Toronto – English folk band Noah and the Whale has long been on my radar, but much like a completely different American band – Minus The Bear, I had neglected to pay attention to them simply because I am not a big fan of their band name. I know, that is either incredibly shallow or stupid, but when you get bombarded with hundreds of emails a day about bands, you have to make some sort of distinctions. Fast forward to June, 2011. I download purchase this NOW! compilation in order to get myself acquainted with what the teenagers like these days in order to prepare for a wedding I’m djing and what do I see, but a Noah and the Whale song. Since it was on my compilation, I gave it a listen and it was a very pleasant summery made for radio track. It sounds a bit like one of those late 90s rock songs that was very life affirming. I can’t come up with any comparisons at the moment, but hopefully you know what I mean. It’s got a crazy catchy chorus which has a great live show potential. If hearing Pulp sing F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E in Barcelona has taught me anything, it’s that songs where you have to spell things out are always epic in concert. Check out this song.
Toronto – As we approach our 90s party on Saturday, it is only natural for us to reflect on the decade that was the 90s. One of the things that I miss the most about the 90s was quality b-sides. B-sides were those other songs off a single, the ones on the other side of the vinyl that too often than not, were afterthoughts for most bands – crappy songs to be released just for the hell of it. However, the 90s was such a high time for musical creativity that many bands had so many quality songs that even the b-sides became quality. Bands such as Suede, Oasis, Gene and Pulp easily produced singles where the b-sides were exceptional.
Here are some of my favorite b-sides
Suede – Europe is Our Playground Suede – Killing of a Flashboy Suede – My Dark Star Suede – Where the Pig’s Don’t Fly
Yes, I am a Suede fan boy, but simply put, they put out some of the best B-sides in the 90s. In fact, their b-sides were so good they got away with issuing a double disc release of their b-sides, a compilation most fans would put as their third best album. It is also completely awesome that everyone’s favorite indie hipster journal Pitchfork gave Suede ravingreviews for their recent reissues.
Oasis – Acquiesce Oasis – Stay Young
I can’t believe Acquiesce was a b-side to Some May Say. It’s such an amazing track, probably would have been a #1 single if released at the height of the britpop era. Sadly it’s mostly a footnote now for the once proud band.
Mansun – Ski Jump Nose Mansun – An Open Letter to a Lyrical Trainspotter
A late comer to the world of britpop, Mansun’s literary prog rock sound might not have appealed to everyone, but it certainly appealed to me. Any band that starts off their career with two concept albums is good to me.
Gene – I Can’t Decide If She Really Loves me
Probably my favorite Gene song, and it’s a b-side.
Pulp – His N Hers Pulp – Mile End Pulp – Born to Cry Pulp – Disco 2000 (cover by Nick Cave)
Another decidedly English band with an amazing amount of quality b-sides, Pulp’s b-sides are bit different since it featured two songs that were on soundtracks (Born to Cry and Mile End) as well as a cover, but quality is quality.
There you have it, some b-sides I enjoyed by some of my favorite bands. Obviously there are a bunch I missed, but that’s life. What are your favorites?
Barcelona – Where to even begin? This journey to see one of my favorite bands started on November 8th, 2010 when Pulp announced they were reforming to play a few select shows starting with Primavera Sound. A few frantic emails and a quick check on Expedia later, I had booked my trip to Barcelona to see them. Then there was the long six month wait which really wasn’t that long since I went to London to see my other favorite band – Suede as well as SXSW, which I consider to be the greatest music journey a music fan can make. But there I was on May 27th, listening to the National singing their baritone hearts out to pretty much everyone in Barcelona and I just kept on staring at my Iphone thinking “is it time yet?”
The anticipation for the Pulp reunion show was high throughout the festival, only elevated by the fact that Jarvis Cocker himself had taken the time to check out the festival, walking around from stage to stage just like any other common person, eliciting gasps everywhere “JAAAAAA VIS! COCK KA” the Spaniards would say as he casually strolled by. By the time Belle and Sebastian took the stage, it was pretty clear the countdown had started for everyone. How clear, you ask? Halfway through the track Legal Man, Steve from Belle and Sebastian broke into the chorus of Common People and Stuart Murdoch asked the crowd “Are you excited about who is on next? I sure am”
So there we were, at 1:45 am. Me and many diehards had just waited at the stage after Belle and Sebastian played their last song at 12:15 am. That’s an hour and a half wait. I could have gone and seen Explosions in the Sky, but just like many others, the thought of losing my close to the stage spot was unbearable so I waited it out amongst the others. People were here from all over the world. There were Brazillians there, Japanese, various European types and an army of English people. Didn’t they have a billion festivals on England to go to, I asked. Their reply was that Primavera was the best one, which warmed my heart.
At 1:45 am, the green lasers that had been hyping us up with phrases like “are you ready?” and “can you believe this is happening?” finally projected the words “Lets do this” ( or something similar ). The stage went dark and the words PULP was then spelled out on the lights in a dramatic fashion. The opening notes of Do you remember the first time was played and it was utterly one of the best moments ever. The lights slowly lit the stage to reveal Jarvis Cocker standing on two platforms looking larger than life behind a mesh curtain. He sang the opening verse before the curtain was lifted and the lights became blinding for the track’s inevitable sing-a-long explosion of a chorus. To say the energy level was high would be one of the greatest understatements of all time, it was insane. People were singing along, jumping as high as they possibly could, some people didn’t even know how to react. I was about 15-20 feet from the stage and it was just nuts. I had to take my earplugs off just so they would not accidentally get rammed into my head by the crowd. It might have been a different experience from someone who was standing a mile away, but they weren’t really here for the band anyway. This video does a pretty good job summing up the introduction:
Thus began our ninety minute of audio and visual bliss. Playing a set primarily from the two Britpop albums – His N Hers and Different Class, Pulp sounded as tight as ever and seemed well determine to re-establish themselves as one of the greatest bands from the Britpop generation. The wine sipping, glasses wearing Jarvis seemed as game as ever, still slim as a twig, still dancing only the way Jarvis can and still inspiring the crowd with carefully chosen words between sets. I’m just going to go through some of my personal highlights from the show
“Would you like to dance with me?” Jarvis asked, before the Gloria-riff of Disco 2000 sent the crowd into a dancing frenzy. There’s something to be said about singing along to one of your favorite songs of all time and being joined in by oh, twenty thousand people. One of my life goals was realized at this moment.
The green laser light show that was all too fitting for the rave inspired track Sorted For E’s and Wizz. While the rave/Madchester culture of the late 80s early 90s seemed soooooooo long ago, much of the song still resonates today and it felt very appropriate when the lyrics “is this the way the future’s meant to feel? or is this 20,000 people standing in a field?” were spoken by the man himself.
FEELINGCALLEDLOVE was a hundred thousand times better live than on album, while the track just seemed like a stopgap point on Different Class (sandwiched between Common People and Disco 2000), the quiet/slow to loud/fast tempo change of this song sounded tremendously epic live.
Hearing the entire crowd sing out the entire lyrics for the track This is Hardcore was something else.
COMMON PEOPLE. What can you say about experiencing Common People live? In a week where protesters in Barcelona were hospitalized at the hands of the police, the stage was set for the track Common People to once again, rise above the festival. Dedicating the track to those said protesters, Common People was just an eight minute block of music that will be forever frozen in my mind as the top eight minutes of live concert music that I will ever encounter. The jubilation in the crowd was mind blowing and it was one of those moments where you will always remember what it felt like. The crowd sang and dance along to the entire track. Common People is a song about us and for us. It’s a track that speaks to your heart and makes you look at strangers around you as friends and compatriots rather then someone you should step on to elevate your own career and status. This is why the song has a place in everyone’s heart and it’s why the people lose their minds for it. An amazing experience that will never be replicated, even if I saw Pulp again.
In conclusion, for me, it was a show for the ages. To have waited sixteen years to see one of your favorite bands and then having that band exceed all expectations is rare feat. The band was tight, the set list was great, Jarvis was an amazing front man and to experience the show among thousands of die hards completely made the experience unforgettable. Best show I’ve ever seen.
Do You Remember the First Time? Pink Glove Pencil Skirt Something Changed Disco 2000 Babies Sorted For E’s & Wizz F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E I Spy Underwear This Is Hardcore Sunrise Bar Italia Common People
Barcelona -According to NME and reported to me by Frank (who broke it by saying something like ‘F*** Pulp played last night’) , Pulp played a warmup gig last night in Toulouse. I guess that’s okay, they can work off some of the rust that must have accumulated from a decade of not playing. Here’s the setlist from last night, which was filled with mega hits. Check it out yo!
Do You Remember the First Time? Pink Glove Pencil Skirt Something Changed Disco 2000 Babies Sorted For E’s & Wizz F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E I Spy Underwear This Is Hardcore Sunrise Bar Italia
Encore: Common People
Encore 2: O.U. (Gone, Gone) Countdown Joyriders His ‘n’ Hers Acrylic Afternoons Mis-Shapes
Anyways, everyone who will be at the Pulp show on Saturday morning will be waiting for one particular song – Common People, arguably the anthem for the Britpop period and pretty much one of the best pop songs ever written.The story of a rich girl trying to live a middle class lifestyle somehow struck a cord with EVERYONE when the song came out and it was one of the few (maybe only) Pulp song to have an impact over here in North America. It was epic at Glastonbury in 95 and I can’t see anything less than a massive singalong and an all out cathartic moment for everyone in Barcelona when those first beats come on.
