I really like the song "Breath", from the Singles soundtrack.
For years I didn't like it at all. I felt like it was a meandering mid-tempo noodle fest compared to the super early-90's on overdrive thump of "State of Love and Trust", but somewhere around '98 or '99 I finally started to appreciate it. I think what did it was the climactic bridge section:
Come (here it comes) there it goes (when it comes)
Where it goes (where it comes)/
can't see through the faith
Oh, come (here it goes) there it goes/
grasp what you can
Don't you know there's something inside your hand...
If I knew where it was, I would take you there/
There's much more than this
That section, indecipherable though it may be, always stood out. After enough listens and enough years, the rest of the song just felt like an extended lead in to and fade out from that point. The lyrics are ...uh... well, yeah... But the intensity of the music in that section really encapsulates the energy Pearl Jam had, on stage especially, in the early '90s.
In truth, it was really their live show that always set them apart. Now it's all they have. But back then, it was something to behold. I saw them for the first time in '93 I believe, and man what a presence they had!
I think that's one thing that "grunge" did do well. It gave kids with more punky sensibilities something to enjoy in the arena rock world. I'd say Soundgarden accomplished this too. Nirvana was basically just a basement band playing stadiums, and even the Foo Fighters threw on some brutal early shows, as did Hole.
The influence that punk had on that generation's big rock bands actually helped me get more into punk. Bands like Smashing Pumpkins and STP just didn't have that quality about them, which is probably why Stephen Malkmus was able to sum up their lameness so perfectly on "range life."
Anyway, I digress. As usual. Sorry Soup Nazi.