Vinyl Vault

Back when BritPop ruled the world, a band named Pulp that had existed since the late 70’s became an unlikely overnight sensation with their critically lauded 1995 album Different Class. Were Jarvis Cocker’s bitingly honest tales of everyday blokes really all they were cracked up to be, or was Pulp just the right band for the right movement? A song-by-song dissection of the seminal album will yield the answer.

Different Class (1995, Island Records)

Side A

  A1. “Mis-Shapes”
A rallying cry for underappreciated intellectuals to rise up against those who would oppress them, this opener, set to a bouncy ska beat, really emphasizes that Different Class will indeed be about class difference. Jarvis Cocker’s lyrics are a mix of fear (“We could end up with a smack in the mouth/Just for standing out”) and defiance (“We’ll use the one thing we got more of/That’s our minds.”)

  A2. “Pencil Skirt”
Cocker has no qualms about playing the other-man role and seducing an engaged girl using his lascivious charm (“I’ve kissed your mother twice/And now I’m working on your Dad.”) The music stays quiet for the verses but builds to swirling crescendos in the breaks.

  A3. “Common People”
Pulp builds an unlikely anthem out of some itchy synthesizers and 60’s pop organ that swells into Bowie-esque majesty. Cocker upbraids a dilettante who wants to dip her toes in the waters of poverty, saying she’ll never know the reality of it because “If you called your Dad, he could stop it all.” His willingness to give a less-privileged class a voice is reminiscent of Ray Davies, albeit with far less romance and far more grit.

  A4. “I Spy”
Cocker works up quite a lather in this neo-noir, once again in an effort to liberate a rich married woman from her humdrum husband. The end result is a tad overwrought in its theatrics.

  A5. “Disco 2000”
Undeniably catchy but a little familiar (listen for the similarities to the 80’s pop smash “Gloria” by Laura Branigan), Cocker indulges in some future nostalgia.

  A6. “Live Bed Show”
An intriguing mood piece that rambles and never quite ignites.

Side B

  B1. “Something Changed”
The frontman reveals himself to be an incurable romantic in this piece of cosmopolitan pop that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a Dusty Springfield record in the 60’s.

  B2. “Sorted for E’s & Wizz”
The dead end of the drug scene is portrayed in Cocker’s sardonic lyrics: “All this has to start to mean something.” It’s a bit like the BritPop version of “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

  B3. “Feeling Called Love”
“This isn’t chocolate boxes and roses/It’s dirtier than that.” Those lyrics should tell you all you need to know about Cocker’s feelings here on a track that veers wildly from synth minimalism to an industrial ruckus.

  B4. “Underwear”
This song has a very similar feel to it as Radiohead’s “Creep.” Both have the buzzing guitars building into soaring choruses. But Cocker’s dirty-young-man sensibility is all his own.

  B5. “Monday Morning”
It’s another attempt at a sprawling showstopper a la “Common People,” but it’s a bit too frenzied and lack’s the earlier track’s wit.

  B6. “Bar Italia”
The doo-wop rhythms allow Cocker to wring every ounce of drama out of this tale of lonely barflies propping each other up: “If you can stand/I would like to take you by the hand.” His songwriting gift is the empathy he shows his sad-sack characters, which was likely because he was one of them.

The Bottom Line

Even on Different Class, Pulp had somewhat of an identity crisis when you consider their shapeshifting sound. But they had Jarvis Cocker and his unique songwriting voice, and that was more than enough to get them over.

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