Eddie Vedder did his part. The Pearl Jam frontman was in the house at Lumen Field on Monday night (July 6) for the anticipated 2026 FIFA World Cup match between the U.S. and Belgium. The Seattle native and his daughter Olivia got a little face time when the cameras swung to them during the game, but it was a crowd-hyping move the singer pulled off during a second-half hydration break that brought a roar from the sold-out stadium as the U.S.’s chances appeared to be dwindling.

With the U.S. down 3-1, the Fox cameras swung over to Vedder, 61, who promptly chugged his entire beer, with suds dripping down his face onto his shirt, before hoisting the can onto his head in a silly gesture that hyped up the crowd. Perfectly on cue, the stadium P.A. swelled with the sounds of PJ’s 1991 debut single, “Alive,” which, unfortunately, did not adequately describe the state of the American side, which seemed overmatched for much of the game and limped out of the round of 16 following a humbling 4-1 loss.

Vedder is better-known as a baseball fanatic — specifically his beloved Chicago Cubs — but his appearance at the World Cup game helped bring some joy to an otherwise rough night for the team whose prospects were slim at best against a Belgian side that had only given up four goals to date during their run to the round of 16.

There was hope that the return to the lineup of U.S. striker Folarin Balogun after his one-game suspension due to a red card in the previous game was put on hold thanks to a controversial phone call from President Trump to his friend, FIFA president Gianni Infantino might lift the U.S. to victory. Despite the howls of protest from non-U.S. soccer fanatics about the highly unusual decision, the Belgians had the last laugh, as Balogun was not much of a factor in the game.

Belgium celebrated by posting a pointed message on X after the match: “Overturn this.” They also took a little swing at Trump on their way off the pitch, with the Belgian side gathering at one end of the field to swivel their hips and pump their arms in a mocking tribute to Trump’s signature awkward “Trump Dance.”

Despite the crushing loss, Vedder appears to be enjoying a rare summer break, as Pearl Jam are not scheduled to play any shows until a Sept. 27 appearance at the singer’s Ohana Festival in Dana Point, Calif., which will be their first gig since the departure of longtime drummer Matt Cameron last summer.

Dave Grohl has heard plenty of great albums. But when asked to name a “perfect record,” one Pixies classic immediately came to mind.

In a new interview with BBC 6 Music, the Foo Fighters frontman named Pixies’ 1988 album Surfer Rosa as one of the records he considers perfect, praising its production, songwriting and vocal chemistry.

“I love that record so much for a lot of reasons,” Grohl said. “One, that it was produced by the almighty Steve Albini. And it was maybe the first album to become popular and showcase his incredible engineering sonic technique.”

Produced by Albini and released as Pixies’ debut studio album, Surfer Rosa became a defining alternative rock release, pairing jagged guitars, sharp dynamic shifts and surreal lyrics with the vocal interplay of Black Francis and Kim Deal.

Grohl pointed to that combination as part of what made the album so enduring for him.

“[Black Francis], the singer of the Pixies, was an amazing lyricist,” Grohl said. “His lyrics were just… they kind of teetered back and forth from abstract intellectual to things that just sounded so absurd and almost like dumb in a way.”

He continued, “His voice and Kim Deal, their two voices together, it was just such a wonderful blend. And it was unusual at the time. They really did sort of coin this specific dynamic and the simplicity of it was really powerful.”

Grohl’s admiration for Surfer Rosa is hardly surprising, given the Pixies’ widely acknowledged influence on the loud-quiet-loud dynamics that helped shape alternative rock in the late ’80s and ’90s. Nirvana, in which Grohl played drums, were among the bands often associated with that lineage, while Foo Fighters have carried elements of melodic noise and hard-charging guitar rock into their own catalog.

The Foo Fighters leader ended his praise with a simple measure of the album’s staying power.

“That record I’ve probably listened to 10,000 times, and I still love it,” Grohl said. “I could still listen to it every day.”

Grohl’s comments arrive as Foo Fighters continue their latest era behind Your Favorite Toy, the band’s 12th studio album. Released in April, the album followed 2023’s But Here We Are and marked the band’s first studio album with drummer Ilan Rubin.