Do You Remember the First POLL? - Pulp - His 'n' Hers

I can imagine the Sisters EP tracks would go really well with the rest of the album - apart from 'Babies', they were all recorded at the His 'n' Hers album sessions. I'm guessing they were left off to keep the album at a reasonable length, and also maybe the band felt they weren't amongst the better tracks the band had recorded at the sessions.

I find myself trying to decide between 'Acrylic Afternoons', 'Pink Glove', 'She's a Lady' and 'David's Last Summer', but then I see 'Joyriders', 'Lipgloss' and 'Babies' and just... argh!

Pink Glove, one of their very very best.

Probably "Babies" but I'm upset I can't vote for "Razzmatazz"

probably 'babies' but I'm voting for 'first time' as this was my introduction to Pulp. my 'initial encounter', if you will.

I've never actually heard this album all the way through. I don't even think I've heard Different Class all the way through. Wow. I love 'First Time' though, so I'm going with that.

You should! Hear this album all the way through, that is. Different Class, too!

I remember the cover of this album freaking me out slightly when I was younger. Much in the same way as my dad's copy of Stranglers IV. I must have an aversion to highly-chiseled cheek bone shadows

xp, I'm listening to it now. I must have heard all of DC, just not all the way through.

The Sisters EP is probably the most life-changing record I've ever bought, was already obsessed with Babies having only managed to hear it two or three times on the radio, but then to discover that the other three songs were fantastic was quite a discovery, even if it gave an unrealistic view of what all "indie" band singles would be like. Already had Suede's equally high-quality Stay Together single in the collection. Being 13, it seemed like the right direction to go in and move on from parent-friendly AOR.

I hate that they didn't retain the segue between Your Sister's Clothes and Seconds on the delxue reissue. A seemingly minor detail which loses a lot when removed.

I forget how much of Britpop and proto-Britpop is actually just new wave music. The Oasis school of Britpop, no, but His'N'Hers, Parklife, yes definitely.

Yeah, that's pretty OTM. Blur, Pulp, Elastica and even Sleeper fit into this category. I don't think "new wave" when I think of Suede, but I do (like Blur) think of Bowie.

I don't want to turn this into yet another all purpose '90s British guitar music thread, but for all the comparisons made with a certain '60s guitar band, I hear more of a T. Rex/Slade influence in early Oasis, as well as small things cribbed from shoegaze ('Columbia'), punk (Liam's delivery) and baggy (again, 'Columbia') ...

I've read that detailed Mark Sturdy book about Pulp a few times, though not in years, so can't remember why Babies was on the album. Was it simply that Island saw it as a hit that got away and they insisted on it keeping it?

i remember in 1997 listening to a mixtape i made myself with some of the songs from this album on it -- over and over -- for like 5 months or so -- i was 22 and in a "complicated" relationship -- i don't think i could pick a song other than one of the ones on that tape:

Lipgloss
Have You Seen Her Lately?
Do You Remember the First Time?
Pink Glove

-- though I was listening to the actual album a month or so back, and I feel like "Happy Endings" is really great, it's like one of those songs that is perfect when you are sobering up and the maudlin is kicking in

i also kinda feel like people's choices here are gonna definitely be informed by gender and sexual orientation ... like, reading this thread and not seeing the majority of posters going for "pink glove" ... and then, the realization ... there are a lot of straight cis-men on ilx

i for one am probably going for "pink glove"

it also nearly won the previous poll

I would have guessed Pink Glove was likely to win purely based on posts so far

Yeah, that one's been mentioned quite a lot!

It def seems like it’s between that and babies!

I am another person who voted for Pink Glove, but it was very close between that and She's a Lady. If I'd read the comments first I might have voted the other way to show it a little love! Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma she's a great song!

it's a great interpretation for sure

'Pink Glove' is Pulp's best song.

I ran the original Pulp poll, so I feel obligated to link it! I uh... I used the same thread title, naturally.
Do You Remember The First Poll? - ILM Artist Poll #11 - PULP - Results Thread!

thanks ilx for showing me that this board isn't just full of Turricans

Pink Glove, although there are great arguments to be made for literally any song here.

can't remember why Babies was on the album. Was it simply that Island saw it as a hit that got away and they insisted on it keeping it?

Like I said, it was still the time of major labels including one bonus track on CD to justify the higher price - but yes, probably Island did see its hit potential, especially given that they’d already released it on an album about six months before, and would release the remix with a new video a few weeks later.

I used to do a blog where I wrote about every Pulp track, still mean to finish it one day. Here are the entries for this LP, if anyone's interested

Joyriders
Lipgloss
Acrylic Afternoons
Have You Seen Her Lately?
Babies
She's a Lady
Happy Endings
Do You Remember the First Time?
Pink Glove
Someone Like the Moon
David's Last Summer

My vote, boringly, is for Babies. Worst track for me is Joyriders, though I used to like it a lot. The B-sides from this era are amazing.

also, considering this is ilx, i don't feel like it's too nerdy to talk about "joyriders" in relation to Suede's "we are the pigs"

I honestly can't get on board with this "'Babies' as bonus track on the CD edition" theory, particularly as more people were buying on CD rather than vinyl by 1994 and a lot of record stores had begun to or had already stopped stocking vinyl in huge quantities. It's plausible that Island picked up on 'Babies' as a potential hit single and pushed to get it on the album, however I think that the UK CD edition (minus Razzmatazz) is ultimately the record the band wanted to release. It would make sense to drop 'Babies' from the vinyl as it brings the runtime down to about 45 minutes which is reasonable vinyl album length without compromising sound quality.

also, considering this is ilx, i don't feel like it's too nerdy to talk about "joyriders" in relation to Suede's "we are the pigs"

― sarahell, Tuesday, April 9, 2019 5:45 PM (four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This hadn't occurred to me before, but I guess the vocal line of the former does bear a similarity to the opening guitar riff of the latter!

Both produced by Ed Buller, Dog Man Star was the album he produced immediately after His 'n' Hers, but maybe you know this already and I'm being patronising, sorry!

I remember being a bit thrown when I found out Ed Buller had produced this - it doesn't sound anywhere near as much of a reverb fest as his '90s work with Suede does!

xp - uh, i was thinking more along the lines that they are "political" songs whereas most of the rest of the songs of the album are relationship / emo / personal type stuff?

To hear what Ed Buller did, compare Pink Glove to the Peel Session version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLGfuMmpj38 - or just listen to Someone Like The Moon, he should probably get a writing credit on that one.

Don't know if Joyriders is political, I agree it's trying to sound like it's political, sure, but it's all drama really.

Agh, didn't mean it to embed sorry!

I most closely associate Pulp's prime with Suede's.

I remember some Jarvis vs Morrissey karaoke or dj nights and I always thought it should've been Brett vs Jarvis. All of it is like sleeping on a pile of wire hangers, though (in a good way).

Weirdly, I've never warmed to this record; I look at the song titles and think, "Wait, how does this one go?"

That said, "Pink Glove" and "Do You Remember...?" are the standouts.

That said, "Pink Glove" and "Do You Remember...?" are the standouts.

― recriminations from the nitpicking woke (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, April 9, 2019 11:20 AM (two minutes ago)

okay, thank you! I have a very soft spot for "Have You Seen Her Lately?" but I'm sure a lot of that is personal associations ... but it's kinda like polling Smiths songs, where a lot of the appeal for some people is "relatable content"

leaning towards Babies, but I gotta spin it again to make sure.

I'm going for Acrylic Afternoons - but to be honest i'd go for Razzmatazz and definitely anything from Sisters over most of this - despite adoring it as an album... Sisters is by far their best release.

Jarvis obviously realises how fucking good His N Hers the song is because it got revived for those 2011 shows, and he's playing it on current solo tours.

i am dropping this here just because it should be in this thread:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDzn6vNrt0o

There's just something so emotionally wrenching to me personally about all the His 'n' Hers material, even the earlier non-EP B-sides which I didn't get to hear until many years later. Different Class was an incredibly exciting time - especially getting to attend the Leeds gig right after Glastonbury - but the impact of the new album's release was dampened somewhat by already knowing most of the songs in advance due to their appearances on singles and broadcast live gigs. For entirely non-contrary reasons I'll always believe that His 'n' Hers was the perfect era, even if they only managed a small fraction of what they achieved culturally in the following two years

this album is alright, i just felt it was not as consistent as the next three by them which i love to death. i even think i like the B-Sides from this era better. i think "Babies" is the first song i ever heard by Pulp so hard not to vote for it here.

Hmm. I think one or two here need to re-familarise themselves with It, Freaks and particularly Separations before faulting the consistency of this record!

I remember being a bit thrown when I found out Ed Buller had produced this - it doesn't sound anywhere near as much of a reverb fest as his '90s work with Suede does!

His 'n' Hers IS awfully reverby though. It always sounds like you're listening to it in the bathroom. Could be a better record (and it's already a really good record) with different production.

Oh! That's probably why I like this album more than their other work. I do love that production style

ah, I remember at the time I LOVED Suede's first album and I thought "Joyriders" in particular sounded a lot like Suede.
Like almost everybody, I'd vote for "Babies" but, although a minor track, I also had a special thing for "Happy Endings".
I haven't listened to this album in years. It might be a good time to go back to it !

there's a lot to enjoy on it, freaks and definitely on separations. it weirds out my brain that It came out a week before Hand In Glove.

eheh, I had forgotten how "She's a Lady" is basically a remake of "I Will Survive" !

agree Joyriders sounds like Suede.

Babies was my first Pulp song, I heard it via buying Independent 20 vol 16 because I'd seen the videos for Medication by Spiritualized and Winona by Drop Nineteens on The Chart Show's Indie Chart (yeah yeah 90s nostalgia blah blah), and I don't think they ever topped it so it's hard not to vote for it, whether it's really part of the album or not (I had no idea it wasn't on the LP tbh)

I had a passing resemblance to Jarvis in the mid-90s, I don't really look like him imo but I have floppy hair, am tall and at the time was very skinny, and wear glasses and that's enough for most people. So I kinda shied away from Pulp a bit around Different Class because I didn't like people thinking I was some kind of fanboy trying to copy his style. I came back around a bit after hearing The Fear at a friend's house.

When I first got into indie-type music there was long time when this and the Suede s/t were two of the three indie-type albums I actually owned on CD (the third was Monster), I never made the Ed Buller connection at the time but I can definitely hear some similarities in the guitar sounds, 'Joyriders' for sure but also 'Do You Remember the First Time' (I can remember a friend saying that was the only Pulp song he liked because it sounded like Suede).

Hum. "DYRTFT" might actually sound like Suede... circa "Coming Up" !

I remember hearing and loving ...First Time on the radio at around the same time, but the first Pulp song I got my very own repeat-playable copy of was Lipgloss on a free CD with a magazine, and I became slightly obsessed with it, playing it on repeat, almost living in every swell and wiggle and bubble of the synth line

so, Lipgloss, with an apologetic glance in the direction of First Time (and Babies tbf)

Listened through and it was David's Last Summer this time. Had me again at "Walking to parties while it's still light outside".

His 'n' Hers IS awfully reverby though. It always sounds like you're listening to it in the bathroom. Could be a better record (and it's already a really good record) with different production.

― Eyeball Kicks, Wednesday, April 10, 2019 9:11 AM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's no more or less reverby than the two that came after, IMO!

Are we talking actual reverb pedals or 50 layers of synths?

In fact, thinking about it, This is Hardcore is probably more reverby than His 'n' Hers. The drums are absolutely soaked in it, particularly on 'This is Hardcore', 'The Fear' and 'Help the Aged' ...

I should have listened to this before voting! David's Last Summer didn't hit me like I remembered until the somewhat ominous (and reverb drenched) last minute and a half. The disco drama of She's a Lady on the other hand had me punching the air, and I'd forgotten the chorus of Have You Seen Her Lately. Really anything could have got my vote except for Joyriders, Happy Endings, and Someone Like the Moon.

xps I know what you mean - very echoey on the vocals compared to what came later.

Really anything could have got my vote except for Joyriders, Happy Endings, and Someone Like the Moon.

With you there until the comma. I love Happy Endings & Someone Like The Moon but Joyriders is the only track on this album that I'm not so fond of.

"Joyriders" in particular sounded a lot like Suede.

Maybe that's why - I've never been into Suede!

there's a lot to enjoy on it, freaks and definitely on separations. it weirds out my brain that It came out a week before Hand In Glove.

― Hmmmmm (jamiesummerz), Wednesday, April 10, 2019 9:22 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I agree that those albums have their highlights, just that I find them far less consistent than what followed.

What do people generally consider to be the beginning of prime Pulp, anyway? His 'n' Hers? The Gift Recordings? The single version of 'Countdown'? Separations?

Separations is the start for me. But it's an odd one as it was recorded before the hiatus in 1989 and half of it is in their Slavic folk style which was very much not part of Prime Pulp.

They didn't play an awful lot from it on the His 'n' Hers tour, did they? I have a lot of time for the second half of Separations, mind.

I'd forgotten the chorus of Have You Seen Her Lately

hahaha

it kinda reminds me of "Beauty School Dropout"

like Jarvis was my "early 20s Angel" idk

I like early Pulp a lot (love Freaks), but prime Pulp for me starts with the Gift singles. 1992-1994 Pulp rivals 1980-83 New Order for me as best era of a band I love - so many great a-sides and fantastic b-sides, and HNH is such a fab album.

Yeah, the Gift singles is when things really get good. Intro actually makes a really solid album with some of their most underrated songs (O.U, Stacks, Inside Susan). If I'm going to listen to Pulp these days, it's either that or the second disc of the His 'n' Hers reissue. The B-sides on there are almost Suede level of brilliant. The Sisters EP alone is one of the highlights of their career. Seconds is my favourite Pulp song.

Pink Glove really stood out for me on this album

Love Separations, warts and all. Why Fire Records sat on it for so long while they finally began to 'make waves' is baffling

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Pink Glove was the first Pulp song I fell in love with, so gotta go with that.

finally listening to it again, and still leaning towards babies, though it doesn't have the sonic heft of 'first time' or 'pink glove,' it's probably the prettiest pulp song, which counts for something.

I ended up going for 'Acrylic Afternoons' in the end.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I can understand how those particular tracks with zero votes ended up in that position, but the album is remarkably light on filler really. I think I voted for "David's Last Summer", somewhat arbitrarily.

i think she's a lady is a bit underrated, great full bass sound. a dry run for i spy

2019 results

Babies 14
Pink Glove 13
Do You Remember the First Time? 11
David's Last Summer 5
Lipgloss 4
Acrylic Afternoons 4
Joyriders 2
Have You Seen Her Lately? 1
Happy Endings 0
Someone Like the Moon 0
She's a Lady 0

2007 results

Babies 9
Pink Glove 8
Lipgloss 6
Do You Remember The First Time? 5
Acrylic Afternoons 3
David's Last Summer 3
Razzmatazz 1
She's a Lady 1
Someone Like the Moon 0
Happy Endings 0
Have You Seen Her Lately? 0
Joyriders 0