't dead yet. Pearl Jam's latest single, Last Kiss, has proved to be the biggest hit of the band's career, ascending to No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart, a region inhabited lately by the likes of the Backstreet Boys. A cover of a song that was a hit for J. Frank Wilson & the Cavaliers in 1964, Last Kiss is on the compilation album No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees. Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder decided to cover the tune after finding a 45 of it in an antiques store. It's a spare, morose song with Vedder's voice warbling lovelorn over a straight-ahead drum beat. Going back to basics has put Pearl Jam back on top.

--C.J.F.