No Code: Official Album Thread

[stip]

that's just it. Hail Hail has always felt almost like a facsimile - like they had moved on to something else but were offering this for people who couldn't handle it. But it's always played as an echo of the better versions of these songs.

I think the idea that Pearl Jam had "moved on" from rock music with No Code is a myth. At least half the album is comprised of rock songs. They're a bit askew compared to what people were used to, but they certainly don't feel like self-conscious attempts to appease old fans. The band were not at all in that headspace in 1995-96.

To me, musically, "Hail, Hail" is actually one of the first PJ rock songs to not simply recycle compositional concepts from their first few albums. To my ears it is one of the first PJ rock songs to be really defined by chordal movement, compared a lot of the rock songs on Ten and Vs. were built on riffs that didn't really deviate from a tonic center, except in their choruses. "Alive," "Even Flow," "Jeremy," "Why Go," "Animal," "RVM" -- all of these songs are more or less like this. With some of the rockers on Vitalogy ("Last Exit," "Corduroy"), the chord harmony and the vocal melody start working in tandem in a way that is more sophisticated -- adding new tensions, new emotional colors. "Hail Hail" pushes that even further, IMO -- there is no other PJ song that creates its specific feeling for me, or stakes out its unique emotional space, specifically because those harmonic tensions and juxtapositions don't appear anywhere else in their songbook. And while Ten and Vs. are special records to me, none of their "loud rock songs" create a space for me that is that singular, because a lot of them are built around such similar musical ideas.

I don't think they moved on either. But that was the narrative at the time.

[warehouse]

when i heard hail hail for the first time (and every time thereafter), my only thought was/is "oh yeah, this is a pearl jam song." it's fine. but it's nothing earthshattering. like i mentioned in the other thread, it only stands out because it's the only real up-tempo song on the album. and when that album came out, that's what most people gravitated towards because they couldn't identify with the rest of the songs (which were too quiet, too boring, or too weird).

From the mean streets of 1996, this was 100% how it was received. That was 30 years ago, so it has developed its own identity since then, obviously

hey stip, that's completely wrong. i was the person who first referenced the letterman performance and disagree completely. "who you are" was a weird lead single to release, "hail, hail" was like the breath of fresh air that pearl jam didn't go nuts on us.

[warehouse]

that's just it. Hail Hail has always felt almost like a facsimile - like they had moved on to something else but were offering this for people who couldn't handle it. But it's always played as an echo of the better versions of these songs.

I think the idea that Pearl Jam had "moved on" from rock music with No Code is a myth. At least half the album is comprised of rock songs. They're a bit askew compared to what people were used to, but they certainly don't feel like self-conscious attempts to appease old fans. The band were not at all in that headspace in 1995-96.

To me, musically, "Hail, Hail" is actually one of the first PJ rock songs to not simply recycle compositional concepts from their first few albums. To my ears it is one of the first PJ rock songs to be really defined by chordal movement, compared a lot of the rock songs on Ten and Vs. were built on riffs that didn't really deviate from a tonic center, except in their choruses. "Alive," "Even Flow," "Jeremy," "Why Go," "Animal," "RVM" -- all of these songs are more or less like this. With some of the rockers on Vitalogy ("Last Exit," "Corduroy"), the chord harmony and the vocal melody start working in tandem in a way that is more sophisticated -- adding new tensions, new emotional colors. "Hail Hail" pushes that even further, IMO -- there is no other PJ song that creates its specific feeling for me, or stakes out its unique emotional space, specifically because those harmonic tensions and juxtapositions don't appear anywhere else in their songbook. And while Ten and Vs. are special records to me, none of their "loud rock songs" create a space for me that is that singular, because a lot of them are built around such similar musical ideas.

I don't think they moved on either. But that was the narrative at the time.

no it wasnt you big nerd

[liebzz]

My friends received it that way too, but I loved all the different nuances in No Code from the jump and just poured myself into that record and still do to this day.

Note that I did vote for Animal though.

[Chris_H_2]

when i heard hail hail for the first time (and every time thereafter), my only thought was/is "oh yeah, this is a pearl jam song." it's fine. but it's nothing earthshattering. like i mentioned in the other thread, it only stands out because it's the only real up-tempo song on the album. and when that album came out, that's what most people gravitated towards because they couldn't identify with the rest of the songs (which were too quiet, too boring, or too weird).

From the mean streets of 1996, this was 100% how it was received. That was 30 years ago, so it has developed its own identity since then, obviously

hey stip, that's completely wrong. i was the person who first referenced the letterman performance and disagree completely. "who you are" was a weird lead single to release, "hail, hail" was like the breath of fresh air that pearl jam didn't go nuts on us.

you're making the point

[warehouse]

when i heard hail hail for the first time (and every time thereafter), my only thought was/is "oh yeah, this is a pearl jam song." it's fine. but it's nothing earthshattering. like i mentioned in the other thread, it only stands out because it's the only real up-tempo song on the album. and when that album came out, that's what most people gravitated towards because they couldn't identify with the rest of the songs (which were too quiet, too boring, or too weird).

From the mean streets of 1996, this was 100% how it was received. That was 30 years ago, so it has developed its own identity since then, obviously

hey stip, that's completely wrong. i was the person who first referenced the letterman performance and disagree completely. "who you are" was a weird lead single to release, "hail, hail" was like the breath of fresh air that pearl jam didn't go nuts on us.

you're making the point

or you're misunderstanding me

[Chris_H_2]

From the mean streets of 1996, this was 100% how it was received. That was 30 years ago, so it has developed its own identity since then, obviously

this is how I received it in 1996 too. I was also 13 and dumb.

now you're old!

[warehouse]

Hail, Hail would be great on any record. being the second single released after "who you are" and being the second track after "sometimes" always made it sound more like the first 3 records than something completely different. that's not being a retread, its part of who the band is. i'm not sure why this is hard to grasp.

[liebzz]

From the mean streets of 1996, this was 100% how it was received. That was 30 years ago, so it has developed its own identity since then, obviously

this is how I received it in 1996 too. I was also 13 and dumb.

now you're old!

I was 17 turning 18 so yeah, now I’m old too. Certainly this album spoke to that moment in time, and still speaks its volumes today (today as in the last time I heard this album, which I haven’t listened to much Pearl Jam at all in the past 6 months).

[Chris_H_2]

i remember the dj from the local chicago radio station playing hail hail the day the album came out and then saying "that was hail hail from pearl jam's new album, no code. don't get your hopes up fans, the rest of the album sounds nothing like that."

[dad]

still can’t believe stip is comparing this song with those terrible lb songs.

[stip]

I don't remember my rankings at the time, but here is my current ranking of No Code songs in terms of probability of listening to completion


1. Red Mosquito
2a. (Habit music)
2b. Who You Are
3.In My Tree
4. Present Tense
5. Hail Hail
6. Around the Bend
7. Smile
8. Lukin
9. Off He Goes
10. Sometimes
11a. (Habit Vocals)
11b. Mankind
12. I'm Open

[stip]

And now, more importantly, here is the same list (probability of listening all the way through if a song came on shuffle) interspersed with Lightning Bolt


1. Mind Your Manners
2. Lightning Bolt
3. Sleeping By Myself
4. Yellow Moon
5. Pendulum
6. Red Mosquito
7. Sirens
8a. (Habit music)
8b. Who You Are
9. Future Days
10 .In My Tree
11. Present Tense
12. Swallowed Whole
13. Hail Hail
14. Let the Records Play
15. Around the Bend
16. Infallible
17. Getaway
18. My Father's Son
19. Smile
20. Lukin
21. Off He Goes
22. Sometimes
23a. (Habit Vocals)
23b. Mankind
24. I'm Open

[stip]

I know. I expected Infallible to be higher, too

[Jorge]

Why can't you foe moderators? That seems unfair

[stip]

You've got 10 months of this to look forward to. March Madness 2026 begins end of Feb.

[blueviper]

If y'all voted for "Animal" we wouldn't be in this mess.

[Farmer John]

If y'all voted for "Animal" we wouldn't be in this mess.

It only needs one more vote to tie it back up

[Farmer John]

And now, more importantly, here is the same list (probability of listening all the way through if a song came on shuffle) interspersed with Lightning Bolt


1. Mind Your Manners
2. Lightning Bolt
3. Sleeping By Myself
4. Yellow Moon
5. Pendulum
6. Red Mosquito
7. Sirens
8a. (Habit music)
8b. Who You Are
9. Future Days
10 .In My Tree
11. Present Tense
12. Swallowed Whole
13. Hail Hail
14. Let the Records Play
15. Around the Bend
16. Infallible
17. Getaway
18. My Father's Son
19. Smile
20. Lukin
21. Off He Goes
22. Sometimes
23a. (Habit Vocals)
23b. Mankind
24. I'm Open

I’m going to be sick

[wease]

Dear god, what’s happening here