Eddie Vedder has remained outspoken about social issues throughout Pearl Jam’s existence, even at times when it wasn’t as fashionable as it is today. So, there is nothing surprising about the fact that he will make his cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “My City of Ruins” available for download with the proceeds going towards Haiti and the relief effort. The surprising thing is that it took a couple of weeks for this to happen. According to Spinner, the song, taken from last month’s Kennedy Center Honors, will be available for download from iTunes and the band’s Ten Club for a cool $.99. This comes in addition to $200,000 pledged by the band through their Vitalogy Foundation. No word on how they feel about the recent Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger, but you can bet they’re none too pleased.

Check out this video of Vedder covering Springsteen live and try not to be amused by the awkward close-ups of The Boss’ face throughout:

Pearl Jam 2010 Tour Dates:
05/01 – New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
06/22 – Dublin, IR @ The O2 Dublin
06/23 – Belfast, UK @ Odyssey Arena
06/25 – London. UK @ Hard Rock Calling
06/30 – Berlin, DE @ Kindl-Buehne Wuhlheide
07/03 – Arras, FR @ Main Square Festival
07/04 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter Festival
07/10 – Lisbon, PT @ Optimus Alive! Festival