Blur: Classic Or Dud

Yeah, Blur are pretty much entirely a Britpop timepiece, perhaps even more so that Oasis. Suede's music works outside of that context as the first album is sort of pre-Britpop, and the subsequent albums are all trying to get away from Britpop.

I was still a teenager when I heard their first single, so it's embarrassing to admit how obsessed I was. Not that I stole anyone's cell phone or anything like that, but still.

Snoball - I don't get that reading. Blur's first record is pre-Britpop too, and then the last three aren't Britpop either. Again, from the States, Britpop as a thing didn't mean shit here.

But from a UK perspective, the Britpop era was when Blur were absolutely massive, to the point where only Oasis were really big enough to challenge them, and even they couldn't. Blur are pretty much some guys sitting in bathtubs singing 'Country House', in the same way that The Beatles are four guys with 'taches in multi-coloured quasi-military/brass band uniforms.

Yeah, Blur are pretty much entirely a Britpop timepiece, perhaps even more so that Oasis. Suede's music works outside of that context as the first album is sort of pre-Britpop, and the subsequent albums are all trying to get away from Britpop.

― Emeritus Professor of LOLology (snoball), Tuesday, September 11, 2012 8:59 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, Suede was kinda pre-Britpop, and I've never seen Dog Man Star as really being a Britpop type of album either. I think Coming Up was Suede's 'Britpop' album (and their biggest selling overall), with Head Music and A New Morning both being flawed attempts to move away from that.

xp Also Blur's first record wasn't as big as Suede's debut. Best comparison I can think of is that Blur's debut is like the first two Bowie albums - known about but not really considered part of the story.

I think There's No Other Way is slightly more part of the story than The Laughing Gnome.

Both are pretty transparently imitative of their inspirations.

It's all about Damon's hair here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJzCYSdrHMI

on loan from the Inspiral Carpets

It blows my mind when I think back to all this. For a stretch of time (roughly from winning all of those Brit Awards for Parklife up to the release of 'Wonderwall'), Blur were absolutely massive in the UK. I'm talking about 100% bona fide pop stars in the UK - in the same way as like, for example, Madonna is (only on a smaller, national scale of course). Everybody, including those not necessarily interested in music, knew who they were. Their gigs and fanbase were full of teenage girls. They were never out of the tabloids. When What's The Story (Morning Glory)? took off for Oasis, the focus switched to them, although it seemed to be far far more intense with Oasis.

When 'Beetlebum' came out, they did retain a large audience. However, it was a large audience of music fans, rather than an audience of music fans + a large audience of teenage girls (who ended up moving onto, I dunno, buying Boyzone records).

its interesting to me that damon says he just woke up one day depressed and had no idea what was happening, like legitimately had never experienced depression or even periods of sadness or being down. justines dad bought him therapy or w/e but he refused drugs ("they made it seem as if the world was coming out of a transistor radio") and then we got the great escape. wonder how things would have been different if he had trusted therapy

what's a decent Blur bio?

'There's No Other Way' was a big hit, but there was no indication that Blur were going to end up doing what they did. That song was the first time I'd ever heard of Blur, and I remember liking it a great deal. I would have been 8 years old at the time, and remember it getting quite a great deal of radio play. Then I didn't really hear/see them again until they did 'Parklife' on Top Of The Pops, 3 years later. These were pre-internet days and with me only being 11 at the time, it took me a while before I actually figured out they were the same band.

Given the number if serious music fans, talking about about music on a music messageboard here, who happen to be - y'know - women who got into Blur when they were teens - can we seriously just give the "OMG teenage girls liked them!" thing a rest? That shit is really tired and worn out

(was not a teenage girl by only a matter of months when I first heard them)

Those that read the music press at the time (which of course, I didn't - that started when I was about 13/14) would have been more than well aware of Modern Life Is Rubbish and the change in sound. But for those that didn't, Parklife was the first time since 'There's No Other Way' that the band got any kind of recognition outside dedicated music fans.

Given the number if serious music fans, talking about about music on a music messageboard here, who happen to be - y'know - women who got into Blur when they were teens - can we seriously just give the "OMG teenage girls liked them!" thing a rest? That shit is really tired and worn out

(was not a teenage girl by only a matter of months when I first heard them)

― Atomow dhe Kres? MY A VYNN, mar pleg! (White Chocolate Cheesecake), Tuesday, September 11, 2012 9:31 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Well, no. Because it's true: their audience was full of teenage girls at that point, and teenage girls that weren't necessarily into music. Granted, some of them may have turned into SERIOUS MUSIC FANS (I don't wish to tar ALL teenage girls with the same brush here), but for a lot of them Blur may as well have been Take That.

Remember that wisecrack Alex James made to Q Magazine around the time of the Great Escape tour?

"What's 50 ft. long, has no pubic hair and goes 'ahhhhhhh'? The front row of a Blur concert."

At 10 I found the the There's No Other Way video highly disturbing as grimaced as it climbed the charts.

That video is all about the end with all the flashing colours... and Damon's 'do as well, of course.

*and

I think it was just stuff with food that would freak me out

Bizarrely apt, given that they were on Food Records don'tcha think!? :D

Shouldn't have put Mandrax flakes on the trifle...

Quoting notorious sexist cock, Alex James, in defence of your sexist statement is really NAGL.

Being a band of that stature requires attracting a lot of casual fans, some of whom may like Take That, or other equally non-cool bands beloved by teenage boys, but when it's only the female ones that get singled out for derision, that's sexist crap and the kind of thing I've spent 20 years on the Internet fighting. Knock it off.

There were a load of blokes that bought and sang along to "Parklife" while being in pubs with their mates and that, but when it was "Great Escape" vs "Morning Glory" they left Blur for Oasis and never went back. And didn't buy "Be here now" because they already had Wonderwall and didn't need another one.

xpost

Well, no. Because it's true: their audience was full of teenage girls at that point, and teenage girls that weren't necessarily into music. Granted, some of them may have turned into SERIOUS MUSIC FANS (I don't wish to tar ALL teenage girls with the same brush here), but for a lot of them Blur may as well have been Take That.

Remember that wisecrack Alex James made to Q Magazine around the time of the Great Escape tour?

"What's 50 ft. long, has no pubic hair and goes 'ahhhhhhh'? The front row of a Blu

but, Turricgan, Blur WERE at the level of Take That. They scored loads of top tens in England. They Were Cute.

Bizarrely apt, given that they were on Food Records don'tcha think!? :D

As a Smash Hits reader I knew the name of their label, it was all too much for my fragile eggshell mind

xxxpost to White Chocolate Cheesecake:

Indeed, that's what I was getting at; and yes, the audience does include teenage boys too. Was I singling teenage girls out for derision? Hardly, since I distinctly recall writing above (and you'll recall it too if you scroll up and look), that I wasn't tarring all teenage girls with the same brush. It was sharing an observation of how big Blur were at that time, you know nothing about my personal beliefs and attitudes towards gender equality, and nevertheless, it does remain fact that Blur's audience at that particular time was full of them ;)

Anyhow, it would seem like SOMEONE on the internet is spoiling for a fight; in which case, WHO should knock WHAT off?

tl;dr? Lighten up.

here we goooooooo

their audience was full of teenage girls at that point, and teenage girls that weren't necessarily into music.

c'mon dude, this is condescending

There were a load of blokes that bought and sang along to "Parklife" while being in pubs with their mates and that, but when it was "Great Escape" vs "Morning Glory" they left Blur for Oasis and never went back. And didn't buy "Be here now" because they already had Wonderwall and didn't need another one.

― Mark G, Tuesday, September 11, 2012 9:54 PM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Didn't Be Here Now sell something like 600,000 copies in its first week, though? I'd say a lot of people who weren't necessarily SERIOUS MUSIC FANS went out and bought it!

c'mon dude, this is condescending

― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, September 11, 2012 10:10 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

All that has needed to have been said on this matter has been said. Moving on...

Bizarrely apt, given that they were on Food Records don'tcha think!? :D

As a Smash Hits reader I knew the name of their label, it was all too much for my fragile eggshell mind

― Supper's Burnt (PaulTMA), Tuesday, September 11, 2012 10:02 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hahahaha!!!

Blur took off heaps late in Aus. I remember being stoked to find Parklife in a cut-out bin for $10, in 1994 ffs.

(CDs were easily $25-30 back then)

When did they start taking off in Aus? Around the time of Blur/'Song 2' or even later than that ('Coffee & TV')??

"full of them"

Song 2 went berserk here (iirc Great Escape picked up some momentum, though I can't think why or off the back of which song)

so yeah, commercially it was Song 2

Ah, I had a feeling it would have been 'Song 2'!

Which incidentally is one of the few Blur songs I could actually say that I'm utterly sick of.

I came for the good looks as a teenage girl, stayed for the badass music.

I had my iPod on shuffle the other day while cleaning and Hollywood Lives (? Come rescue, rescue me..) by Suede came on and I was happy my husband wasnt around to mock them. I still enjoy the occasional tune from time to time, but I get embarrassed trying to convince friends to listen to them in the year 2012. Sorry, Suedeheads. I have been lovingly busting out the Blur box on weekends of late. Look Inside America with that scratchy vinyl sound... So lovely.

i love blur but damon's lyrics legit embarrass me on look inside america

"drink pepsi, good for en ARR gy" - lol, line does not work dude

i think hes a naturally talented writer of melodies and tunes but has to struggle hard with lyrics, esp verses, and sometimes just gives up

Haha yes, definitely. I haven't really tried to foist blur on anyone either - but the music & vocal delivery goes down a little easier. The lyrics were not always perfect but the vibe was usually well done.

yeah they def kicked ass at vibe

Hmm. That awkwardness always sounded quite deliberate to me. Def one of the things I dig about his vocals!

it was kind of formative for me listening to blur when i was young, its the first time i remember thinking about a band i liked "wow, i wouldnt have let that lyric pass"

xpost its obv deliberate, doesnt make it a good lyric!

well, it ain't poetry, but...it's elevated by the performance and melody to me! :)

Well, it's like "Bad Head", the song/tune/etc is all fine, but by verse two he's just repeating verse one with some of the words switched round, and ends with getting "a touch of flu", I think "Damon, why did you bother? Oh yeah, that's right, you didn't!"

Beery slurs

now life's a

Blur