Thursday, September 12,1996
No rules,
Pearl Jam returns to its
roots of Ten and Vs.
by Joe Ryan
Collegia* Staff
Pearl Jain's new CD, No
Code, is a return to the classic
Pearl Jam of Ten and Vs. that
made the band what they are
today.
The album cover is an
eclectic collection of
photographs taken by band
members Eddie Veddar and Jeff
Ament The photos are of a
wide range of subjects, all of
which are either out of focus or
otherwise indistinguishable.
The album also includes a
series of nine Polaroids
containing some of the album's
lyrics. Most of the lyrics are
either missing or unreadable
due to poor handwriting or bad
exposure making it very
difficult to decipher.
The first single off No Code
is a ballad, "Who Are You."
The song has a folksy melody
with catchy, introspective
lyrics. It sounds nothing like
anything the group has
previously done or anything
else on the album.
Pearl Jam also did this with
the release of Vitalogy. Its
first single, "Spin the Black
Circle," was forgotten after the
album was released.
Track number eight, "Red
Mosquito," describes Vedda's
fears of die dark aid of demons
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Entertainment
No Code
assuming the form of a rod
mosquito. Its lyrics, "/was not
allowed to leave the room. . .
/saw the sun go down.. . and
now it’s coming up. . . was
bitten. . . must have been the
devil," illustrate those fears.
The protagonist, Veddar,
feels most vulnerable between
the hours of dusk 'til dawn and
anything, human or not,
threatens him during this time.
"Red Mosquito," music
wise, is most like their earlier
works. Mike McCready's
guitar and Jeff Ament's bass
power this tune with chords
similar to "Jeremy,"
"Evenflow" or "Alive."
The song "I'm Open" has an
ominous musical undertone to
coincide with Vedda's
psychedelic lyrics. The song is
about the time when a child
BRING YOUR LUNCH TO THE
PENN STATE-BEHREND WINTERGARDEN
AND ENJOY WORLD-CLASS PERFORMANCES
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becomes adult and discovers
that what he once thought was
magical, can be explained and
written-off by science.
The album finishes in the
style of Pink Floyd's The
Wall. The final song, "Over
the Bend,” closes the album
with a happy, yet tragic tune
reminiscent of Floyd's "Over
the Wall."
The escapist feeling reveals
itself as we realize that Veddar
has worked out the demons that
plagued him earlier.
No Code can be called Pearl
Jam's concept album. The
album finds a common theme
early with songs like
"Sometimes," "Hail, Hail" and
"Red Mosquito” and progresses
through a vast range of musical
styles such as punk,
psychedelic, hard rock, ballads
and classic grunge.
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Page 9
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