"Dissident" is the fourth single from Pearl Jam's second studio album, Vs. It was released as a single in 1994. It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, but did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Nevertheless, it is one of the band's most enduring singles, and has remained a popular song on many rock stations. The song was included on Pearl Jam's greatest hits album, Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003.
An early primitive jam version of the song can be found in the commercial breaks of their MTV Unplugged performance. After "Black", during the commercial beak, the band jammed into a short progression that would become the basic "Dissident" riff. This is clearly evident in bootlegs and video.
Live performances of "Dissident" can be found on the "Dissident" single and the Live at the Gorge 05/06 box set. A performance of the song is also included on the DVD Touring Band 2000.
