BLUR SELF-TITLED ALBUM POLL (1997)

We know you think that. And we are cool with it. There is no need to insist.

Usually I agree with Geir so this is jarring.

I agree with Geir about the worst songs on Blur (and "Bank Holiday", ugh). Never liked the band's explorations of punk too much. B.L.U.R.E.M.I. is by far the best one fwiw.

"Beetlebum" still get my vote. love this album to death and gave me a new found respect for Blur at that time.

..Never liked the band's explorations of punk too much.

I mostly agree. As "explorations" of a style, Blur's punk diversions were as trad as it gets, and pretty boring for it. The big exception to this, for me, is "Advert," which is inexplicably one of my favorite Blur tracks. I never got why "Song 2" was trumped up as their bid for American grunge appeal, as it seemed to fit squarely into their 3-generic-punk-songs per album tradition. Marketing, I suppose.

As for the matter at hand, I'm going with the usual suspects: Slightly edging out "On Your Own" & "Death of a Party" is "Beetlebum" (Bee OK OTM). I love that, despite their "reinvention" as a lo-fi Matador band, they were unable to avoid their knack for Beatles-worthy pop gems. You can't dirty up a chorus that huge.

I like the album as whole, and still listen to it regularly, but ultimately it is a blueprint for the sound they eventually perfected on 13.

Beetlebum gets my vote.

13 felt patchy to me. For every Trimm Trabb or Coffee & TV there was a Swamp Song or Trailerpark which just seemed like a lack of good songwriting to me. Elsewhere I found "Tender" and "No Distance Left To Run" to be intensely cloying - the band had done much better ballads than that on Parklife. "Blur" was the last really solid Blur album as far as I'm concerned.

"You're So Great"!!! OMG I had completely forgotten how good this album was. Jeez.

TNG, you've conveniently omitted to mention the four best tracks on the album, the record's lifeblood. Also, "Swamp Song" is MEGA AWESOME.

So what happened about the Graham reunion? Weren't they going to get back together and give it one more go?

They had a night out, and found they weren't arsed about it.

BASTIDS!

beetlebum.

I never got why "Song 2" was trumped up as their bid for American grunge appeal, as it seemed to fit squarely into their 3-generic-punk-songs per album tradition.

"Song 2" had some typical grunge elements that are not found in their other "punk" songs. It had the contrast between a stripped down verse and a noisy chorus with these really dirty guitars, that also had a very "grunge" sound to them.

Might have been fine. I mean, I liked "Creep" and "Inside" - both other examples of Brits attempting a grunge-ey style. But "Song 2" is repetitive and tuneless. It's just the same 4-chord sequence repeated all through the song. Which becomes annoying in the end. I despise music that is built in a repetitive/cyclic/minimalist way.

I hang with some of what you say, Geir, with regard complexity, but sometimes for a song to progress most excitingly it must employ a certain tension through repetition, perhaps with subtly altering dynamics/resonances, not just melodic transformation. There has been very great minimal music that sustains interest through the shifting of focus within its own sound-world. I weep that you cannot open your ears to the possibilities afforded to great songwriting by non-melodic means.

That said, there's a band I like that I think you'd absolutely do your nut over. They are probably the most melodically complex act in the entire history of music. Blur are great fans. Here's a flavour: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=2600990 (Don't listen to "Eat it..", you'll dislike)

"Song 2" - yeah I agree with Geir, it's a grunge anthem that came out too late. It's catchy and fun to dance to but also very obvious, but hey if the kids like it then I'm not going to piss on their parade. It's fun and you can see why it's popular, but even in its name, I think Blur always intended it as a throwaway until some company exec said "hey, you could make a killing from this". Louis's also right - Geir, you should try opening your ears a bit (/obvious).

Louis, I know you came to 13 in the same way I came to Parklife (which was the first "proper" album I bought and a total gateway to what I like now). I'm not going to challenge that. From my point of view, 13 was the sound of a brilliant band on their way out. It's got great songs, it also has dirges and retreads of old things AFAIC. I'd say 50% great 50% a bit rub. I love "Coffee & TV", "Trimm Trabb", "Mellow Song", "Battle" and "Caramel" but the rest just sounds like jamwash to me.

Actually, I'm listening back to 13 now after a long break. It never struck me how weird a record it is. There are loads of little sections that stick out and wash through, 30 second jams and stuff. I like this. It's not the solid pop performance of Parklife or Great Escape, but it fits together in a jarring, jam band kind of way.

I adore 13, but I'm more fascinated with Blur right now because I've played it less.

I think "Coffee & TV" is pretty weak...and "Tender" took me several plays before I came to terms with it.

Blur were on those duke boxes things a lot

Could someone (Britshes??) please explain what this means. Thanks.

"Death of A Party" particularly stunned me at work today. I almost wanted to change my vote...that shit is stunning. I remember wanting to play that one several times in a row by itself. It summed up everything I felt in the post-cocaine depression etc.

Don't understand what makes Essex Dogs so great yet except that it makes me smile to realize how much it sounds like The Fall. Way to go, the ever-versatile Blur! Oasis weren't a patch on ye! In any case, "Essex Dogs" is a great way to pave the way for 13, that's for sure. I'm playing this song now and I gotta say it sounds pretty good. It's a grower.

I'm glad to see so much love for On Your Own, though. Here's why: I always kindof thought of M.O.R., On Your Own & Moving On in the same category and I think it kindof says something that in the end M.O.R. doesn't sound as good now as On Your Own does, though in 1997 I might have said I loved them equally. M.O.R. comes off a bit contrived in comparison. OTM about the great guitar sound/riff in On Your Own. Moving On also does get tiresome after awhile, but the first half of the song or so is stellar.

Another song that hit me hard at work today was "I'm Just A Killer For Your Love". Here's another stab at Americana from them. I adore it!!

As for Beetlebum, I don't hold it against anyone at all for choosing it as their fave, I just have to admit I've grown tired of it now. The delicious Beatles-y bubblegum has long since been chewed. :)

Dancehall is bravely sludgy and sleazy and even more Fall-like than Essex Dogs.

Strange News is especially lovely. I'd probably take that over "M.O.R." & "Moving On".

Chinese Bombs makes me smile because EVERY SINGLE PUNK PISS-TAKE THEY DID MAKES ME SMILE. Bless their hearts for it! Just one or two punk songs per album. I love it. It's like the little prize you get in the cracker jack box!

Still, I wonder if the real answer to the universe isn't "Country Sad Ballad Man". But *sniff* I already voted for "Look Inside America". :(

This is a near perfect album. I don't think I knew how lucky I was in 1997 even though by then the whole current British/indie/whatever scene had mostly dried up for me. Blur! A realiable, versatile, talented pop band! Name one band who matches them nowadays!

Coldplay can lick their dicks, I mean really. Can't they?

Next step: add my two CD-R's of Blur b-sides to my iPod and drift away.

Just Got Offed ^^ I realise it's a Blur thread and all, but you just reminded of something.

To once and for all check out the Cardiacs properly since I saw them for the first and only time in the late '80s!
They were supporting someone I can't recall(it may have been Robyn Hitchcock, who I saw there?) at The Town and Country Club in Kentish Town.

They blew me away that night and I haven't checked them since! Care to advise where to start? I seem to remember them making me smile. Musically they were all over the place but melodic, as you say.

Perhaps I should check out any Cardiacs threads on here?

Bimble

I was been a bit silly. I simply meant duke box. I'm a tosser.As in ,' put another dime in.... 'and yeah i'm a britishes

juke box even

Ha! You know it occured to me later that might have been what you meant! Good enough, you're not a tosser. Unless...ah never mind. :)

Sometimes I get Robyn Hitchcock songs in my head out of absolutely nowhere when I haven't heard them in ten years and shit. Happened to me this week, actually.

Hey, Fer Ark. I heard on the chatz that you are a punk guy over 50. Is this so? If so, I think that's way cool. Someone asked if you knew Noodle Vague, the reply was "probably".

Cheers Bimble - FFS!

I look about 67
Am 40.
Noodle Vague has Hull connections, yes? Not sure I know him. We probably 'hung' at the same places. I avoid cliques and scenes though - prefer being a solitary, 'fuck you' punk rocker ;-)
Where you from out of interest> somewhere in Da States? Dallas gets a mention? Austin is one of my favourite places over there

What the fucks 'the chatz' - is it another ILX secret;-)

Fer Ark - Cardiacs: Classic or Dud?

They're my absolute favourite band of all time and I recommend the lot. Start with the early stuff, cos that's the best way to do it AND you'll reconnect with what you saw. On Land And In The Sea is IMO their best early-period record, by a nose from A Little Man... . Let me know how you get on with them!

Aw, you're a nice guy, Fer Ark. I'm in Seattle as of the last ten years. Don't really want to be anywhere else, even lovely California! I lived in Dallas, Texas for two miserable years. I regret I never visited Austin while I was there, a town I had much respect for without ever being there. Houston was okay cause there's the beach & palm trees.

Re: "the chatz" it's not an ILX secret you just have to sign up with stupid ass AOL messenger in some form (known as AIM) and then you can chat with people in real time from all over the world if you want, etc. It's an instant messenger program. But I don't mean to intrude, I know a lot of folks don't really understand what any of that means, or even like to chat online. There are other IM programs, too. Herman Neuname from Scotland told me that mostly only Americans use AIM for it, but ya know...whatever chat mechanism works is my philosophy.

so this was a Blur thread then??? Oh my goodness. How have we drifted away.

Also the Bimbobulator needle is coming close into the red now, alcohol consumed is reaching a pleasing peak, etc.

Nice one Bimble - aren't music and alcohol so fucking ace?

I loved Austin for the food, vibes and the rich, rich music history. The fact that I met Jeff Pinkus and King Koffee was a bonus too. Went through all sorts of weirdness in Texas. Huntsville was creepy. We went to the museum of Capital Punishment there and stood outside of death row.What a dork.
Been all over the States - three big, lucky road trips- but never the North - Seattle or Boston

Just Got Offed - will check out the Cardiacs properly and report back. Thanks for the info

Wasn't 'Country House' a pile of shit?

I bought this record again a few months ago, thinking that I couldn't really survive the next few days unless I heard 'you're so great' once more, but it was 'strange news from another star' that I ended up listening to over and over. It's such a woozy, sad little song: I suppose it's trying to 'do' Bowie and not really succeeding but I think the not succeeding is what makes it so affecting -- that kind of faux-naïf over-fragile voice Albarn puts on, the clumsy space noises, the odd snare-drum outro.

nice one, c sharp

See the thing is, I think "Look Inside America" takes "The Universal" one step forward. Da ya know what I mean? And I love "The Universal", but...

"and the whole world could have passed through me, but I don't know if it means much to me"

vs.

"when the days they seem to fall through you/well just let them go"

I mean god, I just stagger at all the gorgeous Brit brilliance.

I'm swooning now. There's not an American band on the entire Northern American continent, Canada and all, who could have been like Blur.

STRINGS, man. That's what the Yanks can't get their arses around ever, is STRINGS! BRITISH TRADEMARK STRINGS IN THE MUSIC YO! How I love them.

See now I don't think "Song 2" is bad necessarily. But if you ask almost any American the probabilty is they will say "oh Blur, they were that band who did the 'Woo-hoo' song" it's terrible. That's all they know Blur for is "Woo-hoo". I'm serious. SO MANY CLUELESS FUCKS WHO MAYBE BUY OR DOWNLOAD 10 ALBUMS A YEAR TOPS.

You know, when the Brits say they can't stand Oasis because of te Oasis fans...or the Americans say they can't stand the Dave Matthews fans, that's what I mean. Give me a break.

I any American to have just a bit of knowledge of the Kinks for one, you know? I get TIRED of being an anglophile in a country of people that don't necessarily GET the British aesthetic and by that I mean I'm sorry to group UK all together cause I know some English hate Scots etc. hate Wales I don't care. That's where all the fucking bloody good music comes from is those places. This Yank says don't knock any o' 'em.

Right, then. I probably should cool it with the beer for the moment, I've said me peace.

Look, you guys are going to make me play 13 again I might never get out.

"Blur" surely has it moments in spite of the obvious steps in the wrong direction, certainly.

"Beetlebum" is one of their best ever singles and a marvellous attempt at doing what The Beatles were doing cirka The White Album. I would have preferred them to copy "Revolver" or "Sgt. Pepper" era Beatles instead, but this sounds really good too. Almost better than the White Album, which is the most overrated Beatles album after all :)

"On Your Own" is another great typical Blur song, only with more electronics added. It is sort of where I have always wanted pop music to head: a compromise between electronica's use of modern technology and classic pop's uncompromised use of the classic pop songwriting format melody-wise.

"Look Inside America" is also classic Blur, not unlike "Magic America" except I like the latter song's lyrics way better ;)

"Country Sad Ballad Man" is obviously very different for a Blur song (at least it was then), but is otherwise a nice and good nod to what Beck and Eels were doing at the time.

"You're So Great" is Graham Coxon doing what he would perfect on "Coffee & TV". I was not so found of Coxon at the time, blaming him for Blur's new and IMO misguided direction, but this is a good pop song nonetheless.

"Death Of a Party" is somewhat darker, but out of all of Blur's "dark" new songs, this is the one I like best at all. Has some of The Specials left even though the Specials influence isn't as obvious as on "Great Escape" tracks such as "Fade Away".

"Strange News From Another Star" is also nice for partly the same reasons as "Death Of a Party".

But then, there are also more tracks that I dislike here. I mean, OK, "Chinese Bombs" isn't that much worse than "Globe Alone" or "Bank Holiday", and if it was a one-off it wouldn't matter. But then, there were even a couple of singles that were really not good at all. I have already mentioned "Song 2", but I am hardly impressed by "MOR" either, thinking "Look Inside America" should rather have been the fourth single.
And then, "I'm Just a Killer For Your Love" is really, really annoying and repetitive as well.

So "Blur" was a step in the wrong direction, although still a great album. I will probably rank it as their fourth best album, way behind the classic 93-95 trilogy, but slightly ahead of the also somewhat patchy debut.

Missed out "Essex Dogs" Geir.

I missed out on a number, but I don't really like any of the rest much.

xxpost

Geir is my hero tonight, just for one night only. Standing room only. Holy shit I'd forgotten about "Magic America".

Yes! "You're So Great" is the GIANT COMBAT BOOT TO CRUSH COFFEE & TV SURRENDER NOW I REPEAT SURRENDER NOW

Death of A Party = Specials, yes! Now I wouldn't have thought of that, cheers.

I've grown tired of the Bank Holiday love here, folks. But then countries with bloody Bank Holidays ALREADY GET MORE HOLIDAYS THAN MOST AMERICANS SO FUCK RIGHT OFF ETC

heheh just kidding ;)

Geir wrong at the end. "13" & "Blur" are the only albums worth saving of them, really. I even got tired of Parklife, I'm sorry to say. Parklife vs. 13 FITE!!!!!!

I MEAN I WILL START THE BANK HOLIDAY UNDERAPPRECIATION SOCIETY AND THEN WHERE WILL YOU BE FUCKERZ?

Woah, I just dug out "The Sky Is Too High" and instantly got transported back to Summer 1998. It was sunny there. THe air smelt fresher.

I always thought "Moving On" and "MOR" were dreadful and let down an otherwise fantastic record.

i love the production on this. shame the songs arent all up to par. and i hate the fucking choir and the oh so trembly ballads.

i love the production on this. shame the songs arent all up to par. and i hate the fucking choir and the oh so trembly ballads.

Wrong album

I just wanted to give props to Alex's Duran Duran-y bass part in "On Your Own". That is just too much.

It's like that little tiny bit of "Girls & Boys" to put the cream in your coffee. Or tea. But not TV.

oops. i was thinking of 13.

Does anyone else here besides me think "Strange News From Another Star" is Bowie-esque?

Bowie should have covered that shit. Oh yes.

Maybe a little bit, but there is no one Blur track more blatantly Bowie-esque than "Entertain Me" anyway.