You know something? If you're listening to this show, if you're listening to waterproof records, that means you're in a different class. For those of you who only listened to the show and don't know why there was a pause and maybe a rustle there for a second, it was because I just put on some oversized Jarvis Cocker style glasses because yes, today on the podcast, we are talking about pulp. Different class. And I have these because I made a video a while ago about the band and I was like, I have to get me some Jarvis like glasses and I've had them ever since. And I don't know why I'm not wearing them all the time. So if you've never watched the show, you can turn it on and you can see me wearing these funny glasses. Anyway, but we're going to get into it. So let's get into it. Why am I wasting time? We want to talk about pulp. Let's talk about pulp. It's time to talk about pulp pulp. Different class. Let's go. All right, I'm going to remove the glasses just for the time. I'm being so we can talk seriously because it's just an incredibly serious podcast. You know it. I know it. For those of you who've never been here before, this is the most serious podcast about music. It absolutely is not. It's usually me talking to you like we're hanging out like you're in my garage and actually, oh, you're in my garage. This is the new set. When I had the episode last week with Julie Christmas, it was the first time that I got to premiere the look of the new set of waterproof records podcast, but it's getting even cooler because look to my left, you can see I have the album that we're talking about on this monitor here, you know, it's just showing it, which I mean, I could obviously just have like a record out that would be so much more waterproof records of me. But what I'm so excited to show you is look at the sign that said has the logo. So that is the Valumi, which you've seen me have on the show before that displays records on it, but I had a custom sign made of the logo of the show. So now that's my permanent sign and I love it so much. And I've got the brick background. I've got my Epiphone SG behind me. I'll be swapping out which guitars are with me on the show. And yeah, I've just gotten a cool little space here. Got my waterproof records coffee mug. Let's take a sip of water. But you know, you're anxious to talk about the album, but you know what we have to do first. We have to talk about DistroKid, sponsor of waterproof records. If you're not using DistroKid, I highly recommend you check them out. It's so easy. You can go online. You can look it up. They have an app. It's super easy. It's how you get your music, your work out to the world like immediately. I was about to snap, but I was like, I think I do that every show. I need to come up with a new gesture to talk about DistroKid. But DistroKid is super easy and affordable. And if you use my link, which is DistroKid.com/VIP/Waterproof, you think I'd know the link by now, DistroKid.com/VIP/Waterproof. Very important person or very important podcast waterproof. So go get 30% off with my link and you can use it to upload your music and get it on Spotify, iTunes. There's a bunch at Deezer. Never, I don't think that's one of them. Or is that a podcast platform? I don't know. But if you use it, you'll get your music ever. YouTube included. And they have a bunch of additional bells and whistles you can use as well. But definitely go check out DistroKid.com/VIP/Waterproof. Get that 30% off. But done all the pleasantries up front. Now it's time for unpleasantries. Unpleasantries. Now, if you are watching this show, one thing that might happen during the course of this podcast is I might slowly melt. Because it is very warm in Los Angeles right now. And while I have had a little AC unit running in the garage tavern area where I have the podcast studio, I have to turn it off when I record the show because it's too loud. You just hear the whole time. So I have to turn it off so that we can talk and I can already feel within five minutes of being out here. I was like, oh boy, I am going to sweat completely through this shirt. So it's going to be a couple of interesting months here during the summer. But we'll get through it together. We always do. You and I keep telling you that. Believe in yourself. But let's talk about pulp. Pulp. A band that's going on tour right now. And do I have tickets to this show that's coming here in Los Angeles this fall? No, I do not because I missed, I missed the sale window and I'm going to have to find a way to plead the world and help me find a way to get to that show because I've never seen pulp live and they do not tour. Often this is a reunion tour on the road. They have not been touring for a very, very long time. So this would be a special moment. But pulp is a band that might surprise you to find out that started Jarvis Cocker started that when he was like 15 years old in 1978. That's how long that band had existed before they achieved mainstream success and commercial success and an air play and all the popularity. It wasn't until the 90s. This album that we're talking about today, different class is 1995 in the UK. But I don't even think we don't get it in the USA until February of 1996. So it took a very, very long time. But the story of how different class gets so popular. And I think we can all agree pulp fans can say it's the album that is the game changer for them. It may not necessarily be your favorite, but it's my favorite pulp album. And it's how I will discover them late. I was late to the pulp party. That's the crazy thing. Oh, what me Jacob who so knows everything about the music. No, I miss them sometimes. Sometimes they just go and they fly past. And for those of us who lived in the United States, pulp wasn't being given to us as much as they were probably being given to you over in the UK or in other countries. But so if you're one of my listeners who lives overseas, you may be like, Oh, well, pulp and and different class. This was so well known. But in the United States, like I said, it came to us a little bit later. And we weren't getting common people, which is on this album as a major airplay radio hit. It might have played in some cities, but I don't recall it getting a lot of airtime enough where that's how I was exposed to it. I was introduced to pulp once I went to, well, this album in particular, once I went to University of Illinois Urbana Champagne. And I met my roommate Jarrett, who's been on the show before. He was one of the earliest episodes. He put two songs from this album on a mixtape for me in my freshman year, which would have been 1997, 98. That would have been when he made that for me. And I had heard pulp songs before. I had heard them do mile end on the train spotting soundtrack, which I liked. I had I believe I had heard some songs, maybe on MTV, but I had never really given them the deep dive and attention that they deserved. And I remembered seeing the different class poster in a record store when that album came out. I remember walking by and seeing that wedding photo there and be like, huh, interesting. And then walking right past, not giving it two thoughts. And I didn't buy the album. I didn't know about common people. It wouldn't be until I was in college. But once I heard disco 2000, common people, miss shapes, pencil skirt, this whole album is just solid. Start to finish. And it's incredibly theatrical and sensual sexual. It has, but it's a very different, you know, on the show, but we've talked about like massive attack and that, you know, the horny vibe of that. This is a different kind. Jarvis has that way that breathy whisper that baritone, you know, he does that. Oh, that he does all the time. I think it's so great. It's so great. And the energy of this album is so specifically pulp. And during the 90s, of course, this is the rise of Brit pop in the 90s, the, the mid 90s. And everybody talks about oasis versus blur, blur versus oasis, and which is your favorite. I've had a lot of people ask me that question before. And the, I'll tell you the truth. And if you're a diehard oasis fan, don't be mad at me. I had a hard time with oasis because the way they were portrayed, um, for us, at least the coverage that I was getting was that they were dicks that Liam and Noel were just arrogance and kind of assholes. And while I enjoyed the music, I was hearing from them that personality trait of theirs, um, kind of turned me off. And I just, you know, besides the hits, I wasn't paying much attention to them. Now blur had caught my attention for, you know, song two, but outside of that songs like the universal, um, and I was really, really digging their sound. But what I didn't know about the Brit pop feud between those two, and if you lived over there, you obviously knew this, but it was really, it was like Northern, um, England, Northern London, uh, working class, beer drinking, like hard working. Uh, that's oasis, right? And blur is looked at as middle class kids that went to art school and are quoting poetry and literature and their lyrics or whatever. And so that was why it was like us versus them. And people would always viewed out as to who was better. But pulp was right right in the middle. And I think when you look back on it now, it was, it was cool that they didn't try to participate in that. You know, they, they were too busy singing about, you know, class differences, different class in their album to be bothered with like, are we going to feud with another band or, or whatever? And I'm sure at least what I, what I gathered, they got a lot of respect from their peers. It seems like oasis really liked what what pulp was doing and the several times that Jarvis got in trouble and the media, like they were like, yeah, hell yeah. Jarvis should be knighted. Um, I'll get into those stories in a little bit. Those are some funny stories about Jarvis getting into trouble in the nineties. But let's talk a little bit about who the is in the band of this time. Like I mentioned before, Jarvis is pulp. You can't have pulp without Jarvis. He is the, the creator of the band and he's there to this day and there's been other musicians who've come in and out of the band, especially though in those early years from 1978 through the 19 late 1980s, it's, you know, there's kind of a rotating door there for a little bit. But once we land this specific lineup, the lineup of different class, we have Jarvis Cocker who, you know, not only plays guitar and some of the synth and keys on the album, but he's the main vocalist, tall, lanky thin man, who often was wearing these big oversized glasses like I have here. At least you see that more on this is hardcore than you do during this time. But I think of these glasses as very Jarvis Cocker. But also in the band is Russell senior, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackie, Mark Weber and Nick Banks. That's the line up the Russell senior on guitar. Candida Doyle does keys, piano, synth, Steve Mackie's bass, Mark Weber's guitar and Nick Banks is drums. R drums. He is drums. He's actual a man drum. No, I'm kidding. He is the drummer and this is the lineup of this album. And while they're doing the reunion tours that happened in like 2012 and 2011, this is what people think of is like, it's the, it's the reunion of this lineup right here. So this is the group that comes together to make this album. And a lot of credit is given to Jarvis discovering a Casio MT 500 keyboard. He bought it at a music and video exchange in Notting Hill. Yes, just like the film. It is a real place. And he starts within 48 hours. He's playing around on this Casio synth. And he's like riding the notes of common people. Like it's already coming to him so quickly, just the chord progression. And he's dreaming it up in 48 hours. He's already got this idea for this song. And he shows it to the band members. And not all of them are for it. I think Steve Mackie was like, no, this reminds me of fanfare for the common man by Emerson, like in Palmer, you know, sounds like you're ripping that off. So everybody wasn't 100% in for it, but some band members were. They could see the potential of what it would become. But this Casio MT 500 keyboard is really influencing Jarvis and his songwriting. And like I said, this is their fifth studio album releasing in, like I said, October 1995 in the UK and February 1996, the USA fifth studio album bands been going since 1978. It's a long time. And the albums that were coming out were pretty sparse. I think the first ones in 1983, then it's 1987. So it's not like they're coming out very often between each other in the early days. There's like four years between albums coming out. But by this time, by the time they're starting to work on different class, they have had some success with the album before this. His and hers, his and hers had some red, you know, had some hits, it charted. And so they're getting some attention. And some would say that this is when Jarvis and pulp realized they got to go big. They got to give it their all. This is their time to shine. The spotlight is on them. They got to go for it. And so so much energy and effort is given into this album and the songs. And you can really tell. And I really wish that this album had been there more for me during my teenage years. I wish I had been quick to discover it. Because I think about where I was. And there's a lot of themes in here that I think anyone who's adolescent or feeling a sense of struggle could really use. And I could have used a lot of these songs a bit younger because discovering them in college. Well, I don't know. I don't know. Like those of you who know me, I was in church in high school and struggling with like the stresses of church life and God and feeling like desires and warrants and really, you know, pushing those down inside. So maybe I wasn't ready to hear some of the lyrical content of a different class because there's a lot in here about, you know, loneliness, also things about growing up and being kind of disappointed with how things are in the work life and now that you're out in the world. And also about sexuality and kind of the, I guess you could feel the true feeling behind losing your virginity and that feeling, you know what I mean? Like there's some very heavy themes in here that maybe I was discovering it at the right time in my life. So I'm curious about all of you and when you heard it. But this album really gets so much more attention because there's some major events that happen that lead them to the spotlight. So the song Common People releases in May in the UK and it's instantly loved. It's a hit. People love that song. You know that song? I know the song. If you didn't know anything about pulp and I played you Common People or sang a few lines from it, you'd be like, Oh, that song, that band, it's hands down their most popular song of all time, covered by tons of people. Just a great piece of music. So catchy, so dancey, and yet has such a biting tone about that class difference about a rich girl, touristing down into the lower class life, wanting to be like them. And the lyrics in it are just so fantastic. But the reason why it really gets that extra boost is the song comes out and like a month later, this is June 1995, Glastonbury has the stone roses headlining. And one of the members has to drop out because he has a broken arm. I think John Squire has a can't perform. And so they call in the last minute and they say, pulp, you're up. So pulp gets this call. They get to go up and do Glastonbury. And this is the performance that people see them and they're like, holy shit, they do common people, but they do tons of the other songs that they're working on at the time. And it's really getting people's attention and it brings them to the forefront because the album will come out that fall. And give them a number one or number two. I can't remember where it was, but it was enough to really rise to the top. And I can't even imagine what that was like for Jarvis because here's somebody who'd been starting this dream since he was 15 years old in 1978, had put in all the years, all the time, putting on albums, everything pretty lackluster. And finally, this rise to the top, which would have perilous outcomes for him because it would just be too much, you know, that level of fame, it would cause him to want to get into too much drug addiction. And it would really cause this, you know, I think maybe that's why Pulp ends and stops making music and they just decide to kind of call it quits by about 2002, which could be more to do with labels, I don't know. But I've seen a lot of interviews with Jarvis now and he seems like he's happy and content and happy to be performing these songs and really not looking to be like, you know, that those years that they weren't doing anything, he did tons of side projects. I'd forgotten that he was the Jarvis was in that the band and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when they do the Winter Ball, I'd forgotten that he was the singer in that. And there's also Johnny Greenwood from Radiohead in there. And that's so funny, because I'd completely forgotten about that. But this album in particular, song by song, you know, some of the things that we could talk about as we go through, it's pretty wild, because Oasis is coming out. I mean, Oasis is out and Blur is out and other big bands are coming out, the Elastica, Supergrass, the charlatans, you know, all these big Brit pop bands are all over the radio, getting air play on MTV. And here comes this band that was originally called back when they started "Arabicus" and then they became "Arabicus Pulp" and then just Pulp. But they're here in 1995 and the first song on the album is "Miss Shapes." "Miss Shapes" and this song is like an anthem. It's like a call to any kind of weird oddball that has been left aside. If you have not listened to this album, when you hear this song, you just feel like you want to run out into the streets. Jarvis has said in interviews, he wrote it because he would go out to bars in Sheffield when he was younger and there would always be the same kind of guy in Sheffield that had like the mustache and the tight white shirts and just be like the kind of guy to punch you in the face because you had like weird colored pants or weird hair or whatever it was. And this is something that like, even though I'm not from England and I wasn't in Sheffield, this is absolutely the tone of the way things were in the 70s and the 80s and even the 90s. This idea that if you're a weirdo, if you're somebody who dresses differently, there are people that will ridicule you and beat you up. And this was something that was going on when I was a kid as well. Now I'd like to say, I live in LA so it's not that bad here anymore. Weird or unusual or multicolored hair or tattoos and piercings or wild clothing choices is definitely more acceptable now more than ever. And I think there's other uphill battles that the youth of today have to face. That's a whole other whole other thing that I'm geez, I haven't been a kid in so long. So I know they've got their own things that they have to face. But back when Jarvis is writing this, this is the common thing that we would, this is the common people. This was the common thing that we all had to deal with when you were like into weird alternative music, goth music, grunge music, you had to deal with the fact that a lot of these communities, you dressed a certain way, you did something in your hair, punk, metal, and the status quo, the popular kids were like, you look weird and they'd want to punch you. And so this song is a rally, a call to all the weirdos and all the people on the sidelines to come together rise up. And the video is great. They're in a nightclub and Jarvis plays both sides, he plays both the jerk and also kind of the awkward, you know, he's in like his suit and it's a great video because he gets to play both parts and it shows this nightclub of how these it's like a west side story of like a bunch of jabronis and then the nerds, the geeks, the weirdos, you know, but it's a great, great song, miss shapes. He said miss shapes, Jarvis had said an interview, he said miss shapes are these chocolates, they used to have them in the sweet shop next to his house, they were the ones that had gone wrong in the factory, they were misshapen, he said kind of like the elephant man of the sweet world, you could buy them in a bag much cheaper than a normal box of chocolates. So, and then I read somewhere else that was like mistakes, miss shapes, you know, that if we're different, that we're almost shaped differently. So, fantastic song, the rally cry, but the side result of it is he said, unfortunately, it, and I don't know, you, you listeners in England can tell me, but he said the negative consequence of it, he was talking about a very specific thing, we, the outcast will rise up together. And he said that, um, townies, uh, like are drawn to it and really feel like a connection to it. And I'm assuming he means it like rough, like the ones he's, he's being critical of in the song are now thinking it's for them. I'm assuming that's what he said, it means by that. So, when I read that, I was like, oh, that's funny, like you put something out there as an artist in the world and then it has the complete opposite effects. It's like what's going on recently with, um, with the boys, the boys that TV show, it's like always been very, very hyper critical of the extreme right. Like that's absolutely been the stance. And apparently there's been stuff in the latest season where they're like, I don't like it. It's gotten, it's just, it's going after, you know, and, and people have been coming out and saying, oh yeah, it's been like that since the beginning, you're just now noticing it, you know, so it's like one of those things where you put something out in the world and you wait for the person that you're talking about to figure it out. But then we get into pencil skirt. Now this is quintessential Jarvis cocker. Oh, I love it. You're turning me on the way. He says those whispers. This song is something that people say is about infidelity. And when you read the lyrics, there's this hilarious part in there that says, but I've kissed your mother twice. And now I'm working on your dad. That always made me laugh the way he says that in the song. He's like, but I've kissed your mother twice. And I'm working on your dad. So what a great line. But it's, you know, it's to me, the lyrics of this song are about a young man. And he's got this woman who's in a loveless marriage and he's fooling around with her and giving her pleasure. That's what I gathered from it. But I have to tell you something that I read while researching this album that there are theories out there. And I don't think they're true, but it's funny and it's worth sharing. There are theories that this song is about a dildo. And I was like, I mean, I can see it in some of the lines, but I think it's definitely coming from the perspective of a person. I don't think it's a song where the dildo was singing. You know, this is like the dildo having a, you know, just sitting in the. Oh, you know, it says a thing about like you, you asked me to stop. So anyway, interesting theory, internet forums. But I'm just going to go with the infidelity and, and, you know, somebody shagging somebody else's lady. That's what I think pencil skirt is about. But that's great song. Then we get to common people with a big hit. Like I've talked a lot about, you know, cocker is going to St. Martin's, you can hear the song, you know, she came from Greece. She had a thirst for knowledge. She studied sculpture at St. Martin's College. That's where I caught her eye. The lyrics of this song I used when I was a freshman in high school, I was in a, I was in a theater class. And one of the requirements was you had to come in with like a poem or song lyrics or something. And you had to act it out as a scene by yourself. And I remember that this is the song that I chose. I came into class and I performed common people like it was like a monologue about this angry, you know, poor student that's frustrated about the class separation. And the ferocity, the kind of anger and frustration, the working class identity that comes out of this song is so powerful. I had a lot of those envies growing up as a kid in Tulsa with the wealth and the rich and the well to do. And I mean, you know, it's not like we were, it wasn't like I was working out at the train station, you know, shoveling coal or something like that. It's not like I had that kind of childhood. Our family was fine. We had house and clothes on our backs and going to a school. But, you know, like I said, where I grew up, there was a lot of money, not as much as there is in Los Angeles. But in Tulsa, there was a lot of kind of keeping up with the Joneses. And so kids would turn 16 and the rich kids would get like a new car or the kids you went to school with had like the nice shoes, you know, the Air Jordans or whatever. And I always just was very frustrated with that that level of wealth, you know, I had a lot of envy in my heart, a lot of frustration about the the success of other families and kids getting a great gaming system or the nice clothes, you know, when you when you're wearing like stuff from a secondhand store or you're wearing stuff that's kind of like not name brand, it's it's wild because it shouldn't matter. But back then, you know, kids would definitely comment on it and definitely joke on it. You know, I remember standing on stage and this girl just looking at me being like, where are your shorts from? Or looking at my shoes and I was wearing some off brand sneaker and somebody making fun of those. And so I had I really had some of those feelings growing up just anger and frustration about upper class wealthy kids that got what they wanted, you know, like playing guitar as a teenager. It wasn't like my parents were going to be like, here's your new fender Stratocaster, you know, I was playing a $99 harmony that we got secondhand at a music store. And it was a big deal, you know, I only say this just because I'm kind of sharing that I had a lot of frustrations and chips on my shoulder about money. And I still do. I still have those. I still have that in the back of my mind. I think that those things that you have as a child kind of stay with you. Like, if I ever became wealthy, I probably want to kick my own ass. There's just something really frustrating to me about really wealthy people. Sorry. Just being being honest. Well, at least those who have been wealthy their whole life and never known anything otherwise. So I can, when I listen to common people, I can, I can relate, I can relate to that frustration. And of course, just probably people who look at me and they go like, well, well, fuck you, dude, you're doing great. You live in Los Angeles and you have all these followers on your social media. Well, it doesn't pay me anything. You know, I'm fine. I'm doing okay, but it's not because of my social media. You know, this isn't this is not changed my life financially. Maybe one day it will, but, but having a chip on your shoulder about money and wealth is something that I think so many of you can relate to. And if you grew up very, very poor and without money and hardship and didn't know where the next meal was going to come from and didn't know when you were going to get a new pair of jeans or were having hand-me-downs after hand-me-downs, I hear you. I am not here to say my situation was worse than yours or anything. I know that it's all the human experience and we're all going through this together. And we're all here and the one unifier is music so we can come together and we can look at something like common people and kind of go, yeah, yeah. And if you're really rich and you're visiting schools and you're saying, I want to live like common people like you, maybe rethink things. That's all I'm going to say. Okay, I could be, I feel like I'm talking slow and I'm, I'm, I feel like I'm getting a little bit like delirious. And I think it's because the sweat has really taken hold. So if this podcast of Pulp's different classes means slowly deteriorating into a wet puddle, then I apologize and we're going to hopefully find a way to keep me cool. Okay, the next song, I Spy, oof, this is so theatrical, so James Bond, you know, the, the, the key change in it, the, the sudden, la, la, la, la, la. That's like, to me, that's like somebody just whisking you off, you know, lifting you up and spinning you around and dancing, you know, off into the sky. The song starts out, I spy like, like you're in a James Bond film. This song feels like it could have been the score of one of those 60s or 70s James Bond films, but it's another song about spying in on the upper class, being in the, in the lower class, really seeing those differences and wanting to take that person away from it all. Fantastic song. And then we get to the others went on the album that is one of my other favorites on the album was, which was Disco 2000. I love this song so much. It is, in some ways, I might love this song more than common people because I kind of fell in love with both those pieces of music at the same time. But this song really captured my heart and this childhood nostalgia falling in love with a girl wanting to be with her, her not seeing you that way. Then there's a connect, you know, then you want to meet down the road by the fountain down the road. Her name was Deborah. Deborah. It never suited you. Oh, I love this song so much. I did read while researching this song that the actual Deborah, she sadly had cancer and passed away at the age of 51, but she was a remarkable humanitarian and had done wonderful work in her life. And it did say that Jarvis had sang to her on her 50th birthday a year before she passed. I hope that is true. If it is wonderful, wonderful story, you know, it's there's only so many things I can get cleared. I might somebody have somebody in my YouTube comments like, how dare you? How dare you share the wrong information? Well, I'm doing my best. Then disco 2000 amazing song. God, I love it. Live that show. This song, you know, I think you gather from it that there's somebody in there. This lady might have be a woman of the night who is, you know, dealing with taking lover after lover or at somebody who has had a great love, lost them and now kind of longs for it. And any person she invites into her bed is lackluster and dull and will never be the same. But kind of a sad, sad piece of music. Pulp, though, somehow can take set. I think my stomach just growled. Pulp somehow can still take these really morose, tragic topics and give that little bit of pep to them with that doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. They always do, you know, that organ little bup, bup, bup, bup, bup, that syncopated hop to it. So very pulp. ♪ Now every night she plays the side of game ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ Comfort's ending, nothing's going wrong ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, doo, ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ But then we get to something changed, something changed. This is commonly played at people's weddings, commonly looked at it as a beautiful love song. And this song by Jarvis was written as far back as 1984, at least a version of it was. He had a much earlier version of the song that, you know, he had his sister sing and he tried different things with it. And it just is one of those things when they were putting this album together, he brought it back and found its way through. So it was an old song idea, an old melody that was now back in. And it really is this song about fate, a song about being available to experience things as they randomly will happen. I think he went on record to say that, you know, it gave him pause about kind of a scheduled life, you know, having to be this place and that they're having to clock in and clock out and missing out on kind of life's mysteries that are presented to you in the randomness, meeting someone, falling in love. If you hadn't been available in those moments, what would your life be? If you had not gone out that night to the show and then decided to walk home, would you have met the person? Would your life be totally different? And so it is one of those songs that is very sweet, especially if you can share it with a loved one and make it about how meaningful it is that you met one another and how fate. Star is aligned and brought you together. This next one sorted for ease and whiz. Oh, I had such a fun time reading up about this because in the United States, or at least in my my love of the band, I had never dug this deep into some of the stories behind some of these songs. This might have been so much more well known in the 90s in the UK, but I wasn't aware. Sort of for ease and whiz, ease is ecstasy and whiz is the slang for speed. So those are, this is something that Jarvis had said he overheard somebody talking about drugs and a rave and sorted for ease and whiz, getting your ecstasy and your speed on. And this song really opens up and talks about, you know, 20,000 people standing in a field and it's wild because this is about raves back in the 90s, 80s and 90s in London and in England. But it's still so relevant to this day with things like Coachella and these big music festivals and Glastonbury and just all these things about people out in fields and listening to music and taking experimental drugs and having these trips. And the song really talks about like, you know, yes, you're going to go out and have this experience, but then are you going to come back down from it? And then one of the other funny lines in the song is he says, you know, here you're at these festivals and someone is like very loving and you're a brother, you know, nice one, geezer. And then when it's time to go home the next morning when the drugs have worn off, it's like, you know, fuck off, get your own ride. And so the love, the energy that's being shared at this rave isn't genuine. It's substance. It's a drug that's bringing you to this place and then it's going to go away. So it was kind of a criticism towards drugs and use of the time. But the most interesting thing about sorted for ease and whiz is the liner of the album, the single that had instructions for rolling the paper to be able to carry something. So it had like a diagram on the liner. And it showed you that you could fold paper a certain way and then it would make this little envelope, which would be great for carrying something, right? So right as the album is coming out and this song is there's a newspaper in the Daily Mail, I think it is. And this journalist comes down and is like, stop this, you know, stop this disgusting trend or this, this, whatever the article said, it was telling people like, do not support this band because they're trying to teach you how to, how to, you know, have your drugs on you. That's what they're trying to do. And they came out and they were like, no, no, that's not what we're doing at all. I can see why it was misunderstood to be that way. That's not what we were trying to do. In fact, we're anti drug. We would never, I can see, you know, this, this paper never says this, this instructions about folding the paper never says anything about drugs or paraphernalia. So I can see why there's some confusion. But I got to tell you right now, for you listeners, I'm about to stare at the camera for a beat of like a come on now. They absolutely knew what they were doing. 100%. There is no way that instructions to fold paper to hold something is just coincidentally being used in tandem with a song about doing drugs at a concert. It was, it was a brilliant move. Maybe they didn't even think it would attract the controversy that it did, but it was brilliant. They got, they had to change it. They had to alter it. It was one of those things that when they did it, and all the interviews are like, no, no, we would, oh, we would never, I can see why you would think it. But, but by all means, we never intended to do such a thing. And then you look at it and you go, yeah, come on, come on. That was the plan the whole time. You're not fooling me Jarvis and team or whoever decided to do that. Because I mean, look, whether it was a song where the lyrics were being critical about people's behavior on drugs and, and whatnot, I think that writing a song with that, and then, you know, having that touch in it and then having the folding papers. And then let's talk about that little instrumental break in the middle of the song that is like the ultimate like, all right, everybody now trip everybody just like, like given to the substance that you're on. And it sounds like this. It sounds like that. That's perfect. That's like, that is sorted for ease and whiz. Then we get to feeling called love, which is written with a period after every single letter. So it's like the weirdest sesame street spelling exercise you could have F E E L I in G C A L L E D L O V E feeling called love, which is the one that I talked about. That is, you get a sense, feels like somebody who is having a sexual encounter for the first time, or is having it in a, in that moment where the situation just isn't right, or, or it's shadowy, it's cold, it's scary, you're excited, you're getting glimpses of, of each other's bodies, you're having a moment, you feel the euphoria in your body. So you should be filled with joy and excitement. But there's a sense of like, is, is this all there is, or did I, did I think it was supposed to be something that it wasn't? That's the, that's the feeling that you get from feeling called love. And it really just builds and builds and builds, F E E L I N G. Oh, I just felt the sweat come down the side of my head here. The heat is on. I'm not sweating because I'm talking about sex and virginity and moving bodies in the dark and shadows. I'm sweating because it's hot. I'm going to set my water. Then we get to underwear. Oof. See, this album, another bit of a sensual sexual energy from Jarvis and the whole team on this one, underwear, you know, you hear that song, you're standing in my underwear, but you read the lyrics on this one. And it also has a sense of sadness to it. There's a lot of like, sexy sadness on this album. It's like, ready to have sex, I'm attracted to you, I want to do things, I want to please you. But there's a little bit of a, but oh no, oh no, this is going to be bad. And underwear, you get a sense that it's like an omnipotent narrator, somebody who's kind of observing, observing a situation where a girl is in a situation where she's, she's kind of trapped in this, backed into a room where she's going to have to sleep with somebody that she doesn't necessarily want to. You know, you get this feeling that like, whether it was like a one-night stand or thought she wanted to be there and then decide she doesn't. And it's this situation of like, how am I going to get out of this one? We're getting near the end of the, the album. Monday morning, oh, if I was to have played that on repeat when I was maybe 22, 23, I think I would have fallen into a bout of depression. Because is there any other song that is kind of reminds you like, what are you doing with your life? Is this it? You're just going to go out night after night, get drunk, get through the work week, the weekend repeats. It's just the same thing over and over again. And that is really the notion when you are finally out into the world and you enter the workforce and you're earning just enough to get by barely, you're barely getting by. And every day just seems like I go in, I do this thing and I'm waiting for Monday to Friday, then I have this weekend. And that song really, you know, plunges the knife into the gut of like, is this all there is? What am I going to do with my life? Great song Monday morning killer song with that. I want to read for. I want to make it through the night. All right. Then we close up the album with bar italia, which is there a more perfect closing song for different class than bar italia. It is the best song that sounds like the morning after you raged all night long. Whether you were drunk or you were high, everything about a bar italia sounds like you're sitting in a diner with a cup of coffee and you and all your friends have your sunglasses on and everybody's just moving like molasses and looking at each other and smoking cigarettes and you know bar italia has this feeling of like the end of a film, the end of a movie. We've just been through it all. It would have been a great type of song in a train spotting or whatever, but it's it's it has that feeling of like we've given it our all. It's now the dawn's light is coming and we have to make our way home in our nice clothes that are wrinkled and sweaty and we have cigarettes and sunglasses and we're sipping coffee. "Two sugars would be great, because I'm fading fast and it's nearly dawn." "If it knocked down this place, this place, it instilled a lot, much better than you." "Oh now move, move quick, you gotta move, come on in." At least that's what bar italia is for me. What is it for you? But that is the perfect song for a night after a bender, but I wanted to talk about one other really funny thing about Jarvis getting in trouble while I was researching this album. So in 1996, and again, for those of you across the pond, you probably already know this, it's well known, I vaguely remember something about the story that I wanted to talk about it. Jarvis gets in trouble in February of 1996 at the Brit Awards during a Michael Jackson performance. Michael Jackson is on stage performing Earth Song and it is very like, it's like this very over dramatic lay miserable looking performance. There's children on stage and people and rags and in poverty and they're putting images of starving children and Michael Jackson is just going for the most Christ-like messianic arms out, lights on them, you know, robes and really going for this like Jesus look while he's doing this performance with all his passion. Now look, I like Michael Jackson, but if you watch the video, you're like, "Wow, this is a lot." And so Jarvis is watching and he's just like, he says he's watching the performance, he's just getting sick to his stomach by all this big show pony Jesus shtick that Michael Jackson is doing. So he runs out on stage and he's just kind of standing there and it's wild because when you watch the footage, you can see that nobody really notices it first because he's just there with so many people on stage. He comes up and he's standing there and he just kind of turns his butt to the audience and he like sticks out his butt. He doesn't show a bare ass at all, he just kind of waves his hands out after his butt, you know, wafting, I guess you will. And then somebody finally sees him in the performance and they start chasing him off and he runs over here and he like, he like kind of flips the front of his coat up like this and then runs up this way and runs off. So they arrest him, they arrest him, they hold him in his dressing room for a couple hours, then they take him to police station, they hold him to like three in the morning and they're trying to charge him with like lewd, you know, activities in front of children or even a salt. I mean, they're trying to, they're throwing everything at him. And thankfully, there's enough video footage of the actual event that's given to the authorities to disprove that he didn't come in contact with any of the children and there was no body parts shown. It's the most tame thing ever. You see it in 1996, you're like, they were offended over this. Think about things that happen since. I mean, we've gone all the way from the nipple gate of Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, which was like 20 years ago to so many other things that have happened in Super Bowl performances. Now again, that is the United States, but I just feel like what people were offended about in '96, we've, this was not that big of a deal. But he gets, he gets held and this is another one of those things with the trouble with the folding paper and this thing and people are making sure to say justice for Jarvis. And it just gets a lot of points amongst his peers and other musicians that are like, we're, we love it. We love that you did that. You should be, I think like I said earlier, this is something where I think it was one of the brothers from Oasis. He's like, I think he should be knighted. You know, I think it was the right move. It seemed like the right move to do. But that was, that was like such a fun thing that I kind of dug into while I was researching for this. But that is Pulp's different class. I, you know, I feel like we've been talking for a minute here. I think I've had a lot of fun. I melted a little bit. I didn't completely melt to death, but what an, what an amazing album. You know, the, like I talked about that, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. That's so pulp. And then the album after this is great, the album before this is great, but different class, different class and album title that really represents what it is. It's a different class of Britpop. They're a different class of band. It's a band that refers to, you know, an album that sings songs about different classes. Jarvis, I believe had a friend who would use that to describe all yet. It's a different class altogether. And he loved it. And it was perfect. It's perfect for this song. Oh, and the last thing I can't forget to talk about the cover. That's the last thing I'll talk about before we get out of here. The cover is a real wedding. The cover of Pulp's different class is a real wedding photo. And the story behind it is the couple that were getting married didn't have a lot of money for their wedding. So they reached out to someone they knew who was a photographer and he had done photo shoots for bigger, you know, bands in the area, I think blur and whatnot. He had done photo shoots for them. And he was like, you know, you know, they, they wanted to ask him to do the wedding, but he was kind of a big deal and wasn't able to get his time. So then he asked them to shoot their wedding. And then this photographer gets this job to shoot the album covers and the band is like talking about getting a real wedding photo. And he's like, Oh, I know this couple that wanted to hire me for this wedding photo. So they all come in and they bring the cardboard cut outs. And they actually take a real photograph of this wedding day for the cover and then they put all the cardboard cut outs. And the that is the last the real wedding couple ever here is from the photographer. And then they find out later, I think the mother of the groom is in a store and she sees it. And so they're like, wow, they had no idea that their their wedding photo was going to be used for this album cover. And then finally in 2011, I think it was one of the labels that Pulp works with paid for the whole family to go see the band live, gave the couple a signed image of the of the wedding photo. But anyway, it's it's one of those things. It's not just a staged photo, it was a real wedding. And that is the cover of different class. So that was the last story I wanted to tell you before we get out of here. But thank you for joining me on waterproof records to talk about it. I did want to say to all of you, I am now a proud part of the Pantheon podcast family. I want to tell you guys right now that they have a ton of amazing podcasts out there, including mine. So you should be of course already subscribed and telling everybody about waterproof records. But make sure you check out Pantheon podcasts. I'm so happy to be part of their family. They specialize in music and they have so many incredible podcasts out there dedicated to individual bands, music ideas and conversations that are out there. They really have all of the podcast space of the best music podcast out there. So you should check out Pantheon podcasts. I'm so grateful to be part of their team. And I feel so lucky to be part of this network. And also don't forget to check out distrokid.com/vip/waterproof. And look, I'm sipping out of a waterproof record cup today. So you know, I sell things like that in my store if you're interested in looking at them. But before I melt into a pile of butter here on the floor, I'm going to say goodbye to you. Thanks for joining me for Pulp's different class. We will see you next time on waterproof records. Bye. [Music] Waterproof records. Waterproof records. Waterproof records with Jacob Diddens. [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]
Sing along with the common people! Sing along and it might just get you through! In 1995, a band from Sheffield, England called Pulp finally had their day in the sun when that anthemic chorus elevated them to a different class. For many of us in the U.S., we were watching the wave of popular Britpop bands like Blur and Oasis, but Pulp wasn't getting as much of our attention on MTV. Join me as I dig into one of my favorite albums by the band, and see why it deserves all the fanfare and praise it receives.
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