Modern Marriage---I'll start with this one because its whats on just now! A funny one, this. On my first listen I just had to stop what I was doing. By about the second line of the verse I was thinking "my god, This is it, the holy grail of lost pulp songs..." ...and then the chorus kicked in and ruined it. This needed a "FEELINGCALLEDLOVE" kick-ass chorus and instead it got...I dunno. Meh. It gets better as the song goes on but this *could* have been a real classic.
My Erection---Its decent enough, might have made a Bside. I'd quite like to hear a vocoda-8 style remix of it though...
Paula---this sounds really dated. Its a bit like a parody of Pulp, actually. The chorus is great though, I think I'll probably grow to love this one but I think it certainly isnt good enough to have made it onto DC proper.
Catcliffe Shakedown---interesting. Lyrically, its great. Musically, it sounds *really* dated. I'd love to hear what WLL era Pulp would have made of this, because I think it could have been really, really great.
We Can Dance Again---ok, so I said the other day this was shit. I was exaggerating slightly! Its not shit, but given all the hype about its a little disappointing. The chorus just screams "Abba" at me...I think with a little refining of the lyrics this *could* have been a classic. As it is, it would have been a great bside.
Don't Lose It---I really like this. I love the ascending melody during the verse and the way it builds up instrument by instrument is really classic Pulp. Definitely my favourite of the new DC tracks. I think this would have been phenomenal live---did they ever perform it?
Disco 2000---Nick Cave pub rock mix. Really, really, really horrible. Why on earth did they include this and not the slow piano ballad version??
Common People - Vocoda mix. Is it just me that loves this? I'd love to "'ave it large" on some sweaty dancefloor to this!!
Live On ---bizarrely enough, I find that the HnH era material sounds a lot less dated than the DC stuff. Maye this is because HnH always sounded retro? Live On is great, I can definitely see this becoming a favourite. Musically, lyrically, it all works. I can only think this was dropped because its fairly similar to lots of stuff on HnH, but it would easily hold its own on that album, IMO.
You're Not Blind---again, a solid track that probably got dropped for being too similar to other material. I really like the guitar lines in this track, and the organ is very reminiscent of "Babies". The "its so easssssssy" bit and the preceding lift is Jarvis at his best vocally. I think this is another grower!!
The Boss---I'm sure I have this on a bootleg somewhere, in a live version. This one doesnt work quite as well as I think it could have done. It kind of strikes me as a cross between "OU" and the intro to "The Babysitter" but it isnt *quite* as good as either. I actually think its a little too fast for Jarvis---he doesnt really suit what he has to do to keep up with this song. Still, I think this could have been storming live. I love the drumming in this though, Nick Banks was/is very underrated in my eyes...and the subtle violin in the chorus is great. A definite grower.
Watching Nicky---its Babies, remixed, basically. A great track but there isnt room for two Babies on HnH! I do love the guitar line in the chorus though---it really is a taste of things to come---sunrise, anyone? An interesting one, this track. I think its really good but its just too much like too many other songs (which is probably why I love it!)
Frightened---Hmm. I absolutely love the first two and a half minutes but the ending is a bit disappointing in comparison. The ending works much better as "His N Hers" which is obviously where the lyrics ended up. If they'd chopped off the ending this would be a hidden classic, as it is its a decent track.
Its a dirty world---I love it. Love it, love it, love it. I'd put this on TIH in a hearbeat. Not sure what I'd replace with it though. Sylvia, maybe? Just an absolutely great Pulp track---"its bad for your health if you know what I mean, yeaaaaaaaaah?". Jarvis at his best. Why oh why oh why did they drop this?
Can I have My Balls Back Please? ---I dont really know what to say about this. I've always thought Jarvis' lyrics work best when they were more about inneuendo than just straight up dirty (TIH apart). I'm not a big fan of this track as a result. It just doesnt quite get going enough for me!
So, in conclusion, I reckon that the new HnH tracks are by far the strongest set, followed by TiH. The DC stuff disappointed me on the whole, but I'm gkad to have finally heard some of this stuff. I'll need to look out my copy of Sturdy's book and reread it now!!
First I have to say I don't own the His and Hers deluxe edition so I can't comment on that. I like most of the This Is Hardcore lot, but I found the Different Class one a bit disappointing.
Best tracks: Can I Have My Balls Back, Please? Street Operator It's A Dirty World You Are The One
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This is the sound of someone losing the plot, making out that they are okay when they are not. You're gonna like it, but not a lot.
Sam, I agree with most of what you said, but I would disagree about two songs.
I don't like Dirty World AT ALL. To me, it sounds like a Creed or Whitesnake b-side, which would be fine if Jarvis were being ironic, but I don't think he is. As a rule of thumb, songs about the sad realities of strippers lives should be left to hair metal and Christian rock bands.
I love Catcliffe Shakedown. I don't think there is anything dated about the song, but that may be because I'm not British. Keyboards are still cool in America, and "the Pulp sound" was never worn out on us. I would argue that Catcliffe Shakedown is better than anything else on Different Class, except perhaps "I Spy".
Did you just compare the wonderful "It's A Dirty World" to fucking Creed? Sorry, get better ears or a brain. Where's the sludgy, grunge power chords and Jarvis isn't doing that Eddie Vedder low-warbling. And she's not a stripper, but a dancer. Try again.
It's A Dirty World is the one perfect example of how post-DC Pulp managed/could be arsed to keep the synthesizer key to their overall sound. I don't think I could ever tire of listening to it.
As a rule of thumb, songs about the sad realities of strippers lives should be left to hair metal and Christian rock bands. This is how I feel about the song too. IADW is one of the few "new" songs of high a production quality, rather than being just a demo, so it does sound a lot more complete than others, but really, the lyrics are slight. He would have needed a better angle to write on this subject; as it is, it's over-sincere and lacking in irony. I'm not surprised it was left off TIH.
But it's still got the detail that Jarvis thrives on ''With the period features and original dust and the china everywhere'' aswell as the social/sexual commentary with a 'Nudge nudge, wink wink' playfulness that gives the song a bit of humour - "With your back up again the cigarette machine Oh it's bad for your health if you know what I mean" and "And the guys at the front have seen your act one million times before. But nobody does it quite the same so they're sitting down for more. But you're making them feel so useless and dumb. Cause they've seen it all and they still can't come...''
I think it could have been Pulp's comeback single in 1997 - take the 'porn' angle that the press were latching onto re the new material, run with it; and the kids who don't know any better would still sing "Everybody in the house say 'Woah'..." and believe that Jarvis was a geek/rapper/legend all at the same time.
the lyrics to IADW are some of the best in the pulp catalogue. i think that the chorus one of the most sarcastic things i've ever heard, it really encapsulates where TIH was coming from. IADW and TIH (the title track) are two of the darkest songs that i know of and they both come from a unique, spoiled, pissed off perspective that i couldn't imagine coming from another artist (least of all Creed.)
