Stephen wrote:

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There's more than one version of Cocaine Socialism...?

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Yes, the one on the "This is Hardcore" reissue contains female backing vocals and has more prominent horns than the one on the "A Little Soul" single.

Two really different songs, yet they both have their own quality:

Cocaine Socialism
I used to not really like political songs when i was younger, and i still dont (Erm, Cunts Running The World, now that's a shit song), because to me they're usually a way to get bigger faster & easier, when you're a band. And most of the time they dont turn out too good, like pagent winners wanting peace on earth, okay, great. that's why i love Pulp because they managed to stay out of this formula, but in the meantime make some really good social commentaries on our society.

So when it was released as cocaine socialism i didnt really care for it, now i gotta say i enjoy it: the lyrics are smart, the music is agressive enough. Still i can see why it couldnt be on TIH. Looking back on it i think it could have been "THE" Pulp tune if released as a single, because of the lyrical content. But the controversy would probably have overshadowed their entire career.

Glory Days
I love this version simply because it speaks much more to me, especially the line "I could be a genius if I just put my mind to it" which is pure... genius. It's an overall theme that a lot of people can relate to, more so than Cocaine Socialism i guess. And it's much more universal than Common People, which is really an english song. Glory Days is the Common People for the rest of the world. It's hard to express with words when english isn't your native language, but there you go, it speaks to me, to my bones, head, heart, skin. Something that is right.

Glory Days for the win.

I think Cocaine Socialism just has more umph as it were. I just think it was a massive missed opportunity not releasing it as and A side or on TiH.

I think Russell appears on the demo (TIH deluxe version) of Cocaine Socialism but not the released version.

I can see why Jarvis didn't have the stomach for it. He was in the midst of a nervous breakdown and the tune is very close to Common People (hence 'Glory People' being played live...was the full Glory Days ever performed? It would be nice to hear a live rendition of the modulation in the last verse. Every version that's out there such as The Park Is Mine segues into Common People at that point).

It would have been a hit but anything Pulp released in 1997 would have been a hit such was their stock. (equally, I think We Can Dance Again is a the missing bridge between The Sisters EP and Common People and would have been a big hit at the turn of '94/95. But, likewise, I think in hindsight it would have felt weak, a bit of a pastiche).

There's no doubt over the prescience of the song matter at the time but the lyrics feel a bit dated now. Maybe the musical similarity to CP was the whole point, chiming with the ''Well you sing about Common People and the misshapes and the misfits'' line.

Ultimately though, while a tad over-produced, I prefer Glory Days. The lyrics are just as good (arguably one of the strongest Pulp lyrics for fantastic couplets and one-liners), but not tied to a particular time and as Andy said, a lot more universal.

Cocaine Socialism and Common People have similar chords, not exactly the same, but i wouldn't call the two songs similar. They're Pulp songs, so there's a definite link, but that's about it. When you make a song with C F G in it it's bound to be alike anyway.

While I love "Glory Days" for its elegaic, universal quality, I have to give the edge to "Cocaine Socialism," just because you can really hear the venom in that song. There's something really immediate about it. Also, I don't think it's quite as dated as you might think.

What bits are you struggling with, Fred...?

It's a sort of denunciation of the whole New Labour embracing Celebrity Culture sort of thing...

I think the being late thing is an illustration of how a ''busy'' member of New Labour would drop everything if necessary when toadying-up to a pop star that they could benefit associating with.

Why ''Miriam''? Dunno...nice, respectable ''middle-class'' name? You could be right about the emotional-card too.

Glory Days is one of their worst songs in my opinion and definitely one of the worst on TIH. That or The Day After the Revolution. Both of them could have been scrapped from the album and replaced with Cocaine Socialism and one of the other TIH b-sides.

Not so much 'snubbing' the invitation but, because he's a cool rock star, he can show up late. And he knows it. And because he's a cool rock star, they tolerate that. In fact, given Tony Blair's seeming love of Rock Stars, they were probably thrilled at the idea that someone would turn up late and snub them a little. They liked a Bad Boy.

Because they understood his situation and his image.

Article from Alex James on the connection that Labour tried to make with Blur:

"When Damon called and said he was going for a G&T with Tony Blair and John Prescott, the then opposition leaders, it didn't strike me as at all unusual. I think what had happened is that the Labour Party market research showed that the people who were buying Blur records were unlikely to vote; but if they did vote, it could be enough to tip the balance in Labour's favour.

We were all invited for drinks at the Commons. It impresses your mother-in-law and it's a pretty good night out. It was nice to give Clare Short a Christmas kiss and Mo Mowlam totally rocked with the best of them. It would have been churlish to reject the opportunity of meeting the people who will run your country, but every time I met a political figure there would be a large-ish piece in the Standard, subtly suggesting an allegiance. Boy, these guys had their shit together. This was expert covert marketing, Nineties style. When I worked out these people weren't my real friends, I returned to the Groucho Club, which was a lot more fun and where, surprisingly, you can make real friends.

By the time the [then] present government was in power, we were sceptical. Damon became a communist when he got a call from Blair's office telling him not to say those things he was saying, if he didn't mind. To see a grinning prime minister shaking hands with a smug-looking Gallagher was politics reduced to pantomime."

Exactly 50 : 50 atm. Personally I prefer glory days - It may not talk about politics or anything in particular but in my opinion it doesn't need to. Also the lyrics are class