If we remember them at all, the Sheffield pop group Pulp are remembered for jolly class warfare ditty 'Common People', for the celebrity of their interestingly-named frontman, for the latter waving his arse at Michael Jackson at the Brit awards, for being part of a non-movement called 'Britpop', and for disappearing almost without trace shortly after. They made a few good tunes, they did some funny videos, and while they might be National Treasures, they're nothing serious. Are they? This book argues that they should be taken seriously - very seriously indeed. Attempting to wrest Pulp away from the grim jingoistic spectacle of Britpop and the revivals-of-a-revival circuit, this book charts the very strange things that occur in their records, taking us deep into a strange exotic land; a land of acrylics, adultery, architecture, analogue synthesisers and burning class anger. This is book about pop music, but it is mainly a book about sex, the city and class via the 1990s finest British pop group.
Uncommon
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This book is a small marvel. Even within the most ambiguous cultural flowering, something transcendent is cached. Owen Hatherley knows this. Possessed of an architect's clarity and a modernist's astringent vision, he draws forth the the paradoxical and brilliant core of Britpop, and restores Pulp's contradictory genius to its proper place in history. Behind the Blairite swagger of Cool Britannia and the spackle of commercial spectacle, Hatherley finds the truth of pop culture and social antagonism, entangled with the glory and oddity of Pulp's musical career and evanescent fame. Elegant about the songs, lucid about the band's warped trajectory, and incisive about the politics of daily life coiled within the sound and lyrics and moment, Hatherley chronicles the adventures of the Sheffield gang and their "class war casanova" who came forth as the truth of a deeply false moment, bad faith you could dance to, a dialectical verdict on a singular passage in time. (Joshua Clover)
About the Author
Owen Hatherley is a writer on political aesthetics. He is the author of Militant Modernism (Zero, 2009) and A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain (Verso, 2010)
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Lucy Ambrose
Format:Paperback
Uncommon by Owen Hatherley is a strange little book. It reminds me of a dissertation, written very much in an analytic style by someone who clearly loves the music and lyrics of the band Pulp, but is fair and appraising of their work. It isn't a gushing fan book, it is far better than that, an intelligent account of the musical and lyrical progress of the band from their earliest days through to their last album. There is much food for thought in this slim volume, and much of interest to the average Pulp fan, but is let down by at least three mis-quotes of the lyrics.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Any Pulp fan will relish this book if only for the conversation it provides about the lyrics- where else can you get to hear your thoughts echoed back or put in good prose about the wonderful lyrics of Pulp. The introduction is excellent, explaining why/how Pulp was different from other BritPop bands, Hatherley is quite astute in pointing out that they were the only band that had believable female characters and narratives in their songs. It contains the names of various influences in music and film and so opens many other venues to explore.
By Claire Doble
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A fascinating, insightful and very different take on Pulp; looking more deeply at what Jarvis, his band and their astonishing songs really meant to a whole swathe of people and a whole lost era of pop. Addictive reading if you ever sat on a bus or wandered the streets of your city with Jarvis' simmering, lustful, tragic pop on your Walkman!
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