A Guide to the Band Pulp

By this point, most music fans have heard Jarvis Cocker's anti-wealthy rants in "Common People", or heard about his antics when mooning Michael Jackson at a British award show. But far fewer have taken the time to fully appreciate their seven albums. Instead of spending the hours necessary to decide where to start, I present to you a concise list of the top picks from each album.

It is a commonly misunderstood first album. It certainly does not stand up to the rest of Pulp's work, lacking the sleazy lyrics that would later make Pulp so popular. However, there are a couple frequently overlooked gems within. "My Lighthouse", the album opener, is a gorgeous, simple acoustic ballad about lighthouses. It's a catchy number, though it does not hint at what Pulp would later become. "Blue Girls" is a nice, atmospheric number about anorexic girls who tan too much, and the only song on It that has any sort of meaningful lyrics. Both of these songs are mostly for Pulp diehards, but it would be a poor choice to completely dismiss them as growing pains.

Pulp's sophomore album Freaks goes even further away from what the group would eventually become, even letting Russel Senior sing on a pair of tracks. Opener "Fairground" is a nice, spooky track that would fit well on a Halloween mix, but truly cannot be taken very seriously. Immediately thereafter is one of Pulp's finest songs, the aching "I Want You". Jarvis goes through the motions of a relationship within the song, initially worshipping the girl from afar and then towards the end wanting to throw her away. It doesn't sound like Pulp, but the theme is consistent with the later work, and definitely a song that any casual Pulp fan should hear.