Hello weej, I just wanted to say, that I really miss your blog,.Saturday mornings were so nice, when you wrote something newabout a Pulp song I'm really curious about your opinions about "Different class". I hope, you and your family is well. Take your time, but...
Thanks for the kind words, it's proving difficult to find the time with taking care of 4-year-old + new baby + job + looking for new job + studying for professional qualification - the good news is that the workload from all of these is going to be less in the nearish future, and I'm devoting a little time to writing every week. I'd like to get a headstart - i.e. a few entries ahead - before I start posting again. There are two biggies and a huge one next, then a few very minor entries, so reckon I'll be able to get those three out of the way and I'll be on track again. I'm not planning to have any more babies or take any more qualifications in the forseeable future, so this really should just be a break.
Hi everyone. It's been over a year since I posted an entry now and just wanted to explain why, in case people were wondering. Obviously the first thing was having my second kid, and that kept me busy, but then work got a lot more intense and I found I had no time to myself at all. The stress led to depression, which I'm only starting to claw my way out of now that I've quit my job. I find writing reduces my stress levels, so having time to do that has been very useful. Obviously my priority is to find a new job, but I'm in a better mood to write now, and am finding some time. Different Class is quite an 'up' album and I haven't felt enough of a connection to write about it until now, unfortunately, and don't reckon people want a miserable review of it. (Also, it took me a full year to watch the film, for the same reasons)
Anyway, not quite ready to continue yet (I like to be several posts ahead) but in the meantime I've put together a bit of stage setting. Last year Taylor Parkes wrote that he thought a Britpop Nuggets compilation would be impossible, so this summer I've put together exactly that. This is the first part (out of three) and after that we hopefully should be able to carry on where we left off.
http://haonowshaokao.com/2015/09/20/britpop-nuggets-part-one-some-people-are-born-to-dance/
Nice to have you back. I hope you are fine now.
This morning I've read your text about britpop and a funny experience came into my mind. January 1996 I was in Liverpool and stayed in a hostel. A girl from Germany worked there and I asked her why she did that. She answered"The music brought me here. The music here is so good, you have Oasis and Blur,the Verve (I can't remember if she mentioned Pulp) and they are all in the Top Ten. And what is Nr. 1 in Germany?"
I am finally in a position where I might be able to continue writing this, though weekly is out, and don't expect an update for a little while still.
Also, not to be uh grasping about this or anything, but I was thinking about doing a kickstarter for an actual book of this, writing a standalone blog at this point seems like the sort of thing that someone without kids and rent to pay could just about justify. As nice as it is writing for the small but perfectly formed audience I have, this would require something a bit bigger - basically I would need Jarvis to be on board, or the sums simply wouldn't add up.
I know Sturdy (are you here right now?) had no joy getting hold of him for his book, didn't he say he wasn't interested in looking back? Anyway, that was in the late 90s, he may have changed his mind about these things slightly, and he seems to have had his own nostalgic phase.
Also as part of this I would like to make an audiobook / podcast - I already have a radio show for another project, which you can hear here if you are interested - www.mixcloud.com/centuries_of_sound/ - and would really welcome thoughts on this or offers of collaboration in some form or other. I live in the UK (Cambridge) now and will have access to a studio once all this is over.
Hope you are all enjoying your isolation and finding it as productive as I am, seems to suit me fine.
First time poster here. That Tim Burgess has a lot to answer for: his DC listening party sent me spiralling into a nostalgic Pulp wormhole. Then I remembered that I'd read your fascinating song-by-song analysis many moons ago and this week began re-reading it, as well as nosing around PulpWiki and this forum.
I think your analysis of the songs is well worth some kind of entry fee and I'll put my hand up for a book, should such a thing become reality. In any case thanks for your efforts at detailing the lesser-known Pulp years. I can't think of many bands whose bodies of work would suit that kind of thorough approach.
A podcast (or Pulpcast?) dissecting the songs would be amazing.
I'd be happy to come up to leafy Cambridge one Sunday to shoot the breeze on the different versions of Happy Endings! Whether anyone would want to listen is another thing.
I'd be happy to come up to leafy Cambridge one Sunday to shoot the breeze on the different versions of Happy Endings! Whether anyone would want to listen is another thing.
I'm a big fan of Orange Juice and this Monday morning, I listened to their song Texas fever and I thought oh, there's some Srpski Jeb in it.
Or maybe there's some Srpski Jeb in Texas fever, I don't know the two songs are from the year 1984...
Funnily enough, they're both demos! Texas Fever was the title of an EP released in 1984, but the song wasn't included on it. The linked one (as well as most of the songs on the Glasgow School compilation) was recorded as a demo in 1981 in a live session that was to be OJ's first album.
I guess it's possible Jarvis heard the song if he saw them in concert in 1980/81? (early Pulp and pre-Rip It Up Orange Juice have their similarities) I hear the similarities in the rhythm but I'm not sure if they're be any correlation here.
(I have a bootleg of OJ playing the song in Glasgow in 1980 if anyone wants it)
__________________
Oh yeah, imagine it's a film and you're the star And pretty soon we're coming to the part Where you realise that you should give your heart Oh, give your heart to me
Just re-read this thread. Any further thoughts on more Pulp writing or podcasts? It's the year to do it...
[/q]
I am... ok. Have been reimmersing myself a great deal over the last year or so, and yes - something may be on the way, but no time to hurry about it I'm afraid.
I am one for making massive plans and either not following through or pushing myself to follow-through and burning myself out. If I could quit my very stressful current job and do creative stuff full-time (I have another project which is quite successful by most standards, but also does not pay the bills) then I would be very happy indeed.