The Wheel's Still In Spin: Jarvis Cocker

Release Date: 3 April 2007 (Rough Trade / World's Fair)

Jarvis Cocker’s album, Jarvis, is full of juxtapositions. There are some upbeat, catchy songs. They’re full of advice not to trust the people in control or the men who pretend to love. Some songs deal with the topic of love. One explains, “Stormy weather always makes me think of you.” Another is about his baby coming back and it declares, “The sun is shining” and “say goodbye to rain.” Throughout the album, there is an overriding implication that the world has changed but no one is hearing the messages that it’s getting worse. This message is announced with cheerful and buoyant pop music. There is also the idea that the ones being harassed and held down will rise and one day rule the world.

Don't Let Him Waste Your Time (mp3) | Running The World (mp3)

A Job Can Bring You Down

The first day of work, Bill was excited about the possibilities. He was a tech nerd and working at Audio Video Training Tools, AVTT, seemed like a perfect fit for him. The longer he worked at AVTT, he realized he was in the right field but at the wrong company. There were many ways he felt the business could and should be run more efficiently and morally. But this company wasn't going to change its ways.

AVTT specialized in renting audio video equipment and supplying technicians for corporate events. Their clients were the major companies in the Boston area. Whenever Staples, Gillette, or Reebok held a corporate event, AVTT supplied the audio video services. For Bill, this allowed him to work in the field he enjoyed while keeping "regular" work hours for a change. But someone can only work so long in a negative environment before they need to leave their job. Or something worse might happen.

It reminded Bill of some of the main themes on Jarvis by Jarvis Cocker. The album is reminiscent of Elvis Costello & Bob Geldof’s individual best works. Tonally, Cocker’s voice sounds like a cross between Elvis Costello and Bob Geldof. Lyrically, he meshes the two musicians as well. Cocker will pair the skepticism and sarcasm of early Costello with the wit and criticism of Geldof. Musically, Jarvis is full of impressive dynamics, guitars, pianos, marimbas, woodwinds, horns, strings, and choirs.

None of the other employees enjoyed their occupations. They felt stuck in dead-end jobs. As Cocker sings in “From Auschwitz To Ipswich,” “God knows I know I ain’t living right/ I’m wrong/ I know I’m so wrong.” It is a song about how the modern capitalist society is going to fall like the Roman Empire did. “Evil comes/ I know not from where/ But if you take a look inside yourself maybe you’ll find something there”

The main technician was Robert. He’d been in the A/V field for over thirty years. It was obvious he felt stuck in his current position.

“You know about the non-complete clause, right?” he asked.

“Yeah. But how much can they uphold it?” Bill questioned. The non-complete clause clearly stated that an employee could not leave AVTT to work on any competitor or client for two years after leaving the company. This basically limited the ability to look for another position or to ask for a market value income for their talent, skill, and experience. It gave the employer the complete upper hand in wage negotiations. And it was legal.

“Oh, they uphold it. They’ve sued almost everyone who’s left this company. Doesn’t matter what the reason. The Browns have a history of suing people. Look it up online. But about the non-compete contract, if you sign it then that means you can’t work in your field for two years after you quit working here. It screws you. Don’t sign it.” After working at AVTT for seven years, Robert made it obvious that he wasn’t happy in his position but he felt he couldn’t leave. He needed the job and he couldn’t take two years off from working or change his profession at this point in his life.

Bill expressed, “I already signed it. I had to just to start working here.”

Robert shook his head. “Of course you did. Well, you have three months from when your first day to decide if you want to stay. They can uphold the non-compete if you leave before that date. That’s the only way out of it.”

Art had worked at AVTT for almost twenty years. He took the job right out of college. In the nineteen and a half years of working there, he had been given two raises in wage – both minimal amounts that didn’t cover twenty years of inflation and he had to beg for both of them. He drank (at least) one beer on his way to work every day. He often stepped outside to smoke pot behind the dumpster. He didn’t ask for much from AVTT and he didn’t give much in return.

He seemed like he had was hiding something beneath his mellow, nonchalant and relaxed exterior. It was like the song “I Will Kill Again,” which starts will a mellow piano and mellotron flute line. The lyrics begin by telling the story of a bohemian settling down. “Build yourself a castle/ Keep your family safe from harm/ Get in to classical music/ Raise rabbits on a farm/ Log in in the nighttime/ Drink a half bottle of wine/ Buy a couple of records/ Look at naked girls from time to time.” As string and choral arrangements swoop in, the songs builds to the lines, “And don’t believe me/ If I claim to be your friend/ Because given half the chance I know that/ I will kill again.”

Stephen was the warehouse manager. He had worked at the company for about seventeen years. Art was the only employee who had worked there longer.

“Do you know why Mr. Brown came up with the non-compete contract?” Steven quizzed Bill.

“No.”

“The story goes that Mr. Brown was working at our competitor. Then he came into some money. I won’t tell you how. Let’s just say he fell into it. Anyhow, he copied files from his old company and started AVTT. He copied his old company’s business model and called all of their clients. He undercut their prices until he drove them out of business. He added the non-compete clause as a way of making sure no one does to him what he did.”

Bill couldn’t help but think of the bonus track, “Running The World.” The song starts with a cyclic piano line and the lyrics “Well did you hear, there's a natural order/ Those most deserving will end up with the most/ That the cream cannot help but always rise up to the top/ Well I say, ‘Shit floats.’” After the first chorus, the drums and guitars are added. This is a pop song with the refrain “Cunts are still running the world.” It’s full of commentary on modern business with some advice thrown in. “The free market is perfectly natural/ Do you think that I'm some kind of dummy?/ It's the ideal way to order the world/ ‘Fuck the morals, does it make any money?’/ And if you don't like it, then leave.”

Bill finished his day. And never went back to work at AVTT.

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