This Is Hardcore

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This Is Hardcore
Studio album by Pulp
Released	March 30, 1998 March 31, 1998 April 1, 1998 Deluxe edition: September 11, 2006
Recorded	1997
Genre	Britpop Alternative rock
Length	69:49
Label	Island Records
Producer	Chris Thomas
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Calgary Sun (Positive) 30 Mar 98 Entertainment Weekly (A-) 13 Apr 98 NME (7/10)[citation needed] Pitchfork (7.8/10) link[dead link] Q [citation needed] Rolling Stone 23 Mar 98 Spin (8/10)[citation needed]
Pulp chronology
Different Class (1995) This Is Hardcore (1998) We Love Life (2001)

This Is Hardcore is an album by English band Pulp, first released in March 1998. It came three years after their breakthrough album, Different Class, and was eagerly anticipated. It lived up to the commercial success of the previous album reaching number one in the charts. And being well received critically, earning Pulp a third successive nomination for the 1998 Mercury Prize. Initial pressings in the UK came with a bonus live CD entitled "This Is Glastonbury". A deluxe edition of This Is Hardcore was released on September 11, 2006. It contained a second disc of B-sides, demos and rarities.

The cover art was directed by the American painter John Currin who is known for his figurative paintings of exaggerated female forms.^[1] Currin was also the art director for the "Help the Aged" video, based on his painting "The Never Ending Story." Advertising posters showing the album's cover that appeared on the London Underground system were defaced by graffiti artists with slogans like "This Offends Women"^[2] and "This is Sexist" or "This is Demeaning"^[3].

Track listing

UK CD release

1. "The Fear" – 5:35
2. "Dishes" – 3:30
3. "Party Hard" – 4:00
4. "Help the Aged" – 4:28
5. "This Is Hardcore" – 6:25
6. "TV Movie" – 3:25
7. "A Little Soul" – 3:19
8. "I'm a Man" – 4:59
9. "Seductive Barry" – 8:31
10. "Sylvia" – 5:44
11. "Glory Days" – 4:55
12. "The Day After the Revolution" – 14:56

This Is Glastonbury bonus disc

1. "The Fear"
2. "Live Bed Show"
3. "TV Movie"
4. "A Little Soul"
5. "Party Hard"
6. "Help The Aged"
7. "Seductive Barry"

Deluxe edition bonus disc

1. "Cocaine Socialism" (Proper Version) - 5:14
2. "It's a Dirty World" (Recording Session Outtake) - 5:13
3. "Like a Friend" - 4:32
4. "The Professional" - 5:09
5. "Ladies' Man" - 4:44
6. "Laughing Boy" - 3:50
7. "We Are the Boyz" - 3:15
8. "Tomorrow Never Dies" (Rough Mix) - 4:53
9. "Can I Have My Balls Back, Please?" (Demo) - 4:16
10. "Modern Marriage" (Demo) - 4:54
11. "My Erection" (Demo) - 4:22
12. "You Are the One" (Demo) - 4:28
13. "Street Operator" (Demo) - 3:52
14. "This Is Hardcore" (End of the Line Mix) - 2:06

US CD release

The U.S. version features an edit of "The Day After the Revolution" and adds the B-side "Like a Friend" as a bonus track.

1. "The Fear" – 5:35
2. "Dishes" – 3:30
3. "Party Hard" – 4:00
4. "Help the Aged" – 4:28
5. "This Is Hardcore" – 6:25
6. "TV Movie" – 3:25
7. "A Little Soul" – 3:19
8. "I'm a Man" – 4:59
9. "Seductive Barry" – 8:31
10. "Sylvia" – 5:44
11. "Glory Days" – 4:55
12. "The Day After the Revolution" – 5:52
13. "Like a Friend" (bonus track) – 4:32

Japanese CD release

The Japanese pressing features two bonus tracks and also includes the "This Is Glastonbury" bonus disc with 2 bonus tracks from the same show.

1. "The Fear" – 5:35
2. "Dishes" – 3:30
3. "Party Hard" – 4:00
4. "Help the Aged" – 4:28
5. "This Is Hardcore" – 6:25
6. "TV Movie" – 3:25
7. "A Little Soul" – 3:19
8. "I'm a Man" – 4:59
9. "Seductive Barry" – 8:31
10. "Sylvia" – 5:44
11. "Glory Days" – 4:55
12. "The Day After the Revolution" – 14:56
13. "Like a Friend" (bonus track) – 4:32
14. "Tomorrow Never Lies" (bonus track) - 4:53

Japanese bonus disc

1. "The Fear" (Live)
2. "Live Bed Show" (Live)
3. "TV Movie" (Live)
4. "A Little Soul" (Live)
5. "Party Hard" (Live)
6. "Help the Aged" (Live)
7. "Seductive Barry" (Live)
8. "This Is Hardcore" (Live) (bonus track)
9. "Glory People: Glory Days / Common People" (Live) (bonus track)

UK limited edition double vinyl LP

Side one

1. "The Fear" – 5:35
2. "Dishes" – 3:30
3. "Party Hard" – 4:00
4. "Help the Aged" – 4:28
5. "This Is Hardcore" – 6:25

Side two

1. "TV Movie" – 3:25
2. "A Little Soul" – 3:19
3. "I'm a Man" – 4:59
4. "Seductive Barry" – 8:31

Side three

1. "Sylvia" – 5:44
2. "Glory Days" – 4:55
3. "The Day After the Revolution" – 14:56

Side four

1. "Tomorrow Never Lies" - 4:53
2. "Laughing Boy" - 3:50
3. "The Professional" - 5:09
4. "This is Hardcore" (End of the Line Mix) - 2:06

Singles

In the UK, there were four singles released from the album:

1. "Help the Aged" (10 November 1997)
2. "This Is Hardcore" (16 March 1998)
3. "A Little Soul" (8 June 1998)
4. "Party Hard" (7 September 1998)

• "The Fear" was released as a promo-only CD single in the US in 1998. The single features the 4:29 radio edit and a 0:10 research hook. There was never a commercial single release for the song.

Chart positions

Personnel

• Lyrics - Jarvis Cocker
• Music - Doyle, Cocker, Webber, Banks, Mackey, Genn ("Glory Days")
• Artwork (art direction) - John Currin, Peter Saville
• Artwork (design) - Howard Wakefield, Paul Hetherington
• Photography - Horst Diekgerdes
• Engineer - Pete Lewis
• Producer - Chris Thomas
• Programmed By - Magnus Fiennes, Mark Hayley, Matthew Vaughan, Olle Romo^[4]

References

1. ^ Cocker, Jarvis 'They're not grotesque - they're beautiful' Retrieved 11 December 2007.
2. ^ Anon 'PULP - ACRYLIC AFTERNOONS - This Is Hardcore Retrieved 8 July 2008.
3. ^ Kelly, Amanda (1998-04-19). "'Sexist' Pulp ads attacked; Anything goes, say advertisers. Not so, say angry women with spraycans.". The Independent. 
4. ^ Booklet