Song of the Day: Jarvis Cocker, "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time"

Pulp have returned! They’ve actually been back a couple of times since disbanding shortly after the release of their 2001 album We Love Life, but this time they’ve got a new album with a great new single.

I’ll write about it soon, but today I’ve got one of Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker’s solo joints stuck in my head. “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time” was the first single from 2006’s Jarvis, though the song had previously been recorded by Nancy Sinatra two years prior (along with “Baby’s Coming Back to Me,” which also appeared on both Jarvis and Sinatra’s self-titled release). A bunch of Pulp people played on it, which made it mildly confusing why it wasn’t just a Pulp record, though there’s just enough deviation from Pulp’s Britpop sound that it makes sense as a departure. In fact, Jarvis is the last time Cocker would sound anything like his old band: his next solo joint Further Complications was a post-modern garage rock record produced by Steve Albini, and he followed that up with forays into modern disco, space rock, and French chansons.

Thanks to two Pulp reunion shows at Radio City Music Hall and a couple of stops on solo tours, I’ve seen Jarvis Cocker live more than most any other performer not named Trent Reznor or Greg Dulli. This is probably his most Pulpy non-Pulp track, and it’s got a cool video to boot. It’s a little bit glam and a little bit glib, which is just the way I like it.