Pulp

I mentioned the new "Help(2)" compilation a little while back when posting about the Damon Albarn/Grian Chatten/Kae Tempest collaboration included on the album.  Well, it's out in full now, includes an eclectic mix of artists, and raises money for War Child UK, an aid organization for children in war torn countries.  Listen to Pulp's contribution below, "Begging for Change," and order the record here from Beggars Banquet.

Pulp Covers Cash

Fresh off of their first new album in over two decades, legendary Britpop act Pulp are back again, this time around covering a late track from The Man In Black.  Johnny Cash's "When the Man Comes Around" opened his final album before his death back in 2003.  And now we have a Pulp version.  Listen to it below and download it here from Rough Trade.

Daily Jam - From Auschwitz to Ipswich

The reunited Pulp have a new album heading our way very soon, and we're positively bristling with excitement about over here.  Today, let's listen to a song Jarvis Cocker made during the band's time apart.  Here's a track from his first solo album.  Listen to "From Auschwitz to Ipswich" below, our Daily Jam.

Pulp

There have been rumblings and rumors for the last several weeks, but now it's official.  We're getting new music from Pulp in June, their first now album in 24 years.  I'm always down for more Jarvis and Co.  Check out new song "Spike Island" below and pre-order the "More" LP here from Rough Trade.

Daily Jam - The Day After the Revolution

The years go by and Pulp's "This Is Hardcore" continues to be a top-5 album for me.  I may even like it better now than i did those 26 years ago.  Here's the record's glorious finale (or penultimate track or earlier depending on the version you have).  Listen to "The Day After the Revolution" below, our Daily Jam.  And Happy Thanksgiving.

Daily Jam - The Trees

One of my great regrets is that i was never able to see Pulp play live.  Even with the handful of American dates that have this fall, it's just not something that's going to happen (they never come anywhere near Texas).  And so, i'm gonna mope with a track from the band's final album, 2001's "We Love Life."  Listen to "The Trees" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - This Is Hardcore

The party is over.

When I was a freshman in college way back in the long, long ago, Pulp released their penultimate album, the amazing and forever listenable This Is Hardcore. Simultaneously a summation of the Britpop boom of the mid/late 90's and a signifier of its coming death knell, the record perfectly captured a moment of music pop culture on tape, and then transcended it. Front man Jarvis Cocker was only 33 years old when the album came out in 1998, but he sounds like someone who has lived a lifetime of rock star decadence and regrets it all. I remember hearing this album for the first time at 19, and thinking that it sounded like the end of everything. It was like the band knew something that the rest of us didn't. Like they would still party with us, but they knew we'd all wake up cold, naked, sick, and alone in the morning. It's beautiful and devastating. And nowhere is that more evident than in the dramatic, orchestral title track.

The drums come in slowly and steadily, followed by the swinging, cinematic horns, a jazzy piano line playing slinkily on top of it all, the song sounds like entering some grand old Hollywood set, flashes of glitz and glamour, sparkles and beauty. Jarvis then comes in, his voice like that of an old, embittered crooner, gradually stripping away the shine and exposing the dark and seedy underbelly for all to see. Grime covers everything. "This Is Hardcore" is the sound of the party ending, the soundtrack to the morning after. It's the dull, thudding headache and cold sweat of the hangover, the gritted teeth and achy jaw as the cocaine wears off.

Bleakness and regret never sounded so wonderful.

Listen below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Happy Endings

I just heard last night of the passing of Pulp bassist Steve Mackey.  They're one of the bands that i was never fortunate enough to see live, but i listen to all the time.  So, in honor of the deceased, here's Pulp with our Daily Jam.  Listen to "Happy Endings" below.  RIP Steve Mackey.

Daily Jam - Bar Italia

Pulp were one of those bands i often felt it unfair how much better they were than everybody else.  Just absurdly good.  Anyway, here's "Bar Italia," the closing track from 1995's seminal Britpop classic "Different Class" and our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Sylvia

Though Pulp's "This Is Hardcore" LP is a total comedown record, it has been soothing to my soul for over two decades.  Here's "Sylvia," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Disco 2000

Here's a little something to make you feel alright today, even if just for a few moments.  Listen to Pulp's "Disco 2000" below, our Daily Jam.

JARV IS

Pulp front man Jarvis Cocker is now making music as JARV IS, and so long as we're all still around in May, we'll get to hear a new album from the man, his first in over a decade.  Check out the video for "House Music All Night Long" below and get the "Beyond the Pale" record from Rough Trade.

Jarvis Cocker

Holy shit, we've got a new single from Jarvis Cocker out today!  I've long been a fan of Cocker, going back to his days in Pulp, and then grooving along with his two solo records and all of the odds and ends and appearances and collaborations ever since.  Anyway, it's been a decade since his last proper solo outing, and it appears that be changing really soon.  Currently, he's been performing new material under the moniker Jarv Is, and now we get a studio recording of one of those new tunes, the psychedelic and pulsing "Must I Evolve?"  It's great, and if it's a harbinger of things to come, i am stoked.  Listen below.

Feist with Jarvis Cocker - Century

It's pretty much standard operating procedure that if you put Jarvis Cocker on your song, then i'm going to pay attention to it.  From her upcoming new album "Pleasure" on Interscope, Feist has collaborated on a track with the former Pulp front man on the record's second single, "Century."  You'll be able to tell when he comes in.  It's all very Jarvis-y.  Listen below.

Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets

Apparently there is a documentary film coming out about Pulp's final show in their hometown of Sheffield, England in 2012 called, adequately enough, "Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets."  Being a huge fan of the band, and totally bummed out that i've never been afforded the opportunity to see them perform live, i will have to seek this film out.  Watch the trailer below.

Marram featuring Jarvis Cocker and Margaret Bennett

"Sun Choir" is the latest project from Edinburgh based band Marram, a collaboration with a number of different artists recorded with and for the Light of Love's Children's Choir.  The proceeds benefit the Everything is New Project which helps children from India's "untouchable" Dalit class.  "Falling from the Sun" features a duet between former Pulp front man Jarvis Cocker and Scottish singer Margaret Bennett.  It's wonderful and the whole thing is for an excellent cause.  Listen below and get the record from Transgressive North.

Pulp - This Is Hardcore

Pulp's 1998 album "This Is Hardcore" is one of my all-time favorite records.  Simultaneously a summation of the Brit-pop boom of the mid/late 90's and a signifier of its coming death knell, the record perfectly captured a moment of music pop culture on tape, and then transcended it.  Front man Jarvis Cocker was only 33 years old when the album came out, but he sounds like someone who has lived a lifetime of rock star decadence and regrets all of it.  Hearing this album for the first time at 19, it sounded like the end of everything.  Like the band knew something the rest of us didn't.  Like they would still party with us, but they knew we'd all wake up cold, naked, sick, and alone in the morning.  It's beautiful and devastating.  Every song seems like it's better than the one that came before it, so that you have to listen to it over and over again.  Essential.  This is one of those albums that i've never been able to get over...and the good folks over at Captured Tracks has been nice enough to reissue the thing on vinyl.  Get it here.  Go on, i'll wait.  In the meanwhile, watch the video for the title track below.

Pulp

It appears the Pulp reunion is wrapping up, and sadly i did not get to partake.  No Texas shows Jarvis?  Why you gotta hurt me so?  At any rate, the band has released a new version of their song "After You" with a little bit of help from James Murphy of the now defunct LCD Soundsystem.  It's a treat.  Listen below.