Key To Music Grades

A - You will never be whole without it
B - Highly recommended
C - Flawed, but still pretty good
D - It's your money, not mine
F - Why couldn't this have been burned in Fahrenheit 451?

Monday, July 21, 2008

Pearl Jam - No Code (1996)














No más is more like it. No rhyme, no reason, no grunge. Fresh off the heels off its album de la decadence, Vitalogy (the last decent PJ album, in my opinion), our Seattle über-friends here decided that: no, they would not break up because (a) their singer shot himself in the face (Nirvana); (b) they simply didn't want to do it anymore (Soundgarden); or (c) their singer was a fucking junkie (AIC); and instead opted to (d) keep going, even though they were no longer relevant under the watchful eyes of "De Civitate Dei" and had sorely squandered what little originality they had by looting and pillaging from themselves. Понимаешь?

So, let's review it, shall we? Do you like childish repetition "Sometimes?" or find yourself questioning "Who You Are," or simply prefer to "Smile" and show off your glistening little zoobies? Or perhaps, you would rather strum a guitar so slowly that it always seem like you're in the "Present Tense" while telling everyone about "Mankind?" Oh, and when you sing "I'll be playing with my magazine / Using up my listerine / Like Ovaltine" -- I actually want to throw myself in the fucking ocean and drown to escape such egregious lyrical nonsense -- and I'm actually only a hop, skip and a jump away. "In My Tree" is perhaps the only great song (the bass and drums clinch it), while "Hail Hail" and "Red Mosquito" are pretty decent as well. "Lukin'" is short, in a funny kind of way; it doesn't go on long enough for me to hate it, so I sort of dig it otherwise. The rest is fucking hogwash. Total musical excreta. A reason to read How to Kill Yourself the Hemingway. Oh, oh, oh, I got a better one! Ever wonder why Sylvia Plath and Assia Wevill killed themselves by sticking their heads in the oven? Common belief says it was Ted Hughes and his incorrigible demands; but it was Pearl Jam. Really. D+

10 comments:

Cinnamon Girl said...

Yeah PJ kinda sucked after 10 and VS.

Oh and I told my college Lit teacher that the reason Ernie blew his head off was because he was forced to read his own books ;)

Master Cianan said...

Ah, PJ always sucked. Vedder sounds like a constipated horse.

Jeff said...

I never liked PJ. I can't get past Vedder's voice for one, and I also just don't find their songs all that appealing. I give them credit for staying true to their music and never selling out, but I just don't like their music.

Anonymous said...

Starrlight,

I love Ten. Vs is pretty good, too. After that, and Eddie becomes a major liability.

Master Cianan,

Oh-ho-ho!

Jeff,

They were by far the weakest of the Seattle grunge bands and yet they're the only ones still around.

Master Cianan said...

Actually, Sister Psychic was the weakest of the seattle grunge bands. Man, they were awful.

I hate the term "grunge" unless it's applied to Mudhoney, which is really the only grunge band that ever was. The rest are just rock bands from seattle.

Master Cianan said...

I'll caveat that: One could arguably include Tad in the grunge catagory. Mark Arm coined the term and is the final authority as to which bands are and aren't "grunge". But I did once hear him say almost 10 years ago that Tad fits the grunge bill.

I'll also correct myself: Sister Psychic IS awful. Apparently, they're up to their old tricks.

Cinnamon Girl said...

I'd consider the Melvins as early grunge as well. Grunge before it was ever called that.

I was not a huge PJ fan in the early 90's. Something to do with living in the Pacific Northwest and having them crammed down my throat

Anonymous said...

Ok, correction: PJ is the worst of the Seattle bands I've heard, which is not many. Grunge, rock, mopey music, whatever. Eddie Vedder would suck off Daltrey and Neil Young concurrently if he could.

The Ripple Effect said...

Dug your comments on Imagine Echoes.

Racer

Anonymous said...

Racer,

Defending what needs defending is all.