Hidden Findings discovered in Backspacer Cover (Updated)

facepollution · September 2009

blondieblue227 wrote:

facepollution wrote:

Is the train not from the scene in Stand By Me? Seemed like a no-brainer to me......

do ya'll agree on that?

See what you think: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DdLH75G ... re=related

Dark Star · September 2009

Dark Star wrote:

I read in another thread, that the top left "Burning Train" drawing has the initials MR written in the flames... Which stands for Dr. Michael Richter, who got hit by a car and died recently. The album is dedicated to him as well... Just wanted to pass on the info.

Nobody has commented on my Al Frankin post, that's him in the TV, no?

I think the kid in the train drawing could possibly be Dr. Michael Richter according to this quote.

RIP Dr. Richter, he must of been a great man.

pleatherman · September 2009

Good find on the initials "M R" written in the stars. Undoubtedly, that refers to Dr. Michael Richter. The scene depicted in the same illustration, however, is based on a recurring dream of Jeff Ament's as a child. In Big Sandy, where he grew up, Jeff was told if he stood too close to the train tracks as a locomotive passed, he would be sucked under them. Like most youngsters, these sort of stories can tend to leave a lasting impression. In Jeff's case, he had nightmares of a train, covered in flames, chasing him relentlessly around town, wherever he went. The poster Tom Tomorrow did for Spin magazine may help connect the individual cover images to specific dreams of the band members. Here is a link to the poster- http://twitpic.com/iks51/full Notice Jeff is wearing the same ringer shirt as the kid being pursued by the train. Perhaps the upper right picture on the Backspacer cover, with Thurston the magician, is based on a dream of Ed's because he is holding a skull in the Spin poster. And of course, the Gilligan image would have to originate from Stone.

yield2me · September 2009

I've been thinking about the train picture and for some reason my mind keeps going to Alfred Hitchcock. There is a movie he did called "Number 17" that has a runaway train scene at the end. I can't remember if the train is on fire or not but I seem to recall that it is. If any of you have some time and have this movie on hand, check it out or I'll take a look when I get off work today.

krymsin · September 2009

pleatherman wrote:

Good find on the initials "M R" written in the stars. Undoubtedly, that refers to Dr. Michael Richter. The scene depicted in the same illustration, however, is based on a recurring dream of Jeff Ament's as a child. In Big Sandy, where he grew up, Jeff was told if he stood too close to the train tracks as a locomotive passed, he would be sucked under them. Like most youngsters, these sort of stories can tend to leave a lasting impression. In Jeff's case, he had nightmares of a train, covered in flames, chasing him relentlessly around town, wherever he went. The poster Tom Tomorrow did for Spin magazine may help connect the individual cover images to specific dreams of the band members. Here is a link to the poster- http://twitpic.com/iks51/full Notice Jeff is wearing the same ringer shirt as the kid being pursued by the train. Perhaps the upper right picture on the Backspacer cover, with Thurston the magician, is based on a dream of Ed's because he is holding a skull in the Spin poster. And of course, the Gilligan image would have to originate from Stone.

So, could this make Matt the blond kid looking in to the "underwater world" of Seattle?

In that poster, Cameron is the only one who's clearly blond -- as is that kid on the album cover ...

pleatherman · September 2009

krymsin wrote:

pleatherman wrote:

Good find on the initials "M R" written in the stars. Undoubtedly, that refers to Dr. Michael Richter. The scene depicted in the same illustration, however, is based on a recurring dream of Jeff Ament's as a child. In Big Sandy, where he grew up, Jeff was told if he stood too close to the train tracks as a locomotive passed, he would be sucked under them. Like most youngsters, these sort of stories can tend to leave a lasting impression. In Jeff's case, he had nightmares of a train, covered in flames, chasing him relentlessly around town, wherever he went. The poster Tom Tomorrow did for Spin magazine may help connect the individual cover images to specific dreams of the band members. Here is a link to the poster- http://twitpic.com/iks51/full Notice Jeff is wearing the same ringer shirt as the kid being pursued by the train. Perhaps the upper right picture on the Backspacer cover, with Thurston the magician, is based on a dream of Ed's because he is holding a skull in the Spin poster. And of course, the Gilligan image would have to originate from Stone.

So, could this make Matt the blond kid looking in to the "underwater world" of Seattle?

In that poster, Cameron is the only one who's clearly blond -- as is that kid on the album cover ...

That's a good guess. It seemed a peculiar choice to have Matt with blonde hair. I've never considered him a blonde. There are two observations that make it harder to know for certain he is the blonde kid from the cover. The first is, in most of the childhood photos of the band, they do seem to have at least some blonde in their hair. The second one is he was born and raised in San Diego. It still could be him though. The astronaut drummer might be too obvious of a choice for Matt. Although, it is worth noting he did begin drumming at an early age. Lets face it, Tom Tomorrow has given us the best scavenger hunt since that other band released something called Sgt. Pepper's... whatchamicallit.

broloco · September 2009

pleatherman wrote:

Good find on the initials "M R" written in the stars. Undoubtedly, that refers to Dr. Michael Richter. The scene depicted in the same illustration, however, is based on a recurring dream of Jeff Ament's as a child. In Big Sandy, where he grew up, Jeff was told if he stood too close to the train tracks as a locomotive passed, he would be sucked under them. Like most youngsters, these sort of stories can tend to leave a lasting impression. In Jeff's case, he had nightmares of a train, covered in flames, chasing him relentlessly around town, wherever he went. The poster Tom Tomorrow did for Spin magazine may help connect the individual cover images to specific dreams of the band members. Here is a link to the poster- http://twitpic.com/iks51/full Notice Jeff is wearing the same ringer shirt as the kid being pursued by the train. Perhaps the upper right picture on the Backspacer cover, with Thurston the magician, is based on a dream of Ed's because he is holding a skull in the Spin poster. And of course, the Gilligan image would have to originate from Stone.

this is good stuff! thanks. speaking of the Ed/Thurston panel...doesn't the 3 blonde "girls" look like they could possibly be Kurt Cobain? would make sense seeing as they are coming from the skull and it's in "Ed's panel" (KC and Vedder are always linked, and Ed usually has something to say about his death).

IamMine · September 2009

pleatherman wrote:

That's a good guess. It seemed a peculiar choice to have Matt with blonde hair. I've never considered him a blonde. There are two observations that make it harder to know for certain he is the blonde kid from the cover. The first is, in most of the childhood photos of the band, they do seem to have at least some blonde in their hair. The second one is he was born and raised in San Diego. It still could be him though. The astronaut drummer might be too obvious of a choice for Matt. Although, it is worth noting he did begin drumming at an early age. Lets face it, Tom Tomorrow has given us the best scavenger hunt since that other band released something called Sgt. Pepper's... whatchamicallit.

Amen to that! This is the best thing, I think, that has ever happened to the PJ community....

I can just see Tom Tomorrow continue to be amused if he reads and keeps up with this thread, going daaammmnn!!

*calls the boys and defends himself* I NEVER said anything to anybody, I swear!!!

The PJ boys would be like ah don't worry about it, Dan... I forgot I said something about that in an interview with *insert name* back in *insert year*.

But you are right about the blonde issue - I was born with blonde and then changed to light/dark brown around 7ish.... same with hubby and all of our children. My last and 4th (sniff, just saw a baby learning to walk this morning...couldn't believe how grown my children are, sigh) is 7 and her hair is blonde/brownish....which in at least a few years will be just as dark as the rest of her older siblings.

So yeah....

I'm SO glad this is still alive!!!

I wonder how much longer.... no, I don't want to know.....

Spags · September 2009

samnation wrote:

Anybody know whats going on with this guys head in the Tom Tomorrow version? Is it armour or some kind, looks a bit like a sea animal too? Weird...

krymsin · September 2009

pleatherman wrote:

That's a good guess. It seemed a peculiar choice to have Matt with blonde hair. I've never considered him a blonde. There are two observations that make it harder to know for certain he is the blonde kid from the cover. The first is, in most of the childhood photos of the band, they do seem to have at least some blonde in their hair. The second one is he was born and raised in San Diego. It still could be him though. The astronaut drummer might be too obvious of a choice for Matt. Although, it is worth noting he did begin drumming at an early age. Lets face it, Tom Tomorrow has given us the best scavenger hunt since that other band released something called Sgt. Pepper's... whatchamicallit.

So, i guess this album cover and inside artwork makes up for the avocado we got on S/T ...

pleatherman · September 2009

krymsin wrote:

pleatherman wrote:

That's a good guess. It seemed a peculiar choice to have Matt with blonde hair. I've never considered him a blonde. There are two observations that make it harder to know for certain he is the blonde kid from the cover. The first is, in most of the childhood photos of the band, they do seem to have at least some blonde in their hair. The second one is he was born and raised in San Diego. It still could be him though. The astronaut drummer might be too obvious of a choice for Matt. Although, it is worth noting he did begin drumming at an early age. Lets face it, Tom Tomorrow has given us the best scavenger hunt since that other band released something called Sgt. Pepper's... whatchamicallit.

So, i guess this album cover and inside artwork makes up for the avocado we got on S/T ...

Ha! Actually, I'm quite a fan of the S/T artowrk. Perhaps there are metaphorical interpretations on what the avocado means in relation to the music and that the actual image on the cd is the seed, but essentially I just like it as a piece of Pop Art, plain and simple. The 10c version is the definitive one, in my opinion. The beauty of it is the way the front and back cover juxtaposes with how grim and macabre the rest of the book is. But I don't want to get too off topic. I will say the Backspacer artwork, without even taking into account all the hidden meanings, is one of my favorites of all time. For anyone who doesn't buy vinyl records, I would definitely make an exception here. I hope Tom Tomorrow wins some prestigious awards for his work on the album. Then he can parlay that into syndicating his comic strip to more periodicals.

Heather Evers · September 2009

NoelMichael wrote:

Can't wait to hear the story of the pimp on the tricycle with the giant women

If I remember right, the giant woman in the pic is Raquel Welch from the 1 million years b.c. movie poster.....hope that helps 'cause I have noooo idea what a pimp has to do with it

Heather Evers · September 2009

the pic on the robot's "face"...is that the same pic in the background of the "making of backspacer" sessions???

Valerio wrote:

And this is the robot from the bottom-left image:

Heather Evers · September 2009

if there truly is a 60s theme here, remember there's pics of the guys as kids, too. wouldn't they have been kids in the 60s?

my 2 cents....things are limitless when they're in your head...imagination frees...and sometimes it's not too late to go back & right some wrongs - just do it while u have the chance.

OUCH - BRAIN CRAMP!!! guess i'm done thinking for the day...i seem to have pulled something

NateIsFaithful · September 2009

i think i figured out who is on the bottom left panel in the lost in space robot tv...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNMnj5YVUKQ

at 4:11 photo between the 2 redish lamps.

not sure who it is, but its seems to match.

what do ya reckon?

Nate

mike-sizzle · September 2009

Sorry I just found this thread, just found like it hasn't taken up the last 2 hours of my day. So here's my 2 cents, be gentle.

The red dress, although I think the song lyric is right on, the song came from Ed seeing the album cover in the bathroom right? Maybe it's from an album cover not a movie or TV show?

And I know I am reading waaaaaaaaaaaaaay to much into this but the picture with the magician, the "sirens" or "ghosts" could they be the ghosts of drummers past, Krusen, Abbruzzese, Irons.

Side note, great job all of you, this was great to read.

blondieblue227 · September 2009

pleatherman wrote:

Good find on the initials "M R" written in the stars. Undoubtedly, that refers to Dr. Michael Richter. The scene depicted in the same illustration, however, is based on a recurring dream of Jeff Ament's as a child. In Big Sandy, where he grew up, Jeff was told if he stood too close to the train tracks as a locomotive passed, he would be sucked under them. Like most youngsters, these sort of stories can tend to leave a lasting impression. In Jeff's case, he had nightmares of a train, covered in flames, chasing him relentlessly around town, wherever he went. The poster Tom Tomorrow did for Spin magazine may help connect the individual cover images to specific dreams of the band members. Here is a link to the poster- http://twitpic.com/iks51/full Notice Jeff is wearing the same ringer shirt as the kid being pursued by the train.

i like this theory.

fallingupsomehow · September 2009

blondieblue227 wrote:

pleatherman wrote:

Good find on the initials "M R" written in the stars. Undoubtedly, that refers to Dr. Michael Richter. The scene depicted in the same illustration, however, is based on a recurring dream of Jeff Ament's as a child. In Big Sandy, where he grew up, Jeff was told if he stood too close to the train tracks as a locomotive passed, he would be sucked under them. Like most youngsters, these sort of stories can tend to leave a lasting impression. In Jeff's case, he had nightmares of a train, covered in flames, chasing him relentlessly around town, wherever he went. The poster Tom Tomorrow did for Spin magazine may help connect the individual cover images to specific dreams of the band members. Here is a link to the poster- http://twitpic.com/iks51/full Notice Jeff is wearing the same ringer shirt as the kid being pursued by the train.

i like this theory.

This thread is awesome! I am getting the "band members have their own panel" thing now connecting it with the SPIN poster. Ed/Thorston, Jeff/Train, Stone/Robot(and hat)...so would Mike's be the underwater theme, and Matt's be the space drummer then?

fallingupsomehow · September 2009

pleatherman wrote:

krymsin wrote:

pleatherman wrote:

Good find on the initials "M R" written in the stars. Undoubtedly, that refers to Dr. Michael Richter. The scene depicted in the same illustration, however, is based on a recurring dream of Jeff Ament's as a child. In Big Sandy, where he grew up, Jeff was told if he stood too close to the train tracks as a locomotive passed, he would be sucked under them. Like most youngsters, these sort of stories can tend to leave a lasting impression. In Jeff's case, he had nightmares of a train, covered in flames, chasing him relentlessly around town, wherever he went. The poster Tom Tomorrow did for Spin magazine may help connect the individual cover images to specific dreams of the band members. Here is a link to the poster- http://twitpic.com/iks51/full Notice Jeff is wearing the same ringer shirt as the kid being pursued by the train. Perhaps the upper right picture on the Backspacer cover, with Thurston the magician, is based on a dream of Ed's because he is holding a skull in the Spin poster. And of course, the Gilligan image would have to originate from Stone.

So, could this make Matt the blond kid looking in to the "underwater world" of Seattle?

In that poster, Cameron is the only one who's clearly blond -- as is that kid on the album cover ...

That's a good guess. It seemed a peculiar choice to have Matt with blonde hair. I've never considered him a blonde. There are two observations that make it harder to know for certain he is the blonde kid from the cover. The first is, in most of the childhood photos of the band, they do seem to have at least some blonde in their hair. The second one is he was born and raised in San Diego. It still could be him though. The astronaut drummer might be too obvious of a choice for Matt. Although, it is worth noting he did begin drumming at an early age. Lets face it, Tom Tomorrow has given us the best scavenger hunt since that other band released something called Sgt. Pepper's... whatchamicallit.

Someone guessed what I mentioned in the previous post. Sorry, should have read more carefully.

Heather Evers · September 2009

then going by the Spin poster, my guess is Mike is the one with the underwater theme....look at the similarities at the bottom of each pic.

then again...maybe they just did all of this to make us crazy!!!

Hidden Findings discovered in Backspacer Cover (Updated)

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