Pulp - Common People

While many people in the mid 1990's were asking the question "Oasis or Blur?", the answer that I would have given would have been Pulp. Different Class was an aptly-titled album that was a league above. Packed with clever, observational lyrics, this is what "Cool Britannia" should have been about, and not the media-led frenzy over those other two bands.

There was only one thing that Jarvis Cocker could do to surpass this album, and that was, of course, to moon on stage at the 1996 Brit Awards during Michael Jackson's performance!
  
Released on 22nd May 1995, Common People was Pulp's biggest hit single, reaching #2 in the UK singles chart. The song was released as the lead single from the album Different Class. The chorus was originally created on a Casiotone MT-500 home keyboard by the band's frontman Jarvis Coker, who also wrote the lyrics. This eventually became a huge production by Chris Thomas, with many layers of synths and instruments spread over 40 separate tracks in the recording studio.

The B-side featured the song Underwear, with the vinyl 12 inch also containing two extra remixes of Common People. The CD version was released on two discs, with CD2 featuring acoustic versions of Razzmatazz, Dogs Are Everywhere and Joyriders.

Radiohead - Karma Police

The English rock band reached #8 in the UK (#21 U.S.) with this haunting tune, which was the second single to be lifted from the No.1 best-selling album OK Computer. Released on 25th August 1997, the song received mainly positive crticism. Acoustic guitar and piano are very much the main instruments in the track, and although the lyrics are about Karma and capitalism, according to Radiohead the song is not 100% serious. The lyrics relate to the idea that when you are stressed out by the boss of a big company, you can always call the fictional "Karma Police", so it it has a humorous side.

There's no doubt that Radiohead's sound has been influenced by bands such as Nirvana and The Pixies. OK Computer is an album that divides opinion. While some fans see it as the greatest album ever recorded, others believe it stinks and was over-hyped. The safest bet for me is to sit on the fence and say that it lies somewhere in between. However, while I don't believe it's the best album of the 90s, it certainly lives up to some of the hype, at least, and it certainly doesn't stink. Unlike The Bends, this is an album that takes a while to get into. Many of the songs are not as instantly appealing, but be patient and you will be musically rewarded. At times it's psychedelic, at times it's quite dark, but the songs grow on you, and when they do you will change your entire opinion from when you first listened to the album.