Britpop icon and ex-Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker has gone from writing global anthems about “Common People“ to serving the BBC. This is Going to Hurt, their new comedy-drama series starring ‘voice of Paddington Bear’ Ben Whishaw, was in need of some music – and they knew just the man for the job. With his band JARV IS …, the group’s title track for the show has been described by BrooklynVegan as “playful and dark, with Jarvis singing “This is really gonna smart / this is gonna break your heart,” over pizzicato violin“.
The choice of Cocker for this soundtrack isn’t too much of a surprise, what with the mass of indie artists on display for the show’s soundtrack. Fans of Radiohead, Florence + The Machine, The Libertines and indie music in general should be in for a good time with this one.
Cocker’s full soundtrack for the show is due for release sometime later this year, but if you don’t fancy waiting that long then you can listen to the title track now. This is Going to Hurt stars Ben Whishaw as a junior doctor in the NHS attempting to work his way up the ranks, and was based on a book by former doctor and comedy-writer Adam Kay.
As for Cocker’s other accolades in the world of TV and film, he recently wrote a song for Netflix’s animated film The House, even getting a starring role in that one. And he’s probably high off his recent collaboration with acclaimed comedy-director Wes Anderson, covering twelve French songs for his movie The French Dispatch.
And if that kind of success isn’t enough, he only needs to tell everyone about it as well. Cocker’s new memoir Good Pop, Bad Pop will be hitting shops on May 26th, featuring anecdotes that come up naturally as Cocker portrays himself clearing out his loft.
The book’s synopsis says “From a Gold Star polycotton shirt to a pack of Wrigley’s Extra, from his teenage attempts to write songs to the Sexy Laughs Fantastic Dirty Joke Book, this is the hard evidence of Jarvis’s unique life, Pulp, 20th century pop culture, the good times and the mistakes he’d rather forget. And this accumulated debris of a lifetime reveals his creative process – writing and musicianship, performance and ambition, style and stagecraft. This is not a life story. It’s a loft story.“ Pun-detractors, beware.
If you’re interested in seeing This is Going to Hurt, you can catch it on the iPlayer here. Sadly, a North American release hasn’t been announced yet, but fingers crossed for those across the pond. And as for Jarvis Cocker, just keep your TV on. It seems that’s where his heart is at the moment.
