We had a lively discussion in The Listening Room last week, so lively it has brought BC Magazine a new writer and a new series.  The discussion I refer to is whether or not we, the listeners of this room, should be trying to champion more obscure music with our selections.  My answer to that is yes and no.

There may be some of our participants who are using this forum as a crusade to spread the word about a favorite album or artist and they will not rest until we have all gotten on board.  Some of us are using this as a vehicle to talk about music we love, damn the torpedoes.  Some of us might be doing both at the same time.  Some of us might take one approach one week, the other the next.  Some of us simply aren't thinking about this that much and aren't taking ourselves so seriously.  That is the beauty of panel discussions.  We are all bringing our own vibe to the discussion.  Speaking of discussions, thanks to everybody who has stopped in and commented in these first installments. 

These may not be the best songs ever, they may not even be our favorites, but they kept us entertained last week. You could do worse than to try a few of them out and see what they do for you.

DJRadiohead "The Fear" from This is Hardcore by Pulp

This is "Our Music From a Bachelor's Den"
The sound of loneliness turned up to 10
A horror soundtrack from a stagnant water bed, and it sounds just like this:
This is the sound of someone losing the plot
Making out that they're OK when they're not
You're gonna like it, but not a lot"

The powers that be will be thrilled to see my big lyric blockquote, but I felt I had to do it. That's almost as great an opening to an album as "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste." This, boys and girls, is how you make an entrance. That opening salvo is paired with a brilliant use of overblown, overwrought, goth-flavored horror music. The keyboards sound like the ones you remember hearing when Scooby-Doo went into the haunted houses, the backing vocals shriek and wail, and guitars are made to sound like harpsichords.

I was very late to the Pulp party. In fact, I didn't buy my first Pulp CD until after Jarvis Cocker had pulled the plug on them. I am now playing catchup, importing these wonderfully-remastered deluxe editions of their best albums. I have Jarvis' solo record and Pulp's Different Class on the way. I have a feeling you will be hearing about them again next week.