As with any reunion news that surfaces these days, Pulp’s reformation is no great surprise. The only band that would genuinely shock me with a reunion is The Smiths, and that’s only because I know what a grudge-holding drama queen Morrissey is. Short of The Smiths, though, anyone seems fair game. As a fan, I’m always torn between dread and excitement when I initially hear the news. And even that depends on how long-in-the-tooth said reuniting band is. The Police reunion was almost too little too late. Sting looked good enough to pull it off, but the key changes to accommodate his aged vocal cords were too drastic and many of the songs lacked the punch they required. So, as excited I was finally to see a band I had grown up listening to, I couldn’t help feeling slightly cheated. Conversely, when I saw Bauhaus’ Resurrection Tour in 1998 it was like watching a band in its prime. To this day it stands as one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. With Pulp, I’m not worried about Jarvis Cocker not being able to hit the notes. In fact, I think Pulp will sound as good if not better than it ever did. But there’s something to be said for leaving the legend alone. Don’t you think, Pixies? I respect bands that don’t reunite far more than the ones that do, even if I sate my inner fanboy by rushing to the reunion gigs. As for Pulp, who never attained the ubiquity of Blur or Oasis, the darker corners of that movement’s laddish populism never quite suited Cocker’s complex storylines, so I’m not sure what the popular demand will be for a reunited Pulp. Nevertheless, I’ll probably go if the tour even scrapes the South.
5 responses so far ↓
1 K // Nov 10, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Do Pulp even have much of a fan base in the US? I can’t imagine them playing more than a couple shows in LA/NY.
2 Eric Greenwood // Nov 10, 2010 at 4:04 pm
i doubt it. that guardian article was implying that they barely had an audience in the uk back when they disbanded. so, yeah, i realize southern dates are a long shot.
3 Jay // Nov 10, 2010 at 5:28 pm
“I’m not worried about Jarvis Cocker not being able to hit the notes. In fact, I think Pulp will sound as good if not better than it ever did.”
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I’ve listened to his radio show a couple of times and he sound like my dad. I don’t think he’ll be able to sing songs like Underwear quite convincingly. Don’t even ask about the beard. Although he has a new Disco single featured on NME in which he sounds terrific.
I don’t really get excited about reunions, not even for the Pixies, Pearl Jam or Pavement (my God they’re all P), but I kinda want this one. Just to make up for the times I ignored them during their heydeys.
4 K // Nov 10, 2010 at 5:49 pm
I actually saw Pulp open for Blur in Atlanta on the Parklife tour. It was a good show, but word of their reunion only made me long to hear Common People for the 20 thousandth time.
5 Post-Punk Monk // Nov 15, 2010 at 3:38 pm
I am also stranded in the South and would travel hundreds of miles by car to see them in Washington D.C, which is probably the closest they’ll get to me, IF the tour crosses the big pond, which probably won’t happen. -sigh- “His + Hers” was a revelation to me; the first UK band in about five years that managed to excite me and if not for them and Suede, I would have written off the British Isles completely in the 90s. No one could hold a candle to their songs. Cocker is a brilliant writer even on his own, but he’ll never have a better band than Pulp to play his songs.