Wednesday, April 23, 2003
So, I've been listening to Pulp's 'This is Hardcore' a lot recently. Initially I wasn't that keen on it (if my epinions account hasn't been deleted due to me not being bothered to post any reviews for ages on the grounds that they never had anything I wanted to review you should be able to find my feelings on it at the time) but sometime in the last six months I found myself re-evaluating it, to the degree that I think it's possibly their best album.
And, although I know that I don't know what I'm talking about, it seems to be some sort of magic spell to conjure and banish all the things about himself that Jarvis Cocker dislikes (Note: I know nothing about Jarvis or his life, so I could be completely wrong, I'm guessing about his circumstances).
The Fear introducing his paranoia. Dishes bringing up a desire to escape from dealing with important things by concentrating on things like cleaning. Party Hard the dark side of Disco 2000 and clubbing life. Help the Aged, of the Britpoppers Jarv was one of the oldest and was writing this album in his post mid-life crisis period. This is Hardcore and Seductive Barry, porn. The opposite of other songs where Jarvis insisted that hearing other people having sex was a wonderful sound, this is the dark side of the 'Jarvis as dirty old man' character that some music press tried to present him as. TV Movie, unable to move on after a relationship has end. A Little Soul Jarvis's misogyny and his feelings about his Dad, who apparently tried to get in contact with him after he started getting successful. I'm a Man, masculinity.
Then you have Sylvia, which is at least about someone else's problems, and has one of those false endings, the music fades away only to sweep back with majestic, euphoric chords. As though Jarvis has gathered together everything he hates and cast it away. The album ends with the uplifting Glory Days and The Day After the Revolution, positive but never stupidly positive.
You can tell I'm off sick from work can't you?
And, although I know that I don't know what I'm talking about, it seems to be some sort of magic spell to conjure and banish all the things about himself that Jarvis Cocker dislikes (Note: I know nothing about Jarvis or his life, so I could be completely wrong, I'm guessing about his circumstances).
The Fear introducing his paranoia. Dishes bringing up a desire to escape from dealing with important things by concentrating on things like cleaning. Party Hard the dark side of Disco 2000 and clubbing life. Help the Aged, of the Britpoppers Jarv was one of the oldest and was writing this album in his post mid-life crisis period. This is Hardcore and Seductive Barry, porn. The opposite of other songs where Jarvis insisted that hearing other people having sex was a wonderful sound, this is the dark side of the 'Jarvis as dirty old man' character that some music press tried to present him as. TV Movie, unable to move on after a relationship has end. A Little Soul Jarvis's misogyny and his feelings about his Dad, who apparently tried to get in contact with him after he started getting successful. I'm a Man, masculinity.
Then you have Sylvia, which is at least about someone else's problems, and has one of those false endings, the music fades away only to sweep back with majestic, euphoric chords. As though Jarvis has gathered together everything he hates and cast it away. The album ends with the uplifting Glory Days and The Day After the Revolution, positive but never stupidly positive.
You can tell I'm off sick from work can't you?
