In the 1990s, the UK music world was split by a divide. Two bands, Oasis and this week's subject, represented different things to different people, and if you liked one, you weren't supposed to like the other. Well, I didn't live in the UK, so I liked songs by both. But if I did have to choose, I'd choose this week's topic. It's Music Monday, and we're talking about Blur
I'm going to concentrate on Blur's 6 studio albums released during the 1990s. I won't go into The Gorillaz or any of lead singer Damon Albarn's other projects, because that would be endless.
Leisure
Formed by two childhood friends (Albarn and Graham Coxon), a college pal of theirs (Alex James) and a drummer they found (Dave Rowntree), Blur's first studio album was considered a minor record when released. The album's first track is musically trippy and lyrically silly, both of which were hallmarks of the band's early work. This is She's So High:
Sample lyric:
She's so high
She's so high
She's so high
I want to crawl all over her
The same combination of trippy sound and silly lyrics, but with a more upbeat pace, can be found in the band's second single, and other song I'll feature from their debut. This is still one of my favorites of theirs. This is There's No Other Way:
Sample lyric:
You're taking the fun
Out of everything
You're making me run
When I don't want to think
You're taking the fun
Out of everything
I don't want to think at all
Modern Life Is Rubbish
The only song I'll feature from the band's second album is one that wasn't in its original lineup. The record label wanted a single, a song that could be a hit. So Damon Albarn went away and wrote this one. Proving that sometimes - rare as it is - record labels know their business. It's another of my very favorites of their songs. This is For Tomorrow:
Sample lyric:
She's a twentieth century girl
With her hands on the wheel
Trying not to make him sick again
Seeing what she can borrow
Parklife
Blur's third album was their breakout album. It helped define britpop in the 1990s, it won a bunch of awards, and it all starts with an anthem to hedonism and queerness, tinged with sadness. This is Girl & Boys:
Sample lyric:
Girls who are boys, who like boys to be girls
Who do boys like they're girls, who do girls like they're boys
Always should be someone you really love
Girls who are boys, who like boys to be girls
Who do boys like they're girls, who do girls like they're boys
Always should be someone you really love
If the previous song was tinged with sadness, this one is more of an anthem for ennui. But it's so darn catchy! This is End Of A Century:
Sample lyric:
She says there's ants in the carpet, dirty little monsters
Eating all the morsels, picking up the rubbish
Give her effervescence, she needs a little sparkle
Good morning TV, you're looking so healthy
The album's title track won song of the year at the 1995 BRIT Awards, cementing the band's stardom. It is very silly, as it is basically a song about the sights you may see walking around a park. This is Parklife:
Sample lyric:
All the people
So many people
And they all go hand in hand
Hand in hand through their parklife
The next song is one of the SO's favorites, and I also like it. It's a song about a failed attempt to keep a relationship going. And, for some reason, has spoken bits in french. It's very pretty, though. This is To The End:
Sample lyric:
Well, you and I collapsed in love
And it looks like we might have made it
Yes, it looks like we've made it to the end
Speaking of the SO, this is another of her favorites. Basically, she prefers the band's depressing ballads, where as I prefer their more energetic songs. And, well, what's more of a bummer than a song about the shipping forecast and being alone? This is This Is A Low:
Sample lyric:
This is a low
But it won't hurt you
When you're alone, it will be there with you
Finding ways to stay solo
The Great Escape
This is the album that British music magazine Melody Maker gave 12 out of 10 points. Which was, I'm gonna just say it, a stretch. It's a fine album, and the three songs I'll feature from it are great, but it's not beyond perfect, and it isn't better than Parklife. We'll start with one of my absolute favorite Blur songs, and their first to reach #1 in the UK charts. It's a song about a life of seeming opulence in the country, that is actually empty and depressing. This is Country House:
Sample lyric:
He doesn't drink, smoke, laugh
Takes herbal baths in the country
But you'll come to no harm
On the animal farm in the country
The Smiths may have written about "This Charming Man," but Damon Albarn seems to have met his polar opposite. This is song of such deep disdain for a certain type of man, that it's just dripping venom. This is Charmless Man:
Sample lyric:
He knows the swingers and their cavalry
Says he can get in anywhere for free
I began to go a little cross-eyed
And from this charmless man I just had to hide
The final song I'll feature from the The Great Escape is gorgeous, and of course the SO's favorite from the album, for the orchestration. I like the sad sfnal lyrics about a world in which a drug that numbs everyone to everything is freely available. This is The Universal:
Sample lyric:
It really, really, really could happen
Yes, it really, really, really could happen
When the days, they seem to fall through you
Well, just let them go
Blur (self titled album
Usually, bands and artists' first album is the one that's self titled, but for Blur, it was their fifth. But in a way, it was a first, as this album represented a major change in style and tone for the band, going in a more rock direction. That change, however, is less reflected in the album's first song - and first single - which is a dreamy Beatles tribute that was inspired by Albarn's experiences with Heroine. This is Beetlebum:
Sample lyric:
Beetlebum, what you done?
She's a gun, now what you done, beetlebum?
Get nothing done, you beetlebum
Just get numb, now what you've done, beetlebum?
The new direction certainly was* felt in the album's second song, and the band's loudest. It is a commentary on grunge as well as an imitation of it. It's catchy as hell, and I have danced to it. This is Song 2:
Sample lyric:
(Woohoo!) When I feel heavy metal
(Woohoo!) And I'm pins and I'm needles
(Woohoo!) Well, I lie and I'm easy
All of the time but I'm never sure why I need you
Pleased to meet you
The third and final song I'll share from this album is classic Blur in that it has silly/sad lyrics and somewhat trippy music, combined with the heavier guitars of this album. This is On Your Own:
Sample lyric:
So take me home, don't leave me alone
I'm not that good, but I'm not that bad
No psycho killer, hooligan guerilla
I dream to riot, oh, you should try it
I'll eat parole, get gold card soul
My joy of life is on a roll
And we'll all be the same in the end
'Cause then you're on your own
13
The band's final 90s album, and the last I'll cover here, saw them grow more complex musically, more influenced by American music. The lead single, and the album's first song, is one of their saddest, a song about trying to get over a breakup. This is Tender:
Sample lyric:
Tender is the ghost
The ghost I love the most
Hiding from the sun
Waiting for the night to come
Tender is my heart
I'm screwing up my life
Lord I need to find
Someone who can heal my mind
I'll end this edition of Music Monday with a song I absolutely love, which is the rare Blur song sung by guitar player Graham Coxon, who also wrote it. It features an absolutely adorable video, that tugs at the heartstrings. This is Coffee & TV:
Sample lyric:
Do you feel like a chain store?
Practically floored
One of many zeros
Kicked around bored
Your ears are full but you're empty
Holding out your heart
To people who never really
Care how you are
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