Rank Em RESULTS! No Code

Johnny Abruzzo

Alright, 2 more albums to go. Next to last is No Code. This album certainly did not strike a chord with me when I bought it on the day it came out. I listened to it maybe 3 times, then stored it away for about 10 (!) years. My 2006 PJ resurrection (inspired by the Avocado album) led me to give No Code a 2nd look, and I wondered what the hell I had been thinking back then. I still think the album has its ups and downs, but the highs are pretty damn high.

I also have 4 Lost Dogs to go with it today, for a total of 17 songs. The Lost Dogs are All Night, Don't Gimme No Lip, Black Red & Yellow, and Dead Man.

Here are the songs to rank. As usual, a top 5-10 and maybe a bottom 1-3 is fine. Enjoy!

1 Sometimes
2 Hail, Hail
3 Who You Are
4 In My Tree
5 Smile
6 Off He Goes
7 Habit
8 Red Mosquito
9 Lukin
10 Present Tense
11 Mankind
12 I'm Open
13 Around the Bend
14 All Night
15 Don't Gimme No Lip
16 Black, Red & Yellow
17 Dead Man

Final Rankings:
1 In My Tree 378 pts (7 1st place votes)
2 Hail, Hail 349 (3)
3 Off He Goes 342 (7)
4 Present Tense 337 (9)
5 Red Mosquito 332 (1)
6 Smile 318
7 Sometimes 278 (1)
8 Who You Are 241
9 Lukin 223
10 Around the Bend 185
11 Dead Man 166.5
12 Habit 158
13 All Night 139
14 Black, Red & Yellow 112
15 Mankind 106.5
16 I'm Open 84
17 Don't Gimme No Lip 59

Johnny Abruzzo

My rankings:

Favorites
1. Off He Goes (loved it even before I learned Eddie wrote it about himself)
2. In My Tree (the sky I scrape!)
3. Red Mosquito (the song that convinced me to get into No Code)
4. Hail, Hail (amazing rocker)
5. Smile (I miss you already!)
6. Dead Man (great song without a home)

The Eastern Philosophy Introspective Songs (Pretty damn good, but something about these rubs me the wrong way, for some reason)
7. Present Tense (I think it's overrated; hopefully I don't get booted from the Ten Club for that)
8. Who You Are (love that percussion...)

The Rest
9. Lukin (lots of fun, but not much to it)
10. Around the Bend (pretty little diddy)
11. Sometimes (by far the worst opener of a PJ album)
12. Habit (the jam at the end is incredible, but the first 3/4 of the song is a dud)
13. All Night (my definitive "ok" PJ song)
14. I'm Open (in general, I can't stand talking/rapping, etc in any song, even Eddie)
15. BRY
16. Mankind (even saw it live - sorry Stone)
17. Don't Gimme No Lip

Empty Glass

No Code, my personal favorite (except when Yield takes the top spot for a short time)

1) Present Tense
2) Red Mosquito
3) In My Tree
4) Hail, Hail
5) Smile
6) Off He Goes
7) All Night
8) Don't Gimme No Lip
9) Lukin
10) Who You Are
11) Sometimes
12) Mankind
13) Around The Bend
14) Black, Red, Yellow
15) Dead Man
16) I'm Open
17) Habit
14)

jmuth

1) red mosquito
2) hail, hail
3) all night
4) smile
5) up in my tree
6) habit
7) who you are
8) present tense
9) around the bend
10) lukin
11) sometimes
12) off he goes
13) don't give me no lip
14) red, black, yellow
15) i'm open

Empty Glass

Sorry about the extra 14) above, you can't scroll the text area in edit on the iPhone app.

Now time to press play an get No Code rolling.

whiteside

Great album. Agree with OP about I'm Open, I can never get past the spoken word bits, but I disagree completely about Sometimes, it's maybe my favourite PJ album opener. Suppose that's what's great about the band, there's so many different ways to dig them.

The first six here are all among my favourite PJ songs and their order could change. The 'middle order' is very strong too, but the b-sides are all pretty throwaway in my opinion, with the exception of Dead Man. Think I've read quotes from the band that they weren't really clicking as a group around this period so possibly they didn't hang around in studio for long once they had the album down.

1 In My Tree
2 Who You Are
3 Sometimes
4 Smile
5 Off He Goes
6 Around the Bend

7 Hail, Hail
8 Present Tense
9 Habit
10 Red Mosquito
11 Lukin
12 Dead Man
13 Mankind

14 I'm Open
15 All Night
16 Don't Gimme No Lip
17 Black, Red & Yellow

Johnny Abruzzo

Empty Glass wrote:

Sorry about the extra 14) above, you can't scroll the text area in edit on the iPhone app.

Now time to press play an get No Code rolling.

We'll let this one slide...

Just kidding - that app, and typing on the iPhone, are a little cumbersome.

WhyGo77

I always enjoyed this album, but you're right - there are a few songs that I could skip without thinking twice. But even a few of the songs that I list in the bottom half are really good in my eyes. The Top Five I could listen to all day long.

1) Hail, Hail
2) Off He Goes
3) Red Mosquito
4) Who You Are
5) In My Tree
6) Lukin
7) Don’t Gimme No Lip
8) Smile
9) BR&Y
10) Habit
11) Mankind
12) I'm Open
13) Around the Bend
14) Present Tense
15) All Night
16) Sometimes
17 Dead Man

Eraserhead

My fave album.

1 Present Tense
2 Sometimes
3 Smile
4 In My Tree
5 Hail, Hail
6 Black, Red & Yellow
7 Habit
8 Red Mosquito
9 Dead Man
10 Lukin
11 Mankind
12 Who You Are
13 All Night
14 Off He Goes
15 Around the Bend
16 I'm Open
17 Don't Gimme No Lip

hevik

Personally, I think black,red&yellow is a very cool song. I would like to hear this one live in the future. Don`t understand why people don`t seem to like. Coll riff, kinda reminds me of the who.
Hormones firin`like a fifty foot Roman, yeah!!!

i_lov_it

1 Present Tense
2 Hail, Hail
3 Red Mosquito
4 In My Tree
5 Sometimes
6 Habit
7 Lukin
8 Dead Man
9 Off He Goes
10 Smile
11 Mankind
12 Around the Bend
13 I'm Open
14 All Night
15 Don't Gimme No Lip
16 Who you are
17 Black, Red & Yellow

CopTheRiotAct

1 Off He Goes
2 Hail, Hail
3 Present Tense
4 In My Tree
5 Sometimes
6 Red Mosquito
7 Smile
8 Dead Man
9 Black, Red & Yellow
10 Around the Bend
11 Lukin
12 Who You Are
13 All Night
14 Habit
15 Mankind
16 I'm Open
17 Don't Gimme No Lip

something like that...

Abe Froman

This is easily my favorite record of all time. It hit me from the day it came out. I've listened to this album straight through a ridiculous amount of times. Also, I completely disagree about Sometimes, love this as an opener especially live. 1-9 could be in any order depending on the day.

1. Sometimes
2. Lukin
3. In My Tree
4. Off He Goes
5. Smile
6. Hail Hail
7. Habit
8. Present Tense
9. Red Mosquito
10. Who You Are
11. All Night
12. I'm Open
13. Mankind
14. Around The Bend
15. Dead Man
16. Black Red Yellow
17. Don't Gimmie No Lip

nevmiles

1. In My Tree
2. Hail Hail
3. Red Mosquito
4. Smile
5. Off He Goes
6. Present Tense
7. Lukin
8. Who You Are
9. Habit
10. Sometimes
11. Mankind
12. Around The Bend
13. Don't Gimmie No Lip
14. I'm Open
15. Black Red Yellow
16. All Night
17. Dead Man

PRSNT10S

1. Present Tense (Not Over Rated, personal favorite)
2. In My Tree
3. Hail Hail
4. Sometimes
5. Red Mosquito
6. Dead Man
7. Smile
8. Off He Goes
9. Habit
10. Lukin
11. Who You Are
12. Around The Bend
13. I'm Open (Always thought this would be a cool way to open up a show)
14. Mankind
15. All Night
16. Don't Gimmie No Lip
17. Black Red Yellow (Rodman was Over Rated)

Fantastic Album!

Johnny Abruzzo

I don't know how this is gonna turn out. In My Tree, Hail Hail, Red Mosquito, Present Tense, Smile & Off He Goes all have a shot at #1.

AKRounder85

What another Golden era, my only issue with No Code was how the tracklisting had an odd flow (or lack of). Great songs, poor order.... throws off the album's pace a bit listening thru. Maybe it was done intentually.

1. Off He Goes* $
2. Smile
3. Sometimes**
4. Red Mosquito
5. Black, Red & Yellow***
6. Dead Man
7. Lukin
8. Hail, Hail
9. Present Tense
10. All Night
11. Habit
12. In My Tree
13. Around the Bend
14. Don't Gimme No Lip
15. Who You Are
16. I'm Open
17. Mankind


* Cool song put it blew my mind when I found out Eddie wrote it about himself from a perpective of a friend, then it became my 2nd fav song behind Thumbing My Way
** I got to disagree Johnny Abruzzo, in fact its my 2nd favorite live opener only after Release and one of their best album openers in my humble opinion
***Exremely cool song w/ odd/out there lyrics, but hey Dennis Rodman left a message on Eddies answering machine and they added it to the bridge of this song.... very nice find

Johnny Abruzzo wrote:

I don't know how this is gonna turn out. In My Tree, Hail Hail, Red Mosquito, Present Tense, Smile & Off He Goes all have a shot at #1.

$ This may tilt the tables a lil bit for Off He Goes at the present time

craigb

1. Present Tense
2. Red Mosquito
3. Lukin
4. Smile
5. Hail Hail
6. In My Tree
7. Who You Are
8. Dead Man
9. Mankind
10. Sometimes
11. Off He Goes
12. Don't Gimme No Lip
13. Habit
14. All Night
15. Black Red Yellow
16. Around the Bend
17. I'm Open

Johnny Abruzzo

AKRounder85 wrote:

What another Golden era, my only issue with No Code was how the tracklisting had an odd flow (or lack of). Great songs, poor order.... throws off the album's pace a bit listening thru. Maybe it was done intentually.

1. Off He Goes* $
3. Sometimes**

* Cool song put it blew my mind when I found out Eddie wrote it about himself from a perpective of a friend, then it became my 2nd fav song behind Thumbing My Way
** I got to disagree Johnny Abruzzo, in fact its my 2nd favorite live opener only after Release and one of their best album openers in my humble opinion

his may tilt the tables a lil bit for Off He Goes at the present time

Unfortunately, Off He Goes is still in 6th, just barely. Maybe it will get some more love.

Re: Sometimes: I pretty much have a preference for fast, rocking openers, and the song Sometimes bores me a little bit. Just my opinion. No Code really makes for good discussion though, doesn't it?

jimc3

1) Hail, Hail
2) In My Tree
3) Off He Goes
4) Dead Man
5) Red Mosquito
6) Present Tense
7) Black, Red & Yellow
8) All Night
9) Smile
10) Lukin
11) Who You Are
12) Sometimes
13) Around the Bend
14) Habit
15) I'm Open
16) Mankind
17) Don't Gimme No Lip

AKRounder85

Unfortunately, Off He Goes is still in 6th, just barely. Maybe it will get some more love...
...No Code really makes for good discussion though, doesn't it?

Hopefully Off He Goes gets more love b4 its over and No Code was great time in PJ history (and at the time underrated) but memorable none the less