Undoubtedly their most successful album, a continuation from the Britpop movement where Blur & Oasis had the reflectors, but Pulp was not that far behind. This is how just common people revolutionized a sound and made them a go to reference for the genre and a cult band nowadays.
The band started on the eighties but till their 4th studio album His ´n´ Hers they found more recognition and that set the stage for what was coming, their 5th album which captivated the masses proving that something changed for them and for the britpop genre with a fresh, cool and interesting sound; with fun lyrics and a frontman that has a unique sense of humor when playing live being such an entertainer; Mr. Jarvis Cocker.
Would like to start this trip with a song that wasn’t a single but clearly exemplifies the roller coaster of surprises for this record; “F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E” begins so calm with a mysterious sound and Jarvis voice like If he was whispering to the ear of his loved one, when after 2 minutes the rhythm increases and makes you jump while he spells the title of the song. The album contains as well very melodic tracks such as “Live Bed Show” & “Pencil Skirt”, which are so incredible to listen while sitting relaxed at your couch.
If the rhythm with the prior tracks got you excited, “Disco 2000” is something that will make you dance for sure! The initial guitar riff is so characteristic and with this song being released 5 years before the new millennium it really suited (Not as for Deborah the main character of the song) where the main story is about when you are in love with someone from your childhood and then you happen to try to meet at a future stage by the fountain down the road, just to see how life has been treating you; Doesn’t sound interesting and lovely? It does, it really does.
Now, lets talk about “Common People”, Pulp´s anthem, and a song that lyrically makes a lot of sense on how sometimes a person wants to experience other people´s lives. This song tells on a very funny way the story of a posh lady that wants to feel ordinary and live and ordinary life; this is interesting as usually is on the opposite way, isn’t it? Well, this is how it goes “Rent a flat above a shop, Cut your hair and get a job, Smoke some fags and play some pool, Pretend you never went to school, But still you´ll never get it right, Cause when you´re laid in bed at night, Watching roaches climb the wall, If you called your dad he could stop it all”. The entire song is so rhythmic and so full of energy, an exchange between classes where indeed Jarvis mentioned at a Reading show in 2011, “If Pulp were only remembered for this song I don’t care is a good song” And I agree with him!
25 years after Different Class, the band is not together anymore, indeed they broke up in 2002 and came back for a reunion tour between 2011 till 2013. Everyone has taken different paths but Pulp will always be remembered as those Sheffield lads that consolidated Britpop, starting as common people but finishing as stars.
