New Song On Sunday

 

When a band crawls out of their holes again after 24 years, the first thing you think is that they can probably use the money to rest on their laurels. That's what I thought when I heard that Pulp were releasing a new album. 

Spike Island is the name of Pulp's new sign of life. The song is named after an Irish island in the Bay of Cork. However, the song is not about a historical event. In 1990, The Stone Roses played a gig there that would go down in British music history. Back then, 27,000 people gathered to experience the quartet from Manchester on little Spike Island. Jarvis Cocker was not among this huge crowd, but he can still imagine the spectacle.

Jarvis Cocker has never been the great singer and still isn't, but the sound he still manages to produce is a seamless continuation of his last releases. In its best moments, the song is even reminiscent of David Bowie, which is meant in a positive way. In a comment on the video, it was written that 'it's like hugging someone you haven't seen for a long time and it still smells the same and good'. There's nothing more to add to that.

Live Music On German TV

In the mid 90's Jarvis Cocker appeared with his band Pulp on the scene. Headdress, greasy hair, no modeling fretting, unbelievable dance style and yet - Jarvis Cocker was and is a sex symbol. Women, whom he did not even dare to look at in his entire youth, worship the man idolatly since he is in the spotlight with Pulp. With Different Class they released their masterpiece and Common People went to the top of the charts. Still a song that explores more than a bit of hip culture like Dead Kennedys did in Holidays In Cambodia.  But in the best days Cocker wrote songs that was nearly close to songs Ray Davis wrote decades ago. Songs that described live and situation in England at these days. I remember when I saw this footage for the first time and I really liked what I saw and heard. A few week later I saw them live and Pulp were at the top of their days and after 26 years you can listen to them with big joy.

 

Century

Canadian indie-pop chanteuse Leslie Feist is back with a new album soon. A few weeks ago she gave an appetizer with Pleasure from the album with the same name. Now her second single is out. Century is one of those songs that surprises. Her clear voice over a simple beat and some guitar riffs are the way we know her but after three and a half minutes the songs seems to come to an end and after a few seconds of silence an organ appears and leads us to a monotone and well known baritone. Jarvis Cocker starts a monologue about some interesting thoughts. Not that this thoughts are necessary but probably worth to spent some times over them

“Century, how long is that?” 3,155,973,600 seconds, 876,000,000 hours or 36,500 days, almost as long as one of those endless dark nights of the soul.”

Nothing Like A Friend

Richard Hawley is back with a new record. There were mostly ballads on it and it is good this way. He turned once again to something that made him great for me. Most of the songs are played in a very laid back atmosphere. For me his voice is getting older and is more brittle than before. Maybe because he's getting older and wiser but his voice became much more elegance to his songs and the way he interprets them. Certainly not a record for everyone and for every time but I always liked his voice and his songs. Maybe one of these artists that never got the respect they should have. On this song Jarvis Cocker plays the bass and the sentence is for eternity: In the end, there is nothing like a friend. One more record for the times between evening and night.

Richard Hawley - Nothing Like A Friend

I Picked A Flower

The Pastels are a Glasgow based independent band, formed in the early 1980s. They started as a classic post-punk band and had inspired a lot of bands of the so called C-86 era to turn later into softer sounds. I listen recently to their 1998 album 'Illuminati' still fascinated how fresh it sounds even today. This song is from their soundtrack to 'The Last Great Wilderness' and is a collaboration with Pulp's Jarvis Crocker.

Enjoy and have a good last working day.

The Pastels & Jarvis Cocker - I picked a flower