"This is the Night"
by Jarvis Cocker

Of the three songs Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker contributed to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the best one got leaked on the net first. (The other two are "Do the Hippogriff," fun, noisy nonsense, and "Magic Works," an ignorable bit of Oscar- or BAFTA- bait.) "This is the Night" could conceivably portray Hogwarts' star student's assorted troubles. To this total Potter neophyte, it just sounds like another one of Cocker's hip-trembling gems of endless panic and obsession, almost a sequel to Pulp's 1990 masterpiece "My Legendary Girlfriend." (Both songs share one of his favorite lyrical interjections—"Good God now!") It is a little odd to hear Jarv without his usual cohorts, save for Pulp bassist Steve Mackey. Assorted Brit rockers, including Jonny Greenwood and Phil Selway of Radiohead, provide the rest of the backing. They'll be in the film during the Hogwarts Ball scene, although due to some truly bizarre legal labyrinths worth Googling, they won't be called The Weird Sisters, as they are in J.K. Rowling's book. But none of this really matters. What does matter: Cocker is back and every newly unveiled, preening pop-fop out of the U.K. just can't hold a scented candle to him.

Jarvis Cocker's three Harry Potter songs can be streamed at music.aol.com.