I have nicked this idea from another forum. What opinions do you have that other forum users / fans would disagree with?
I personally don't think that they could ever play "Mis Shapes" live very well. The studio version is great but it just seems to lose something when played live. See also "I'm a Man".
Also, as much as I acknowledge that it's an important entry into their discography, I don't think "Babies" is any good.
Finally, I like the "Party Hard" video and I don't think "Silence" is any worse than anything else from that period.
-- Edited by Ian on Saturday 16th of November 2019 01:09:43 PM
You've probably all heard quite enough of my unpopular Pulp opinions, but how about this - Catcliffe Shakedown is almost a classic, let down massively by an indefensible sneering tone in certain parts that's absolutely unworthy of the person who wrote Common People.
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"Yes I saw her in the chip shop / so I said get yer top off"
You've probably all heard quite enough of my unpopular Pulp opinions, but how about this - Catcliffe Shakedown is almost a classic, let down massively by an indefensible sneering tone in certain parts that's absolutely unworthy of the person who wrote Common People.
I know where you're coming from but at least they didn't release it, even as a b-side.
"Cocaine Socialism" - I loved it at the time, and for about 10 years after. However, I agree that "Glory Days" is better. At the very least, it has stood the test of time compared to its counterpart.
Here's another one (which will probably see me lynched) - I don't get what all the fuss is about re "She's a Lady". I don't think it's a bad song by any means but it's hardly the stand out track on the album ("Pink Glove" does a lot more for me).
I'd trade every other Pulp song combined for Babies. Babies is in my top 5 songs by anyone ever. I'd trade babies for Babies. I'd suffer rabies for Babies. Now I'm just being silly.
I'd trade every other Pulp song combined for Babies. Babies is in my top 5 songs by anyone ever. I'd trade babies for Babies. I'd suffer rabies for Babies. Now I'm just being silly.
I first heard it when the Chart Show that was on ITV on a Saturday played it as part of the "video vault", at that time I had only just discovered Pulp and "Babies" did very little for me. I don't think it was a mistake to release it (twice) but I do think that the other singles from that era ("Razzmatazz", "Lipgloss" etc) are much better.
Maybe not so much unpopular but I can't be fucked with much of the Pulp output from 1984-'86, the odd nugget aside (ie Snow, Srpski Jeb, Coy Mistress - but even they were never recorded properly); it's all too often dirgey and tuneless with little wit to the lyrics. So when Stephen and his portfolios shed new light on those years via hitherto unreleased live recordings I was like, yeah, whatevs.
I remember when Eve Wood who directed the Sheffield/Pulp 80's film The Beat Is The Law, was asked about the newly found footage of Pulp playing live in Chesterfield in 1986 which was one of the selling points of the DVD. One of the questions was "So, this unreleased song - The Day That Never Happened, what's it like? What's it about?" What could she reply, bearing in mind the ropey quality of the video and a typical example of mid-80s Pulp atonal abrasiveness but "Well, it's about the day that never happened!". Of course!
I feel bad cos they're my favourite group and I was made and born in 1984 (35 today!) but I can't shake off the dankness of that era.
-- Edited by Eamonn on Sunday 17th of November 2019 08:33:59 PM
I first heard it when the Chart Show that was on ITV on a Saturday played it as part of the "video vault", at that time I had only just discovered Pulp and "Babies" did very little for me. I don't think it was a mistake to release it (twice) but I do think that the other singles from that era ("Razzmatazz", "Lipgloss" etc) are much better.
Yes, agree Razzmatazz, Lipgloss and Do You Remember The First Time? are all better. But Babies is better than O.U.
I personally don't think that they could ever play "Mis Shapes" live very well. The studio version is great but it just seems to lose something when played live.
I think Mis-shapes is the worst Pulp single from 1990 onwards and should have been just a B-side for Sorted and not on Different Class at all. Its omission from the Hits CD is wholly merited.
The His 'N' Hers version of Pink Glove is flat, lifeless and a wasted opportunity. I didn't like the song at all until I heard the Peel version some time later. That recording has all the tension, drama and excitement that's sorely lacking from the studio cut.
I've never dug the song This Is Hardcore. It's a very ambitious recording for sure, but I get no enjoyment from it and always skip it.
Agreed on Pink Glove. Not so on Hardcore. Never! Although I was listening to a podcast yesterday about Phil Savidge (of PR music duo Savage and Best) who has written a Britpop book and he said that his favourite video of the era was This Is Hardcore. He kept going on about the video but barely mentioned the song's merits!
I'd trade every other Pulp song combined for Babies. Babies is in my top 5 songs by anyone ever. I'd trade babies for Babies. I'd suffer rabies for Babies. Now I'm just being silly.
I first heard it when the Chart Show that was on ITV on a Saturday played it as part of the "video vault", at that time I had only just discovered Pulp and "Babies" did very little for me. I don't think it was a mistake to release it (twice) but I do think that the other singles from that era ("Razzmatazz", "Lipgloss" etc) are much better.
For selfish reasons I am grateful they re-released Babies as it meant I discovered them ahead of Common People. By the age of 14 I got to feel very ahead of the curve. :)
And besides, The Sisters EP is one of the best records ever made!
This is a good thread. The Sisters Ep - amen! One of my favourite Pulp releases (along with This Is Hardcore single with Ladies Man, etc - RIP CD singles).
I suspect from years of reading on here many of my Pulp opinions are shared, so maybe not that unpopular, but off the top of my head :
Great song though it is, I think on some parts, the way F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E. is recorded let it down.
I really like Someone Like the Moon - it is a good mood piece that balances some of the more brash (but still excellent) tracks on HnH.
-- Edited by soap-on-a-rope on Wednesday 20th of November 2019 06:11:44 PM
That whole situation with Separations, where it took 2 and a half years to come out? Kind of Pulp's fault, really. If they'd have played it straight with Fire it'd have come out in 1990. Painting the label as the villains is convenient but not entirely true.
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"Yes I saw her in the chip shop / so I said get yer top off"
That whole situation with Separations, where it took 2 and a half years to come out? Kind of Pulp's fault, really. If they'd have played it straight with Fire it'd have come out in 1990. Painting the label as the villains is convenient but not entirely true.
In a nutshell, what happened again? I've read the book 3 times or so but having trouble remembering the specifics.
They'd done the FON tracks in 1987, shopped them around to labels, no one was interested except Fire. Fire said "Hey, let's do an album", put them in the studio to record Separations, and Pulp came up with a scheme whereby they'd delay signing the final contract with Fire for as long as possible, in the hope they'd be able to then go behind Fire's backs to get someone else to release it. Finished the album at the start of 1990, spent many months trying to get it picked up by someone else, then eventually gave in and signed with Fire. For a seven-album deal. So the initial delay was really Pulp's doing, with nothing to show for it.
My Legendary Girlfriend and Countdown came out as singles in '91, Separations would have followed shortly thereafter, then Rough Trade Distribution went bust just as a release date was set. That screwed up all of Fire's releases for a few months through no fault of theirs or the bands. By the time that was all resolved, we were into 1992 and Pulp were working with Gift, which was in breach of the contract they'd signed with Fire. That resulted in Fire sitting on the album for a few months till it was clear what the situation was.
Not saying Fire were angels, but if Pulp had played straight with them the album would probably have come out in 1990; then if Rough Trade Distribution hadn't collapsed it would have come out in 1991; then if they'd not been daft enough to sign a *seven* album deal they wouldn't have had all the problems later on. So I think Jarvis and Russell coming out with all the "Our nasty evil label sat on our album for three years!" stuff was a bit disingenuous really.
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"Yes I saw her in the chip shop / so I said get yer top off"
Didn't Rough Trade, whom Fire used as a distributor, collapse in 1991, delaying Seppy's arrival into the world?
Edit: Hadn't seen Mark's post.
Re the seven album deal though, surely that's the very definition of an onerous contract offered when one side has all the bargaining power? I imagine Pulp signed it through gritted teeth. It's not Fire's fault that no other labels were showing an interest in the group in 1990 (and with Pulp having performed, what, three gigs in as many years, it was difficult for any label to check them out where they truly excelled in those days, live) but I can see why, as artists, the band were not fans of Fire.
Of course trying to pull a fast one by getting their recordings paid for before trying to bugger off to a different label is pretty shitty not to mention unlawful but they wouldn't be the first band to try and do something similar (Dexys Midnight Runners, pre and post fame spring to mind). Art and commerce, huh, eternally difficult bedfellows.
-- Edited by Eamonn on Friday 22nd of November 2019 01:24:41 PM
True about the seven albums bit. Doesn't seem like a situation that was well handled though. But hey, easy for us to say with the benefit of 30 years' hindsight. No doubt it looked and felt very different from the fairly desperate perspective of early 90s Pulp, especially with Suzanne Catty shouting at them all the time.
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"Yes I saw her in the chip shop / so I said get yer top off"
I think that the Sudan Gerri versions of "Little Girl (With Blue Eyes"), "Blue Glow" and "The Will to Power" are slightly better than the final versions.
True about the seven albums bit. Doesn't seem like a situation that was well handled though. But hey, easy for us to say with the benefit of 30 years' hindsight. No doubt it looked and felt very different from the fairly desperate perspective of early 90s Pulp, especially with Suzanne Catty shouting at them all the time.
I'd forgotten all about her! Can't remember if you got to talk to her for Truth And Beauty? Wonder what became of her.
And did Mark Webber, apparently the complete opposite in terms of personality, replace her? I need to re-read the book!
-- Edited by Eamonn on Saturday 23rd of November 2019 12:00:38 AM
I've tried, trust me. I can recognise it as a quality piece of work but I find it an absolute slog to listen to. I'm definitely alone on this, I know that! I feel the same way about Seductive Barry. That album was never one of my favourites because of those two songs. I love the rest of it though!
Good thread. I think my most unpopular opinion would be that, however fun the reunion was, and it was, the band really ended that night at Magna. Their history in the true sense ended that night.
The reunion was wish fulfillment and I went rather nuts, but the sense of longing to see them play one last time has now been sated and I miss that sensation of longing. Had a similar sensation when Portishead finally released Third.
Also, whilst it was the first reunion gig I saw and I was soooo excited, the Blur gig at Hyde Park eclipsed the atmosphere at Pulp's...
True about the seven albums bit. Doesn't seem like a situation that was well handled though. But hey, easy for us to say with the benefit of 30 years' hindsight. No doubt it looked and felt very different from the fairly desperate perspective of early 90s Pulp, especially with Suzanne Catty shouting at them all the time.
I'd forgotten all about her! Can't remember if you got to talk to her for Truth And Beauty? Wonder what became of her.
Good thread. I think my most unpopular opinion would be that, however fun the reunion was, and it was, the band really ended that night at Magna. Their history in the true sense ended that night.
The reunion was wish fulfillment and I went rather nuts, but the sense of longing to see them play one last time has now been sated and I miss that sensation of longing. Had a similar sensation when Portishead finally released Third.
Also, whilst it was the first reunion gig I saw and I was soooo excited, the Blur gig at Hyde Park eclipsed the atmosphere at Pulp's...
Yes I can see your point. Most other bands who have done reunion tours (Blur included) have released albums since. I can't help but feel that Pulp were just doing it for the money (though it was great to hear "My Lighthouse" and "Back in LA" played live 30 years after they were released)
I think they did it because they had been asked loads of times and finally said yes because they couldn't think of a good reason to say no. They would get paid nicely, they could play their songs together which they missed doing, they could help Tim McCall's family whose funeral had reminded them how unfair life can be and how fortunate they were to be in demand from promoters. And I think at least half the group were keen on the idea of trying to come up with new material together. I also think they felt regret over how things had fizzled out in 2002.
All just my thoughts/speculation on it but saying it was purely down to money (not that there's even anything wrong with that) is, I don't think, the full story.
-- Edited by Eamonn on Friday 29th of November 2019 12:07:27 PM
I think they did it because they had been asked loads of times and finally said yes because they couldn't think of a good reason to say no. They would get paid nicely, they could play their songs together which they missed doing, they could help Tim McCall's family whose funeral had reminded them how unfair life can be and how fortunate they were to be in demand from promoters. And I think at least half the group were keen on the idea of trying to come up with new material together. I also think they felt regret over how things had fizzled out in 2002.
All just my thoughts/speculation on it but saying it was purely down to money (not that there's even anything wrong with that) is, I don't think, the full story.
-- Edited by Eamonn on Friday 29th of November 2019 12:07:27 PM
On reflection, I do agree with you. I think I just wanted an album
Ooof, interesting! Whose would you go for in its stead?
I do disagree - but if discounting DC then I think I'd probably plump for Shine 3
("My favourite Beatles album? Probably The Best of the Beatles")
Parklife had more substance than Great Escape. I love the way you can hear youth, yearning and hope in Definately Maybe rather than arrogance and bravado. Can't really classify Suede's first two albums as Britpop. Sleeper were underrated. I wonder what happened to Menswear? Probably playing the wedding circuit. I Should Coco could be in with a shout.
-- Edited by superchob on Saturday 30th of November 2019 09:12:26 PM
I consider Modern Life is Rubbish to be the best britpop album. It has got freshness musically and lyrics that I can relate to, more than on Different Class or Definitely Maybe.Also, I love Graham Coxons guitar work.
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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.
Glory Days is better than Cocaine Socialism. I agree with you now but for about 10 years it was the other way round for me.
This Is Hardcore is too long. I don't think it's too long but it's more about poor song choices for me, I think "It's a Dirty World" and "The Professional" should have been on the album in place of "TV Movie" and "A Little Soul" which would have made better b-sides.
Relaxed Muscle is better than most of the work with Pulp. I disagree, I think the Relaxed Muscle album is pretty good but missing the range and depth of the Pulp albums.
Pulp really should have a career-spanning anthology-type double album. Starting with the first Peel Session and ending with After You. All the hits, fan favourites and some rarities to make it interesting. Considering how long a run they had, it's mad that this wasn't even suggested.
-- Edited by timahall on Wednesday 4th of December 2019 10:34:58 AM
There should have been a live album made up of tracks from the reunion tour. A bit like Leonard Cohen's 'Songs From The Road'. A mix of hits and oddities. Could have been amazing.
Gawd... it's hard work being a Pulp fan sometimes. I'm sure they don't release so much 'unreleased' stuff as some other bands for fear of it being perceived as 'shite' or that it spoils their legacy.
Hey, where was the deluxe anniversary remaster of Intro last year, eh? Nice cheeky gatefold for a couple of 10" records would've been an essential purchase. Orange vinyl, obviously. Don't care how many times I buy that record. If they'd only keep rereleasing it, I'd keep buying it
-- Edited by superchob on Wednesday 4th of December 2019 08:59:37 PM
Someone Like the Moon is good
We Love Life is mostly not
Mishapes and Come on Eileen (listen to both and you'll know what I mean)
Jarvis' singing got steadily worse after Separations
The Common People video could have been really good. Look at the orange guy in purple with black hair (think that's right)- what is up with him?
Seductive Barry is alright music with poor lyrics and vocals
TIH is a series of bloated but bland pastiches (Bowie, Portishead, The Beatles)
I'm fond of it but ever since I first heard it, it felt like a miss and never listen to it now.
The unprofessionally rapid fade in at the start of Pencil Skirt is annoying. It's like they'd recorded the violin intro you hear on live version but backed out and couldn't be bothered to re-record it.
Russell has always had a horrible habit of talking bollocks (sez me, ho ho).
But Pulp have been great in so many ways that none of this matters.
Is there people out there who don't think Somewhere Like The Moon is good?
I vaguely remember back in the olden days, the fanclub did a poll where people voted for their favourite Pulp song and that one got the least votes. Whilst I don't think that it's the best song on the album, it still has its fair share of qualities.
This Is Hardcore is the best Pulp album (best album) Joyriders, Pencil Skirt, and Underwear are all awful
-- Edited by Ste on Saturday 28th of December 2019 03:37:09 AM
I disagree with pretty much all of this. This Is Hardcore, whilst I love it, is my least favourite of the Island albums (and I prefer Separations too). And Underwear I could easily single out as one of the best songs of the entire 1990s. The mood, the lyrics and the absolutely divine instrumental passages. That song is Pulp to me. Joyriders I also adore, and to a lesser extent, Pencil Skirt.
This Is Hardcore is the best Pulp album (best album) Joyriders, Pencil Skirt, and Underwear are all awful
-- Edited by Ste on Saturday 28th of December 2019 03:37:09 AM
I disagree with pretty much all of this. This Is Hardcore, whilst I love it, is my least favourite of the Island albums (and I prefer Separations too). And Underwear I could easily single out as one of the best songs of the entire 1990s. The mood, the lyrics and the absolutely divine instrumental passages. That song is Pulp to me. Joyriders I also adore, and to a lesser extent, Pencil Skirt.
Tend to agree too. On Pencil Skirt, for years I thought it DC's weakest moment, but over time I've come to rate it and Sorted and Something Changed are the two tracks I've become bored with. And if I was choosing, say, five songs that were emblematic of Pulp, there may well be room in there for Underwear. Maybe. Certainly in a Showcase Ten, or a gateway playlist to introduce a newbie to the joys of Pulp.
Good thread. I think my most unpopular opinion would be that, however fun the reunion was, and it was, the band really ended that night at Magna. Their history in the true sense ended that night.
The reunion was wish fulfillment and I went rather nuts, but the sense of longing to see them play one last time has now been sated and I miss that sensation of longing. Had a similar sensation when Portishead finally released Third.
Also, whilst it was the first reunion gig I saw and I was soooo excited, the Blur gig at Hyde Park eclipsed the atmosphere at Pulp's...
I went to several pre-hiatus gigs, several Jarvis solo gigs & several reunion gigs.
The Hyde Park one was easily the least-good! Not just the atmosphere (agreed nowhere near as good as Blur's was), but the performance too..I mean, MAYBE I was getting some phasing issues from the PA if I want to be kind, but Jarvis in particular seemed badly out of time. The gong hits on TIH just seemed random!
Magna was a superb, almost faultless show, but I don't agree it was the proper end. Because the second nite at Brixton was one of the best shows I've ever seen of any group.
superchob wrote: Maybe. Certainly in a Showcase Ten, or a gateway playlist to introduce a newbie to the joys of Pulp.
I'm sure something similar's almost definitely been done before, but that'd be a great topic, almost as revealing as this one to our varying tastes, and Pulp's variety
I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion or not, fascinated to find out.
I vastly prefer the original c.2000 demo of After You to the released version.
Same here, the released version sound like a badly produced dance track. Pulp never crossed that line before. I never listen to it. the 99 one has that melancholic feel that is missing on the 2013 one.
Jarvis appeared to be on a roll around 99/2000. A pity it was only partially captured by We Love Life. I wonder if the band played all the demo'd songs from 99-2000 to Scott Walker and he helped whittle them down.
-- Edited by Eamonn on Wednesday 8th of January 2020 04:40:35 PM
Dont be mad at me, but i really dont like Common People, its so long and they play only 3 notes again and again and again. This is mine unpopular opinion
Hardcore has grown on me lately. Not an amazing start but a great climax. Happy Endings at Auto was fucking emotional, when I heard it in the soundcheck - I knew it was going to be the end for Pulp, Ian was with me at the time and it was like - wow I cant beleive they are playing that. It was also pretty funny walking INTO the soundcheck too, unchallenged at first - kids running around the place, whilst they were all on stage pissing about. Was a good memory.
(Sorry, I understand that reviving long-dead threads is an oft frowned-upon practice. When browsing old threads, I remembered seeing the moderator saying that 'bumping' threads was actively encouraged if anything, so I'm hoping I might get away with it just this once. Apologies.)
Anyway, I have a few opinions, I don't know how unpopular or popular they are but anyway...
'Razzmatazz', despite being a huge fan favourite, is a little too mean-spirited for me to like it all that much. I prefer 'Lipgloss', which is similar thematically but much more sympathetic. All that "you started getting fatter" stuff - it just makes him sound nasty, and I get that's partly the point but there's more sophisticated 'Jarvis as mean-spirited enacter-of-revenge' songs than 'Razz'. There are some nice lines, and the instrumental is well-crafted, though also not quite on par with other songs from the time (Babies, Pink Glove, Lipgloss, DYRTFT, She's A Lady before Buller butchered it). The sleeve is lovely, though.
This Is Hardcore, the album, is in many ways the most conventional record the band ever recorded. Some songs make strong statements but don't really back them up. I really like 'Sylvia' but it doesn't have much Pulpiness, and while 'Dishes' has charm to match its cheesiness, 'TV Movie' gets too bogged down in self-loathing. 'A Little Soul' is a similar case, but scores higher through an improved arrangement and better lyrics - should never have been a single though. And while 'It's A Dirty World' makes enough of a statement that I think it'd strengthen the album if it were there... eeeeh, I just personally don't like it very much. Sorry.
'Help the Aged' too, while deserving praise for its ambitious lyrical matter which is sometimes deftly articulated ("You can dye your hair, but it's the one thing you can't change"), is just a bit too unlovely for me. It doesn't quite work as a lead single... it's a bit gloopy. Lyrically, part of it is too on-the-nose (the Sid James-ness of "Give us all a feel"), part of it is incredibly sincere and compassionate, part of it is wry and works well (the line about the elderly "sniffing glue"), it's an odd mix of seriousness and irony, and it doesn't all work. It's clever how the song pretends to be oldies' easy-listening music, then explodes into this big chorus, but by the third time round that chorus has worn a little thin. I can understand why Russell didn't like it; it's a daring enough statement but there's something a little cheap in there, something a bit formulaic. But mostly, I just find it unappealing - not in the sense that I'm trying to ignore the death in it, or anything like that... sort of the opposite, to be honest.
And weirdly enough, I think part of this is to do with generational perspective.. I suppose I could be wrong on this, but it feels a bit like back in the 90s, it was a relatively new social phenomenon for the majority of the people to live to reach a ripe old age - the UK had been through two world wars in the last 80 years - and since then, a bit of the novelty has worn off. There is a huge media oversaturation of death-and-gloom on our screens, of morbid media, midlife crises, 'we're-all-going-to-get-old-and-be-miserable' and to the extent that I think Gen Z has had it hammered into our heads that we're, yes, all going to die at some point (honestly with the climate emergency, it's the 'reaching old age' part where there's a dangling question!) and 'Help the Aged', then, doesn't sound like it's saying anything really new. To be honest, I find this stuff sounds a bit too theatrically overwrought, a bit too oh-woe-is-me despair, especially out of the mouth of a 33 year-old. I can appreciate its ambition in reminding young, drugged-up Britpoppers that they too will develop wrinkles/need crutches et al, but it hasn't aged very well in our death-obsessed society. I don't know if it's because of 9/11, if that caused the cultural change, the saturation of media to be so concerned about death, or pushed our youth-obsession into overdrive... all those Pixar movies that riff upon death and take themselves so seriously, all the moribund Coldplayisms of the 00s charts, and overriding it all the sense of all-encompassing social and cultural decay in concert. I'm really fed up of the fetishisation of youth, of being young, I think it's something that young people broadly really fixate on these days, they don't need to be reminded. I think that's where I really wish Pulp had gone, maybe elsewhere on This Is Hardcore - they were older popstars, they could've attacked the nascent glorification of young-ness and its dictation of what's fashionable coming before all else (and maybe this sort of statement, the whole 'FACE IT YOU ARE YOUNG' business, is what's missing from The Day After the Revolution).
I mean, I respect it. I respect "Funny how it all falls away", a great line and an ironic one (because it's not very funny at all). But it's flawed in a way that it's a bit harder to stand up for than all the preceding singles under Island. Nowadays, it's harder to get behind. Basically, after coronavirus and everything, it's just a little too consciously miserable for me. We all have moments where we feel the sort of things discussed in 'Help the Aged', that's maybe where the song's power comes from/where its success lies, but to me it's just a bit too on-the-nose, a bit too musically conventional, a little bit rote for reasons that aren't really its fault, it's just being stood up in a different and later cultural environment. Still, it can teach us stuff, even if it's looking rough.
Steve and Nick = best rhythm section of any band around the Britpop scene. Fight me.
Russell doesn't get enough credit in the public eye, and without him being responsible and organised, Pulp would never have made it. At the same time, I don't entirely sympathise with his thoughts on Pulp's musical direction, even if I agree about 'Help the Aged'. It seems to me that he wanted them to make music more like 'F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.' - and then they did exactly that! (In all fairness, there's stuff in Stephen's interview I'm writing up about this. Russell is quite magnanimous about it all, really.)
'Someone Like the Moon' is one I always skip, yet I also always feel a little sorry for it when I see people singling it out. It's a nice little mood piece, and helps balance out the album... perhaps I'd still cut it for 'Street Lites' or 'His 'n' Hers', I'm not sure, but it do feel a bit sad for it? I don't know why, really.
In general, This Is Hardcore suffers as an album from being a bit too steeped in Jarvis's self-hatred. I don't know why I'm rubbishing it so much - I do really like it!
'Weeds' should've been a single instead of 'The Trees', which might actually be the least marketable song on the album (aside from 'Wickerman' and 'Roadkill').
And finally... I really, really like 'Mis-Shapes'. This feels like an unpopular opinion! Owen Hatherley criticised the song as a bad application of class warfare to target "the wearers of different jackets", but god, why can't we just have a fun song slagging off bullies and intolerant people? The idea of a song for geeks and weeds and all sorts, rising up against the people who've made things more difficult for us, just being who we are... Well yeah, maybe we do have more of our minds, actually! And even if we don't, we're allowed to think it from time to time. It's a guilty pleasure, a shout-out-loud triumph where you get to revel in being an outsider instead of othered against your will, and I love it and I think it's brilliant, it can touch so many people in a healthy way, it might be juvenile but that's OK. And far from being a rehash of 'Common People', it's brilliant, a big stomping arrangement with lovely theatricality. "Brothers, sisters, can't you see? The future's owned by you and me!" Perfection. It's not my favourite song on the album, but it's an unapologetic triumph. To many people, Pulp have always been mis-shapes in the public eye. This is part of who they are, and I'm glad they've accepted that rather than continuing to disown the song. (And it was so good at Bridlington...)
Sam, are you going to Sheffield? You need to chat to Sturdy about future Pulp writings, taking on the baton for public consumption
Awh Eamonn you're too kind ! I'm just rambling on honestly, doubt I could write something anything like T&B.
I don't think Sheffield is on sadly... (god, I wish...)
Hmm, another little opinion - as much as the violin shouldn't have been cut from 'She's A Lady', Ed Buller's biggest mistake was what he did to the bass, rubbing out Steve's brilliant bassline to a faded outline of itself. It should be so much higher in the mix, and I miss it as much as Russell's violin. (I wonder if it eventually became 'Party Hard', they're a bit similar just with stress in different places.)
Up here cheering the love for Disco. Laura Brannigan comparisons be damned, I adore that track. Webbo's guitar, the universal relatability of the whole concept (unrequited crush) yet its working-class specificity - she lived in a very small house with woodchip walls - and little pointers of memory (the 'fountain down the road' at Fargate). The chorus hook is absolutely brilliant, some of Jarvis's best lyrics on the album, one of Pulp's best choruses. Simple yet brilliant.
For me: Rattlesnake is an absolute banger Pencil Skirt is an obvious skip It album is one of the best Pulp albums ever Silence is a good song Down By The River shouldn't be on Separations LP Someone Like The Moon is like an NPC, Roadkill too Maureen had to be a single :(
-- Edited by hugomrtnzz on Friday 9th of June 2023 02:32:29 PM
Go Andy!! Controversial but I love the conviction.
Thought you would have went for I Spy or Feeling though...
Hehe i almost went for Something changed, it's a really emotionnal track. Really love the "philosophical" lyrics. The what ifs, and the consequences of our décisions.
but yeah, Disco 2000 is what introduced me to Pulp, and the lyrics tells a story i'm familiar with. So it's always #1, This is Hardcore (the song) being #2.
Another One: Further Complication is an amazing record, Girls Like It too and I Never Said I Was Deep being two of the finest Jarvis compositions.
Maybe unpopular, but I think (Cunts Are Still) 'Running The World' may be the finest thing Jarvis has ever done, as it is literally evergreen. The year 2000 is no longer fun and futuristic, 'Sorted for Es and Wizz' is rooted in bygone rave culture, and even 'Common People' wasn't really so on-the-money after the band got famous... but Cunts Are Still Very Much Running The World. And you can tell, because they also seem to be running the Labour Party as well.
(Sorry, but the latest green policy commitment being defaced has me shaking with rage.)
hugomrtnzz wrote:
Someone Like The Moon is like an NPC, Roadkill too
Not sure about Roadkill. It's not my favourite Pulp song by any means - I tend to skip it - but it's just so heartbreakingly bereft. Probably the saddest thing they've ever done.
-- Edited by lipglossed on Friday 9th of June 2023 04:05:45 PM
I really hate political songs as musicians tend to make a career out of it and usually write those songs for that only reason. but Jarvis didnt.
Running The World is not is finest work and i used to really despise that song. Time went by and now i love it. It stood the test of time. Its simple yet very clever, something only Jarvis could come up with.
His other songs you mention are a testimony of an era, they dont sound dated to me, i never thought as disco 2000 being a futuristic song, more a coming of age song. They belong in history books just like taxman by the Beatles for instance. There's bits that refer directly to the said era, but the general feelings remain. Love not found on one hand, excess on the other.
His other songs you mention are a testimony of an era, they dont sound dated to me, i never thought as disco 2000 being a futuristic song, more a coming of age song. They belong in history books just like taxman by the Beatles for instance. There's bits that refer directly to the said era, but the general feelings remain. Love not found on one hand, excess on the other.
Oh I agree with you - was being a bit tongue-in-cheek with that bit! Disco 2000 is a very relatable song, very accessible and a coming-of-age song as you say.
OK - nothing to do with sound but video. "This is Hardcore" is absolute amazing song with a beautiful video UNTIL that late moment JC stumbles out with the flower fan girls. I love those 50s movies from Douglas Sirk and that video NAILS them with a thoughtful, wonderful Pulp spin. I love the parts the band members play - esp. Nick - seems really getting into character. But once they pull away from the Sirk remake, and get into the Busby Berkeley musical stuff, it starts to feel silly.
One of the many things about Pulp that drew me was that JC, Steve, and myself all went to film school but never ended up the big movie directors we thought we'd be. But we still ended up rock stars - well they did literally and I am in my own mind as I'm a middle school English teacher.
I consider Modern Life is Rubbish to be the best britpop album. It has got freshness musically and lyrics that I can relate to, more than on Different Class or Definitely Maybe.Also, I love Graham Coxons guitar work.
I'm jumping on the "let's revive old threads" bandwagon and going off-topic at the same time. Please don't ban me.
As much as I like "Modern Life is Rubbish", I think that "Villa Rosie", "Coping" and "Turn it Up" sound like fillers. I would have replaced them with "Peach" which would have sat great after "Miss America" and "Young and Lovely" which would have been the lead single from the album. Oh, and I would have put the extended version of "For Tomorrow" on the album.
OK - nothing to do with sound but video. "This is Hardcore" is absolute amazing song with a beautiful video UNTIL that late moment JC stumbles out with the flower fan girls. I love those 50s movies from Douglas Sirk and that video NAILS them with a thoughtful, wonderful Pulp spin. I love the parts the band members play - esp. Nick - seems really getting into character. But once they pull away from the Sirk remake, and get into the Busby Berkeley musical stuff, it starts to feel silly.
Ooh, of course you're entitled to your opinion but I actually want to defend this, because I really like that part - all these dancers and yet he's not really part of their show, he's an afterthought, rather than being the grandstanding film noir star (from the first section) he thought he'd be, he's off to the slide getting bumped into and jostled by the dancers and their flower fans, pushing in his face. He's just getting in the way. It's perfect. He's not Fred Astaire, he's Fred Askew, being twisted around out of the way by the women around him.
And the closeups of his face, with the red background and blue fans - just wonderfully composed shots. Wow.
-- Edited by lipglossed on Sunday 18th of June 2023 11:37:04 PM
Am I alone in not liking Room whatevernumberitis at all?? Lord it's so damn boring, i've only made it to the end twice and I was really forcing myself through it. I think it's easily the worst LP Jarvis has ever made right back to It. Sorry!
I do respect Jarvis for branching out in an interesting way. I mean, Damon Albarn can get a bunch of celebrities in a recording booth, which is exactly why Gorillaz peaked with Demon Days and have been going downhill ever since. Jarvis always does intriguing things even if Room 29 isn't exactly Different Class.
Am I alone in not liking Room whatevernumberitis at all?? Lord it's so damn boring, i've only made it to the end twice and I was really forcing myself through it. I think it's easily the worst LP Jarvis has ever made right back to It. Sorry!
I'm the same. Some nice moments but ultimately a rather boring album.
It took me five or six listens to click but I think its mostly great especially Tearjerker (love playing this on piano), Belle Boy and Daddy, You're Not Watching Me.
I think Jarvis really stretched himself in a different way knowing that he only had Chilly's piano accompaniment to do any heavy lifting.
I consider Modern Life is Rubbish to be the best britpop album. It has got freshness musically and lyrics that I can relate to, more than on Different Class or Definitely Maybe.Also, I love Graham Coxons guitar work.
I'm jumping on the "let's revive old threads" bandwagon and going off-topic at the same time. Please don't ban me.
As much as I like "Modern Life is Rubbish", I think that "Villa Rosie", "Coping" and "Turn it Up" sound like fillers. I would have replaced them with "Peach" which would have sat great after "Miss America" and "Young and Lovely" which would have been the lead single from the album. Oh, and I would have put the extended version of "For Tomorrow" on the album.
Funny how we see things differently. All those "la-la la-la-lahs" on For Tomorrow make me cringe especially on the extended/never-ending Primrose Hill version.
Villa Rosie is an absolute cracker and could have made a fine single. Young And Lovely is lush but the repeated outro goes on for way too long.
I do like Modern Life but it follows the same pattern as most Blur albums - frontloaded with bangers (most of which happen to be the singles) followed by about 3 hours of half-assed mumbling and mucking about, interspersed with the occasional gem. It blows my mind that This Is Hardcore has this reputation of being 'difficult' when Blur pulled this nonsense REPEATEDLY for over a decade, and somehow sold more records!
That's not really an unpopular Pulp opinion, just me mouthing off, sorry.
__________________
"Yes I saw her in the chip shop / so I said get yer top off"
I do like Modern Life but it follows the same pattern as most Blur albums - frontloaded with bangers (most of which happen to be the singles) followed by about 3 hours of half-assed mumbling and mucking about, interspersed with the occasional gem. It blows my mind that This Is Hardcore has this reputation of being 'difficult' when Blur pulled this nonsense REPEATEDLY for over a decade, and somehow sold more records!
That's not really an unpopular Pulp opinion, just me mouthing off, sorry.
Early Blur records are uneven. Up to Parklife, which is a close to perfect album. Modern Life has just the worst track selection ever. Pick some bside, swap them and the record is pretty amazing too.
Then The Great Escape which is hated. (but i love it). Trimm it to 10/11 tracks and its a great record. Blur S/T is perfection and has got some amazing bsides.
13 is the "difficult" one, their Hardcore if you will.
To me their "worst" record is Think Tank. Its a bit depressing and lacks Coxon's madness.
But i get your point. Blur records are a bit "out there" so if you "only" enjoy the polished singles, you probably wont like the rest.
I like their non sense, its a very british band. Maybe the most british one for a non british listener.
-- Edited by andy on Tuesday 20th of June 2023 11:08:12 AM
It took me five or six listens to click but I think its mostly great especially Tearjerker (love playing this on piano), Belle Boy and Daddy, You're Not Watching Me.
I think Jarvis really stretched himself in a different way knowing that he only had Chilly's piano accompaniment to do any heavy lifting.
I'm amazed people dislike Room 29. Its got some really inventive piano parts and Jarvis's melody fits the mood. Its really an extraordinary record, what they managed to do with just an instrument and sometimes strings.
Clara and Ice Cream are amongst two of my favorite Jarvis songs. the Other Side is also basically an Hardcore outtake thematically.
Ive seen Room 29 live and it was one of the best gigs i ever been to.
It has to be taken as a Broadway play or something though. Rather than just a "record". To me it's This is Hardcore "naked" so usually, seems like people wont dont like TIH dont like Room 29 either.
-- Edited by andy on Tuesday 20th of June 2023 11:13:56 AM
I think the "It" album is absolutely beautiful and underrated and same for "We Love Life"..with the outtakes included, its pure magic.
And I'd swap out Weeds.
I think the "It" album is absolutely beautiful and underrated and same for "We Love Life"..with the outtakes included, its pure magic. And I'd swap out Weeds.
Agreed, well they are a bit brothers sonically, which is interesting, because its the first and the last. Was it intended ?
We Love Life could have been a huge album with Got to Have Love, After You, Cuckoo and the quiet revolution
I do like Modern Life but it follows the same pattern as most Blur albums - frontloaded with bangers (most of which happen to be the singles) followed by about 3 hours of half-assed mumbling and mucking about, interspersed with the occasional gem. It blows my mind that This Is Hardcore has this reputation of being 'difficult' when Blur pulled this nonsense REPEATEDLY for over a decade, and somehow sold more records!
That's not really an unpopular Pulp opinion, just me mouthing off, sorry.
Early Blur records are uneven. Up to Parklife, which is a close to perfect album. Modern Life has just the worst track selection ever. Pick some bside, swap them and the record is pretty amazing too.
Then The Great Escape which is hated. (but i love it). Trimm it to 10/11 tracks and its a great record. Blur S/T is perfection and has got some amazing bsides.
13 is the "difficult" one, their Hardcore if you will.
To me their "worst" record is Think Tank. Its a bit depressing and lacks Coxon's madness.
But i get your point. Blur records are a bit "out there" so if you "only" enjoy the polished singles, you probably wont like the rest.
I like their non sense, its a very british band. Maybe the most british one for a non british listener.
-- Edited by andy on Tuesday 20th of June 2023 11:08:12 AM
Parklife has no need of the interludey bits (Debt Collector, Lot 105) nor of Jubilee, Magic America, Far Out, or Bank Holiday.
The Great Escape, similarly, could lose Top Man, It Could Be You, Dan Abnormal and one of Globe Alone/Entertain Me. End on The Universal, have Yuko & Hiro as a little hidden bonus track, get rid of the actual hidden bonus track. It's funny people swap Country House and Stereotypes, because I think the first is alright but Stereotypes is an embarrassment.
Modern Life - about 9 key songs (For Tomorrow, Advert, Colin Zeal, Chemical World, Sunday Sunday which they nicked from Pulp, Star Shaped, Blue Jeans, Oily Water, Intermission), add Young & Lovely, plus Villa Rosie if you want to, that's the album.
I think the Blur/Pulp analogy is a bit different...
Leisure = Separations - two albums of a 'new' band (though the frontman had been in a few) taking cues from a dying scene (baggy/acid), a mixed bag but with songs upheld as the birth of something (Sing, My Legendary GF)
Popscene = the Gift singles - evolving to find their own real musical style and starting to get press praise
MLIR = H&H - style-setting albums today upheld as indie classics, featuring a clutch of celebrated singles
Parklife = DC - the Big Hit Album
TGE = TIH - The Pop Dream Sours - they go massive, release arty videos (Universal/Hardcore), it's a bit overblown, very emotionally confused and depressed
Each band then becomes more experimental (WLL/Blur deciding to be Fake Pavemenr)
Pulp are better, though. Honestly, Pulp are sometimes lacking in confidence in their material, leading to B-sides getting left off the album... Blur, unsurprisingly, have the opposite problem: overconfidence in their 15 track albums.