Jesus, that encore. That's only their second time playing "Clover Over Dover" live, ever! Possibly my favorite Blur song (it was my #1 in the Blur tracks poll) -- I would've flipped out. Gotta shout out "All Your Life" too. That's a top-tier b-side.
Not really into Ballad of Darren. Aside from "St. Charles Square" (which rules), the best moments just remind me of recent Arctic Monkeys stuff. I'm thinking, like, "So turn the music up / I'm hitting the hard stuff" from "Russian Strings," and a few other bits. Which just makes me want to listen to the last couple Arctic Monkeys albums instead. Whereas "St. Charles Square" doesn't necessarily make me want to listen to Scary Monsters, it just makes me wish there were more songs like it on the album.
― Vaguely Threatening CAPTCHAs, Thursday, 27 July 2023 18:08 (ten months ago) link
Goodbye Albert is the closest thing to a good song so far imo, this has been sentimental energyless dreck
― imago, Thursday, 27 July 2023 18:15 (ten months ago) link
there was something muted about St Charles Square, it never took off for me
― imago, Thursday, 27 July 2023 18:16 (ten months ago) link
comfortably slotting alongside the magic whip in their bottom two albums, not that it's particularly close
the bridges of she's so high and slow down alone would put leisure above their combined virtues, the others absolutely no contest
― imago, Thursday, 27 July 2023 18:20 (ten months ago) link
i mean leisure is pretty good, has loads of cool sounds and good songs, unlike this nonsense
― imago, Thursday, 27 July 2023 18:22 (ten months ago) link
ooh it got noisy for no reason! really earned that noise! really built up to it! just like that battle-mellow song-trailerpark-caramel-trimm trabb suite that culminates finally in two colossal and contrasting outpourings of musical catharsis, except without literally any of the music
― imago, Thursday, 27 July 2023 18:28 (ten months ago) link
i am the splash of cold water to the face that this thread hardly deserves
― imago, Thursday, 27 July 2023 18:29 (ten months ago) link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turrican_II:_The_Final_Fight
― PaulTMA, Thursday, 27 July 2023 18:32 (ten months ago) link
lol, turrican probably loves this album
― imago, Thursday, 27 July 2023 18:37 (ten months ago) link
At the same time there's probably nothing as bad as Top Man or Mr Robinson's Quango.
you know, Topman is the most TGE thing on TGE. it's like the sickly artifice underpinning the whole album extracted and enlarged under a microscope. they're not the highlights but if you take away those songs it starts to look a little more like "Parklife Part 2". whereas if you minus The Universal or He Thought of Cars it still has an identity.
idk the idea that albums would be better resequenced without the stage-setter tracks is all too prevalent on this board.
― all this time I thought you were British (Deflatormouse), Thursday, 27 July 2023 20:31 (ten months ago) link
galaxy brain here, threatening to undermine all my good work being right about blur above: mr robinson's quango is undroppable from tge
― imago, Thursday, 27 July 2023 20:37 (ten months ago) link
i mean Blur's albums are mostly uneven and this is maybe the worst thread for making this case since e.g. Parklife prob *would* be better if you cut at least a third of the songs.
― all this time I thought you were British (Deflatormouse), Thursday, 27 July 2023 20:38 (ten months ago) link
that this thread hardly deserves
agreed
― bulb after bulb, Thursday, 27 July 2023 20:43 (ten months ago) link
don't worry imago we were planning to erect a statue of you itt. i have the top ascii artists in the country working on it as we speak.
― all this time I thought you were British (Deflatormouse), Thursday, 27 July 2023 20:47 (ten months ago) link
I hope the names of every Blur album actual sentient humans posting itt think this new one is better than are incorporated into said ascii statue
― imago, Thursday, 27 July 2023 21:09 (ten months ago) link
the great escape has a few great highlights but is mostly them running out of steam & at their most annoying, so i never want to listen to it
― ufo, Thursday, 27 July 2023 21:19 (ten months ago) link
It’s one of the most depressing albums I’ve ever heard, can’t say I ever really enjoyed listening to it but that has nothing to do with its quality.
― brimstead, Thursday, 27 July 2023 21:25 (ten months ago) link
(the great escape)
Deflatormouse OTM about TOPMAN. It is absolutely that album's "eye of the duck"
― Stomp Jomperson (dog latin), Thursday, 3 August 2023 23:07 (nine months ago) link
The Great Escape always reminded me of something like Seven & the Ragged Tiger. Eye of the storm kind of records. Very confident, but with more than a touch of hysteria beneath the surface, production tarted up to make up for the dip in song quality. Overcooked... and interesting on occasion.
― mr.raffles, Friday, 4 August 2023 14:51 (nine months ago) link
i like this album a lot! it's made me go back and listen to all of Blur's catalogue, which TBH I was not overly familiar with outside of the debut, s/t, and 13.
― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Friday, 4 August 2023 15:34 (nine months ago) link
https://tapenotes.co.uk/project/tn119-blur-james-ford
― MaresNest, Friday, 4 August 2023 23:58 (nine months ago) link
^ Podcast about the making of the new rekkid.
i love the great escape :)
but i am a miserable person
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Saturday, 5 August 2023 05:02 (nine months ago) link
blur discog run revealed to me yet again that i only really love s/t, 13, and think tank, but i do have some nostalgic affection for great escape bc it was my first blur record, also any album with “the universal” + a bunch of garbage would be significant, and it’s more than that
― ivy., Saturday, 5 August 2023 05:17 (nine months ago) link
I'm in the same boat, Blur up to TGE is a little repertory, a little camp, a little cheeky. And then Graeme decided he'd like to be in Pavement and so the albums became chaotic, dissonant and melancholy in response, which is much more interesting for me, and makes the pop jewels shine brighter.I'm loving The Ballad of Darren, those folks calling it "subdued" need their heads read. "Barbaric" is one of those chord progressions which feel timeless, as if written in the fabric of music.
― assert (matttkkkk), Saturday, 5 August 2023 08:26 (nine months ago) link
Thanks for the podcast link - really enjoyed it. The amount of media work that the band has done to promote this record is phenomenal.
― Dr Drudge (Bob Six), Saturday, 5 August 2023 08:48 (nine months ago) link
“ And then Graeme decided he'd like to be in Pavement and so the albums became chaotic, dissonant and melancholy in response, which is much more interesting for me, and makes the pop jewels shine brighter.”
This is when I started to care about Blur
― The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 5 August 2023 11:11 (nine months ago) link
After being initially nonplussed by it, Darren is now comfortably slotting into my #3 Blur spot behind s/t and 13. How many comeback records are as good as this?
― Davey D, Saturday, 5 August 2023 16:12 (nine months ago) link
Spotify Wrapped just reminded me that Blur released an album this year lol. It would be interesting to see how listening figures went for this because I must have played it so much in the week it came out that it pushed Blur into my top 2 most played artists, only to never be played again
― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin), Wednesday, 29 November 2023 20:51 (six months ago) link
https://www.brooklynvegan.com/blur-add-ca-headlining-show-with-jockstrap-ahead-of-coachella/
I might have to go to this.
― Bee OK, Friday, 23 February 2024 04:22 (three months ago) link
My wife was looking at it…
― Sony's Sports Walkman Universe (morrisp), Friday, 23 February 2024 04:24 (three months ago) link
I saw Blur with Pulp and they both were so good live, the 90s ruled.
― Bee OK, Friday, 23 February 2024 04:25 (three months ago) link
Ugh, so jealous. One of my biggest regrets was missing out on a ticket to perhaps my best chance to see Blur. They did a one-off show at the relatively intimate Brooklyn Bowl, which was a 15 minute walk from my apartment. ARRRRGH.
― birdistheword, Friday, 23 February 2024 19:48 (three months ago) link
I forgot tickets went on sale today, I checked in two hours later and it was sold out.
― Bee OK, Saturday, 2 March 2024 00:26 (two months ago) link
My wife got two pit tix. She plans to take our son, for his first concert experience…
― Sony's Sports Walkman Universe (morrisp), Saturday, 2 March 2024 00:53 (two months ago) link
The show more or less sold out in minutes. Pit tickets were priced at $125 plus fees but quickly shot up to $400, $550, and then $600 per ticket (plus fees) via "AXS Premium" (the equivalent of Ticketmaster's Platinum). Later some single loge seats popped up for around $550 each, plus fees.
Unreal.
― DT, Saturday, 2 March 2024 06:33 (two months ago) link
Wow… sounds like she lucked out
― Sony's Sports Walkman Universe (morrisp), Saturday, 2 March 2024 07:35 (two months ago) link
That's awesome morrisp, they should have a blast.
― Bee OK, Saturday, 2 March 2024 21:32 (two months ago) link
Watched the entire Brit awards thinking they were perfoming ;/
― PaulTMA, Saturday, 2 March 2024 23:48 (two months ago) link
"So, in the spirit of clarity and truth. This is probably our last gig. And obviously the last time we play this song."
Damon Albarn at Coachella. April 20, 2024
Tender
― Bee OK, Sunday, 21 April 2024 04:11 (one month ago) link
I stand by what I posted upthread 12 years ago - that Blur will still be chugging along like Status Quo. Except Quo actually had a sense of humour about themselves.
― you gotta roll with the pączki to get to what's real (snoball), Sunday, 21 April 2024 09:00 (one month ago) link
Don't know if they did really, remember when they sued radio 1 for not putting them on the playlist?
― This is Dance Anthems, have some respect (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Sunday, 21 April 2024 09:07 (one month ago) link
Didn't one of their singles get put on the Radio 2 playlist instead of the Radio 1 playlist, and Damon had a shitfit about it?
― you gotta roll with the pączki to get to what's real (snoball), Sunday, 21 April 2024 09:13 (one month ago) link
I suspect he got his former bandmates together last year to 'Blur-ify' what was essentially a solo album, and now they've made enough money from the tours to sustain their lifestyles, Blur will go on indefinite hiatus again.
― Dr Drudge (Bob Six), Sunday, 21 April 2024 10:59 (one month ago) link
Speaking as the biggest Blur fan I know, I thought the last two albums completely sucked.
― piscesx, Sunday, 21 April 2024 11:01 (one month ago) link
I have it on good authority that the first reunion in 2009 and the shows in Hyde Park etc were mostly organised to help Dave Rowntree out as he was financially in a bit of a state.
― Maresn3st, Sunday, 21 April 2024 11:31 (one month ago) link
Dave has been selected as a Labour candidate at the next election, not an easily winnable seat but a chance he'll be busy with that quite soon.
― This is Dance Anthems, have some respect (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Sunday, 21 April 2024 11:34 (one month ago) link
I wish him nothing but all the worst luck he can possibly encounter on the campaign trail, hope he gets eaten by a dog!
― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Sunday, 21 April 2024 11:42 (one month ago) link
Looks v unlikely he'll win even in a landslide - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_Sussex_(UK_Parliament_constituency)#Elections_in_the_2010s
― This is Dance Anthems, have some respect (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Sunday, 21 April 2024 11:50 (one month ago) link