Fascinating to hear your thoughts on this album that for many is the quintessential brit-pop long-player. The music theory is great and for me made me appreciate it a little more. Jarvis is actually the first cut-out to the right of the bride. I wonder if that knowledge will now alter your listening experience on future listens....!? I would also recommend their 'Intro' (1993) compilation, which was my own introduction to this band, and the criminally overlooked 'His n Hers' album from 1994. Cheers.
I subscribed about 10 albums ago and I'm really loving your content. It's very interesting to see you react to albums that I've loved for decades. As for music theory, bring it on. I want to hear more. To continue your Britpop journey, I'd highly recommend Suede. Either their self-titled first album or their second album "Dog Man Star" would be good choices.
Loving your reviews to finish off the Britpop perspective you should try Suede - Dog Man Star one of the other cornerstones of the moment and highly regarded and probably unknown in the States
Pulp share some similarities to The smiths. Jarvis Cocker isn't the best singer the world (like Morrissey) but he makes up with the quality of his lyrics (like Morrissey). Pulp are every much the misfits of society to the point where part of Jarvis' appeal is that 'Revenge of the nerd' thing. That's an over simplification of course as Jarvis is a very intelligent, astute chap. Common People is practically the National anthem for some people!
Think you should try a suede album,they are 1 of the first bands to be labelled britpop...their first self titled album has some great songs on it, but I prefer their Dog , Man , Star album as a whole ...suede were big fans of the Smiths
Decent review, I started listening to pulp in the mid eighties and saw them several times over the years, they rolled along merrily gigging and getting air time on late night radio in the UK ( they had a break when jarvis went to uni in London) then found major fame when they rolled the wave of britpop from bout 93 culminating in this album in 95..you keep lumping them in with blur & oasis but they really shouldn't be. They have an extensive discography which would be an interesting journey for many to undertake, especially their 80s offerings... Anyway thanks for the vid and your review. Cheers.
I think Pulp have a really perceptive intelligence to their lyrics. They come from a very real background as someone who never quite fits in with their working class northern upbringing. I think this brings an authenticity to their work which is lacking in Blur who are middle class pretending to be working class with their "mockney" accents and cartoonish stereotypes.
The levellers were another British phenomenon back in the 90s different sound pulp oasis blur folk rock they played to the biggest ever audience at Glastonbury in 1994 levelling the land is the album
It's important to note that Jarvis is a great live performer. He doesn't just stand there in front of the microphone. This doesn't always come through by listening to songs on their own so I'd recommend checking out some live performances or videos.
He celebrated Pulp's earlier perforamance at Hull's Adelphi Club (originally in 1988) by reappearing for the (re-)opening of the 'New' Adelphi club, in the years when Pulp where properly famous, for the Adelphi's 30th anniversary in 2014. Not only did Pulp appear (for what was for them, an obscure booking,) but Jarvis sat on the edge of the stage for part of the performance, chatting and drinking with the audience (between songs, obviously.)
What really amazes me with this album is how you can always understand the hidden meaning behind these songs although the first impression is almost always that it's about sex or love relationships. This is a pretty good idea to look at different classes through the prism of feelings and physical attraction, wether it's mutual or not, cause at the end you eventually end up naked : two human beings with skin, organs, legs, arms, feelings, emotions, desires but also secrets, fantasy, issues, all these common points that make us look the same but even naked you can never hide who you are, you can always smell the difference, you can feel the pressure of social classes, and you can hardly even tell how or why. The difference is just there, creating an eternal gap between people. That's why you don't have to listen to vague songs to be able to relate. It's not about the story itself, it's about how it made the narrator feel at this particular moment and what bigger picture it paints. For example in Disco 2000, yeah the story is really specific, but it chooses to point something that nobody ever mentions : the unconscious fight and resentment between classes which causes a fear of not being welcome, not cause you despise the other class but because you wonder what the other class thinks of you. This is all unspoken and almost unconscious but so true and relatable in a freaking lot of situations... Masterpiece.
About the narrative lyrics; I would say that Blur on their three britpop albums are at least as narrative, if not more than Pulp. Mostly Damon was writing about he/she, or even specific names. Which also shows in their songtitles (Colin Zeal, Pressure on Julian, Tracy Jacks, Yuko & Hiro). That's maybe also why it felt extra personal when he started writing from a personal perspective on 13 especially. Just my two cents :) Also, I'd like to see you do the same go-thru with that "13" album by Blur. One of the finest, most original, and most underrated 90's albums!
I recommend 'Mile End' from the Trainspotting soundtrack. It's a funny song and was recorded around the time of Different Class. *Also if you're interested in Britpop that soundtrack is essential as there's some exclusive tracks from Sleeper, Damon Albarn and others.
Something you might have missed is that both Common People and Disco 2000 were 90's dance floor fillers and are still are today. Both young and old get up and dance. The same with Blur's Parklife. Try watching Pulp playing at Glastonbury festival to see how much they caught the mood of the times. Working class, northern mixed the hedonism.
at 34:46 roughly i just wanna let you know that it isn't jarvis looking at the bride, it's steve mackey (bassist) i think. jarvis is the one sorta looking into the distance on other side
Actually that's not Steve Mackey looking at the bride, its Russell Senior! Jarvis (left) and Steve (right) are standing behind the woman in yellow on the right side of the groom. Just to clarify :)
Something Changed and E's & Wizz aren't worse than the earlier songs on the album, but you're right about the last 2 tracks being weaker. But it's my favorite Britpop album because of the stories and jokes, but mostly, the theme of 'class' being touched upon again and again. The powerlessness that makes him celebrate his small victories, plotting revenge and uniting against upper class people. But making stupid decisions at the same time because that's what everybody around him does. The division feels very British. The recurring sex theme isn't so much Jarvis' dirty mind as it is one of the primal urges and feats of the group of people he's representing.
The thing with this album cover is that it came with several separate inserts each with a different photo on which slid into the "frame" of the album cover allowing you to choose the one you felt fit it best!
I'm excited for Disintegration. You may know this by now, but the vinyl version of it didn't include 2 songs that the CD did. Also, it sounds a lot like Cocteau Twins.
I just found this video. So nice to see someone discovering Pulp. I listened to a lot of britpop back in the 90s, and Pulp and Blur were my favourites. I found Oasis to be plain boring. I don't know if you ever got around to listening to This Is Hardcore. I think it's a great album, not as easy as Different Class.
I totally disagree that Pulp is more accessible than Blur.Pulp are far more sophisticated and daring lyrically. However their sound may partly delve into a 60s /70s pop sound.Blur are far more safe and inoffensive lyrically.
Two things that strike me about "Sorted for E's & Wizz" (THREE things - the pedant in me says that that apostrophe in "E's" shouldn't be there!) are that there's a particular 'Stadium' or 'Open Air Concert' feel to the song, (whether that's real or simulated [?] - the concept of the song would benefit from faking the environment.) The other thing that I can't shake off, no matter how much I try, is that it has a real feeling of the early David Bowie live performances - from the Ziggy era. (Again, whether that's coincidental or deliberate, I suppose only Jarvis could answer.)
One of the most original and diverse British bands are the Super Furry animals. They have such an ear for melody. I think the Album Rings Around the World would be a great addition to your reaction series.
Pulp were always seen as the 'alternative' band for all the misfits. Hence the opening track - "Mishapes, Mistakes, Misfits". The album artwork kinda plays along with that idea - that the band don't fit in with the people around them.
Suedes first two albums and all of the auteurs discography would be good for you to check out. Auteurs have great lyrical content about similar themes about Britain. They also had a band called black box recorder and again some incredible lyrics.
"Underwear" is about going out drinking, meeting someone and going back to their house for sex. However, on the way there you sober up, and start to regret your decision, yet go through with it out of politeness. "If you could close your eyes and just remember, that this is what you wanted last night". I love it.
Yesterday, this album turned 25 years, and now this video crosses my path. This is the best brit pop album by a mile. 'Parklife' by Blur is quite as good an album as 'Different Class'. And if you know The Verve brit pop era, please check out their debut album 'A Storm in Heaven'... that's not brit pop but shoegaze and dream pop. PS: The battle of Brit Pop was between 'The Great Escape' by Blur vs '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?' by Oasis.
my friend was at the wedding the pulp pictures were taken at, i was into pulp already, but cause of His 'n' Hers, which is a better album, by the way, but everyone in her town in yorkshire became huge Pulp fan. in the album, you get to pull out little wedding photos, always with a random cut out guitarist or some shit. i love that. If you ask anyone i know who won out of Oasis and blur, the answer will be Pulp. .
It's not key changes that ramp up the pace in Common People, it's tempo changes. The song starts at I think 90 bpm and ends up at something like 160bpm.
Hearing the snippets in your video today is the first time I’ve heard those songs in 20+ years. I was 17. Kurt Cobain had recently put a tragic stop to the musical dominance of Grunge. In that noisy musical climate, I heard 2 songs from this album playing on the record store’s speaker. I told the clerk “Whatever that is, Gimme. How much?” I suppose I was unknowingly starved for melodic music with catchy instrumental countermelodies and interesting (mostly natural) chord progressions. I enjoyed the album very much, but nobody I knew cared for it at all. You point out the prevalence of the [5>1] or [5>1m] progression. I never noticed that myself. My only explanation is that I think this progression is about as noteworthy as salt and pepper in food. To you it’s noteworthy, but to me it is simply the norm. But why do we think so differently? After some pondering, I came up with a hypothesis. The background is that In the past 10 years or more, pop composers have been disturbingly and overbearingly reliant on one overused chord progression that is played through the entire song: [6>4>1>5] (and its 2 variations: [4>1>5>6] and [1>5>6>4]. None of those contain the [5>1] cadence. The next time you hear mainstream radio (eg in a store) start your timer and and count the minutes before that progression comes up. You won’t wait for more than 5 or 10 minutes. With that background out of the way, I’ll proceed to my hypothesis: You being younger than me means you probably had a greater exposure to [6>4>1>5] than I have. Even if you don’t listen to top-40 pop, you can’t really escape it. All that exposure may have shifted your norm to be different from my norm, and thus you find [5>1] to be novel, interesting and noteworthy. If [5>1] fascinates you, a song comes to mind that takes this to the extreme: “Awaken” by Yes. After playing 5>1, the 1 becomes the “new” 5. Then 5>1 is played again, followed by that 1 becoming the new 5, an on it goes. They play through every key, ie E>A>D> G>C>F>Bb> Eb>Ab>Db >F#>B and finally back to home to E. Then it goes around again. It is resolve upon resolve upon resolve... You can call it a “never ending circles of 5ths”. If you wanna check it out, skip the awful studio version. The live 2003 in Montreux is the best version. Back to Pulp! The chord progression that for me typifies this album is [1>3], as in [1>3>4>4m] and it’s variations. That was a fashionable sequence at the time across many genres (eg: Rock: Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ or Punk: NOFX’s ‘Linoleum’). Ive also heard it in the middle 8 section of Queen’s 1976 album track “Drowse”, but that’s a different era altogether. i agree that “I Spy” is a great tune. Probably my favorite track on the album. Unlike you, I actually really like “Monday Morning”. To me, “Monday Morning” is the climactic finale of the Album. “Bar Italia” (the last song on the album), is to me like an epilogue - a chance to chill out after the hectic finale. The lyrics echo this; Bar Italia is a 24h cafe in Soho, London, where people come to chill out after clubbing or raving. Having been there and done just that many times, Cockers lyrical imagery awakens memories and puts me right back there and into that relaxed post-clubbing mood. This chilled out feeling in “Bar Italia” is aided by its chord progressions. By using a progression that has repeatedly been introduced to the listener earlier in the album, the listener is in familiar territory. Comfort zone. The listener doesn’t need to concentrate or make any effort to grasp the music. The listeners brain can unwind, and we end the album in a relaxed peaceful state. If that was a deliberate strategy if would have been very clever. But it might just as well been a coincident. Who knows? All in all I give this album a 4 out of 5. Many songs i really like. Some I like less than others. The high score is partially motivated by the absence of any song that I’d label a ‘nasty stinker’. This album is essentially well-crafted pop, composed and written from the heart. I wish that could be said about more pop music, whatever the genre.
Sorry about so many edits. When reviewing I saw typos and unclear wordings. After edit I saw more error so I edited again. And then again, and again... I’m done now. I’ll leave it alone.
ALEX, ABOUT THE COVER, YES, I FEEL THE SAME WAY AND I TELL YOU MORE,WHEN I AM ATTRACTED BY AM ALBUM COVER , IT'S VERY RARE WHEN I DON'T LIKE THE ALBUM, FOR AN INSTANCE, QUITE RECENTLY I FOUND OUT A BAND WHICH ALBUM COVER CALLED MY ATTENTION, AND I MUST ADMIT I LOVE THE ALBUM, THE BAND IN QUESTION IS PERFUME GENIUS. AGAIN, PLEASE LISTEN TO SIOUXSIE!
After 'What's The Story' my interest in Oasis just plummeted 'Be Here Now wast very 50/50, on subsequent albums the odd track was OK then I just stopped listening though I do adore 'The Importance Of Being Idle'... I agree that the likes of Blur & Pulp feed the mind and musically keep it interesting... '13' by Blur was my pick for the best album by those bands... Pulp have been around much longer than Blur & Oasis...
I saw Oasis in 98 and I was walking out of the show. The first thing I said Pulp are so much better. Just saw pulp live and was blown away. Seeing Justice tonight.
Elastica were very influential at the time - Lead guitarist Justine Frischmann (former member of Suede) was in a relationship with Damon Albarn from 1991 to 1998. Speaking in sweeping generalisations: - a lot of "Britpop" fans regarded Oasis as naff, commercial and lacking any originality + Britpop fans and Oasis fans were not normally the same people + and they have I think their music has aged pretty badly . I think Oasis they were the least Britpop of the Britpop bands.
nah oasis are liked by the northern working class. blur are a bunch of middle class southern tossers that only posh eton boys or clueless yanks like. not to mention how their albums are a few good singles and then a bunch of shit filler besides the last three or so
You could try the most polarizing album ever. There only appears to be two reactions to it. Either "WFT is this, it is terrible", or "OMG, masterpiece'. Nothing in the middle. Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart
@@AlexHaitz it is an odd one. I was in a record shop about 35 years ago and it was playing. That is when I first found it. First listen is challenging to say the least. Lol i still listen to it now but understand why so many hate it
I certainly don't dismiss it, based off of what I've heard. I can tell that there's some magic in there (knowing that it's very composed and meticulously crafted helps), but I'm still not sure how to process the music. It'll be an interesting reaction, for sure.
@@AlexHaitz Here are a couple of others you might want to explore if you have not heard before Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate Radiohead - Kid A Primus - Sailing the Sea of Cheese Tricky - Nearly God Bjork - Homogenic Laurie Anderson - Big Science Its a real esoteric list :) BTW, just subbed as like what you are doing :)
it's been a year. came across that video now. gotta say it: forget about the whole bullshit "britpop" blah blah blah 90s, middle of it stuff. blur, oasis. it was a press thing. musicwise those bands had NOTHING in commmon. oasis was a mystery: such an ordinary band being so big. blur was a fine pop band with great ideas for some albums. pulp'd been around forever (since early 80s??) when they finally released his and hers and suddenly they were darlings and people loved them. they did deserve it. his and hers is great. and then there was different class. this is brilliant pop music and that's it. at any time or in any era, this is brilliant pop music. everything about is is perfect. (and, yes, you are right when you talk about those chords things. very well noticed). this is hardcore is bitter and nothing like different class. it's irregular with some great songs on it and... the song this is hardcore is simply magnificent. and those bands are all dead now. odd like life.
Hint. This album is related to Oasis in the same way the Queen is related to me. She's from the same island. Pulp existed before half of Oasis where born. To constantly reference them when critiquing Pulp is disingenuous in the extreme. This is probably the finest British album of the 90's and I'd hazard in the top 20/25 UK albums of all time.
Agree it's incredible. And the thing is meant to be listened to in it's entirety - one song flows into the next. It opens with a call to arms for the misfits - moves into class warfare through Pencil Skirt and Common People and I Spy. Then you have the songs about love - Something Changed, FEELING CALLED LOVE, Live Bed Show - songs about how love is not like in the normal love songs, it's 'dirtier than that'. Then you have four songs about going out / drinking / rave culture - Sorted, Monday Mornings, Underwear and Bar Italia. They flow so perfectly into eachother both sonically and from a lyrical point of view. The album ends with a song about wandering the streets in a daze as the sun rises after a night out - looking for the one place still open - it's just such a perfect way to end it and the noise of the car going past at the end always gets me.
I think you'd be making a grave mistake if you didn't listen to His 'n Hers. I quite enjoyed this.. I like the music theory side of things as a fellow writer/composer... also grab the guitar when listening to music and try and work it out.
i don't know if you read comments from old videos but i was wondering if you had knowledge of the context behind the britpop movement? like, with the class system and what separates the northern working class pulp and oasis from the southern posh boys from blur. it's very crucial towards the lyrical themes and context of this album especially. but great video nonetheless, i love seeing more american reactions to pulp (my favourite band)
@@AlexHaitz essentially there were four main bands at the start of Britpop - oasis, pulp, blur and suede. oasis and pulp were the northern working class, meant to reflect those with less money living in more poorer areas with not great aspirations, whereas blur and suede (moreso blur) came from the well off middle class area of the south (specifically london). they went to private schools and never really had to worry about their futures and i feel this reflects their personalities and music. like oasis sung about wanting to be rock n roll stars and getting out of their council estate life in Manchester (very poor crime ridden area) and pulp sung about failure (live bed show), mundane life (monday morning), lust (pencile skirt), drugs (sorted) etc. however you had blur with their relatively far removed perception of life that only really spoke to a more posh side of the country. despite the music itself of course standing on its own (musically speaking oasis were by far the most basic) i feel context adds to a lot of people's enjoyment of the music, definitely over here in england. my myself being from a northern working class family i much prefer pulp and oasis to blur. i know that was pretty long winded but it always interests me how non-brits perceive these bands' music without the context that a brit would have, and hopefully it clears up the whole 'class' theme of this album. but still, i enjoyed the video a lot, you've earned yourself a new subscriber
you do my head in, normally, cause i know that i would like you, but you say things i disagree with lots, which is obviously cool, but this is one i want you to be on my side with, if that makes any sense, which it obviously can't, or some shit.
It would be better if you didn’t focus on comparing bands and instead looked more at the music. Edit: seriously why are you comparing blur and oasis at every song. You wanna talk about outside the box when blur sang with a fake accent that was trendy. I always like talking about Pulp though so I left a like. I just disagree with you a lot.
I just like to figure out music and music history through the context of what other comparable music I've heard. This was really more me fleshing out the Britpop genre than it was trying to compare the bands.
![Pulp - Common People [REACTION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/d09fv10QFMo/mqdefault.jpg)
Tremendous album, probably my second favourite of all time and definitely the best album of the Britpop era
What's your favorite album?
Fascinating to hear your thoughts on this album that for many is the quintessential brit-pop long-player. The music theory is great and for me made me appreciate it a little more.
Jarvis is actually the first cut-out to the right of the bride. I wonder if that knowledge will now alter your listening experience on future listens....!?
I would also recommend their 'Intro' (1993) compilation, which was my own introduction to this band, and the criminally overlooked 'His n Hers' album from 1994.
Cheers.
I subscribed about 10 albums ago and I'm really loving your content. It's very interesting to see you react to albums that I've loved for decades. As for music theory, bring it on. I want to hear more.
To continue your Britpop journey, I'd highly recommend Suede. Either their self-titled first album or their second album "Dog Man Star" would be good choices.
I liked Blur and Oasis but I loved Pulp. Your analysis is brilliant. Lots of food for thought. You've discussed loads of very different perspectives.
Loving your reviews to finish off the Britpop perspective you should try Suede - Dog Man Star one of the other cornerstones of the moment and highly regarded and probably unknown in the States
Pulp share some similarities to The smiths. Jarvis Cocker isn't the best singer the world (like Morrissey) but he makes up with the quality of his lyrics (like Morrissey). Pulp are every much the misfits of society to the point where part of Jarvis' appeal is that 'Revenge of the nerd' thing. That's an over simplification of course as Jarvis is a very intelligent, astute chap. Common People is practically the National anthem for some people!
Think you should try a suede album,they are 1 of the first bands to be labelled britpop...their first self titled album has some great songs on it, but I prefer their Dog , Man , Star album as a whole ...suede were big fans of the Smiths
'I SPY' is brilliant. I like your deep analysis of things. Digging your channel.
Decent review, I started listening to pulp in the mid eighties and saw them several times over the years, they rolled along merrily gigging and getting air time on late night radio in the UK ( they had a break when jarvis went to uni in London) then found major fame when they rolled the wave of britpop from bout 93 culminating in this album in 95..you keep lumping them in with blur & oasis but they really shouldn't be. They have an extensive discography which would be an interesting journey for many to undertake, especially their 80s offerings... Anyway thanks for the vid and your review. Cheers.
I think Pulp have a really perceptive intelligence to their lyrics. They come from a very real background as someone who never quite fits in with their working class northern upbringing. I think this brings an authenticity to their work which is lacking in Blur who are middle class pretending to be working class with their "mockney" accents and cartoonish stereotypes.
Been listening to Pulp for 25 years, ever since my early teens and they still rank in my top 5 favourite bands ever.
The levellers were another British phenomenon back in the 90s different sound pulp oasis blur folk rock they played to the biggest ever audience at Glastonbury in 1994 levelling the land is the album
It's important to note that Jarvis is a great live performer. He doesn't just stand there in front of the microphone. This doesn't always come through by listening to songs on their own so I'd recommend checking out some live performances or videos.
He celebrated Pulp's earlier perforamance at Hull's Adelphi Club (originally in 1988) by reappearing for the (re-)opening of the 'New' Adelphi club, in the years when Pulp where properly famous, for the Adelphi's 30th anniversary in 2014. Not only did Pulp appear (for what was for them, an obscure booking,) but Jarvis sat on the edge of the stage for part of the performance, chatting and drinking with the audience (between songs, obviously.)
What really amazes me with this album is how you can always understand the hidden meaning behind these songs although the first impression is almost always that it's about sex or love relationships.
This is a pretty good idea to look at different classes through the prism of feelings and physical attraction, wether it's mutual or not, cause at the end you eventually end up naked : two human beings with skin, organs, legs, arms, feelings, emotions, desires but also secrets, fantasy, issues, all these common points that make us look the same but even naked you can never hide who you are, you can always smell the difference, you can feel the pressure of social classes, and you can hardly even tell how or why. The difference is just there, creating an eternal gap between people.
That's why you don't have to listen to vague songs to be able to relate. It's not about the story itself, it's about how it made the narrator feel at this particular moment and what bigger picture it paints. For example in Disco 2000, yeah the story is really specific, but it chooses to point something that nobody ever mentions : the unconscious fight and resentment between classes which causes a fear of not being welcome, not cause you despise the other class but because you wonder what the other class thinks of you. This is all unspoken and almost unconscious but so true and relatable in a freaking lot of situations...
Masterpiece.
I love the music theory explanations. It’s very interesting to learn as a music lover but without the knowledge of the theory that goes into it.
Their album His N Hers is one of my favourites!
About the narrative lyrics; I would say that Blur on their three britpop albums are at least as narrative, if not more than Pulp. Mostly Damon was writing about he/she, or even specific names. Which also shows in their songtitles (Colin Zeal, Pressure on Julian, Tracy Jacks, Yuko & Hiro). That's maybe also why it felt extra personal when he started writing from a personal perspective on 13 especially. Just my two cents :) Also, I'd like to see you do the same go-thru with that "13" album by Blur. One of the finest, most original, and most underrated 90's albums!
I recommend 'Mile End' from the Trainspotting soundtrack. It's a funny song and was recorded around the time of Different Class.
*Also if you're interested in Britpop that soundtrack is essential as there's some exclusive tracks from Sleeper, Damon Albarn and others.
Something you might have missed is that both Common People and Disco 2000 were 90's dance floor fillers and are still are today. Both young and old get up and dance. The same with Blur's Parklife. Try watching Pulp playing at Glastonbury festival to see how much they caught the mood of the times. Working class, northern mixed the hedonism.
Moseley shores by Ocean Colour Scene is a great britpop album. 60's rock'n'roll transplanted into the 90's.
at 34:46 roughly i just wanna let you know that it isn't jarvis looking at the bride, it's steve mackey (bassist) i think. jarvis is the one sorta looking into the distance on other side
Actually that's not Steve Mackey looking at the bride, its Russell Senior! Jarvis (left) and Steve (right) are standing behind the woman in yellow on the right side of the groom. Just to clarify :)
Something Changed and E's & Wizz aren't worse than the earlier songs on the album, but you're right about the last 2 tracks being weaker. But it's my favorite Britpop album because of the stories and jokes, but mostly, the theme of 'class' being touched upon again and again. The powerlessness that makes him celebrate his small victories, plotting revenge and uniting against upper class people. But making stupid decisions at the same time because that's what everybody around him does. The division feels very British. The recurring sex theme isn't so much Jarvis' dirty mind as it is one of the primal urges and feats of the group of people he's representing.
it was painful to watch a yank with no knowledge of the context react to this album tbh
Very good !¡ and keep going with the music theory..loved that part of your work!!
The thing with this album cover is that it came with several separate inserts each with a different photo on which slid into the "frame" of the album cover allowing you to choose the one you felt fit it best!
I'm excited for Disintegration. You may know this by now, but the vinyl version of it didn't include 2 songs that the CD did. Also, it sounds a lot like Cocteau Twins.
I just found this video. So nice to see someone discovering Pulp. I listened to a lot of britpop back in the 90s, and Pulp and Blur were my favourites. I found Oasis to be plain boring.
I don't know if you ever got around to listening to This Is Hardcore. I think it's a great album, not as easy as Different Class.
I haven't yet, saving it for a possible reaction in the future I think.
I totally disagree that Pulp is more accessible than Blur.Pulp are far more sophisticated and daring lyrically. However their sound may partly delve into a 60s /70s pop sound.Blur are far more safe and inoffensive lyrically.
Different class is about the working class in Britain in the 90s, from a band from Northern England a classic
Two things that strike me about "Sorted for E's & Wizz" (THREE things - the pedant in me says that that apostrophe in "E's" shouldn't be there!) are that there's a particular 'Stadium' or 'Open Air Concert' feel to the song, (whether that's real or simulated [?] - the concept of the song would benefit from faking the environment.) The other thing that I can't shake off, no matter how much I try, is that it has a real feeling of the early David Bowie live performances - from the Ziggy era. (Again, whether that's coincidental or deliberate, I suppose only Jarvis could answer.)
Aladdin Sane album Cover comes to mind, how the artwork told you the adventure Bowie was about to take you on....
One of the most original and diverse British bands are the Super Furry animals. They have such an ear for melody. I think the Album Rings Around the World would be a great addition to your reaction series.
Pulp were always seen as the 'alternative' band for all the misfits. Hence the opening track - "Mishapes, Mistakes, Misfits". The album artwork kinda plays along with that idea - that the band don't fit in with the people around them.
Pulp - Different Class. Is in my top 5 albums of all time. Just love it
Hey man just found your channel - great stuff, going to watch a few more videos, thanks man
Thank you!
A great album needs great album tracks (as opposed to hit singles) and Underwear and Monday Morning are the two best album tracks on Different Class.
Suedes first two albums and all of the auteurs discography would be good for you to check out. Auteurs have great lyrical content about similar themes about Britain. They also had a band called black box recorder and again some incredible lyrics.
Definitely agree about album covers.
Insanely good album. Pencil Skirt is such an overlooked classic album track.
Blur tell countless stories... theyre literally compared to The Kinks and Ray davies...
"Underwear" is about going out drinking, meeting someone and going back to their house for sex. However, on the way there you sober up, and start to regret your decision, yet go through with it out of politeness. "If you could close your eyes and just remember, that this is what you wanted last night".
I love it.
Yesterday, this album turned 25 years, and now this video crosses my path.
This is the best brit pop album by a mile. 'Parklife' by Blur is quite as good an album as 'Different Class'.
And if you know The Verve brit pop era, please check out their debut album 'A Storm in Heaven'... that's not brit pop but shoegaze and dream pop.
PS: The battle of Brit Pop was between 'The Great Escape' by Blur vs '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?' by Oasis.
I heard Parklife before I started doing reactions, also a great album!
my friend was at the wedding the pulp pictures were taken at, i was into pulp already, but cause of His 'n' Hers, which is a better album, by the way, but everyone in her town in yorkshire became huge Pulp fan. in the album, you get to pull out little wedding photos, always with a random cut out guitarist or some shit. i love that. If you ask anyone i know who
won out of Oasis and blur, the answer will be Pulp. .
It's not key changes that ramp up the pace in Common People, it's tempo changes. The song starts at I think 90 bpm and ends up at something like 160bpm.
Hearing the snippets in your video today is the first time I’ve heard those songs in 20+ years.
I was 17. Kurt Cobain had recently put a tragic stop to the musical dominance of Grunge. In that noisy musical climate, I heard 2 songs from this album playing on the record store’s speaker. I told the clerk “Whatever that is, Gimme. How much?”
I suppose I was unknowingly starved for melodic music with catchy instrumental countermelodies and interesting (mostly natural) chord progressions. I enjoyed the album very much, but nobody I knew cared for it at all.
You point out the prevalence of the [5>1] or [5>1m] progression. I never noticed that myself. My only explanation is that I think this progression is about as noteworthy as salt and pepper in food. To you it’s noteworthy, but to me it is simply the norm.
But why do we think so differently? After some pondering, I came up with a hypothesis.
The background is that In the past 10 years or more, pop composers have been disturbingly and overbearingly reliant on one overused chord progression that is played through the entire song: [6>4>1>5] (and its 2 variations: [4>1>5>6] and [1>5>6>4]. None of those contain the [5>1] cadence.
The next time you hear mainstream radio (eg in a store) start your timer and and count the minutes before that progression comes up. You won’t wait for more than 5 or 10 minutes.
With that background out of the way, I’ll proceed to my hypothesis:
You being younger than me means you probably had a greater exposure to [6>4>1>5] than I have. Even if you don’t listen to top-40 pop, you can’t really escape it. All that exposure may have shifted your norm to be different from my norm, and thus you find [5>1] to be novel, interesting and noteworthy.
If [5>1] fascinates you, a song comes to mind that takes this to the extreme: “Awaken” by Yes. After playing 5>1, the 1 becomes the “new” 5. Then 5>1 is played again, followed by that 1 becoming the new 5, an on it goes. They play through every key, ie E>A>D> G>C>F>Bb> Eb>Ab>Db >F#>B and finally back to home to E. Then it goes around again. It is resolve upon resolve upon resolve... You can call it a “never ending circles of 5ths”. If you wanna check it out, skip the awful studio version. The live 2003 in Montreux is the best version.
Back to Pulp! The chord progression that for me typifies this album is [1>3], as in [1>3>4>4m] and it’s variations. That was a fashionable sequence at the time across many genres (eg: Rock: Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ or Punk: NOFX’s ‘Linoleum’). Ive also heard it in the middle 8 section of Queen’s 1976 album track “Drowse”, but that’s a different era altogether.
i agree that “I Spy” is a great tune. Probably my favorite track on the album. Unlike you, I actually really like “Monday Morning”. To me, “Monday Morning” is the climactic finale of the Album. “Bar Italia” (the last song on the album), is to me like an epilogue - a chance to chill out after the hectic finale. The lyrics echo this; Bar Italia is a 24h cafe in Soho, London, where people come to chill out after clubbing or raving. Having been there and done just that many times, Cockers lyrical imagery awakens memories and puts me right back there and into that relaxed post-clubbing mood.
This chilled out feeling in “Bar Italia” is aided by its chord progressions. By using a progression that has repeatedly been introduced to the listener earlier in the album, the listener is in familiar territory. Comfort zone. The listener doesn’t need to concentrate or make any effort to grasp the music. The listeners brain can unwind, and we end the album in a relaxed peaceful state. If that was a deliberate strategy if would have been very clever. But it might just as well been a coincident. Who knows?
All in all I give this album a 4 out of 5. Many songs i really like. Some I like less than others. The high score is partially motivated by the absence of any song that I’d label a ‘nasty stinker’.
This album is essentially well-crafted pop, composed and written from the heart. I wish that could be said about more pop music, whatever the genre.
Dang, awesome comment! Thanks.
Sorry about so many edits. When reviewing I saw typos and unclear wordings. After edit I saw more error so I edited again. And then again, and again... I’m done now. I’ll leave it alone.
ALEX, ABOUT THE COVER, YES, I FEEL THE SAME WAY AND I TELL YOU MORE,WHEN I AM ATTRACTED BY AM ALBUM COVER , IT'S VERY RARE WHEN I DON'T LIKE THE ALBUM, FOR AN INSTANCE, QUITE RECENTLY I FOUND OUT A BAND WHICH ALBUM COVER CALLED MY ATTENTION, AND I MUST ADMIT I LOVE THE ALBUM, THE BAND IN QUESTION IS PERFUME GENIUS.
AGAIN, PLEASE LISTEN TO SIOUXSIE!
After 'What's The Story' my interest in Oasis just plummeted 'Be Here Now wast very 50/50, on subsequent albums the odd track was OK then I just stopped listening though I do adore 'The Importance Of Being Idle'... I agree that the likes of Blur & Pulp feed the mind and musically keep it interesting... '13' by Blur was my pick for the best album by those bands... Pulp have been around much longer than Blur & Oasis...
I saw Oasis in 98 and I was walking out of the show. The first thing I said Pulp are so much better. Just saw pulp live and was blown away. Seeing Justice tonight.
This is Hardcore isn't weak but is certainly their darkest. Personally I still listen to We Love Life the most
You should listen to the bluetones - expecting to fly to get a perspective of the 2nd wave of britpop.
My favourite album full stop. Bluetones and pulp the two standout BP bands.
Elastica were very influential at the time - Lead guitarist Justine Frischmann (former member of Suede) was in a relationship with Damon Albarn from 1991 to 1998.
Speaking in sweeping generalisations:
- a lot of "Britpop" fans regarded Oasis as naff, commercial and lacking any originality
+ Britpop fans and Oasis fans were not normally the same people
+ and they have I think their music has aged pretty badly .
I think Oasis they were the least Britpop of the Britpop bands.
nah oasis are liked by the northern working class. blur are a bunch of middle class southern tossers that only posh eton boys or clueless yanks like. not to mention how their albums are a few good singles and then a bunch of shit filler besides the last three or so
@@thebasedgodmax1163 you're living in quite the bubble..
@@mash83 middle class tosser spotted
@@thebasedgodmax1163 ok lil fella.. *patpat
@@mash83 whats your point?
You could try the most polarizing album ever. There only appears to be two reactions to it. Either "WFT is this, it is terrible", or "OMG, masterpiece'. Nothing in the middle.
Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart
It's on my list of albums to listen to. I've heard a couple tracks, so I'm a little scared to do it all in a single sitting.
@@AlexHaitz it is an odd one. I was in a record shop about 35 years ago and it was playing. That is when I first found it. First listen is challenging to say the least. Lol i still listen to it now but understand why so many hate it
I certainly don't dismiss it, based off of what I've heard. I can tell that there's some magic in there (knowing that it's very composed and meticulously crafted helps), but I'm still not sure how to process the music.
It'll be an interesting reaction, for sure.
@@AlexHaitz Here are a couple of others you might want to explore if you have not heard before
Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate
Radiohead - Kid A
Primus - Sailing the Sea of Cheese
Tricky - Nearly God
Bjork - Homogenic
Laurie Anderson - Big Science
Its a real esoteric list :)
BTW, just subbed as like what you are doing :)
it's been a year. came across that video now. gotta say it: forget about the whole bullshit "britpop" blah blah blah 90s, middle of it stuff. blur, oasis. it was a press thing. musicwise those bands had NOTHING in commmon. oasis was a mystery: such an ordinary band being so big. blur was a fine pop band with great ideas for some albums. pulp'd been around forever (since early 80s??) when they finally released his and hers and suddenly they were darlings and people loved them. they did deserve it. his and hers is great. and then there was different class. this is brilliant pop music and that's it. at any time or in any era, this is brilliant pop music. everything about is is perfect. (and, yes, you are right when you talk about those chords things. very well noticed). this is hardcore is bitter and nothing like different class. it's irregular with some great songs on it and... the song this is hardcore is simply magnificent. and those bands are all dead now. odd like life.
Thanks for the video
Try there previous album .. his n hers
Love the video, btw technically Oasis did the major 5th thing on the importance of being idle . Not a fan of them overall but that ones okay
Listening songs that changed my life: "Not bad..."
The major fifth was a staple of festival music from those days.
This and Thank God For Mental Illness by The Brian Jonestown Massacre are my top 2 90s albums.
You should review 'This is Hardcore' their next album (1997) after 'Different Class'. It's very different.
HI ALEX, HAVE YOU HEARD SUEDE?
best britpop band? not quite sure.
best britpop album? definitely.
Back at Uni 1995, memories , great days
Hint.
This album is related to Oasis in the same way the Queen is related to me. She's from the same island. Pulp existed before half of Oasis where born. To constantly reference them when critiquing Pulp is disingenuous in the extreme.
This is probably the finest British album of the 90's and I'd hazard in the top 20/25 UK albums of all time.
Agree it's incredible. And the thing is meant to be listened to in it's entirety - one song flows into the next. It opens with a call to arms for the misfits - moves into class warfare through Pencil Skirt and Common People and I Spy. Then you have the songs about love - Something Changed, FEELING CALLED LOVE, Live Bed Show - songs about how love is not like in the normal love songs, it's 'dirtier than that'. Then you have four songs about going out / drinking / rave culture - Sorted, Monday Mornings, Underwear and Bar Italia. They flow so perfectly into eachother both sonically and from a lyrical point of view. The album ends with a song about wandering the streets in a daze as the sun rises after a night out - looking for the one place still open - it's just such a perfect way to end it and the noise of the car going past at the end always gets me.
how can you listen to music without moving? This album is awesome btw it´s a mix of suede finest moments with blur, love them all
One of my top 10 albums ever!! It may be an English thing 😊
One of the nest albums ever made and a Mercury Music Priz winner, but hey.
You completely missed the point of the Stone Roses art work . Pollock / Paris riots .
I think you'd be making a grave mistake if you didn't listen to His 'n Hers.
I quite enjoyed this.. I like the music theory side of things as a fellow writer/composer... also grab the guitar when listening to music and try and work it out.
you look like you would lead a good dance-punk band
The battle of britpop reached its peak in 1995 actually, with the country house and roll with it singles released on the same day.
i don't know if you read comments from old videos but i was wondering if you had knowledge of the context behind the britpop movement? like, with the class system and what separates the northern working class pulp and oasis from the southern posh boys from blur. it's very crucial towards the lyrical themes and context of this album especially. but great video nonetheless, i love seeing more american reactions to pulp (my favourite band)
I know next to nothing about the historical context of the movement.
@@AlexHaitz essentially there were four main bands at the start of Britpop - oasis, pulp, blur and suede. oasis and pulp were the northern working class, meant to reflect those with less money living in more poorer areas with not great aspirations, whereas blur and suede (moreso blur) came from the well off middle class area of the south (specifically london). they went to private schools and never really had to worry about their futures and i feel this reflects their personalities and music. like oasis sung about wanting to be rock n roll stars and getting out of their council estate life in Manchester (very poor crime ridden area) and pulp sung about failure (live bed show), mundane life (monday morning), lust (pencile skirt), drugs (sorted) etc. however you had blur with their relatively far removed perception of life that only really spoke to a more posh side of the country. despite the music itself of course standing on its own (musically speaking oasis were by far the most basic) i feel context adds to a lot of people's enjoyment of the music, definitely over here in england. my myself being from a northern working class family i much prefer pulp and oasis to blur.
i know that was pretty long winded but it always interests me how non-brits perceive these bands' music without the context that a brit would have, and hopefully it clears up the whole 'class' theme of this album. but still, i enjoyed the video a lot, you've earned yourself a new subscriber
Suggestion: ‘Attack of the Grey Lantern’ by Mansun.
Listen to " The Streets " Not Brit pop , but very very British .. Dry your eyes mate was their top hit ....
new sub
do music theory lots. i am watching this after, but still.
Great album, but the prior album is far, far better.
you do my head in, normally, cause i know that i would like you, but you say things i disagree with lots, which is obviously cool, but this is one i want you to be on my side with, if that makes any sense, which it obviously can't, or some shit.
No todo son los beatles y oasis....
It would be better if you didn’t focus on comparing bands and instead looked more at the music. Edit: seriously why are you comparing blur and oasis at every song. You wanna talk about outside the box when blur sang with a fake accent that was trendy. I always like talking about Pulp though so I left a like. I just disagree with you a lot.
I just like to figure out music and music history through the context of what other comparable music I've heard. This was really more me fleshing out the Britpop genre than it was trying to compare the bands.
Dude, you seem nice but this viceo sucks. You should show at least 30 seconds for each song. If not, nobody understands what the.... are you talking
Oasis won the battle by far
Not the war