Black Francis

Last month, Black Francis and his wife, Violet Clark, released Let the People Speak , their second album as Grand Duchy. Read More

"Jarvis is a bit older now, but he still has it. He's an extraordinary performer, in part because he's such a specific character, and he's so fully comfortable in his skin. I think the very best rock stars are the people who impose their quirks on to the role rather than conform to the expectations of the job. He created his own archetype, but he belongs in a pantheon of the great oddball rock gods alongside Michael Stipe, David Byrne, Elvis Costello, Stephen Malkmus, Black Francis and James Murphy. Watching him in action is inspiring - his sort of confidence seems somehow attainable, whereas more traditional rock, pop and rap stars make it seem impossible and superhuman. Even in his biggest anthems - "Mis-Shapes" and "Common People," both of which presage the sentiment of the Occupy movement by nearly two decades - Cocker is at a human scale even as the music soars. Extremely lanky, yeah, but human scale." [ Fluxblog ] You already saw the setlist from last night's Pulp show which was the first of two shows at the fancy NYC venue for the reunited Britpop greats who also hit Fallon while in town and who continue on to play Coachella this weekend. Read More