Da un punto di vista lirico: la fantasia di Ultimate Revenge Us vs. Paste, Spy

I spy a boy. A pause for tension, a moment for breath. I spy… a girl. Jarvis Cocker begins with the facts as if they are simple. As the song that Pulp kick off with on their latest tour dates and a track that perfectly defines them as a group, ‘I Spy’ is anything but simple. When the piece bursts to life but keeps the tension building, it’s as though the listener can’t walk away. Presented as their own kind of social nature documentary, Pulp dare to take on class as the dog-eat-dog thing that it is, painting themselves as the predator rather than the prey for once.

Come suggerito nel titolo dell'album, il record di polpa del 1995 Classe diversa delivers a glaring class commentary, all told with Jarvis Cocker’s recognisable lyrical wit. The band had been around for a long time before this moment, but it feels like they only gained their voice when disconnected from the city that gave them it. It wasn’t until Cocker moved away from his Sheffield Nativi E andò a Londra per visitare Central Saint Martin per trovare l'argomento e le parole giuste.

For any working-class northerner in the capital, the story of Classe diversa is a known one. It’s a tale of moving to a big city and suddenly being smacked around the face by a world that isn’t built for you. It’s especially a story of working-class creatives, reckoning with the fact that wealthier counterparts not only have an easier route to making it but will want to play around in your lane, testing the waters and making believe that they’re broke for a laugh.

Non vivrai mai come persone frequenti, cantano nel loro successo di inno Popoli comuni ’ as the most outright commentary. But in almost every track on the record, some line continues their observations of spheres they feel they don’t belong in or are locked out of. On ‘Mis-Shapes’, their existence in London’s creative world is depicted like a break-in, singing, Just put your hands up, it’s a raid. Or on ‘Live Bed Show’, they considered a kind of privileged boredom they’ll never get to access, writing about a sad little rich girl that doesn’t have to go to work. As they found themselves right in the heart of Britpop, Pulp reflected the class divide in music in a way that no one else dared to do. Sure, there was Blur vs Oasis as a kind of south vs north, rich vs poor fight, but Jarvis Cocker would put it into words and dare to take the mick.

Questo è esattamente ciò che spie su di lui. SÌ Classe diversa Dal suo punto di vista, queste sono le sue osservazioni. Questa traccia rende a Cocker una figura di David Attentborough, quando Tententborough ha osato entrare nelle case dei Lions o sopportare i potenti animali di cui parla. Puoi guardare l'occhio inesperto / Mi siedo nelle natiche tutto il giorno / Li ho presi tutti e canta, con un cockering che guarda i ricchi con un dito appuntito come una minaccia. Mentre la musica continua con la sua consegna teatrale e una chitarra gratta, è come se il cantante si immergesse in questo mondo che guarda dall'esterno, entrando nel suo mondo e preparandosi a rovinarlo.

I know the ways your minds work; I’ve studied, he continues. Throughout the song, Cocker seems to be presenting his findings. If the rest of the album is him witnessing the world around him and taking notes on the class divide he sees, ‘I Spy’ is everything coming to fruition like a plan booming into action. Just like any working-class figure is forced to look at how the world works for people with wealth, the piece presents this as literal spying, gathering intel for an overthrow.

E questo autunno arriva. Invece di vedere semplicemente, testimoniare qui, Cocker è coinvolto nelle azioni come predatore Un'immaginazione di vendetta catartica per le classi inferiori. È certamente il più vendicatore, ha detto in pista. A volte quando sei di buon umore, puoi camminare lungo la strada e disprezzare persone dall'alto. Conosci questo tipo di odio superiore. Sono lì, camminano lungo la strada e tutti pensano di essere immondizia inutili e disoccupati. Ma dentro ti senti molto duro. Come canzone, sono una dichiarazione che dice che prendo attenzione, vengo per te, nato per te, un desiderio che un giorno un giorno possa farlo. Il tuo odio ti aiuta a sentirti così. Sai cosa sta succedendo, hai il tuo numero e sai che un giorno recupererai il tuo, ha detto Cocker.

But what makes ‘I Spy’ such a quintessential and defining Pulp track is the wittiness and pettiness of it. When it comes to that vengeance, it’s not some huge political statement. In fact, it’s pretty small, more like a middle finger up and a laugh than any grand social leveller. You see, you should take me seriously, Very seriously indeed, Cocker teases and threats, but all it really comes down to is silliness as he continues, Cause I’ve been sleeping with your wife for the past 16 weeks / Smoking your cigarettes / Drinking your brandy. In the most literal way, he paints himself as having fucked the elite, breaking into their world by placing himself in their home and helping himself to their life. Without the need for an outright statement, this image alone is the band’s unique and brilliant class commentary.

You see, I spy for a living, Cocker sings as he returns to his observation post. Pointing out the minute details of things that are fine for the rich but not for the poor, he’s making big comments through the smallest things, knowing he doesn’t need to add any more to it because the people who get it will get it. Take, for example, the hi-octane middle eight as he described in detail the classic Ladbrook Grove looks of roach burns in designer dresser; it’s something that is chic for the rich but would be scruffy on a poorer woman, in the same way that the wealthy invented ‘thrifting’ to separate themselves from the lesser ‘charity shopping’. As he paints his occupation or even his life’s work as merely observing these things, even that is a comment on how the working class will always be locked out of this world, only ever really able to break in for a romp but never truly belonging.

E ogni notte, quando fai scivolare il mio piano, questo non è il caso di una donna contro un uomo / Questo non è più un caso che non hai, dice e ritorna a questa foto per aprire un ragazzo e una ragazza. Perché non è mai stato così facile, non è mai. In questo mondo, con le loro varie disuguaglianze e sottili possibilità, come determinate sette vengono ritardate mentre altri progrediscono. Molti di quelli che perdono i pochi non possono mai essere così facili. Ma per cinque minuti, Cocker trasforma questo fatto in un evento emozionante, mentre lo dipinge come una competizione emozionante che vincerà il suo cattivo e la sua voce disgustosa. Segna le sue parole, i miei signori e le mie donne, lo prenderò, non posso fallire perché spie.