Do the Evolution

This song is written from the perspective of a man who believes he and his creed have evolved to become the most superior species on earth, and are thus entitled to the spoils. In 1998 interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder explained: "That song is all about someone who's drunk with technology, who thinks they're the controlling living being on this planet. It's another one I'm not singing as myself."

Daniel Quinn's 1992 novel Ishmael was an influence on this song. The book questions the idea that the rise of humanity is the peak of evolution. After all, humans have ruled the planet for only a very short period of geological time. Eddie Vedder got really into the book and explored the concepts in this song.

Pearl Jam released a video for this song, which was big news - it was their first since "Jeremy" in 1992. The band felt that videos detracted from the music, and also hated the process of making them. Why the change of heart? For one thing, they didn't appear in the video - it's animated by Todd McFarlane, who draws the comic book Spawn. They explained in a statement: "As artists we are challenged to expand the meaning of our work and by utilizing this visual medium and collaborating with a visionary like Todd, we were able to further explore some of the themes we depicted in the song 'Do the Evolution.' Basically, we've tried to make a good stoner video." In the video, the history of the universe is compressed into four minutes.