"Help the Aged" is a song by British alternative rock band Pulp from their 1998 album, This Is Hardcore. Written as a sarcastic reflection of Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker's ageing, the song was disliked by Pulp guitarist Russell Senior who left the band before the song's release and sought to prevent it from being released as a single.
| "Help the Aged" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Pulp | ||||
| from the album This Is Hardcore | ||||
| Released | 11 November 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1997 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 4:28 (album version) | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Nick Banks, Jarvis Cocker, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey and Mark Webber | |||
| Producer(s) | Chris Thomas | |||
| Pulp singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Help the Aged" on YouTube | ||||
"Help the Aged" was released as the first single from This Is Hardcore in November 1997, reaching number eight in the UK. The song has since seen positive critical reception, with many critics praising the song's lyrics for their wit and compassion.
Background
edit"Help the Aged" was written as a self-deprecating reflection of Cocker's increasing age. Cocker explained at the time, "It tackles personal issues because I'm now 34 years old. And I have been aware of the ageing process for a couple of years now. ... It's not a heartfelt plea to help people cross the road."[1] Cocker summed up the song as "just me whining on about getting old."
The song was one of the first written for This Is Hardcore, alongside "Northern Souls" (which would ultimately appear on the album as "Glory Days").[1] Pulp guitarist Russell Senior left the band prior to the single's release, citing his dislike for the song as a reason for his departure. He recalled, "'Help the Aged' I didn't like and didn't feel involved with and tried to avoid being released. Jarvis was very keen on it and I guess we had musical differences."[1]
During Da Ali G Show, Jarvis Cocker performed the song, which soon transitioned into a distinctly more urban take on things, added by Ali G, with lines such as "help the motherfuckin' aged".[2]
Release
edit"Help the Aged" was released as the first single from This Is Hardcore in November 1997. Cocker explained, "That was the oldest song and I was beginning to feel like if we didn't get it out soon, it'd be past its sell-by date."[1]
The single charted at number eight in the UK, becoming the band's fifth consecutive top ten single.[3] Pulp drummer Nick Banks said of the reaction to the single, "I think the general feeling from the critics was kind of 'It's good, but, ooh, it's not "Disco 2000" is it?' ... They didn't quite understand it."[1] Cocker reflected on the single's performance, "I was really pleased when it got to number eight. Maybe we overestimated people's willingness to confront their own mortality in a pop record, but I'm proud that we got a record about getting old and dying into the Top Ten."[4]
B-side "Tomorrow Never Lies" was intended to be used as the theme to the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. The song was ultimately rejected in favour of a song by Sheryl Crow, and was renamed after the film's working title for copyright reasons.[1] The original version of the song, with the name "Tomorrow Never Dies", is featured on the LP version of the album, even though it is listed as "Tomorrow Never Lies". It surfaced on the bonus disc of the This Is Hardcore special edition in 2006.
Critical reception
edit"Help the Aged" has generally seen positive critical reception. Larry Flick from Billboard commented, "And rest assured that gloriously happy is precisely the emotion you'll be experiencing by the close of this richly textured, deliciously introspective rock ballad. Jarvis Cocker is at his vocally ravaged best here, swimming through an arrangement that gradually builds from a quiet piano/guitar opening into a collision course of clanging guitars, layered harmonies, and pounding beats. No need to handicap the future of this gem. Just prepare for a saturating rock radio run."[5] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the song "deftly leaps from an after-hours fragility to arena roar,"[6] while Steve Hochman of The Los Angeles Times wrote, "In 'Help the Aged,' sentiments that might sound cynical from someone else ('One time they were just like you, drinking, smoking cigs and sniffing glue') are full of compassion and the simple knowledge that we all get older."[7] Rolling Stone's Greg Kot wrote that, in the song, "Pulp reach out to the inevitable with a mixture of resignation, compassion and humor, and package it all in a mirror ball of florid strings, helium-enriched vocal harmonies and shimmering guitars."[8] Nick Hornby of Spin Magazine stated, "By the climax ... the song is breaking your heart in ways you couldn't have anticipated."[9]
Music video
edit"Help the Aged" was accompanied upon release by a music video produced by Hammer & Tongs filmed in the Stoke Newington Town Hall.[1] The video features Pulp performing in an old folks' home, while young men dressed up to look elderly seduce young women. Cocker recalled,
We decided it'd be better to use young people made up to look old than to use actual old people, as if, for some reason, looking old had become trendy. ... I think the blokes in the video look really good—in fact, I went up to the person who styled the video after, who got the clothes, and ordered a few. They had a nice kind of cardigan with a tie waste on it![1]
The video also featured Cocker singing while riding a Stannah stairlift up to a space-esque location—Stannah rejected the initial plan of riding the stairlift to Heaven on the grounds that they did not want to be associated with death.[1]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Nick Banks, Jarvis Cocker, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey and Mark Webber
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Help the Aged" | 4:31 |
| 2. | "Tomorrow Never Lies" | 4:49 |
| 3. | "Laughing Boy" | 3:49 |
Personnel
edit- Jarvis Cocker — vocals
- Mark Webber — guitars
- Candida Doyle — keyboards
- Steve Mackey — bass guitar
- Nick Banks — drums
Charts
edit| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[10] | 85 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] | 100 |
| Scotland (OCC)[12] | 12 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[13] | 56 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[14] | 8 |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i Sturdy, Mark (2009). Truth And Beauty: The Story of Pulp. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-103-5.
- ^ Help the Aged (Ali G remix) lyrics
- ^ "Pulp | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- ^ Dalton, Stephen. "Talking Lewd!". NME. Acrylic Afternoons. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- ^ Flick, Larry (22 November 1997). "Reviews & Previews: Singles" (PDF). Billboard. p. 96. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- ^ Browne, David (13 April 1998). "This Is Hardcore". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ Hochman, Steve (5 April 1998). "Pulp 'This Is Hardcore' Island". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ Kot, Greg (23 March 1998). "Pulp: This Is Hardcore". Rolling Stone. No. 784. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ Hornby, Nick (May 1998). "People's Poet". Spin. 14 (5): 133. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 226.
- ^ "Pulp – Help the Aged" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ^ "Pulp – Help the Aged". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 December 2021.