Month: November 2022

The Grammy nominations came out a couple of days ago. And to no one’s surprise, the nominations consisted of pop songs that could be used in a commercial and music from veteran artists past their prime. Now I must say, I do not really listen to or know much about Rap, R and B, Country, or Dance music. So maybe the Grammys did a good job of picking out nominees in those categories. Maybe not. But I know that the nominations for alternative and rock music categories were overall unsurprisingly underwhelming and highlighted the stagnation of modern rock and alternative music.

The Grammys continues to reward bands who are past their prime, but that weren’t recognized at their best because the Grammys were too busy recognizing old players. The Best Rock Performace category is offensive. Beck mimics Neil Young word for word in his cover of a Neil Young song so Beck is obviously rewarded. Some song called So Happy It Hurts gets a nom, and you guessed it, some man with a horrible country twang is boringly so happy that it hurts. Wild Child by The Black Keys and Crawl! by Idles are both fine songs, so I suppose they get my votes, but once again, all the noms are older men (besides Brandi Carlile) who already have acclaim and support so the winner of this award doesn’t even matter.

Best Rock Song is as boring as Best Performace, all male artists (besides Brandi Carlile) in a mix of rock-country or old-school rock that blend together into a meaningless mix of calculated twangs. Obviously, I must recognize that Blackout is a Metal track, but straight up I don’t like metal so I cannot say whether it is good or bad. The one song I think has some originality in this mix is Harmonia’s Dream by The War On Drugs. It has some of its own flavor, unique from the trends that are stripping this category of any originality. So I guess that makes it my pick.

I probably should, and maybe I will write about this more in-depth later, but as of right now I am not going to listen to six albums so I can reduce each one to a sentence for this post. And so, I am just going to say that Machine Gun Kelly in this category is probably the most egregious nomination of the entire Grammys and proof that these people have no idea what they are talking about.

Now, the two alternative categories are where I am the most passionate. While I have issues with these nominations, I must say they are somewhat better than in previous years. But overall many groups are still far too looked over. Also, why do other categories get best song category but Alternative doesn’t? It is ridiculous.

I have to say, while I think there are artists left out of this conversation that really should be included, this list is over all not upsetting for me. Arctic Monkeys, Big Theif, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs have and continue to put out incredibly strong albums. I cannot argue with the magic of Florence Welch’s voice. Wet Leg is a shocker, and I’ll give the Grammys some credit for this, because I do think this is a great song. Great performance? I’m not so sure about that. Wet Leg as the representation of all of new bands and music that gained popularity this year? Not so sure about that either, but I’ll take it. Also, I’m all in for There’d Better Be A Mirrorball in this category, but Spitting Off The Edge Of The World wouldn’t upset me.

Now the Best Alternative Album has some…weird nominations. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeah’s was amazing and fully has my vote in this category, the new Big Theif wasn’t my favorite of their work, but it was many people’s so I’m totally at peace with that. Fossora is Fossora, if you get it you get it, if you don’t you don’t, but you can’t judge someone either way, so although I get it, I’m surprised to see it on here. Wet Leg again is just so confusing to me. It’s good but I’m not sure if it’s that good and I don’t really understand where the critical acclaim for Wet Leg is coming from. Now..WE..which is obviously the front runner is my biggest problem in the whole category, considering looking at this list I would assume it is the favorite. Arcade Fire stopped putting out good music in the mid-2010s, and considering some of the recent accusations against their main singer, this nomination is really coming at a weird time.

Here is a really messy ramble about my Grammy thoughts. Much love I guess.

In honor of their recently announced UK tour (if only they would come to America) and the article that The Guardian put out earlier this month ranking Pulp songs I decided it was time for me to try and do the impossible. The problem with me attempting to rank Pulp songs is that I like so many of them that my top favorites change depending on my mood that month, so these songs are organized in regards to the album they are on, besides my number one song. Also, there are 23 instead of 20.

Separations

• Death II
• Love Is Blind

Only two songs off of Separations made it onto my top 25; Love Is Blind and Death II. Love is Blind’s magic is chiefly due to Cocker’s enunciation through the song in one of his first performances of his onstage persona that he grew to be known for. Meanwhile, Death II’s instrumentation (or lack thereof) is what makes it shine, a skillful mix of different House and EDM-inspired beep-boops is refreshing and exciting, especially when mixed with Cocker’s flamboyant performance of D-I-S-C-O.

His N Hers

• Babies
• Do You Remember The First Time?
• Razzmatazz
• His ‘N’ Hers
• She’s A Lady

Their first major success, His N Hers is the first full Pulp album that sounds like the Pulp that wrote songs like Common People. The singles Babies and Do You Remember The First Time? are classics that feel like a song played in a coming-of-age film. They are easy to appreciate and well-made, something that I have never had a friend dislike. Razzmatazz took a second to grow on me, but with lyrics like “You’re trying to look like some kind of heiress/But your face is such a mess” you can’t help but love Cocker’s jaded judgment of his ex. Now His ‘N’ Hers isn’t even on the original His N Hers album, and instead only got released with the deluxe version, but nonetheless, it is a classic for Pulp fans. A six-minute song mixing themes of sex and fears (but not sexual fears) it is sharp and daring and one of the best Pulp b-sides ever. Lastly, my favorite song on the album has to be She’s A Lady, a song that I would probably give number one if I didn’t feel like it was such a controversial choice. It’s dramatic, it’s artful, and it makes you dance. I can’t really even explain it, but it is definitely one of the most underrated Pulp songs ever released.

Different Class

• Whisky In The Jar
• Monday Morning
• Bar Italia
• Mis-Shapes
• Underwear
• Sorted For E’s & Wizz
• Disco 2000

Perhaps the best album of the proper Britpop era, Different Class is hard to rank. But I tried my best. These songs all thematically fall into a story throughout the album, so it is hard to re-organize them, but again, I tried. Whisky In The Jar is another B-side, and a cover of an Irish folk song, Pulp’s twist on its rhythm and meter makes the song shine, and besides the use of the word “Daddy-O”, you would never know it’s not a Pulp original. Monday Morning and Bar Italia go hand in hand, both similar in theme and pace. Monday Morning is about the day after partying and the reality of life and work, meanwhile, Bar Italia is Different Class’s closer and is about the after-after party and the reality of that lifestyle. Mis-Shapes highlights the oddballs and stand-outs, essentially the alternative working class, and rallies the troops for a takeover of the rich. Underwear explores the mix between desire and reality, specifically when it comes to sex, and also critiques the expectations for women. Sorted For E’s & Wizz drills into the rave culture at that time, and the individual’s mix of excitement and guilt. Lastly, Disco 2000 is simply about a girl Cocker crushed on growing up, but the mix of nostalgia, disappointment, and longing all pushed into an upbeat pop song makes it a highlight of the album.

This Is Hardcore

• Dishes
• TV Movie
• The Fear
• I’m A Man
• Like A Friend
• Sylvia
• The Day After The Revolution
• This Is Hardcore

This Is Hardcore is by far my favorite Pulp album, and my choice of about half the album shows that, but I think it is the most thematically and musically developed of all the Pulp albums, plus I love the darker Pulp sound. Dishes and TV Movie are both almost sister songs in theme and sound, both slower songs that build and are largely critical of their relationships. I’m A Man explores and exposes male gender roles, meanwhile Sylvia calls out men’s objectifying of complicated beautiful women. Like A Friend is simply a song about unrequited love that grows from a slow ballad to a full rock masterpiece. The Day After The Revolution explores the development and change of self compared to that of a revolution. And The Fear and This Is Hardcore are complex, layered, symphonies about fear, sex, Hollywood, and much more. Choosing specific songs from this album is a struggle because they are all so entwined with each other, you cannot separate them.

Number One: Common People

But overall my number one Pulp song is Common People. It’s a classic for a reason, exploring and calling out the romantization of poverty in a catchy, honest, and brutal way.