This may come as a complete surprise to many of you, but I didn't like No Code the first time I heard it. There were a few tracks that initially stood out (Hail, Hail, Smile, Mankind), but overall I was completely displeased upon first listen. Vitalogy, at the time, was not only my favorite Pearl Jam album, but my favorite album ever created. The band that put No Code together were a band foreign to me; I didn't know this band and reall had no desire to. I was fresh out of high school (I graduated two months before No Code was released), and a lot of anger still dwelled within from that wretched experience. I think it would be fair to say that I disliked No Code immediately for the reason that I eventually came to love it. It was too much of a grown-up album, and I was still but a kid.

I'll spare everyone the bitter back stories, but let's just say that my teenage years weren't the greatest. I was an angry young man, pissed off at the entire world because I couldn't find one portion of it to be fair. But because of my youth, I felt compelled, and quite comfortable, calling the whole world out and abhorring the hypocritical nature of what I'd seen. I harbored no hope, only hatred. So how the fuck could No Code ever reach me, given my frame of mind? It couldn't and didn't.

So I put the album away, maybe only listening to it occasionally. Even though I disliked it, I was still a Pearl Jam loyalist. It wasn't even so much a matter of me wanting or trying to like the album as it was a sort of duty or obligation to not completely ignore for the simple reason that it was still a Pearl Jam album and warranted some type of acknowledgment. But they weren't serious listens; I had written the band off, and came to almost despise them for letting me down. Even the songs I liked didn't really make sense, because something was missing. And that something was me.

My body may have been fully grown, but spiritually I was still adolescent, at best. Over time, I came to find that the world isn't nearly a bad as place as we make it out to be. I had based my entire opinion of society on my experience in high school and my teenage relationship with my parents, both of which were captive situations. I didn't know shit about the world until the time came that I enter it on a full-time basis and were forced to forge relationships with others (but not in the captive sense). I found that people, as a whole, weren't nearly as rotten as I had presumed. I found that I could coexist with others without constantly probing to the negative, and actually find the good in them. And most importantly, I found myself. I realized who I was and I was no longer ashamed of that perception. I found perspective, damn it. But it didn't entirely articulate itself until one of those random listens to No Code.

I'll never forget it. I was out on a Sunday drive, en route to a car dealership to examine what was on the lot. I popped in No Code, for it had been more than a few months since my last listen, and something just clicked. Out of the clear blue sky, this album made sense. No, scratch that -- I totally understood it. Not unlike a gospel you've heard a hundred times but its light never shone upon you, it was a rebirth. Ed was an angry fellow during the Ten/Vs./Vitalogy era, as was I. And apparently he had grown tired of that anger, as had I. Most importantly, we both did so without shame or regret. We were who we were, but now we are who we are, and that is to be embraced. This is the point in which you grow up, and No Code reflected it during that listen, as it does now, more perfectly or magically than any other piece of art I've had the pleasure of seeing, hearing or experiencing. So officially, I have two "first listens" of No Code: once as a kid and once as an adult. For purity's sake, I consider the one as an adult the true first listen. It reminded me of who I used to be, and what I may had become.

No Code is an album about self-worth and the realization that present will always be more powerful than the past. Unlike Pearl Jam's first three albums, it forces you to look inside of yourself to assign blame and then find answers, as opposed to the world around you. It's okay to be angry, but holding onto that emotion will tear you apart. It's self-destructive and tiring. It addresses personal issues, and reminds you that balance and harmony can be achieved in this life if you're willing to examine yourself and work for it. The future is as uncertain as it is inevitable, and I'll forever be indebted to Pearl Jam for making a record that reminds me that I'm the lone placeholder eligible to apply meaning to my own world. And like life, you really have to reach for this album in order to truly grasp it. But once you have it in your hands, the world is yours.

I heard Hail Hail on the radio (WAAF I think) and immediately thought "yep, PJ is done for". Upon first impression, the song sounded so boring and weak. There was so much good music at the time that Hail Hail represented rest of the album for me, so I dismissed it.

Then when I read about Given To Fly vs Going To California in Rolling Stone, it prompted me to buy LO2L.

Yield and this one are the only 2 i don't remember. i guess neither one made a big impression upon first listen. This one eventually grew on me, where as i'm still not much of a Yield fan.

I like how you differentiated between the first time you heard the album and the first time you got the album

I'm afraid I've never had that second moment

No Code came out my sophomore year in college. That summer I had gotten the who you are and habit single, and I was a little alarmed. I loved the music in habit but Eddie's shrieking was a bit much, and who you are was just bizzare. But I was still hopeful

Pearl Jam has been my favorite band since pretty much the first time I heard them but at this point Pearl Jam was also basically a perfect band. The first three records were arguably my top 3 records of all time, and they had never stumbled and never done wrong. But this also means they had a lot to live up to and a long way to fall if they didn't

This was also the first pearl jam record (and to this date the only, with the possible exception of avocado since I got to listen to that for the first time with all of RM pretty much) that I listened to with a good friend of mine, Sarah. We drove to a record store in main that was doing a midnight sale, got the cd, and went back to my dorm to experience the record together. And it was a disappointment. The songs were good, but not great, with some that were flat out boring (around the bend, which has grown on me a bit since) or just plain bad (mankind). I gave it a ton of listens, found the songs I really liked, and really tried hard but this just never quite made it into that level that the first 3 records did (and they never matched it again for me until S/T). So No Code will always be a bittersweet record for me, in that no matter how good it is (and I like no code a lot), it was the moment where pearl jam became human, where their status as the greatest band of all time was based on what they had done, not what they would do


So in that respect No Code was a bit like watching Star Wars episode 1 for this first time

It's funny, because their points are so different, but I really relate to both frank, and stip.

Frank says No Code is an adult record, one entirely different from the 3 that came before. True. Stip says he feels the album is a letdown. I think this is true, as well.

My first exposure was the Who You Are single. I bought it before going on a trip up to Breckenridge and I absolutely wore that song out. Habit didn't do much for me, but it was still OK as balls-to-the-wall songs go. But I loved Who You Are. I've written about this before. At that point in my life, I was really coming out of adolescence (in one form anyway, I was still only 16), my worldview was becoming much more optimistic, my taste in music was inclining much more toward happy-go-lucky music, pop and DMB, and rejecting the dark or self-pitying rock acts I had been a fan of.

So it was a great pleasure to hear Who You Are, which has such a positive vibe and message.

I first heard the album a week or so before it was released, when the radio put it on. I got together with a friend who was also a PJ freak. He was nervous (he didn't like Who You Are, but loved Habit), and I was excited. We were both underwhelmed. Sometimes was such an odd opener. Hail hail wanted to rock but seemed to be missing something. Many of the other songs (In My Tree, Off He Goes) seemed to have potential, but weren't catchy from the start. Really, only Smile and Red Mosquito stood out.

And my feelings on the album have never changed, really. I admire it and am thankful for it, because it is the physical symbol of the band's growth and deliberate decision to push back at their fame - which i think is what helped them survive. But i don't love the album. It has some songs I love, and it has some songs I really don't like. It's definitely got an adult feel to it, but unlike Frank I've never seen a throughline, the loss of their earnestness also resulted in what i see as a pretty haphazard album.

I know I got No Code the day it came out but still have not got the album. I don't think there's much to get, as reflected by how much of it is still played live. I'm in the same boat as Stip, they were my favorite band until this album. It was a huge let down to me and the first false, insincere music I heard from them. It was change for the sake of change. It wasn't change inspired by anything, or change brought on by search. It was "we're more popular than Ed/we want to be let's make a record that's not really us." It was insincere and a little insulting to the fans. It was pretty much the death knell for Stone as a writer. Stone is/was great at writing groove inspired riffs and to please Eddie they fired their groove drummer and brought in Jack. Jack does a lot of things but groove in a Stone way is not one of them. The move to Jack, I feel, also hurt Jeff's writing as well. Pearl Jam stopped being PEARL JAM and joined the mere mortals with this album, they were sold on the idea that staying together was the paramount thing rather than making great music.

All that said ,there is still glimpses of greatness. Off He Goes is a good song and seems a much more inspired change than say Around The Bend or I'm Open. Present Tense is phenominal but Mankind a mistake or a b-side at the most. Who You Are and In My Tree just don't work that well for me. In My Tree has great lyrics but it just doesn't play to the bands strengths. I also believe they had the wrong producer for the album. If you're going to change then change producers. I can understand how the "filler" tracks made in on Vitalogy but can't understand how I'm Open makes it to the public.

Overall the album just rings false with me.

I bought the record at tower records in Pearl City Hawaii...took it home. (this is gonna sound gay) pulled the speakers to my stereo in front of the bathroom door...drew a bath and just laid there and listened. This was so much more laid back than previous albums. I must admit..I didn't like half the album on first listen. I really loved the opening..sometimes really sets the mood.. Loved hail hail. Then it derailed a bit.. didn't much care for who you are, in my tree, smile, red mosquito, off he goes, around the bend. Loved Present Tense, lukin...kinda dug mankind. HATED habit..still do. It took a while, but the album finally came around for me. I blame a lot of this on not being home to listen to it with my best friend...my love of the first three albums developed right along side of him...this was the first time I was left alone to develop my own opinion without much outside assistance. It's still not one of my favorites, but listening to it still brings me back to a real transition in my life...when I could no longer get away with being a stupid kid anymore....

I bought No Code because I loved the live version of Lukin. It was one of my favorite tracks on my bootlegs. When I first heard the album, I wasn't into it instantly. I thought Hail, Hail and Who You Are were pretty overrated, but I quickly changed my mind. I loved the album overall, my favorite songs being Hail Hail, Smile, Off He Goes, Habit and Lukin. I thought then, and still do, that the drumming on In My Tree was the best on any PJ song. Jack Irons was the best drummer the band ever had. Now, I have learned to love Sometimes, Who You Are, Red Mosquito (amazing live) and Present Tense. An amazing album.

What Frank said...
And Frank as Chef Ramsey would say...you were spot on!
or...you fucking donkey what the hell was going through that pea sized brain of yours are you a fucking idiot? (spoken with English accent)

anyone wonder who left the water on at the end of sometimes?

Ah, it's the album that turned me off of Pearl Jam for about 4 years.

Nowadays, I dig it for what it is (the band branching out and trying new things), but at the time I was EXTREMELY disappointed with the album. The only songs I even remotely cared for the first time around were "Hail, Hail", "In My Tree" and "Habit".

No Code came out when I did. I had started my first year at university, moved out of my parents house into my grandparents house (closer to uni), gotten a job, dropped out of uni and then moved out of my grandparents house into my own place. I was working mostly night shifts (8pm-4pm), living with a good mate (who had the album) and dating my first girlfriend. I had changed and Pearl Jam had changed.

I guess similarly to Frank, I associated the album with my becoming an adult, I guess it just goes to show that girls really do mature faster than boys because while Frank didn't 'get it' straight away, I did. I was finally becoming comfortable in my own skin rather than living up to the image that my family, friends and in a larger sense, society, dictated for me. It felt like I was breaking off the shackles that had restrained me for so long and so was Pearl Jam. I look back at that time and shake my head at some of the decisions that I made, and occasionally let out a wry smile at how far I have come since then. Back then I felt as if I had to be really clear in showing how far I had come from who I used to be and in a way I feel that is what Pearl Jam were doing with No Code by making an 'anti-grunge' album and deliberately trying to alienate their 'fans'.

To tell you the truth, I was glad they were doing something different because for me, the mood had changed and I needed something to reflect that. Thankfully, No Code did.

*I can't BELIEVE I had more to say about No Code than I did about Vitalogy

Uh-oh

I don't remember my first time. I don't even remember my first 10 times. It slowly grew on me. That's all I know.

Good to see you back SLH, and it's good to have the board back, too.

No Code took me a while to 'get' and fully appreciate, but as i came to find with all PJ albums - the one's that are intially the most intriguing are the ones that i find myself listening to the most now. No Code and Riot Act are to me the most compelling of PJ's catalogue, whilst maybe not my favourites they get more listens than Ten/Vs/Yield.

There are days when No Code is my favourite PJ album...it's a weird one, but it has a really strong character to itself, and i really appreciate the way it reshaped Pearl jam's musical direction...I think it was perhaps the most important development of the band.

No Code came out the night of my first day of law school classes. It was five years to the day after Ten was released, for some PJ trivia. I saw a flyer taped to a lamppost that the little indie record store in Carlisle would be having midnight madness and there would be a free gift for teh first ten customers. I got my roommate to come with me. He was from Russia, and told me that he had already heard the album back in Russia a couple weeks earlier on a bootleg. Don't know if that was true, but it is Russia we're talking about...

So we got to the store at 12:05, and it was empty except for the clerk. I asked if he still had any of the free gifts, and he said I was the first customer. Not quite the same as when I stood in line for a half hour just to PAY for Vs. My free gift was a poster, a concert photo, probably from the 95 tour, of the band bathed in red stage lights. It adorned my apartments for teh next couple of years.

I went home and listened late night, nice and baked. I can remember that Hail Hail scared the shit out of me when it came on so loud after the quiet Sometimes. I really liked Off He Goes and Red Mosquito upon first listen, but I had heard the Who You Are single a few weeks earlier. That was a shocker.

I liked the album, but it took a while to really grow on me. I know a lot of fans were really turned off by it. I can remember talking music with a guy later that year and he was saying how much he disliked the album. I was defending it, and he said, "The TOOL album [Aenima] was so much better though." I had to agree.

I rank No Code about in the middle of PJ's albums. It still very much reminds me of that rather lonely first year of law school, in my little room, smoking pot by myself, and missing my girlfriend (who was not missing me, it turned out).

It's so interesting reading how other people perceive No Code. It's almost like I've been listening to a different record.

I love this record, and have from the first listen. Every song fits together like the interlocking pieces of a puzzle into something unique and brilliant. What shape does that puzzle form? It's up to each of us to discern.

The "experimental" gestures on Vitalogy really didn't prepare me for this. What a surprise it was, on the first listen. On the back of Ten, Pearl Jam could have based their entire career on records containing increasingly half-baked riffs and howling vocals, but they didn't. I guess I wouldn't be a fan if they had.

See, I disagree completely. To utilize your analogy, No Code to me is a bunch of puzzle pieces that just don't fit together in any sort of cohesive, pleasing whole. I've said somewhere on here before that I like most of the songs when I hear them on an individual basis, but as a whole, I really have a hard time making it through the record. No Code literally offers me no code to help understand it as a complete work on any sort of deeper level than I currenty do. To date is the only Pearl Jam album I am relatively indifferent to.

Edit: To get to the point of this thread- I don't remember my first time listening to it, but I do know I was working at Best Buy in the music department at the time and had bought both the WYA single and the record the days they were released. I loved (and still do love) Who You Are the first time I heard it, and Habit was OK for a heavy rocker. I probably played that single more than the actual record in those first few weeks. Though the initial run of people was solid when we opened the doors the date of the album release, I remember more the fact that it wasn't flying off the shelves in the weeks after like some other albums of the time, and being really disappointed in that fact.

No Code is a record about growing up. many of us had to grow into it. i know initially i only liked the 2nd song. then i made it through like the 6th. less than a year later, it was my favorite album ever. i know the titles of the songs, i used the #s just to make the point of how its an album i had to grow into.