Thursday, October 4, 2007

Don't You Want Me Anymore?

An arch tango that nevertheless avoids sounding too chilly – thanks perhaps to the acoustic guitar – “Don’t You Want Me Anymore?” can be read two ways.

A) It’s a simple character piece by Jarvis, about a poor, deluded character who thinks he’ll be returning home to the arms of an ex-lover. Instead he finds that she’s moved on to another man, and our narrator is reduced to nothing but a laughing stock. No one has any time for him anymore.

B) It’s a reflection of Jarvis’ experiences in the late ’80. Having put Pulp on hold to attend film school at St. Martins College in London in 1988, Jarvis returns to Sheffield, hoping that maybe this time the band will rise in triumph, and he’ll be accorded the fame, respect and love he deeply craves. But everyone has moved on to other bands, and our narrator is reduced to nothing but a laughing stock. No one has any time for him anymore.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

It's worth noting that extant live recordings of DYWMA from a couple of years later show the song was really crying out for re-recording. Separations' production was just too sterile.

Mike said...

Yeah, I think I've heard a live MP3 of this from a Paris show from around 1992. Had a little more punch to it. In hindsight, the reliance of programmed drums on Seperations was probably a mistake, except for stuff like "My Legendary Girlfriend."