Pulp's Jarvis Cocker: 'Pop music has lost meaning'

Jarvis Cocker has claimed that lyrics in pop songs are rarely important anymore.

Speaking to The Guardian, the Pulp frontman expressed his belief that music is no longer "central" to people's imaginations.

Cocker explained: "To look for some kind of insight or meaning in pop songs is not really - well, there's plenty of other places where you should probably look first before you start looking for it in a pop song.

"I guess it was just because I was really into music as a child, and I wanted it to say more. It was the thing, wasn't it? And now it isn't."

The 'Common People' singer continued: "Music's changed in that way, people still listen to it, but it's not as central, it's more like a scented candle, it sets the mood.

"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."

The 48-year-old added: "I think people like things that just make that right kind of noise, but leave your brain free to do something else."

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Watch the video for Pulp's 1994 classic 'Do You Remember The First Time?'