YMMV / Pulp

---

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Is the narrator of "Pencil Skirt" sleeping with a married woman or raping her?
    You know I love it when you tell me to stop / Oh it's turning me on
    ...I only do it because I know it makes you sad / I only do it because I know you know it's bad
  • Is the ex-girlfriend in "Razzmatazz" really that shallow, unpleasant and deserving of everything that's happening to her, or is the singer just bitter and vindictive about being dumped by her?
• Americans Hate Tingle: While they are generally liked by the Americans who know of them, they failed to make a big impression stateside outside of the indie-minded crowd, as happened to a lot of Britpop acts.
• Awesome Music:
  • "Common People". It's their most famous song for a reason. The last minute or so in particular, where "I wanna live with common people like you" just builds and builds from barely a whisper to a battle cry.
  • All of "I Spy". Especially this performance.
  • "Mis-Shapes", one hell of a misfit's battle-cry.
  • The choruses of "Razzmatazz".
  • The choruses and ending of "F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E".
  • "Do You Remember The First Time?". All of it, but especially the when the first chorus kicks off and during the bridge buildup to the last few choruses.
  • The ending of "David's Last Summer", and arguably the rest of the song too.
  • The colossal, bonkers, nine minute, spoken-word epic that is "Deep Fried In Kelvin".
  • "Wickerman", all eight minutes of it.
  • "This Is Hardcore", especially when combined with that gorgeous music video. Hardcore porn has never sounded so classy.
  • "Glory Days" and "Cocaine Socialism", being the same (awesome) music with different lyrics.
  • "Weeds".
  • The ending of "Sunrise".
  • All of "After You".
• Epic Riff: Two words: "Disco 2000".
• Even Better Sequel:
  • Separations was a decent album that first showcased the band's signature art pop sound, but it was perfected in His 'N' Hers.
  • Different Class took it even further and is widely considered their masterpiece.
  • There's a sizeable chunk of the fanbase that considers This Is Hardcore to be this to Different Class.
• Fanon Discontinuity: Their first three albums tend to fall into this.
• Funny Moments: Jarvis on Da Ali G Show. Help the mo'fuckin' aged!
• Older Than They Think: Formed in 1978. They didn't have any chart success until 1994. Lampshaded in Spitting Image's parody of "Common People":
  We've been around for ages and ages,
  We're under "Rock Stars" in the Yellow Pages.
• Signature Song: "Common People", and to a lesser extent, "Disco 2000", "Babies" and "Do You Remember the First Time?"
• Tear Jerker:
  • "Disco 2000"
    When I came 'round to call
    You didn't notice me at all
  • "Common People" is just so utterly filled with despair and hopelessness and bitter rage it's hard not to feel a tug at the heartstrings, especially at the lines "You'll never fail like common people / You'll never watch your life slide out of view" and "You will never understand / How it feels to live your life / With no meaning or control", especially if you can relate to the sentiment of the lyrics - watching your dreams slowly die as you try to make a living for yourself, eventually losing all control over your existence and acquiescing to the boredom and mundaneness of working-class life.
  • "A Little Soul" from This Is Hardcore. It sounds very melancholy, and once you realise the song is about a dad who walked out on his family and is pleading with his son to not become like him it even sadder. It gets even more heartbreaking once you realise that this song was based on Jarvis Cocker's own experiences, as his dad walked out on his family when Jarvis was seven.
  • The "We Love Life" demo, "Grandfather's Nursery".
  • "Dishes" from This Is Hardcore, a melancholy-sounding song with some downright bleak lyrics about giving up your dreams and resigning yourself to a mundane, dull routine all while feeling like you should be happy, but instead you feel empty inside. It's pretty heartbreaking.
  • The title track of This Is Hardcore, while not sounding like a typical Tear Jerker song, can have this effect on some people, due to the dark, gloomy yet dramatic music and the bleak, broken lyrics. If the normal version of the track doesn't have this effect, the "End of the Line Remix" certainly will, being the strings from towards the end of the song but with the rest of the music stripped away, and it sounds heartbreaking.
  • "TV Movie", also from This Is Hardcore. Another melancholy song, but this time a breakup song with some of the most bleak, broken-sounding lyrics you've ever heard.
    Without you my life has become
    A hangover without end
  • "Like A Friend", one of the most bitter, heartbreaking breakup songs from a band that has a history of bitter, heartbreaking breakup songs.
    Don't bother saying you're sorry
    Why don't you come in?
    Smoke all my cigarettes again
    
    ...You are the last drink I never should have drunk
    You are the body hidden in the trunk
    You are the habit I can't seem to kick
    You are my secrets on the front page every week
    You are the car I never should have bought
    You are the train I never should have caught
    You are the cut that makes me hide my face
    You are the party that makes me feel my age
• Tough Act to Follow: Different Class was a big hit, was one of the defining albums of the Britpop era, and its singles still get played on oldies stations in the 2020s. This is Hardcore and We Love Life were nowhere near as successful.
• Vindicated by History:
  • When This Is Hardcore was released, it was a commercial failure compared to Different Class, due to its much darker sound and lyrics; and also received much more mixed reviews compared to its predecessor. However, in recent years it has become increasingly acclaimed by fans and critics, and is seen by some to be on the same level or even better than Different Class.
  • To a lesser extent this has happened to the next album, We Love Life, which was virtually ignored upon release despite good reviews, however has also been getting more attention recently, to the point where a petition has been started by fans to release a deluxe edition of the album.

---