"The reason it's called No Code is because it's full of codes" - Eddie Vedder
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1: | I've found something...I think. One of the cards...mine is Who You Are... there is and eye in the upper left and a half moon in the upper right... Well there is a card on the cover of No Code (3rd card on the top row of the fron) that looks like it...but...the eye is on the right and there is a comet on the left...there is no card on the cover with the eye on the right and moon on the left...hmmmmm Mike |
2: | Besides the thing where u fold it out and see
the No Code ensignia (i always wanted to use that word) I did realise the
other day however that if you get all the lyric cards (polaroids), lyrics
side up, then they all fit together side by side. Very groovy.
Jason Lynch |
3: | Jerome Turner = Eddie Vedder? How?
I heard that you can use the weidgy board on the No Code CD to decode it. |
4: | Jerome Turner
Apparently Ed's quest for anonimity has not quite ceases. On the Lossegroove press release, it notes that 'Jerome Turner', the same man given credit for the No Code concept, helped with the layout and design on L2L. Just thought it was interesting.Later. Josh BTW-Jerome Turner=Ed Vedder |
5: | The Ouija Board on the No Code CD. I
think (and know) that it's full of codes...
The symbol's that you can see there are very much used in astrology and so on...And if you see...for example, that 2 and 3 are marked red: 23 is the birth of Eddie, and go to the symbols in that segment you will find 3 symbols that are symbol's for the Capricorn in astrology...And Eddie is a Capricorn...The symbol at left is a Planet-symbol for Saturn, the Capricorn's planet...Wich also is the Water carrier's planet....(Look at number 9: and 10: further down this page) Stian R. |
6: | I was checking out the album cover..and I noticed
that every picture on one side had something in common with a picture on
the other sides...like even though these pictures seem obsulete and just
everyday things, that they affect something bigger...they/we are apart
of something bigger, we're all connected. Sometimes it's obvious and sometimes
it seems impossible, but if you take the time to notice the small things,
it's just a step towards seeing the big picture more clearly...."
Amber |
7: |
Eddie Vedder (from the Radio Fritz Broadcast of November 3, 1996, Berlin, Germany.) |
8: | There are 4 sets of 9 trading cards, series C,O,D,AND E (yes you guessed it, that spells "Code"). The pictures on the cards are from the panel artwork on the No Code album. |
9: | The weidgy board on the No Code CD....
Under the segment "2" (marked red)and "Love". You can see two symbol's for the Aquarios, The water carrier and one planet symbol for Uranus, and that is the Water carrier's planet along with Saturn...And you can also find the letter "U"...that can mean "Love U....". To Beth? If Beth's birth is beetween 21. january and 19. february...then I think that could be a sollution...If you know....Please E-mail me Stian R. |
10: | Re: 23 = Eddie's birth....(6:)
You may be onto something. There may be more Ed references than references to other members of the band since No Code's concept is Credited to Jerome Turner (Ed. Ved.). 23 could however be a reference to M. Jordan.... |
11: | I was lookin at the CD this morning and realised
that in with those astrology symbols there are symbols that just don't
seem like they go.... like the rat (very pearl jam) and the No Code symbol
and that circle (the one in the studio where they did monkey wrench, self
pollution etc.), and then theres the compact disc logo - could the fact
that these don't belong link in some how? Or are these symbols actual astrology
symbols?! :) ........(Re: 13 further down
this page)
Jason Lynch |
12: | Well, the rat is a symbol in chinese astrology..
maybe Eddie is year of the rat, or one of the other guys.
Saerah |
13: | Re: 11
Some are astrology symbols and some are not...That's the cool thing about this weidgy board......But that circle (the one in the studio where they did monkey wrench, self pollution etc.), is actually a planet symbol for the Sun...But bands like the Who have used that symbol too, and if you look at the other two symbols in that segment you will find symbols that can relate to The who..."III" may be for the three letters in the WHO? And the other symbol is much used as the "O" in the Who...And (I've been studying this quite much these days...) if you look further down that segment, you will find "Well" and "Good", may be Eddie is refering that he feels "Well" with the Who. And that it is a "good" thing?! I am pretty sure that many of these symbols are astrology symbols, but mixed with stuff that Eddie and PJ is concerned about....Like f.eks "Artists for hate free America", you wil find that symbol there...And if you look down further that segment you will find the word "hate".... Stian R. |
14: | Re: 12
The rat is the logo for Rat Sound, their live sound company. Beth |
15: | This may be off the subject...but up to Live
on two legs... all of the covers of PJ albums have had some sort of 'V'
on them. 'Vs' and 'Vitalogy' are obvious. 'No Code' included that triangle
symbol...which suggests a 'V'. 'Yield' has the yield sign...triangle again...
which suggests a 'V'. And on TEN... the members form a living 'V'.
In numerology...a triangle means expression... and an inverted triangle means balance. Oh, Eddie was born Year of the Dragon... so, I don't know if RATS were symbolic or not. Mary |
16: | I was listening to 'ten' today, and something
hit me during 'oceans'.... as i heard 'hold tight the ring...' i thought
of the no code polaroid of the man in the ocean reaching up for the small
ring attached to the string... think there's a connection here?
Sarah |
17: | Jerome Turner
Jerome Turner is actually Eddie Vedder. In other words, No Code is full of Code and Jerome Turner is Eddie's code name. Its also the name he used to use to check into hotel rooms and stuff. But not anymore because people figured that out. Not many people know this, but he used to use the name "Jeremy Black" but after a while that became to obvious. Ray |
18: | Jerome Turner
Jerome Turner is code for Eddie Vedder. In Yield it says that Carpenter Newton came up with the concept. Carpenter Newton is code for Jeff Ament. *Correction: This isn't true -- Carpenter Newton = Stone Gossard. Susan |
19: | Jerome Turner
In the liner notes of the Tibetan Freedom concert CD with Eddie and Mike, the music to the song Yellow Ledbetter is credited to : "jeffery allen ament, michael david mccready and eddie jerome vedder" Robin |
20: | First off it's "Ouija Board," not "weidgy"
board. A ouija board is a cardboard and plastic creation with all the letters
of the alphabet and the numbers 0-9 writen on it, along with "yes"
and "no". You're supposed to get at least two people, and place
your fingers on the plastic thingy and wait until some mysterious power
moves the hole on the plastic thing over one of the letters/#'s/yes/no.
Of course the object is that a spirit will answer your question.
Rob |
21: | Almost all of the little polaroids on the cover
are of objects that are either circular or triangular in nature, just like
the big picture they make out (which i never actually noticed until i saw
it on the Schindig like a year after the album was released!). I thought
the Code had something to do with the little picture, not the big picture,
therefore I never saw it from that perspective before. I can't say what
the symbols mean to the band though...
Rob |
22: | I think there could be a connection with the
polaroids-cardset-pictures and the actual lyric on the flipside.
For example: On cardset E, You can find a picture of a smile on the flipside of the smile-lyrics, and on cardset D, you can find the contrast of the smile, the angry puzzle man... On cardset D, Hail Hail, you can find a picture of a man that jumps out of the window, and on cardset E, there is this constrast again, a man get saved by the small ring attached to the string in the ocean. Stian R. |
23: | Re: 22
On cardset E, I'm open, you can find a opened wound....And on Present Tense, there is a picture of two keyboard symbols: Full stop and a quistion mark. These two symbols could fit very well to the philophical lyrics to Present Tense... Stian R. |
24: | I just wanted to add that at the Raleigh 98 Show
I attended Eddie Vedder said "This is for the color light blue and
the number 23" before Betterman... Just might have something to do
with the codeing...
Matt |
25: | Re: 16
When you mentioned this ring, i came to think of another of the polaroids on the No Code cover. When you look at the back of it, you can see part of a hand that has got a ring that says "LOVE" on one finger. It looks like a little child grabs for the finger or something. I`ve always looked at oceans as a love song, so maybe there is a connection? Harald Viken |
26: | Re:22
I think it's a kind of system in the No Code trading cards... The smile polaroids at set c and o (angry puzzle man) are totally contrasts to the smile pictures at set d and e (red lips on yellowish face and a smiling mouth with golden tooth). The Hail, Hail polaroids at set c and o (man falling out of window), are contrasts to Hail, Hail pictures at set d and e (a man getting saved at sea) The pictures may apply to the lyrics at the backside of the polaroid's. Take a look at the polaroid's in the system and help me to crack the system that seem's to be hidden. Polaroid cardsets in system. |
27: | One thing that has always been interesting to
me about the whole No Code polaroid layout is this...Isn't it funny how
with some of the pictures...you can't really see them for what they are
because you're looking at them up close...too closely...sort of a lesson
about life.. if you look at something, someone, or a situation...too close..with
preconceived notions or ideas about it...you may miss it for what it really
is...an example is love...you know that old saying that love is blind..that's
because those in love are too closely involved and cannot see the big picture...
Am I making any sense?
Komikaze_23 |
28: | I suddenly thought up another explanation for
the no code triangle with a circle in the middle. Knowing that the summer
before No Code, Eddie was hanging around with Dennis Rodman, and that Dennis
was on some of the polaroids on no code, I thought that maybe the triangle
might have something to do with the Bulls or Rodman. Then it hit me. The
Bulls are quite famed for perfecting an offense called the "Triangle
offense" in which three players form a triangle and totally confuse
the other team. Well, the triangle offense is centered so that the circle
formed by the top of the key is in the middle of the triangle. so, the
bulls' offense forms a triangle with a circle in the middle of it.
Sam....................................................................................................Anothter interpretation of the No Code symbol |
29: | I don't really see most of these things as being
hidden meanings. Especially things like the red 2 & 3. has anybody
ever considered the possibility that maybe things like these mean nothing?
Maybe, just maybe the band didn't spend days trying to come up with little
secret things they could hide on the cd covers. Maybe they just did it
because it looks good. it's just an idea.
Thomas |
30: | Re:29
Thomas, good point! Sometimes people like to over-analyze art because they believe the artist(s) always have a hidden agenda and meaning in everything that they do. I wrote a poem once, and it was discussed by my classmates in english class and some of them were so engrossed in figuring out the deeper meaning, they sometimes found meaning in things that actually didn't have any deep symbolism in it. I too pored over the polaroids and trying to decipher a hidden meaning, but sometimes I think that perhaps it's just there for aesthetic and creative reasons, a form of self-expression. Mindy |
31: | The I'm open polaroids (the beutiful eye, and Ed's cut wound) seem to fit to the lyric title...May be there is connection with the polaroids and the lyric title on the flipside? Any thoughts? |
32: | The Ouija Board on the No Code CD...
Go to sector, Bad, ?, Soon....I have looked this up in a book about symbols.... These three symbols seems to fit together in a way, along with "Soon ?" Stian R. |
33: | The Ouija Board on the No Code CD...
Go to sector, Good, 7, ill...This proves that many of the symbols are astrology symbols... The symbol in the middle (woman with her legs crossed) and the symbol at right (the double mm) are symbols for Virgo (the virgin). The symbol at left are symbol to the Virgos planet Mercury. |
34: | The Ouija Board on the No Code CD...
Go to sector No, stop... These three symbols could be symbols for unfainess. The tools: on that work and that is bended and destroyed. That's unfair!. The weight scale is heavier to one of the sides. Unfair! And the No Code symbol, the triangle and the circle, two contrasts. That is kind of unfair...And further down the segment: STOP, may be they mean that unfainess should stop. |
35: | To new No Code fans!
In case you haven't noticed: Take a look at the No Code symbol at the cover, #7 further up this page... |
36: | There are a lot of eyes on the case. Maybe Eddie
is trying to tell us to look more closely at the case.
Mike Costello |
37: | Re: 24
Ed's reference to light blue #23 at Raliegh, had nothing to do with No Code. Michael Jordan played college basketball for the University of North Carolina, he wore the #23 and their uniforms are light blue, and the band was playing in North Carolina. Patrick Boegel |
38: | The cover for one of the Who You Are polaroids
is the cover of a book of F.Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. That might
lead to more interpretations of this wonderful album.
Brian O'Gorman |
39: | The Who you are cards, d and e may have something
in common...
Cardset d (an eye, moon, stars and arch), if you look at the same picture at the front of the cover you will see that the picture is seen in reverse (not the arch though), but the moon has been changed to a falling star.... Stian R |
40: | I noticed that the speckled man on the cover (D-3) is part of a picture from Vitalogy. Also, The apple (J-7) was at the first of Single Video Theory. Also at the first of SVT they were talking about a statue that they stared at for hours or something like that...Buddha (B-5). |
41: | This is what I think of the whole "No Code"
codes thing. First of of I have to say that I am in no way making fun of
the people who think there are codes or Eddie Vedder for saying there were
codes.
Here it goes. What I think Eddie, Jeff, Mike, Stone, and Jack did to set this whole thing up was to say there were codes on the album just to make people THINK for once. "Misinterpretations" that is the whole basis for all of these theories, every one has their own ideas of what things mean, but to each is to own. That is what I think Eddie is trying to say. One person might see an object, thing, or whatever as one thing, and another might see it as a totally different thing. There might be codes though out the whole album, who knows for sure but the band. P.E. Miller |
42: | I have received some mails about what's really
on the polaroids:(42-46)
If were to turn this picture one 90 degrees clockwise, and look at it you will notice that it is the drawing of the profile of someones head looking to the right!. Livi |
43: | The pictures are a lot easier to make out on
the vinyl cover. G-5 looks like a metal toy dirigible with "Zep"
on the side. Led Zeppelin. Get it?
There's also a picture around d-10 or somewhere (I don't have the album with me) of a contraption for dispensing liquor. It's a little grey statue of a boy on a pedestal taking a leak. Guess where the liquor comes out. The picture is sideways. My parents had one. -GStopka |
44: | I have no idea if this has been said before but
it looks like some of the eye's on the cover of No Code are the band members
eyes. You can see that one eye looks like Eddie's, one eye looks like Stone's
with glasses on, and one eye looks like Mike's....I know this may sound
silly but considering the Red Black Yellow thing....one eye looks like
Dennis Rodman's eye....just in case your wondering where I think it is,
its on the far left side 5 from the top of the opened cd cover.....
Vinnie |
45: | Three of the Polaroids on the cover of No Code look like someone had a melanoma cut out. There's one with a dodgy looking mole on someone's skin, another with an eye-shaped piece of skin cut out by a scalpel, and another of the same bit of skin stitched up. Eddie been out in the sun too much you think? |
46: | Re:44
Not only do I think that one is Dennis Rodman's eye, but I think the upside-down nostril w/ the nose ring on the cover is Rodman's nostril! It's actually pretty obvious if you have the BRY single, because there are 3 polaroids pictured in it, which are of Rodman (99% sure), except only 2 are on the No Code cover. |
47: | The picture of the 'red head', (D2), (Q.44) looks
very much like something Stone would have drawn. I think this is correct
after looking at the picture in the cover of his side band Brad's Interiors
Cd cover. The picture is drawn by Stone and the style is very similar to
this one on no - code.
Peter Riley |
48: | I think you're taking the code cracking a little
too far. Isn't it amazing enough that the band took these awesome forensic
pictures and made a completely coherent symbol out of them? Obviously most
of the polaroids deal with the shape of the no code symbol themselves,
circles and triangles or angles, and the lyric photos obviously correspond
to the lyrics chosen. I think the album personally has a deeper, intangible
meaning. read Daniel Quinn's "ishmael" and you'll know what I'm
talking about (recommended by the band themselves)
P.S.- The statue on the Given to fly single that the band claims they watched for hours in single video theory is in Rome, about a block away from the colisseum, which i randomly stumbled upon and was just as transfixed. Colin |
49: | On the CD itself there is a symbol right above
the letters 'O'. This is the sigil of the famous English magician Aleister
Crowley (1875-1947). It's significantly different from the other symbols
by being more complex, and is obviously placed there intentionally. One
one of their European tours, Pearl Jam brought along US band Tribe After
Tribe as support. This band was very much into Crowley. Their tour T-shirts
sported one of Crowley's magical axioms, and I think it likely that Tribe
After Tribe may have introduced Pearl Jam members to the ideas of Crowley.
Tribe After Tribe's only (?) album release ('After The Fire', if I recall
correctly) is highly recommended, btw.
Arild |
50: | on one of the panels, there is a scale of justice
(or equality, whatever you want to call it)and it is unbalanced. Underneath
that panel is the word STOP. as in...STOP INJUSTICE. STOP INEQUALITY.....
maybe i am reaching, but that was my thought.....
Kelly |
51: | The three fish on the CD=Jeff's other band Three
Fish umm...
Kelly |
52: | On the cd itself, it has the number 23 in red
which was stated as maybe being for Michael Jordan. If you look in the
picture of the band where they are playing, you'll see in the right hand
corner a cardboard cutout of michael jordan (partially) with a red 23 on
his jersey. Also, one of the pictures on the case has what looks like books
stacked up together with the word attitude on one and desire on the other.
The third book starts out with what looks like a P and an E. The rest looks
like someone put white out on it. If you look further down the spine, you'll
notice what could be the tip of the J that sticks out. It spells Pearl
Jam of course. Maybe saying that Pearl Jam has attitude and desire? who
knows..just wanted to share that
Jeff S |
53: | I was also wondering if anyone has put any thought
into the four map segments on that same panel? Are they the bandmembers
respective home towns or something like that?
Last query, on the top left panel on the outside, bottom row, 5th column, there is a front on picture of a rhino (I think) and something to its right. There is lettering there, does anybody know what it says? Somebody with a vinyl copy maybe? One more thing... the Mankind lyrics card features Stone's drawing in two set, which makes sense since he did the song himself. But in the other two sets the Mankind card has an amoeba or something? I wonder does it have a Stone connection, like it comes from his skin cells or something like that, I'm not a biologist. Doole |
54 | 1) the single for off he goes and the lyric card
for set D i think has a polaroid that isn't on the no code cover. it's
a cat's eye or some kind of animals eye i think.
2) on the back cover there are 5 polaroids that could stand for each member of the band. G-3 is something in the shape of a J. (jeff), K-1 is a nail that could be an I (irons), K-2 is an elephant's trunk that's shaped like an M (mccready), L-1 is a G in a triangle (gossard), and L-6 is something in the shape of a V (vedder) pretty interesting. .rick. |
55 | On the Japanese Hail, Hail single, on the inside it has a 3 polaroids.
Since this is the single with Dennis Rodman on Eddie's answering machine
on the B-side, it kind of makes sense that the three polaroids are: Dennis's
eye nose w/ a nose ring his starting lineup figure
Zach G |
56 | The pic of the eye and the cut for the I'm Open poleriod are both the
same shape. Perhaps any others match up?
Johnny L.P. |
57 | Re: 53
On number 53 they mentioned about the map pieces being from where the people live. i think its the citys that the album was recorded in i know they have used seattle, atlanta and new orleans before. seattle - ten, vs., vitalogy, yield new orleans - vitalogy atlanta - vitalogy, yield. Nick |
58: | Re: 13 ++
This is to add onto some comments someone made who claimed that section 8 on the CD was a reference to the band The Who. I agree. To fully understand the 3 symbols in this section, look at the back of the lyric card for *Who* You Are. There are two "O"s in the title of the song. The first is the same as the middle "O" on the CD, and is the circle with the arrow (which is the way that The Who wrote their name). The second "O" in the title, which is also in section 8 on the CD along with the numeral "III" i believe are references that *Who* You Are is the key to this section's mystery. Why the number three you ask? What track is *Who* You Are?....#3 of course! We know that PJ has been extremely influenced by The Who, and that they loved their music which could explain why they placed their section under "GOOD" & "WELL". I think this makes a pretty strong case as all three symbols can be tied to either The Who, or the styilized title of *Who* You Are as it appears on the lyric card. It also makes me wonder if every quadrant represents a song on the album (12 quadrants, 12 songs if we don't count I'm Open (which is not as musical, but still powerful) paul glass |
59: | My second theory isn't as strong, but on the CD above the "$"
in the "BAD" section is written "NEVER" maybe a reference
that the band will never sell out. The letters "OD" in the same
section could represent "overdose" (as in drugs) something else
which is "BAD". The lyric "NEVER" is prominent in the
song Habit, which is may be about addiction (ties into "OD" and
my theory that each section is for a song)
As for the symbols, i'm not sure of them... someone said that one was from a magician that a band used on a shirt... i wonder if pj lost some respect for that band after they "sold out". another thought is that that symbol looks like a pentagram, and it's next to a flame... maybe they symbolize hell as they are in the "BAD" quadrant. i'm not sure what the aries could mean, unless it has some satanic meaning as well. paul glass |
60: | When you open the cover and look on the inside where they listed all
the guys names and gave credit to people who helped on the album you might
notice that some letters are bolder than others. The E and D are bolder
than all the other letters. Perhaps another clue that Jerome Turner = Ed
Lauren |
61: | Re:13
The circle within a circle is on a orange Pearl Jam shirt. Also featured in red white and blue from a 90's Quadrophenia tour shirt. The cicle with arrow. Could this be the symbol for a male. Pete Townshend wrote a song "I'm a boy" that was to be a part of a rock-opera that was never completed. This would have been their third rock-opera "III". Also the boy was to be a girl because this rock-opera was in a futristic setting when parents could pick the gender of their children. The parents wanted a girl but got a boy. Not so sure how "good" that is or maybe it's a political commentary. Also doesn't Ed have a few brothers. Isn't one named Jason, says happy birthday to him at Soldier Field '95. Boy. Ja. Interesting. Peter |
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