Blur tracks poll - the RESULTS thread

Yeah, Blur are the ultimate 90s parodists in a sea of parodists. Damon's wanted to be Syd Barrett, Ray Davies, Terry Hall, Stephen Malkmus, and a whole host of other figureheads throughout his career. Don't really see it as a problem though because I knew Blur before I knew their influences and worked back.

Let's not forget Jilted John as well.

xpost: Well, huge credit to him for emulating all of his influences with various degrees of success. Blur were always a very open eveything-goes sort of band that still managed to have a very unique, trademark sound. That's no easy feat.

I'm giving most of the uniqueness credit to Graham Coxon, btw as his guitar playing feels like the unifying, unmistakable force to their music.

Yeah, and also why Think Tank doesn't sound like a Blur album.

43. No Distance Left To Run
(5 votes, 100 points)

Ah, I thought that pic was a comment on AAlmanac's winning argument!

I think I pulled this from my ballot late on, but it's kind of lovely. Probably just a bit too slight and passive to be worth my vote, I think I decided.

I find it slightly annoying.

I should explain what I mean by that, but I don't think I can without sounding mean-spirited. I just find it borders a bit on smugness in a 'look - I'm heartbroken, but see how reasonable I'm being about all this' kind of way. I imagine it irritates Justine, but I could be wrong.

And sonically it's not as interesting as most other tracks on 13.

Well, it won't be irritating Justine that much, as:

1) she's left the country, or
2) it doesn't get that much radio play anymore, or
3) both

unless she's moved to a town where the locals endlessly play it on the jukebox whenever they see her

Damon Albarn once mentioned that people kept putting 'Roll With It' on the jukebox every time he walked into a pub. He said he expected people put 'Country House' on whenever the Gallaghers went in one, but I doubt it.

I think they put on Ocean Colour Scene on.

http://images.paraorkut.com/img/clipart/images/s/smiling_star-846.gif

42. Strange News From Another Star
(6 votes, 111 points)

my favourite damon vocal performance...maybe.

Think I put Strange News From Another Star in my top 10. I remember when John Peel died Radio 1 did a tribute show and Damon came in and did a solo version of it that was just stunning.

Strange News is great - really makes me think of Bowie actually. No Distance is wallowsome self pity of the worst kind ahhh poor Damon boohoo. Meh.

It's very "cross between Prettiest Star and Starman" yes.

No Distance is wallowsome self pity of the worst kind ahhh poor Damon boohoo. Meh.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I feel about it and 1992, but I was trying to express it a bit more tactfully.

41. Starshaped
(5 votes, 112 points)

love this song. beautiful oboe solo.

This thread is the first thing I look at every morning. I'm so very grateful.

Starshaped is almost anthemic. It's certainly bursting with colour. It's also one of the songs XTC nutters mention when they insist Albarn weaved references into his lyrics ("I've been making plans...").

http://images.dailyexpress.co.uk/img/dynamic/20/285x214/8478_1.jpg

40. All Your Life
(5 votes, 114 points)

I also love you putting the pic and song in separate posts because on first glance it looks like the pic is a response to the previous post.

All Your Life was one of my last-minute "oh I need 22 songs??" entries. Probably my favourite B side.

I'm having to restrain myself from just posting all of the tracks one after the other in about ten minutes.

ahahaha I can imagine

I always get confused between this and Til The Cows Come Home. As such I can't remember how this one goes.

A brief interlude:
I'd just like to mention two high-placed songs on my ballot that have missed the cut (I don't think this is really much of a spoiler as nobody would have expected them to feature especially highly):
Mellow Song
and
Caravan
Why no love, ILX?

Mellow Song? Is that the one with the pretty piano chords and starts "what am I to do..?" if so I thought I did vote for it.

Here's a roundup

61. Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club
60. Intermission
59. Colin Zeal
57. One Born Every Minute
57. When The Cows Come Home
55. Coping
55. Magic America
54. Globe Alone
53. Inertia
51. Miss America
51. Country House
50. Parklife
49. Charmless Man
48. Ambulance
47. 1992
46. Essex Dogs
45. Song 2
44. Country Sad Ballad Man
43. No Distance Left To Run
42. Strange News From Another Star
41. Starshaped
40. All Your Life

Mellow Song? Is that the one with the pretty piano chords and starts "what am I to do..?"

No, that's Sweet Song. Mellow Song is the one on 13 which goes "is this where I'm going to? we'll see" (except it sounds more like "we're sea").

On 13? I can't picture it but I know it's on the decent stretch of the album where I don't skip any tracks

"I lift my string on the guillotine, pulling away in my machine,
forget where I've been, I for - get you"
(or something like that)
Ring any bells?

http://www.johnnyikon.com/data/articles/2009/04/3063/Picture7.png

39. She's So High
(7 votes, 115 points)

iirc 'I Know' was on the flip of this. Prefer 'I Know' ever so slightly but love both really.

All Your Life is great. "on the way to heaven in a comedy car, the new stars of melancholia"

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/05/07/article-0-096CDAA0000005DC-340_306x521.jpg

38. Entertain Me
(6 votes, 117 points)

One of the best Blur basslines

Love love love "Entertain Me", one of Damon's sharpest dissections of the end of civilization riding this beautiful Berlin-era-Iggy droney New Wave anti-riff. The weekend's here, hip. hip. hooray.

of all the pictures xp

I should have had Entertain Me on my list, love that bass line.

http://www.imagesfromhere.com/archives/Grate%20Work%206794.jpg

=36. You're So Great
(6 votes, 120 points)

Ugh, I hate that.

ahahahaha brilliant. So glad this song got a few votes. The last 30 seconds is sublime.