I Scrubbed The Crabs That Killed Sheffield
There Was
Mark Of The Devil
Death Comes To Town
Babies
Street Lites
Common People
FEELING CALLED LOVE
This Is Hardcore
Cuckoo
Eammon, that's a great list, love that you have There Was in there.
I can't beat that, so will instead do a list of 10 songs which would least well sum up the band:
Turkey Mambo Momma Love Love Repressive Forkout Tunnel Didn't Feel A Thing Is This House? The Boss Can I Have My Balls Back Please? That Boy's Evil Peter Gunn Theme
-- Edited by weej on Friday 27th of October 2023 10:20:02 PM
weej - I really like their version of Peter Gunn, even though it's a bit of a far cry from normal Pulp!
Had a go:
My Legendary Girlfriend
Wishful Thinking
I Want You
Rattlesnake
F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E
Razzmatazz
Common People
This Is Hardcore
Babies
Grandfather's Nursery (I think about this song all the time - not often you catch yourself singing along to a song that has barely been released)
Eamonn's list is pretty excellent innit? Hard to beat that.
Here's why I chose mine:
My Lighthouse - really such a hallmark of Jarvis's early romantic innocence and partnered with Simon Hinkler's musical nous, really an important collaboration
They Suffocate At Night - very emblematic of the absolute depressive drudge of Pulp's 80s Sheffield era, a time the band spent in some part in suffocation struggling to germinate. Some good ideas buried under it all though
Separations - a step forward musically and partnered with the genius madness of Russell Senior
Sheffield: Sex City - their ode to their city - and this is one of their finest moments as an ensemble. Also one of the strongest examples of Jarvis's new lyrical bent
Lipgloss - these themes, but now with professional sheen, snappiness, sleekness. A Pulp pop moment
Mis-Shapes - "we're making a move we're making it now" - you can't say they didn't. Flag-waving for the outsiders, the freaks, the mis-shapes
I Spy - really the culmination of Jarvis's lyrical journey and shows the sheer *danger* the band could emulate musically
This Is Hardcore - a musical statement that casts its shadow over the entire second half of Pulp's era on Island
Dishes - signifies the gentle balladry, the quiet resignation to the death of Jarvis's youthful pop dream, and reprioritisation of his goals as he got older, that itself defines We Love Life. Also, the band's versatility
Wickerman - the track I'd go for if I had to pick just one
'80-83: Bird on a Wire - Leonard Cohen
'84-88: Subbacultcha - Frank Black
'89-92: Holding Out for a Hero - Bonnie Tyler
'93-94: Music for Girls- Baxendale
95: Love of the Common People - Leonard Nimoy
'96-97: Champagne Supernova - Oasis
'98-99: Self Control - Laura Brannigan
'00: Patience- GnR
'01: Les Fleurs- Minnie Riperton
'02: The Neverending Story - Limahl
I've been thinking about this. If the target audience is someone who has never heard of Pulp before and the aim is to encompass all their phases/eras, I'd go for the following:
Please Don't Worry
My Lighthouse
They Suffocate at Night
My Legendary Girlfriend
Sheffield: Sex City
Lipgloss
Common People
Disco 2000
This is Hardcore
Sunrise
For someone who is vaguely familiar with some of their material and wants to dig a bit deeper:
Please Don't Worry
My Lighthouse
They Suffocate at Night
My Legendary Girlfriend
Deep Fried in Kelvin
Acrylic Afternoons
I Spy
The Fear
Weeds
Wickerman
Little Girl With Blue Eyes
Countdown (single version)
My Legendary Girlfriend
Babies
Sheffield: Sex City
David's Last Summer
Common People
Underwear
This Is Hardcore
Sunrise
My selection is going to be more like a historical ladder rather than random songs ....
1 - Wishful Thinking
2 - I Want You
3 - Little Girl With Blue Eyes
4 - Death Comes To Town
5 - Death 2
6 - Do You Remember The First Time
7 - Babies
8 - I Spy
9 - Day After The Revolution
10 - Sunrise
She's dead
Death goes to the disco
You're a nightmare
Street operator
This is hardcore
Watching Nicky
Bad Cover Version
Bar Italia
Happy endings
Dogs are everywhere