Pearl Jam - No Code

(xp I am totally smelling what teh nick is cooking)

Yes, "Higher" by Creed. Mushmouth liberal slack just isn't as amusing on the radio as the anthem of the jesus donkey (neener neener neer).

"Off He Goes": pleasant alt-country, can't focus on the lyrics on first listen but I like it.

(x-post Vitalogy was the one people bought and No Code gave them no reason to bother again - see Monster and New Adventures)

"Had It": low-mic'd little rocker. i'd have to be a fan to care.

seriously, if I don't focus really hard he might as well be the male Liz Fraser on some of this shit.

"Present Tense": downtempo LIVE IN THE NOW. oh man. a nation of children were waiting for something to believe, and Vedder's going hominahominahominahomina. no wonder Fuck The Bitch and Jesus Saves won big.

xpost - that makes sense. harvest moon got ac AND some country radio, even at alt's height those are bigger ponds (and older audiences that don't mind older artists/wonder who the fuck neil young is).

Jeremy was a top ten pop hit.

OTM re: "I'm The Ocean."

lest I sound too dismissive, I totally understand the appeal of this album for people fascinated by the band. The Durst/Vedder thing totally makes sense, this is totally their Results May Vary. I'd say "Last Kiss" was their "Behind Blue Eyes" but I forget if "Last Kiss" came before or after Yield.

not sure. You really gotta sit there and go hmmmm to grab lyrics off this thing on the first spin. Kinda reminded me of the D-Plan for some reason. Has the high-voiced chorus hook. I dug that.

Radio around my parts played the bejeezus out of PJ right before No Code hit (and smeared). And, of course, all the Ten stuff on the "hard rock" stations (except when Vitalogy came out, and the alt.rock stations were playing album tracks left & right like "Tremor Christ" & "Spin the Black Circle") (though "Circle" was a single, I think). The one track they played the crap out of more than anything = "YELLOW LEDBETTER" BOO HISS. "Gee, why can't Pearl Jam rip off their hard rock influences more blatantly? Hendrix was cool! Eff Neil Young! Here's some Disturbed! Down! With! The sickness! oooohWAH-AH-AH-AH!"

The hits defintely stopped coming after Vitalogy. Better Man was as far as it went, and after that the next biggest thing was Do The Evolution which didn't do much from what I remember. Does anyone think this had as much to do with less saleable songs as it did with their whole 'no video' policy? Curious. I always wondered how much that affected their popularity, if at all.

I didn't find VS patchy, I did find the choice of singles weird, because Dissident's probably the best song. Vitalogy is a way bumpier ride to my mind. Damn bugs. damn heyfoxymophandlemomathats me.