HomeHealthEntertainmentOpinionInterviewsHoroscopeCartoons

   Eddie Vedder is an enigma.
   Pearl Jam’s singer is as wealthy and successful as most of us dream, yet his public persona is of someone yearning for obscurity. Vedder revels in an image of a superstar who identifies with the common man. In fact, he goes to such lengths to cultivate this image, it often seems more a slick marketing ploy than genuine angst.
   At the Grammy Awards Vedder made a speech exclaiming the worthlessness of the award they had gone out of their way to accept. One had to wonder, if they truly believed the award was meaningless, why did they go to such lengths to make it to the ceremony?
   Could it be that Vedder couldn’t resist the opportunity to build on his carefully-constructed image in front of millions of television viewers? A cynic might think so.
   After leading a public battle against TicketMaster’s monopoly on ticket sales, Pearl Jam is back on tour. Are they using the small regional ticket companies they claim to want to help?
   No.
   Pearl Jam bypassed those struggling companies in favor of their own handpicked vendor. It’s hard not to believe Pearl Jam’s every-man image is pure marketing hype.
   “We don’t think about any of that hype thing; its really straight forward,” says Vedder. “It’s just weird.”
   Whether the image is merely hype is only important as long as Pearl Jam continues to turn out great music. Their latest CD, No Code, is good, but not up to the band’s usual standards.
   The CD opens with “Sometimes,” a song that brings to mind the infamous put-down: “What did you do with the money your mother gave you for singing lessons?” Like my habit of eating my vegetables first so I can finish with the tastiest morsels, Pearl Jam gets the CD’s only throwaway tune out of the way quickly.
   After the droning “Sometimes,” No Code takes the listener on a roller coaster of tempo and emotion. The CD’s four kick-ass rockers are interspersed with a blend of musical styles.
   “Smile” shows the strong influence of Vedder’s idol, Neil Young, and sounds like Young’s classic, “Cortez the Killer.”
   “I’m open” is reminiscent of Jim Morrison at his introspective best. Less a song than a poem interrupted by a musical chorus. “I’m open” begins with Vedder reciting these words:

     A man lies in his bed in a room with no door.
     He waits hoping for a present something, anything to enter.
     After spending half his life searching,
     He still felt as blank as the ceiling at which he stared.
     He’s alive, but feels absolutely nothing, so is he?

   While No Code isn’t Pearl Jam’s best by any stretch of the imagination, it’s still a must-buy for fans of the Seattle sound.
   As an added “bonus,” the band includes one of four different sets of, what they call trading cards, with each CD. The cards are actually cardboard copies of the same Polaroid shots that adorn the CD’s cover, along with song lyrics on the back.
   Whether Pearl Jam thought they needed a gimmick to help sales of this CD, or it’s just another component of a slick marketing campaign, is for the pundits to ponder. No Code, which would garner an A for any other band, is only worth a B for a band who has previously churned out nothing but classics.
     Grade B-

HomeImagine MediaHumor Factory
PhotoContact