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Jarvis Cocker judged a Pulp karaoke contest (won by a 9-year-old singing "This is Hardcore") at Rooftop films (pics)

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin, words by Bill Pearis

Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker

“That was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever witnessed.” Jarvis Cocker had just seen a nine-year-old boy named Graham belt out Pulp‘s “This is Hardcore.” (Feel free to peruse the lyrics if unfamiliar.) “It was a little disturbing… but I will not forget that, ever.” Nobody who saw it will. The kid won.

Cocker and Pulp documentary director Florian Habicht were judges in a Pulp karaoke competition that also featured a girl who came out dressed as an old lady for “Help the Aged,” only to then perform a striptease; and audience favorite Chance who had clearly studied Cocker’s stage moves for his very enthusiastic rendition of “Babies” where he recovered fully from falling off the stage. Jarvis seemed amused and bemused by the whole thing, noting that “I can truly say that was a unique experience.”

This was the afterparty for last night’s Rooftop Films screening (8/7) of Habicht’s terrific documentary, PULP: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets in Sunset Park’s Industry City that also featured a Q&A with Cocker and Habicht. Filmed around Pulp’s 2012 show in their hometown of Sheffield, the last date on their reformation tour, the documentary spends as much time with fans and local residents as it does the band, painting a vivid portrait of the city that shaped the band. It is not a film charting Pulp’s beginnings through their breakup in 2002. “That’s what YouTube and Wikipedia is for,” said Habicht. It’s a sweet, charming movie that you don’t have to have even heard “Common People” to enjoy.

If you missed the Rooftop Films screening (and the Lincoln Center “Sound & Vision” series screening), the Pulp documentary will be released by Oscilloscope in theaters and VOD in November, with a home video release not too long after. Screening dates and more pictures from the screening, Q&A and afterparty as well as Graham’s audition video, below…

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Pulp This Is Hardcore by Graham (age 9)

PULP: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets – screening dates
11-19 Boston, MA – Brattle Theatre
11-19 Washington, DC – Angelika Pop-Up
11-19 Fairfax, VA – Angelika Mosaic
11-19 Detroit, MI – Cinema Detroit
11-19 Columbus, OH – Gateway Film Center
11-19 Seattle, WA – Grand Illusion
11-19 Portland, OR – Hollywood Theatre
11-19 Dallas, TX – Angelika Dallas
11-19 Plano, TX – Angelika Plano
11-19 San Diego, CA – Reading Gaslamp
11-19 San Diego, CA – Reading Town Square
11-19 Sacramento, CA – Reading Tower
11-19 Honolulu, HI – Reading Kahala
11-26 Los Angeles, CA – Cinefamily