Every time I revisit this song, I'm struck by just how good it is. One of my favourite pop songs of of this millennium, if not my absolute favourite, possibly trumping my fave track by Siobhan's former band.
The video's awful, mind.
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Yay. Pulp are reforming for some shows next summer.
No other band quite captured what it was like to live in Britain in the mid-90's. No other band released a trio of consistently brilliant albums (His 'N' Hers, Different Class and This Is Hardcore) during the 'Britpop' period.
They were the right band at the right time, evidenced by their last minute addition to the Glastonbury bill in 1995. I loved that set, which remains one my best ever festival moments if not the best.
I was Pulp mad at the time, seeing them countless times - Brixton, Glastonbury, V, and even a trip to Leeds.
As James McMahon writes today in The Guardian:
Pulp were perhaps the last time British guitar music has managed to be world-beating, while at the same time sounding like it couldn't have come from anywhere else.
I'm surprised by this news but let's be honest Jarvis, Further Complications was a bit pants, so it's all for the best.
Look back bores and nostalgia seekers can rejoice. Me included.
Linkage:
The Rage of Common People - a brilliant piece by Dorian Lynskey.
set list via The Rock Club​
Two decades on do the Generation Terrorists still matter? Maybe not.
But this is a very different band to the 4 real era of the early 1990's, and in truth they have been different ever since the post-Richey comeback in 1995.
I went to see their show last month at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend was just that - a show, complete with the mid-set atrocity that is the acoustic break. Even this worked though, with James getting the crowd to bounce to You Stole The Sun From My Heart.
That was the closest we got to a mosh, and for the largely 30/40 something crowd that was probably for the best.
We were treated to a career spanning set, with Motorcycle Emptiness and If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next going down the best.
They closed with the song which James mentioned as being pivotal in justifying the continued existence of the band. A Design For Life remains brilliant and was the perfect way to finish.
It was a performance, akin to a night at the theatre. A good night.
As all gigs should be there was no encore, not that anyone minded. Like me, everyone seemed to really enjoy it. Well, nearly everyone. After the show I listened to an impassioned complaint that any band facing the longevity / credibility dilemma should perhaps follow the example of Europe. Yes, that Europe.
Linkage:
Excellent photoset on Flickr by Mishb1981
- Kylie's best album since Light Years. Love it.Last weekend I had a discussion over who is the best one album band.
For such a debate it is vital to set parameters. It has to be a band, which rules out Jeff Buckley. Lack of a second album due to death doesn't count either, which rules out Jeff Buckley. Their name must not begin with J, which rules out Jesus Jones. As does their multi album catalogue. As does using the word 'best' in reference to them.
Days on, my original answer remains. I therefore present Burning Benches by Morning Runner from their sole album Wilderness Is Paradise Now