Idolator
From today's "it's hardly new, but I kinda needed to post it" files: There's not a Pulp record from His 'N Hers onward that you shouldn't have near your nightstand for when one of those late-night, blackly sardonic moods hits, but the way-way-way (way) underrated We Love Life might be my favorite in the final tally, moving past the jaundiced/wounded portraits of Different Class or the nihilist navel-gazing of This Is Hardcore, as Jarvis Cocker proves that it's okay to A.) be emo as fuck about romance/heartbreak and B.) hate (or at least be deeply suspicious of) humanity if C.) you have a humanist heart o' gold beating under your snappy tailored suits and D.) don't let your snark slip too much in favor of bitterness or mawkishness. (It's kind of a complex equation to juggle. Even for a British guy.) Sadly YouTube doesn't have the album's title track—No. 1 life-affirming song of this decade, which I've been playing the hell out of lately—so here's "The Trees," a great single (if not a particularly superb video) in the grand, old-school mixtape tradition of letting a shamefully charismatic man talk about love with a wit that you're not able to muster yourself.
Pulp - "The Trees" [YouTube]
videodrone
Comments
Still depressed they never made it over here on tour for this one (or for This is Hardcore, aside from a couple of East Coast shows).
Awesome song, awesome band. Wish I could find those 2-disc back catalog upgrades cheap...
I have loved Pulp since I was about 12, but am I the only one not crazy about Jarvis' solo stuff? Specifically, that concert here a few months ago was kind of. . . silly and boring at once. Did I just lose all my cred?
I like "Freaks" as much as their last four records, but I'd agree that it's probably not as essential for most people.
Eerie. I just made a mixtape last week-well, a mix CD-and "The Trees" has a pretty prominent slot. STOP READING MY MIND, IDOLATOR.
From Separations on, that band had nary a stinker of a song, much less album, in my book. "Common People" is my favorite single of the 1990s.
I love Pulp far more than I love Jarvis' music... But far from silly and boring, I found him to be charming and sexy and dorky all at once. I love him on stage.
@Ned Raggett: Ah, there was a tour for This is Hardcore indeed. It was at Hammerstein and it was the first time I ever saw them. They rocked my face off.
great band, much missed. i saw their last ever show, at an abandoned steelworks in Sheffield. not a dry eye in the house. Amazing support acts too- Fourtet, Jamie Liddell, Baxter Dury (Ian's son), loads of stuff...
I would probably sell a kidney to see Pulp live. Best band that never made it in the states.
I saw the Hammerstein show too in '98. One of the best.
Didn't Pulp tour the States for Different Class? They defintely played a NY show, at least.
@roosterocker: Oh there was a tour, yes, but not a full US one. Thus my frustration. Pulp only toured the States three times -- once opening for Blur in 1994, once headlining club shows etc. in 1996, and finally the abbreviated TIH run in 1998.
The show at the Hammerstein was the last time I ever dared wear jeans in public, lest I ever forget where I came from (Texas). I was in the balcony, with the sailors!
Another Idolator commentor who was at the Hammerstein show in '98. Drove down from Ithaca just for it.
i saw pulp/blur at the academy in 1994. you??
Best of ye olde "Britpop" bands by far.
the earl grey makes me want to cry with jealousy.
also, am i alone in secretly thinking different class is their best?
is that a horrible thing to say?
also, anyone who doesnt have the bonus disc to his and hers should get it. now. its like a whole extra album of amazing pulp tracks. specially the title track.
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