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Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker Quotes

Musician

Jarvis Cocker is a British musician born in September 1963. He is best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the band Pulp, whose music style blends rock, pop, and indie elements. Cocker is recognized for his distinctive voice and sense of humor, making him a significant figure in the British music scene.

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All People Thinking Way Ifs Kind Song Bits Nice Persons Trying

Famous Jarvis Cocker Quotes

“I'm always amazed by people who blog all the time and tweet all the time, and still get things done. I don't know how they do it.”

People Knows Stills Done Know How Amazed Blogs Tweet Things Done

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“Money isn't important, but you have to have enough, so you don't have to think about it. Thinking about money is a drag.”

Thinking Important Enough Drag

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I'm not a religious person but I do like the idea of Sunday as a day set apart from the rest of the week. It's nice to have a period of reflection and have time to think about things.”

Thinking Persons Ideas Religious Nice Week Periods Reflection Sunday Time To Think Religious Person

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“Also, because people like to multitask, in a way if you've got a bit of music on in the background and the lyrical content is making you want to listen to it, then that would probably put you off the texting you wanted to do. I think people like things that just make that right kind of noise, but leave your brain free to do something else.”

People Ifs Thinking Way Want Kind Wanted Bits Brain Backgrounds Noise Lyrical Texting

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I speak onstage to try to establish some method of communication. The songs are supposed to be a way of communicating. But speech and drinks and sometimes chocolates are also a way of communicating.”

Way Trying Sometimes Song Speak Communication Drink Speech Method Communicate Supposed To Be Chocolate

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“The most entertaining songs don't always come from a nice place. In songs where I think I'm being really sensitive, they seem quite boring actually. I've found that the songs that come out of nastier, more misanthropic places are better.”

Thinking Seems Song Found Nice Boring Sensitive Entertaining Misanthropic

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“A Conservative government is necessary. There is no credible alternative.”

Government Conservative Alternatives Credible

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“But I've got ideas. I keep my little notebook, I've always got that with me. Hopefully there's more stuff than nonsense in there.”

Littles Ideas Stuff Hopefully Nonsense Notebook

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“Don't think that the things around you don't count, because they do.”

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“For me, the great thing about music is that anybody can do it.”

Can Do Music Music Is Great Things

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I always thought that I might retire from any form of sexuality by the age of 40 and just become a dignified older person.”

Persons Might Age Form Sexuality Retiring Age Of 40

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I do write songs with a political dimension to them sometimes, but I'm always slightly appalled by it when I do.”

Writing Sometimes Political Song Dimensions

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I guess I'm fairly insistent and maybe consistent. If I decide I'll do something, I generally will.”

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I'm always nervous when I perform anyway.”

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“If you get involved in music expecting to make a living out of it, then you've picked the wrong thing to do. That shouldn't really be in your mind.”

Ifs Mind Involved Things To Do Expecting Get Involved Wrong Things

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“In no way am I supporting or suggesting that a Conservative government is a good thing, far from it.”

Way Government Good Things Conservative Suggesting

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“It's good that I managed to hoodwink so many people. I am actually not that nice a person.”

People Persons Nice

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“It's weird: The leader of the Conservative Party in England is two years younger than me, and I still don't really feel like a responsible adult.”

Feels Years Stills Two Party Leader Adults England Responsible Conservative Two Years Conservative Party

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“Its OK to grow up, just as long as you don't grow old. Face it you are young.”

Long Faces Young Grows Growing Up

Book:Mother, Brother, Lover: Selected Lyrics

Source: Mother, Brother, Lover: Selected Lyrics

“The working class has been turned into a consuming class - a situation has been created where people value their worth by what they can afford.”

People Has Beens Values Situation Class Working Class Consuming

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“For TV you also get those pre-interviews when researchers ask you what you're going to say. The pre-interview drives me insane. If they've already decided the outcome, why don't I just hand in an essay? Maybe if we talk we'll find something out. I'd rather just have an awkward pause.”

Ifs Hands Asks Tvs Decided Insane Outcomes Interviews Awkward Pauses Essays Researchers

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I am passionate about keeping the human dimension in things. You have to keep the rough edges and the inconsistencies, that's what makes it interesting. I've always striven to be as sloppy as possible.”

Humans Interesting Passionate Edges Dimensions Rough Inconsistency Sloppy Rough Edges

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I am proud, and more than a little excited, to be asked to work with Faber in an editorial capacity. It is my dearest hope that we will produce some fantastic books together.”

Littles Book Together Produce Proud Capacity Excited Fantastic Editorials

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I'm sure Sting's a lovely guy. It's just that nobody wants to be seen as that holier-than-thou thing. That over-earnestness is a bit of a problem with people in bands and celebrities or whatever.”

People Want Problem Guy Bits Band Lovely Earnestness Holier Than Thou

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“In some ways, I always thought you're better off behaving like a rock star when you're a normal person. Because if you do it as a rock star, you'll end up in the papers and your life will be made a misery.”

Ifs Way Persons Made Ends Stars Rocks Normal Paper Misery Papers Better Off Rock Star

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“There's the famous thing that the A&R man from the record company is supposed to do: He's supposed to come into the studio and listen to the songs you've been recording and then say, 'Guys, I don't hear any singles.' And then everybody falls into a terrible depression because you have to write one.”

Men Writing Guy Song Fall Company Records Terrible Studios Record Companies Singles

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“Unless you're living on the street and surviving on a diet of discarded turkey drumsticks, there's no point in being gloomy. We've spent too long trying to cheer ourselves up by spending money on brightly coloured things we don't really need. We've stopped using our imaginations.”

Needs Trying Long Imagination Streets Spending Diets Cheer Turkeys Surviving No Point Living On Gloomy Discarded Spending Money Drumsticks

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“We've always been a bit out of touch with reality.”

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“Noise is an easy thing to hide behind. If you make a lot of noise and shout behind that, nobody can tell what you're singing.”

Ifs Easy Behinds Singing Noise Easy Things

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“You get to a certain age and you just want to prove that you can still rock - that you've still got it.”

Want Stills Age Certain Rocks Prove

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“Well, once you've resigned yourself to the fact that you are the more mature pop performer and you're past the age you ever thought you would do it, you might as well do it as long as you can. As long as I can still lift a microphone, then I'll do it, you know.”

Knows Wells Long Stills I Can Facts Might Age Past Pops Lifts Mature Performers Microphones Resigned

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I'd never really wanted to have a really 'private' life before. But when somebody starts delving into it and printing details through the tabloids for shagging people you shouldn't have shagged, then that probably made me shy away a bit more from giving too much away.”

People Giving Made Wanted Bits Too Much Details Shy Private Life Printing Tabloids Delving Shagging Giving Too Much

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“The things in my songs are the edited highlights of my life. I don't go seeking out strange sexual experiences every day of the week.”

Song Week Strange Seeking Highlights Edited Days Of The Week

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“Pornography takes all the reality out of sex and Disney does that to family life.”

Doe Reality Sex Pornography Family Life

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I like bossy girls. I don't like girls who just do whatever they think you want them to do, and follow you around trying to please you all the time.”

Thinking Want Trying Girl Please Bossy

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I think basically becoming famous has taken the place of going to Heaven in modern society, hasn't it? That's the place where your dreams will come true. It's an act of faith now; they think that's going to sort things out.”

Thinking Dream Heaven Taken Modern Becoming Your Dreams Modern Society Going To Heaven Becoming Famous

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I've stuck to the same things for twenty years. I try to look like a slightly edgy geography teacher. Like what a geography teacher looked like when I was in school. Cords, sensible shoes and glasses. I never liked geography much as a subject though. In fact the only geography teacher I can remember from school was a woman who had a moustache.”

Trying Years Looks I Can Facts School Remember Teacher Subjects Twenties Shoes Glasses Stuck Sensible Geography Cords Edgy Moustache Geography Teachers

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I got a pair of red, synthetic satin women's pants through the post the other day with a phone number on. That was quite strange. I haven't tried the phone number. In times of stress I may.”

May Numbers Havens Strange Red Stress Phones Posts Pairs Pants Stressed Synthetic Phone Numbers Satin

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“Part of why I started a band was due to feelings of shyness and social ineptitude. I saw it as some way of being able to interact with people from a safe distance.”

People Way Feelings Able Social Saws Band Safe Distance Dues Shyness Ineptitude

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“Being chronically shy I needed to create a persona for myself and be involved with a band where I could be ruler of my own kingdom. Then Pulp became hugely popular and I lost control of it, which is when it all went wrong.”

Lost My Own Needed Involved Band Kingdoms Shy Rulers Persona Pulp

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I recently spent quite a bit of time in Sheffield, England, which is where I'm from. I wouldn't move back there, but it's funny when you spend a bit of time in the place where you were brought up. You kind of realize how that place has had quite a big effect on you or made you a certain way.”

Way Kind Made Bigs Funny Moving Certain Bits Realizing Effects England Sheffield

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“The main thing I don't like about myself is an absurd level of self-consciousness that makes any sort of social encounter an ordeal for me.”

Self Social Levels Consciousness Absurd Encounters Self Consciousness Ordeals

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“Pulp existed for 12 years before we got famous. Now, you could say that was just lack of imagination, but it's some kind of quality isn't it? Tenacity. You could also say it was sloth.”

Years Kind Imagination Quality Tenacity Sloth Pulp

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I'd been thinking I'd have to learn how to play really well, but obviously the message of punk was that you just learn three chords in a week and you're away.”

Thinking Wells Play Three Week Messages Punk Chords

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I think the credit crunch is a brilliant thing. We should all stop moaning and start celebrating. When times are tough, it's an opportunity to start looking at life in a different way.”

Thinking Way Should Different Opportunity Tough Credit Brilliant Celebrate Different Ways Moaning Crunch Credit Crunch

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“As a shy kid growing up in Sheffield, I fantasized about how it would be great to be famous so I wouldn't actually have to talk to people and feel awkward. And of course, as we all know from fairy stories, when you achieve that ambition, you find out you don't want it.”

People Knows Want Feels Stories Would Be Kids Courses Growing Up Growing Achieve Ambition Fairy Shy Awkward Kids Growing Up Fairy Stories Sheffield

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“Every woman I've had a relationship with has found this maddening; the fact that I will talk about anything on the stage, and reveal all this stuff, and yet when I'm at home, I clam up and won't discuss anything intimate or personal.”

Facts Home Found Stuff Stage Intimate Clams

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“Hawkwind are one of those bands that people introduce you to because you don't see them on the covers of magazines. I'd heard 'Silver Machine' but Russell Senior, who was in Pulp, got me into them. They had a song called 'Master Of The Universe' and we nicked the title in 1985 for one of our songs.”

People Song Universe Heard Masters Band Machines Magazines Titles Silver Introducing Senior Pulp

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I know that some filmmakers strive for a kind of naturalistic approach, but you're never going to capture something that's really natural - just the simple fact that you choose to put a frame around something means that you've already chosen one particular thing to put more attention on.”

Knows Kind Mean Facts Natural Simple Attention Particular Approach Strive Chosen Filmmaker Capture You Choose Chosen One

Author:Jarvis Cocker

“I love the Beatles. I haven't named any kids after them but I still really love them. They were the first group that I was ever properly aware of. In my early teens I would sometimes stay in and listen to the radio all day in the hope that I would catch a song by them that I'd never heard before and be able to tape it on my radio-cassette player.”

Firsts Stills Sometimes Kids Able Song Player Heard Groups Havens Radio Tape Teens Cassettes

Author:Jarvis Cocker

About the Author

Born: September 19, 1963
Known for: Musician
Quotes: 100

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People Thinking Way Ifs Kind Song Bits Nice Persons Trying

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People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Mother, Brother, Lover: Selected LyricsRelated source material

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