r/pearljam • u/8enevolent • 19h ago
Discussion No Code tracklist
I put on No Code for a coworker recently. I would describe this person as having very broad horizons musically, yet they struggled to enjoy the album due to its abrupt mood swings. By the time we went from Mankind into Present Tense I was asked if there were more sudden changes yet to come because they wanted to tap out if so.
It got me thinking. No Code is a bipolar album. It does have abrupt mood swings. I feel like that was intentional? Was it a part of the bands idea to separate further from the mainstream by releasing an album that some would find uncomfortable?
I can definitely appreciate why my coworker would feel that way, even though I am a fan of the album. So I tried an experiment: would the album flow better or worse if the tracklist was rearranged? Here's what I came up with:
- Sometimes
- Who You Are
- In My Tree
- Lukin
- Smile
- Hail, Hail
- Off He Goes
- Red Mosquito
- Mankind
- Habit
- Present Tense
- I'm Open
- Around the Bend
I really wanted to preserve the opening quiet mood. But instead of abruptly going from the soft Sometimes into the loud Hail, Hail, I thought why not really commit to a softer opening trio with each track a little louder than the last?
Then into Lukin and then Smile. They're in the same key of E minor. Fast and screaming followed by slower and chuggy. Then Hail, Hail. So far that's 3 soft songs and 3 heavy songs.
The peaceful Off He Goes remains as the centrepiece of the album.
Afterwards, Red Mosquito is rocky, but it's not as abrupt a start after Off He Goes like Habit is. So we go Red Mosquito, Mankind, then Habit. A final 3 heavier songs.
Then I wanted to preserve the final 3 of Present Tense, I'm Open, and Around the Bend. I think those 3 back to back is an immaculate choice as is.
I gave it a listen this way and if nothing else it was enjoyable. Try it out! Do you prefer more flow? Or do you like the chaos of the original instead? Why? Let me know.
It should go without saying that this isn't a criticism of the original album. But some will need that spelt out for them.
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u/Imikoke616 19h ago
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u/Drawing_The_Line 19h ago
No Code was definitely, and intentionally, a different sounding offering and a hard listen the first time around. For those of us who lived that era, who were fully into music when Ten/Vs/Vitalogy all came out etc, No Code was really a marked change of direction.
Anyone who was just casual Pearl Jam fans, or just “grunge fans” (I hate that term), got off the bus with No Code. I remember being in the car and the DJ said, “Up next, the new single from Pearl Jam’s new album… here’s Who You Are!” The three of us were so excited and were then smacked in the face with that new sound. Didn’t know what to make of it.
Like all music of that era, I/we spun the entire album over and over. It was the beginning of autumn of ‘96, I have visions of the weather starting to change, spiced scented candles, warmer clothes… and that CD never leaving my car.
It took more work to get into than Vitalogy. By October I was obsessed with it. My friends and I loved it, but alas, we were on an island. The “music scene” had moved on from what was Pearl Jam, No Code didn’t translate to the public at large outside of Hail, Hail, which they played live on Letterman.
Any band just in it for a buck would have released Hail, Hail as the first single. It’s an amazing track, and far closer to Vs/Vitalogy, but Who You Are far more represented No Code overall. No Code also came at a pivotal point for Pearl Jam, they were on the verge of breaking up. Ed was writing all the songs, Mike was in the midst of trying to overcome his addictions, they fired Dave A and were overall burnt out from their time in the spotlight. It was Jack Irons who really saved the day by recentering the band, encouraging all members to write and contribute songs and the result was the enigmatic No Code.
Music was changing, grunge was over by ‘97 (in general terms), and Pearl Jam changed their sound forever with No Code. Looking back, I associate No Code and Yield as a certain Pearl Jam era unto itself. Two phenomenal albums that matured the bands sound.
I grew up with No Code, it’s one of my very favorite albums ever. That said, I don’t think it’s an album that one can just play for the uninitiated and expect them to get it. It’s an album that requires patience and rewards those that invest in it, and patience is hard to come by these days. I still believe No Code was a conscious choice by the band to say, “fuck off, we’re not what you think or say we are, we are what we want to be.”
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u/8enevolent 18h ago
Really appreciate that perspective on what it was like at the time! It must have thrown everyone for a loop.
I'm only a year older than No Code so I can't relate. I got to listen to most of Pearl Jam's discography at once when I became a fan as a teenager.
I can really see how there must have been a big divide formed between what would become the casuals and the die hards who got obsessed with everything. Proudly obsessed here.
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u/Drawing_The_Line 18h ago
Absolutely, I’m happy you appreciated the write up. I sometimes have to remind myself that not all Pearl Jam fans are as old as I am. They were/are my band, the band that hit as I was graduating high school. For me, the bands in the late 60s and 70s like the Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin etc were like how you grew up with Pearl Jam. I had their entire catalogs to listen to, and it is a different experience when one can listen to a later album from an artist just the same as their first album.
But your perspective is just as valid as mine, and I enjoy hearing from younger fans about their experience with Pearl Jam. I’m always impressed when someone gets No Code, especially someone your age. It’s kind of my own personal litmus test. And remember, not all music is for everyone, and that’s ok too.
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u/8enevolent 18h ago
I was gratefully raised on all the classics by my Dad. One day he came home with the MTV Unplugged DVD and Ten remaster.
As a younger fan, Backspacer was the first album release I got to experience "live" so to speak. My first show was on that tour.
The thing I like about Pearl Jam the most is how every album feels so different leading to such a diverse range of genres and songs. It ups the replayability of the songs for me and makes the live shows so exciting.
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u/Pulsewavemodulator 18h ago
The abrupt changes are what makes the album so compelling. Mellon Collie and the Infinite sadness is the same way. I miss this in albums. It’s rarer these days
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u/sprayslayer 18h ago
This is my favorite PJ album. I was in 8th grade when Ten came out. One of the first cassettes I ever purchased. I’ve been a huge fan ever since. When I put on no code it gives me this strong feeling of being “home” if that makes sense. It’s extremely comforting. The first six tracks are so fucking perfect. If around the bend was after off he goes and that was it. I’d be ok with it.
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u/Illustrious_Owl_3491 8h ago
That's what makes it a great album. Best not to mess with the artists intentions
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u/9FingeredFrodo 19h ago
This was an expansion of the loud-quiet-loud idea. Bands like the pixies and Nirvana are known to have done this within a single song with a quiet verse and a loud chorus. The dynamics make each part sound more extreme and surprising to the listener.
But this was also done on the track listings between songs. For Nirvana, think Polly into Territorial Pissings, or Tourette’s into All Apologies.
In 95/96, bands like STP (Press Play into Pop’s Love Suicide) and Smashing Pumpkins (Bullet with Butterfly Wings into To Forgive) were also doing this.
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u/Tenvsvitalogy 19h ago
Ok, ok, I decided to do it. But if we're changing sequence; then we can add songs....
Side A
All Night
Hail, Hail
Habit
Who You Are
In My Tree
Black, Red, Yellow
Lukin
Smile
Side B
Sometimes
Red Mosquito
Mankind
Off He Goes
Present Tense
Dead Man
I'm Open
Around the Bend
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u/Quirky-Industry6037 19h ago
Uncomfortable. Definitely a new description of someones reaction to subpar songs. No Code = One of PJs most uncomfortable albums. Lol
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u/Tenvsvitalogy 19h ago
Absolutely know what you mean but listening to it for 30 years I couldn’t change the track listing. My brain would combust.
I think going from sometimes into Hail, Hail is exceptional. Definitely wouldn’t change that. Just hits like a train.