Skip to main content

June 25, 2019: Using Up My Listerine, Like Ovaltine

Hi Jessi and Kate,

I immediately listened to last week's episode on Mankind...I mean, Dead Man when it dropped.  Your guys early discussion that tangentially went into Mankind brought me back to No Code.


One of the things I find interesting about you both is that you seem to appreciate No Code pretty early on in your fandom.  This is a record that I really had to grow into.  Early on, I only enjoyed Hail, Hail and Off He Goes, but as I got older, the more I started to enjoy more of the tracks on this album.  I've always coveted the album artwork and the Polaroids they added into the booklet with song lyrics printed on the backs of them.  This record for me has been a puzzle that I have continued to solve more and more of as I get older.  To me it was the most interesting, yet polarizing time for the band.  They put out a record in Vitalogy, constantly telling the public how they have not given into the lifestyle that is 'The Biggest Band in the World" and everything that comes with it.  Then just to really prove the point, they record No Code and to further belabor the point...here's our first single off of the album, enjoy "Who You Are," bitches.  They were able to hit the "history eraser button" and then rediscover themselves a couple of years later in recording Yield.



Now onto Mankind.  This may be the most polarizing song in the catalog within the podcast community.  Initially, it was a fad to mock by the Brads up until Patrick "Bagel" Boegel graciously wrote a brilliant "Mic drop" of an email in Episode 21 (min 46) on SPT. I took the liberty of trying to write out the email from going back and listening to it again.  I attached a PDF of it to this message, but wanted to write out the section on Mankind in this email:

Mankind is an ode to fads and hype as well as some very conspicuous sound-alike bands that had come to the forefront in the cash-in tidal wave of grunge. But it is also a tongue-in-cheek shot at the fleeting grasp of fame and stardom. Are we real or are we posers? Do we belong here? How did this happen? How did we become a commodity? This song makes general reference without calling out any band specifically, but more general things it places in analogies. Things like radio, disco, bacchanall, which I take it as a reference to the famous music club from the late 70’s through the early 90’s. The second verse echos with some very blatant consumer product fads of their youth: Listerine, Ovaltine and the board game Battleship. Given how much trash was tossed to the band and Eddie during the band’s supernova explosion to fame, for him to come out belting these lyrics, I imagine him singing it at the height of hypocrisy at the time. But given his pension for witty, sub-textual humor it is easy to see Ed championing that the song needed to be on the record and that Stone had to sing it. Is it the greatest song committed to record? No, it is not, but it is an integral part of the puzzle that is No Code.   

I constantly wonder if I had not found the podcast community of you both, SPT, Live On 4 Legs and Betterband, if I would have continued to grow close to No Code.  It's discussions (and tangents!) like these that have me rediscovering and learning so much about Pearl Jam.  This is a part of my life that does nothing but provide positivity no matter how far I feel like I am drowning in the ocean that is life.

Forced to endure, what I could not forgive,

Chris


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

October 17, 2010: RIP Mozart for Guitar

Hi Brad and Brad, I first want to mention that I can't remember the last time I laughed as hard as I did while listening to you two and Clint Wells go on about spoonfuls of flour and uncooked spaghetti.  I almost had to pull my car over as I was driving home during that part of the episode!   Since Eddie Van Halen passed away on October 6th, I've been listening to a lot of Van Halen.  I didn't really get into them until 10-15 years ago, but I consider them to be one of my favorite bands of all-time.  Eddie was truly an innovator on shredding guitar solos and may be my favorite lead guitarist ever.  I saw Mike's comment on Pearl Jam's Twitter feed referencing how he began playing guitar shortly after their first record came out.  He goes so far to say "it sounded like Eddie was from another planet" and "Eddie was like Mozart for guitar.  Changed everything and he played with Soul." I know the guys have covered Van Halen here-and-there and I looked
Post a Comment
Read more

December 26, 2020: Someday at Christmas

Hi Brad and Brad, First, I hope you guys have had a Happy Holidays.  Secondly, I really enjoy your solo episodes.  They have a deejay format to them which also feels personable in getting to know each of your lives and what has influenced you to be who you are now. I hadn't taken the time to get to know Someday at Christmas until after listening to BradB's recent episode.  Pearl Jam does a great job in covering the song, and I prefer Stevie Wonder's version over the Jackson 5.  Especially, after reading the lyrics and reading some interpretations of the song.  At the time the song was released, the Vietnam War was still underway.  The lyrics seem to voice opposition to the war itself, but also express the hope for racial and economic equality.  Unfortunately, that message still resonates strongly.   Stevie Wonder was one of the artists that shaped my musical interests when I was a teenager.  I'm very glad the guys chose to cover this song for a Christmas single and have
Post a Comment
Read more

December 31, 2020: Low Light

Hi Jessi and Kate, I have been way behind on my podcasts the last several weeks.  The main reason is because myself and a friend started our own podcast!  It's not Pearl Jam themed , however it's consumed a decent amount of my week preparing for each recording.  So we now have a hit on the Dink-O-Meter for both of you.  First Jessi and now Kate!  I can't remember if I have proposed the Dink-O-Meter to you yet, but I have it as a three-tiered system: Dinky: Just your average dinky, will only skip if streaming Rinky-Dinky: Automatic skipper, even when listening to vinyl Stinky-Dinky: It's like nails on a chalkboard to you Based on Jessi's response to Parachutes, I have that somewhere between Rinky-Dinky and Stinky-Dinky.  I would have to let Jessi be the final judge on that.  For Kate's remarks to Low Light, I have it somewhere between Dinky and Rinky-Dinky, however I'm inclined to believe it's closer to Dinky because I wasn't able to note as many hot
Post a Comment
Read more