•
Rating:
"Babies" by Pulp is the voyeuristic anthem par excellence. It is, at least in the opinion of yours truly. There may be others, perhaps. There certainly are. One is "I Spy" by the same Pulp. But as far as I'm concerned, this Song outsmarts them all from the start. Even those that currently elude me, and that would certainly be of little use to strain to retrieve: there's no contest. And perhaps, there never will be.
Because it is a manifesto of adolescent morbidity like few others. A snapshot of life seen through the keyhole, or - specifically - through a tiny opening contrived inside a bedroom. The incomparable thrill of being able to see without being seen. The shiver of potentially being discovered. The insatiable desire that leads you to take the risk ANYWAY. And this Song lays bare the VOYEUR that resides in many of us. With unpredictable outcomes.
Stanhope Road really exists, in Sheffield, and that's where the friend who was the object of the young and clumsy Jarvis Cocker's attention lived. But (problem) the friend doesn't reciprocate, not in that sense. And so (solution, albeit temporary) one settles for eavesdropping discreetly on her sister's door, two years older, who usually hangs out with boys after school. Hmm. Not bad.
But it's not enough.
At a certain point, Jarvis-Boy realizes that it's not worth settling for crumbs when you can have much more, and that above all (an objective observation, universal law) SEEING is still better than just LISTENING. And so (solution, this time definitive)... why not take advantage of that wardrobe in the room and settle inside, where there's a crack through which the view is good...? Better than a match watched from the central stand. And we can imagine him in there, quietly enjoying the whole show. There's not even a need to cling to the imagination anymore. It's all within eye's reach. It's there.
But the fun is over. He's discovered. And the story ends, but not in the way one might imagine. Plot twist. However, this is only revealed at the end of the piece. And basically, I'm supposed to be writing a "review" of a RECORD...
...because, what can you do, it's easy to get carried away when talking about Pulp, the grand "muddle" (sonic but not only) from that clever Jarvis Cocker, adept at riding the Brit Pop wave of the mid '90s without ever fully being part of it. What did he ever have to do with THOSE TWO from Manchester with the John Lennon-style glasses, and with other performers (mostly modest, except for precious exceptions) of a fleeting phenomenon - which he himself would declare dead, with that Masterpiece that is "This Is Hardcore"...? Little. The Gallaghers were nobodies when in Sheffield our band was cutting its teeth in the early '80s (the same Sheffield of the Human League, imagine), and success was still far away. When they rose to fame, he was discovered to be a grown-up kid, with his obsessive-compulsive tendencies and a marked propensity to obsess (but according to him, they were always temporary obsessions...) over members of the opposite Sex.
And "His'n'Hers", much more than a simple collection of (beautiful) Pop songs, is a box that you must be very careful to open - at the risk of having a mountain of melancholy, repressed frustration, faded memories from years ago crumble on you. And if by chance you're among those who never listened to Pulp, it will only take a few minutes to understand why the essence of their formula is primarily in Candida Doyle's keyboards: atmospheres often as surreal as the embarrassing stories told, blurred and fogged like eyes after a sudden awakening. A hybrid of Rock and anomalous Disco-Wave beyond its time, yet capable of transforming these '80s leftovers into the most noble and unpredictable intruders of the high "nineties" charts...
...and then you'll jump in the car and take off in fourth gear to the notes of "Joyriders", feverishly awaiting Saturday night to engage in a makeshift "hunt" without success, but you'll soon be deflated in front of that portrait of "wasted" femininity that is "Lipgloss" - shovelfuls of sadness and, indeed, only "lip gloss and cigarettes" on that desperate and sobbing refrain, and that "synthetic" and irresistible final guitar. You'll sink into long "acrylic" afternoons and with "Have You Seen Her Lately?" you'll enter, disoriented, a sound bubble of livid distorted images. Good times (?) and various gropings will be remembered in "She's A Lady", but needless to say that those ended badly as well... all too sensitive keys will be touched in "Do You Remember The First Time?" - but no, let's not talk about it, let's leave it and change the subject... and among others, a slender and rarefied "Someone Like The Moon" will NEVER be able to lift a morale already collapsed to the ground without hope.
It's the album of "could have been but it wasn't", of "there's that girl I like, but she doesn't know it", of "I'd take you home, you'd be my girl forever and I'd have many kids with you", but the thing is unfeasible even before being able to think about it, let alone do it. The album of an eternal teenager who builds feature films in his head and tries to rewrite them with a different ending than what reality would put before him. Because in the movie, he's the one who decides, he's the director. And for once, the actresses would follow the hoped-for script.
And if you want, remember that marvel of "Happy Endings", in which Jarvis dons the tuxedo of the most improbable and pathetic crooner of all time, and almost in a whisper invents a: "Imagine it's all a film and that you are the protagonist, and soon we reach the point where you'll have to give your heart... well, at that moment... give it to me."
(...)
It would all be easier...
There would be a happy ending.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Joyriders (03:25)
We like driving on a Saturday night
Past the leisure centre left at the lights
Oh we don't look for trouble
But if it comes we don't run
Lookin' out for trouble
Is what we call fun.
Hey you, you in the Jesus sandals
Wouldn't you like to come over and watch some vandals
Smashing up someone's hooooooooooome?
We can't help it we're so thick we can't think
Can't think of anything but shit sleep and drink
Oh we like women
Up the women we say
And if we get lucky, yeah we might even meet some one day
Hey you, you in the Jesus sandals
Wouldn't you like to come over and watch some vandals
Smashing up someone's hoooooooooooome?
Mister we just want your car
Cos we're taking a girl to the reservoir, oh
Oh all the papers say it's a tragedy
But don't you wanna come and see?
Mister, we just want your car
Cos we're taking a girl to the reservoir, oh
Oh all the papers say it's a tragedy
Mister, we just want your car
Cos we're taking a girl to the reservoir, oh
Oh all the papers say it's a tragedy
But don't you wanna come and see?
02 Lipgloss (03:34)
No wonder you're looking thin
when all that you live on
is lipgloss and cigarettes
And scraps at the end of the day when
he's given the rest
to someone with long black hair
All those nights in, making such a mess of the bed
Oh you never ever want to go home
And he wants you so you may as well hang around for a while
call your Dad on the phone
He changed his mind last Monday
so you've got to leave by Sunday
yeah
You've lost your lipgloss Honey
Oh yeah
Now nothing you do
can turn him on
there's something wrong
You had it once
but now it's gone
And you feel such a fool
for laughing at bad jokes
and putting up with all of his friends
and kissing in public
What are they going to say
when they run into you again?
That your stomach looks bigger
and your hair is a mess
and your eyes are just holes in your face
And it rains every day and when it doesn't
the sun makes you feel worse anyway
He changed his mind last Monday
so you've got to leave by Sunday
yeah
You've lost your lipgloss Honey
Oh yeah
Now nothing you do
can turn him on
there's something wrong
You had it once
but now it's gone
Though you knew there was no way
it was going to last for ever
it still shook you
when he told you in a letter
that he didn't
want to see you
You nearly lost your mind
Oh yeah
You've lost your lipgloss Honey
Oh yeah
Now nothing you do
can turn him on
there's something wrong
You had it once
but now it's gone
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
ah-ah-ah-ah...
ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh...
Oh yeah
03 Acrylic Afternoons (04:09)
I fell asleep on your sofa,
and had a dream about a small child,
in dungarees,
who caught his hands in the doors of the Paris metro.
Then my face cracked open and you were there,
you were there dressed in green,
saying something obscene.
But that's why I came here in the first place,
Oh well that and the tea.
Can I stay here,
lying under the table together with you now?
Can I hold you?
Forever in acrylic afternoons
I want to hold you tight
whilst children play outside
and wait for their mothers to finish with lovers
and call them inside for their tea.
Cushions and TV,
and the table set for tea.
One for you, one for me.
Come and lie down on the settee,
in that green jumper,
you can have anything you want.
And the clock is saying,
it's half past four but you know,
I want to stay a little more.
Can I stay here,
lying under the table together with you now?
Can I hold you?
Forever in acrylic afternoons
I want to hold you tight
whilst children play outside
and wait for their mothers to finish with lovers
and call them inside for their tea.
On a pink quilted eiderdown,
I want to pull your knickers down.
Net curtains blow slightly in the breeze.
Lemonade light filtering through the trees.
It's so soft and it's warm.
Just another cup of tea please (one lump thanks).
Can I stay here,
lying under the table together with you now?
Can I hold you?
Forever in acrylic afternoons
I want to hold you tight
whilst children play outside
and wait for their mothers to finish with lovers
and call them inside for their tea.
Oh Kevin, Shane, Julie, Diane, Wayne, Frank,
Heather, Rachel, Chelsea, Leanne, come home.
It's time for your tea.
05 Babies (04:04)
Well it happened years ago
when you lived on Stanhope Road.
We listened to your sister
when she came home from school
'coz she was two years older
and she had boys in her room.
We listened outside and heard her.
Alright.
Well that was alright for a while
but soon I wanted more.
I want to see as well as hear
and so I hid inside her wardrobe.
And she came round four
and she was with some kid called David
from the garage up the road
I listened outside I heard her.
Alright.
Oh I want to take you home.
I want to give you children.
You might be my girlfriend, yeah.
When I saw you next day
I really couldn't tell you
'coz you might go and tell your mother.
And so you went with Neve
and Neve was coming on
and I thought I heard you laughing
when his Mum and Dad were gone.
I listened outside, I heard you.
Alright.
Oh I want to take you home...etc.
Well I guess it couldn't last too long.
I came home one day
and all her things were gone,
I fell asleep inside.
I never heard her come.
And then she opened up her wardrobe
and I had to get it on.
Oh, listen we were on the bed
when you came home,
I heard you stop outside the door.
I know you won't
believe it's true,
I only went with her
'coz she looks like you.
Oh I want to take you home...etc.
06 She's a Lady (05:49)
Ma ma ma...
Are you trying to put me on?
I turned around and it was gone
Did I leave it in your car?
On a table in a bar?
Or in your bed between the sheets?
The places where we used to meet
Wherever love has gone I need to know
'Cause she's a woman
Oh yeah baby, she's a woman
Ma ma ma...
She's a lady
Oh and I just love the way she moves
The way she moves
Yeah
Watch her
When you left
I didn't know how I was going to forget you
I was hanging by a thread and then I met her
Selling pictures of herself to German businessmen
Oh that's all she wants to do
Come on come on
I don't want to try too hard
I don't want to wait too long
I don't want to live alone
With all this crap that holds me down
Oh tell me now how would it feel if I
Could touch you once again
Where have you gone?
Where have you gone?
The moon has gone down
On the sun
Oh yeah
I know that you're coming home
You couldn't leave me on my own
Everybody, can't you see?
She's coming back to me
Whilst you were gone
I got along
I didn't die
I carried on
You've got to hold me tight
So that I'll make it through the night
Stayed in bed all day to feel OK
I felt OK
Well I felt sick and tired
Yes I did
She lived at her father�s place
Played his records
Though they jumped
Wore her body
Back to front
I tried hard to make it work
Kissed her where she said it hurt
But I was always underneath
'Cause she's a woman
Oh yeah baby, she's a woman
Ma ma ma...
She's a lady
I just love the way she moves
The way she moves
I don't know why you pretend
That it causes you pain
When you know very well
You're gonna do it again
You're gonna do it again
You're gonna do it again
And again, again, again, again, again
But can you keep it going, going all night long?
Ma ma ma...
Shake it, shake it, shake it, oh yeah
I know it's going to happen
It might not be today
It might not be tomorrow
Or even the day after
But sometime soon
You'll gonna see
You're gonna, you're gonna, you're gonna, come back to me
Whilst you were gone
I got along
I didn't die
I carried on
And I went drinking every night
Just so I could feel alright
Stayed in bed all day to feel OK
I felt OK
Where have you gone?
Where have you gone?
The moon has gone down
Gone down on the sun
I know that you're coming home
You couldn't leave me on my own
Everybody, can't you see she's coming back to me?
Where have you gone?
Where have you gone?
No, I didn't die
Oh no, I carried on, yeah
Oh oh oh
I went drinking every night
Just so that I felt alright
Stayed in bed all day to feel OK
Whilst you were gone
I got along
I didn't die
I carried on
Yeah, I went with other women
What else can I say?
I guess I kind of missed you
While you were away
Whilst you were
Gone
Stop
07 Happy Endings (04:57)
Well, imagine it's a film and you're the star
and pretty soon we're coming to the part
where you realise that you should give your heart,
oh, give your heart to me.
And now the orchestra begins to make a sound,
that goes round & round & round & round & round & round & round & round
& round again
we kiss to violins.
Well some sad people might believe in that I guess.
But we know better don't we?
We know all about the mess.
The aftermath of our affair,
is lying all around and I can't clear it away.
No.
And d'you think that it's so easy to find?
Somebody who is just your kind?
Well it might take you a little time,
but I'm going to have to try.
Oh yeah I'm gonna try.
And I know no-one can ever know,
which way to head.
But don't you remember,
that you once said,
that you liked happy endings?
And no-one can ever know,
if it's going to work,
but if you try,
then you might get your happy ending.
08 Do You Remember the First Time? (04:22)
You say you've got to go home
cos he's sitting on his own again this evening.
I know you're gonna let him bore your pants off again.
Oh God, it's half past eight,
you'll be late.
You say you've never been sure,
though it makes good sense for you to be together.
Still you bought a toy that can reach the places he never goes.
Oh, now it's getting late.
He's so straight.
Do you remember the first time?
I can't remember a worse time.
But you know that we've changed so much since then,
oh yeah,
we've grown.
Now I don't care what you're doing,
no I don't care if you screw him.
Just as long as you save a piece for me,
oh yeah
You say you've got to go home.
Well at least there's someone there that you can talk to.
And you never have to face up to the night on your own.
Jesus, it must be great to be straight.
Do you remember the first time?
I can't remember a worse time.
But you know that we've changed so much since then,
oh yeah,
we've grown.
Now I don't care what you're doing,
no I don't care if you screw him.
Just as long as you save a piece for me,
oh yeah
09 Pink Glove (04:48)
You better watch what you're wearing
If you want him to come round and see you tonight
Uh uh uh uh, uh uh uh uh, uh uh uh
But he doesn't care what it looks like
Just as long it's pink and it's tight
It's what he likes
Uh uh uh uh, uh uh uh uh, uh uh uh
Oooh
So what should you do
Should you stop being you
Just to be how he wants you?
Oooh
Go and visit your mum
And tell me that you'll come
And meet me in the afternoon
Oooh
He's got your heart
You got his soul
You might as well know
So what?
I know you're never gonna be with me
But do you understand now that maybe
You got it right first time?
I realise that you'll never leave him
But every now and then in the evening
You could get it right first time
I know you think I gotta be joking
But if you touch him again then I'm going
Oh, you got it right first time
Get it right first time
And now you've done once, now he wants you
To wear your pink glove all the time
Uh uh uh uh, uh uh uh uh, uh uh uh
Oooh
So what should you do
Should you stop being you
Just to be how he wants you?
Oooh
Go and visit your mum
And tell me that you'll come
And meet me in the afternoon
Oooh
He's got your heart
You got his soul
You might as well know
So what?
I know you're never gonna be with me
Until you understand now that maybe
You got it right first time
I realise that you'll never leave him
But every now and then in the evening
You could get it right first time
I know you think I gotta be joking
But if you touch him again then I'm going
Oh, you got it right first time
You get it right first time
Oh oh
Oh oh
Oh you'll always be together
'Cause he gets you up in leather
And you know what to wear at the end of the day
And I'd laugh if I saw that I'm out of the way
Yeah it's too long ago, shouldn't care anymore
But I wanted to know, is it as good as before?
Yeah it's hard to believe that you go for that stuff, all those
Baby-doll nighties, synthetic fluff
Oh it looks pretty good, yeah it fits you okay, yeah
Wear your pink glove, babe
You put it on the wrong way!
Oh, so
I know you're never gonna be with me
Until you understand now that maybe
You got it right first time
I realise that you'll never leave him
But every now and then in the evening
You could get it right first time
I know you think I gotta be joking
But if you touch him again then I'm going
Oh, you got it right first time, yeah
Oh, I know that you'll never leave him
Ooh ooh ooh, oh, but d'you see yet?
You got it right first time
Get it right first time
10 Someone Like the Moon (04:18)
She likes to watch the moon
As it travels through the sky
Because she's heard it's romantic
Though she really can't see why
Someone should have helped her through the day
Someone like the moon
So she drinks a cup of coffee
And telephones a friend
And she asks if she can make it
So this night never ends
And someone should have helped her through the day
Someone like the moon
But the light comes and the day bleeds through the sky
And the sun makes it hard to get through
And the radio only plays love songs and she cries
Because she knows it's such a bad thing to do
In the evening it gets better
And she thinks how it's not right
That someone so stupid
Can so easily screw up your life
Someone should have helped her through the day
Someone like the moon
But the light came and the day bled through the sky
And the sun, the sun made it hard to get through
And the radio only played love songs so she cried
Oh she knew, it's such a bad thing to do
Oh can't you see, can't you see
Someone should have told her you had gone
Oh someone like the moon
Can't you see, can't you see
Someone should have told her you had gone
Oh someone like the moon
11 David's Last Summer (07:00)
We made our way slowly down the path that led to the stream,
swaying slightly,
drunk on the sun, I suppose.
It was a real summer's day.
The air humming with heat whilst the trees beckoned us into their cool green shade.
And when we reached the stream I put a bottle of cider into the water to chill,
both of us knowing that we'd drink it long before it had the chance.
This is where you want to be,
there's nothing else but you and her,
and how you spend your time.
Walking to parties whilst it's still light outside.
Peter was upset at first but now he's in the garden talking to somebody Polish.
Why don't we set up a tent and spend the night out there?
And we can pretend that we're somewhere foreign,
but we'll still be able to use the fridge if we get hungry, or too hot.
This is where you want to be,
there's nothing else but you and her,
and how you use your time.
We went driving.
This is where you want to be,
there's nothing else but you and her,
and how you use your time.
The room smells faintly of sun tan lotion
in the evening sunlight and when you take off your clothes,
you're still wearing a small pale skin bikini.
The sound of children playing in the park comes from faraway,
and time slows down to the speed of the specks of dust
floating in the light from the window.
Summer leaves fall from Summer trees.
Summer grazes fade on Summer knees.
Summer nights are slowly getting long.
Summer's going so hurry soon it'll be gone.
So we went out to the park at midnight one last time.
Past the abandoned glasshouse stuffed full of dying palms.
Past the bandstand down to the boating lake.
And we swam in the moonlight for what seemed like hours,
until we couldn't swim anymore.
And as we came out of the water we sensed a certain movement in the air,
and we both shivered slightly and ran to collect our clothes.
And as we walked home we could hear the leaves curling and turning
brown on the trees,
and the birds deciding where to go for Winter.
And the whole sound,
the whole sound of Summer packing it's bags and preparing to leave town.
Oh but I want you to stay.
Oh please stay for a while,
oh I want you to stay,
oh I want you to stay.
12 Razzmatazz (03:40)
The trouble with your brother,
he's always sleeping with your mother.
And I know that your sister missed her time again this month.
Am I talking too fast or are you just playing dumb?
If you want I can write it down.
It should matter to you,
cos aren't you the one,
with your razzmatazz and the nights on the town?
Oh you knew it, and you blew it didn't you babe?
I was lying when I asked you to stay.
Now no-one's gonna care,
if you don't call them when you said.
And he's not coming round tonight to try and talk you into bed.
And all those stupid little things,
they ain't working,
no they ain't working any more.
You started getting fatter,
three weeks after I left you.
And now you're going with some kid who looks like some bad comedian.
Are you gonna go out?
Or are you sitting at home eating boxes of Milk Tray?
Watch TV on your own, aren't you the one,
with your razzmatazz and your nights on the town?
And your father wants to help you doesn't he babe?
But your mother wants to put you away.
Now no-one's gonna care,
if you don't call them when you said.
And he's not coming round tonight to try and talk you into bed.
And all those stupid little things,
they ain't working,
no they ain't working any more.
Oh well I saw you at the doctor's,
waiting for a test.
You tried to look like some kind of heiress,
but your face is such a mess.
And now you're going to a party,
and you're leaving on your own.
Well, I'm sorry, but didn't you say,
that things go better with a little bit of razzamatazz?
And now no-one's gonna care,
if you don't call them when you said.
And he's not coming round tonight to try and talk you into bed.
Now it's half past ten in the evening,
and you wish that you were dead,
cos all those stupid little things,
they ain't working,
no they ain't working any more.
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By francis
"His 'n' Hers represents the real turning point for the Sheffield Band, a true masterpiece of accessible and intelligent pop."
"Jarvis leads the listener to empathize with the stories, to live them."
