^ Didn't notice any particular Pulp influence in that Emily Breeze song (Black Box Recorder maybe?), but I agree it's great. Checked out her album from last year off the back of it too, think she might be a new fave.
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"Yes I saw her in the chip shop / so I said get yer top off"
I've been watching a few R.E.M. related videos from them discussing 'Monster' when that was repackaged and most videos Michael Stipe mentions they were looking to Jarvis Cocker and Pulp and suede for the sound of 'Monster'. Thought id share.
I've been watching a few R.E.M. related videos from them discussing 'Monster' when that was repackaged and most videos Michael Stipe mentions they were looking to Jarvis Cocker and Pulp and suede for the sound of 'Monster'. Thought id share.
Interesting! Have you got any links?
I had a listen to "Monster" just now to see if I could hear any similarities. I still like the album (I understand a lot of people don't) but for the life of me I can't hear anything even remotely Pulpish about it. Still feels like REM's grunge-lite entry, a return to largely guitar-driven rock after the mellow "Out of Time" and "Automatic for the People". Stretching out and having a bit of fun. The idea of significant influence also seems tenuous because it was recorded at roughly the same time as "His 'n' Hers" so any influence was from material before that or perhaps live shows. Curious to find out what I'm missing here...
I'm a Pulp fan and have been really into R.E.M. lately. Whenever Michael Stipe (vocalist) and Mike Mills (bassist) talked about Jarvis Cocker and Pulp, alongside other bands like Blur and Suede, it was in the context of looking towards the music scene in Britain.
R.E.M. hadn't toured since 1989 (the Green world tour) and were keen to hit the road again, deciding to try a sound unlike their past few hit records Out Of Time and Automatic For The People. They were very interested in British pop music around this period - I recall reading an old NME article in which Peter Buck (guitarist) mentioned following Suede's releases quite closely and was disappointed by Bernard Butler leaving the band. Later, with the Monster re-release in 2019, Stipe and Mills talked about how they loved glam rock but hadn't drawn from that genre yet, which was what they thought the British were doing. It seems like they were inspired by mid-90s UK attitude, humour, and references to glam rock and the 1970s. They were sonically closer to grunge so it's hard to recommend any Pulp-like songs, but people that like Pulp's sexual subject matter will have no problem finding raunchiness on Monster ("I Don't Sleep, I Dream" and "Bang and Blame"). And if people are looking for some cheap cheesy organ sounds, the closest you'll get is "Tongue". https://youtu.be/Kd5M17e7Wek?si=xiOOi_aAU7j1P1T5
I do think the relationship to Pulp specifically is difficult to place, since Monster was recorded from late-93 (before "Lipgloss") to mid-94 (after His 'N' Hers). Considering how River Phoenix's death stopped Stipe from writing until 1994, maybe he'd heard Pulp by then. Or maybe Stipe and Mills meant that the mid-90s UK scene influenced the Monster tour (1995) more than the album itself.
I swear I've heard Stipe namedrop Jarvis Cocker plenty of times. Another example: in the foreword of A To X of Alternative Music by Steve Taylor he said: "Alternative, in its true definition, describes all of my favourite music, all the groups or performers I love, writers that I still go to as a music fan to find inspiration and to pull out the more competitive side of me as a songwriter." He then named Jarvis Cocker amongst artists including Bjork, Radiohead, Patti Smith, and PJ Harvey. Also, Stipe produced Velvet Goldmine which included Pulp's "We Are the Boyz."
I apologise for hijacking the question but it's been a month and I've been thinking about a similar thing since I first heard Monster last year.
-- Edited by ModLang2 on Friday 2nd of August 2024 02:25:50 AM
-- Edited by ModLang2 on Friday 2nd of August 2024 02:30:01 AM