Pulp - Different Class (1995) (1 Viewer)

  • Thread starter pete
  • Start date
  • Replies 44
  • Views 5K
  • Watchers 1
This is one of the most perfect albums I've ever heard and it's unusual to have a thread on thumped about it and for there not to be a single dissenting voice. And it's possibly the age demographic of thumped, but it seems this was a 'coming-of-age' album for a lot of folks. I guess it was for me too, only because I was a late bloomer. I didn't latch onto it when it was released. It was a year or 2 later and, looking back to that time, I have no clue why. This should have been right up my alley from day 1. I was in college at the time it was released and everyone was raving about this, The Bends, Dookie and What's the Story, Morning Glory. All great albums but Different Class is head and shoulders above the rest.

There isn't a bad song on there As great and all as some of their other albums are, they never hit a purple patch like they did with this one. And, as quirkey and as clever as the lyrics are, I reckon if someone else tried to pull that shit off we'd be decrying them as arrogant or even stupid. Take 'Something Changed' as a case in point. 'I wrote this song 2 hours before we met. I didn't know your face, or what you looked like yet'. Whaaaaaa the fuck. Daft, but what a tune.

The songs are evocative and resonate with my generation. Probably other generations too, but definitely my generation. It's not possible to listen to Common People and not think of your own college days. We all knew a sap like yer one. That song is about all of us, about when we were 20 or 21 and barely had an arse in our trousers. And what a tune to wrap it up in.

Not gonna go through every song here but 2 more that always stood out for me were 'F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E" (fuck., that's hard to type), and 'Sorted for E's and Whizz'. This was an album of 'anthems' and the former mentioned there is a fuckin banger. Jarvis sitting in his bedsit, mumbling words, trying to rationalise and articulate this feeling that's overwhelmed him, that's made him unhappy cos he didn't want it to happen, but there you go. Love for ya.

Sorted for E's and Whizz always makes me think of <insert festival name here>. It's about a rave in London. Crowds of people off their box, in a field. And it's great, but then it's shit. Like life.

Sky Arts used to replay an old Pulp gig quite regularly. From around the time of this album. Certainly before This is Hardcore. That was peak Pulp. Jarvis talking shite. Telling the crowd to shut up. But it being ok cos Jarvis could get away with that shit.

And Jarvis could get away with shit other people couldn't. I don't know why that is. The Michael Jackson stunt, for example. He played up to his persona of a tweed-wearing, 'out-there' intellectual (like Giles from Gogglebox), and I think people just didn't feel the need to question someone like that.

Though I came to this slightly late, I'm grateful I came to it while it was still of it's time, because I can relate to it in the context of the time it was released. It was the height of Blur vs Oasis, of Britpop, and this just came along and blew everyone else out of the water.

As regards other albums, I'd have varying amounts of familiarity with all. I know This is Hardcore, His'n'Hers and Separations very well. The rest, less so. And I get where people are coming from when they say they never got around to checking out the other albums. Why would you need to? If you want to listen to Pulp, just put Different Class on, so it's so fucking good. I'd recommend Separations though. Maybe lesser known than the others, but I think it's great. I also stayed with Jarvis through is solo career too and, though not nearly Pulp levels, all of his albums are very solid.

Pulp ruined Electric Picnic for me. They played a few years back and they were beyond incredible. Now every year I go back, it's shit cos Pulp aren't there. Fuck you Pulp. Caught Jarvis playing solo there one year too. And he sang 'Cunts are still Running the World' which is the most apt song, arguably ever.

It goes without saying that this gets 5/5, but it's better than other albums that get 5/5.
 
Great album. I think it's about 20 years since I listened to it. I wasn't a mad Pulp fan in the 90s and I kinda thought of it was patchy album but it seems now that I was wrong, it's great from start to finish. Songs I had forgotten and songs that don't sound as I thought they sounded. I remember listening to the Pulp set at Glastonbury that summer on the radio, it was just a couple of weeks after I finished the leaving cert. I remember hearing Common People and Sorted and thinking that this music was a glimpse at my future. At the time it seemed like it'd be a great future
 
Superb write up @scutter
Like most fantastically great things, I was introduced to this album by my (then) girlfriend; I was about 24/25 when it came out and it became a bit of a soundtrack for us. It's, as Scutter said, damn near perfect - a band at the peak of its powers. Cocker was without question, exactly the right frontman/spokesman for the time; this album was the right album for that time too. They got everything right; the songs, the artwork, the producer (Chris Thomas). I love everything about it; it's a solid stone cold classic.
 
I'm about 4 listens in on this. I'm about at the point where I want to listen on random because my attention drops towards then end so those songs aren't getting a fair listen.
It seems to me that Jarvis gets all the credit but the band deserve as much attention. Common People would have died a death in another bands hands. The energy level of that tune just builds and builds. I don't know of any other "indie" band that "rocked that hard". Mis-Shapes has it too.
I had this on at breakfast in study mode. Herself walks in during Common People and within 10 seconds we're dancing and blinking very quickly pretending we're at Dazed. Unable to resist, the 16yr old joined in. "who's this?" he said.
 
I'm about 4 listens in on this. I'm about at the point where I want to listen on random because my attention drops towards then end so those songs aren't getting a fair listen.
It seems to me that Jarvis gets all the credit but the band deserve as much attention. Common People would have died a death in another bands hands. The energy level of that tune just builds and builds. I don't know of any other "indie" band that "rocked that hard". Mis-Shapes has it too.
I had this on at breakfast in study mode. Herself walks in during Common People and within 10 seconds we're dancing and blinking very quickly pretending we're at Dazed. Unable to resist, the 16yr old joined in. "who's this?" he said.
All the songs were very much a band effort I think; in that documentary about Pulp, Cocker plays the chords on a casio and it sounds like shit! The producer Chris Thomas had a huge input as well i think.
 
well i mean the singles are grand and all - sometimes even great - but it just doesn't float my boat

sorry jarvo
 
Different Class wasn't out when they played Glastonbury? Mad. Though we still paid attention to singles back then, and they had some whoppers.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 
Different Class wasn't out when they played Glastonbury? Mad. Though we still paid attention to singles back then, and they had some whoppers.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

I was digging around and I'm 90% sure that's the timeline.
 
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.


I'm giving this a blast later!
 
Just wanna throw in a vote for We Love Life as an excellent album that should not be forgotten.

and this not quite a single from their Hits Compilation is deadly

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.


hmmmmmmmmm
 
This twitter thread is something else:
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Activity
So far there's no one here
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 365 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.

21 Day Calendar

Mohammad Syfkhan 'I Am Kurdish' Dublin Album Launch
Bello Bar
1 Portobello Harbour, Saint Kevin's, Dublin, Ireland
Mohammad Syfkhan 'I Am Kurdish' Dublin Album Launch
Bello Bar
1 Portobello Harbour, Saint Kevin's, Dublin, Ireland
Bloody Head, Hubert Selby Jr Infants, Creepy Future - Dublin
Anseo
18 Camden Street Lower, Saint Kevin's, Dublin, Ireland

Support thumped.com

Support thumped.com and upgrade your account

Upgrade your account now to disable all ads... If we had any... Which we don't right now.

Upgrade now

Latest threads

Latest Activity

Loading…
Back
Top