Blur: Classic Or Dud

Well, it has been 21 years since Parklife, but I agree... I'm not a big fan of the vocal style Damon's adopted on some of the tracks on here. That 'New World Towers', Everyday Robots, mopey, drifty, slow songs on The Good, The Bad & The Queen type of approach.

I was trying to order lunch today in Greenpoint and Blur came into the cafe and hounded the waitress to take their order which skipped right over me. I was there first... Then their tour manager asked me (for some reason) whether they were generally slow to bring food out because they had soundcheck to get to.

Somewhat hilariously, Anthony Fantano (alias "theneedledrop") gave The Magic Whip a 6 and mystified a great deal of Blur fans with his descriptions of the tracks. Turns out he was reviewing a fake leak comprising of old Blur B-sides and had to hastily re-do his review.

Oh man that's rich.

I'm finally listening to The Magic Whip. It's completely dud-free so far. I've just arrived at Ghost Ship as I type this, which got some undeserved slagging upthread. Y'all crazy. This song is delightful!!

Oh dang! Pyongyang is wonderful. Rippling guitar bits ftw!!

I have the japanese edition on order, it's not too expensive if you order direct.

There's an extra track, no doubt it's bobbins but we shall see.

I'm finally listening to The Magic Whip. It's completely dud-free so far. I've just arrived at Ghost Ship as I type this, which got some undeserved slagging upthread. Y'all crazy. This song is delightful!!

― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, May 6, 2015 6:59 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Wut!?

I'm listening to this for the second time. Was very underwhelmed on first listen, but that was on a minirig in the kitchen and this is on decent headphones. What I'm enjoying quite a lot this time around aren't so much the songs, which are still a bit insubstantial in theory, but the noises. Just these weird bursts of white hot guitar and keyboard blasting in and creating a strange musique concrete melody on tracks 2 & 3. I still wish these tunes were a bit more immediate and I miss Blur as a pop band. But taken on its own, almost trying to forget who's playing this music, it's a cool little avant-pop curio.

This is going to sound strange, given that they've pretty much just come out with a new record, but I find it hard to think of Blur as a "unit" these days. Every time I see a recent press picture of them, I see four individuals rather than a band. It's weird.

Finally heard this. I really hate the tinny toybox production and the meandering mid-tempo feel. I actually think "Ghost Ship" is the standout for me just for having a bit of a lope to it.

Ghost Ship is absolutely repulsive and makes me want to throttle Damon Albarn - clearly some of you are a bit more resistant to shitty whiteboy vibe music

I really like it as well, mostly due to all the noises.

Also, I spent ten minutes yesterday trying to figure out what 'Ong Ong' is supposed to mean, until I remembered where they recorded the thing...

Ghost Ship is lovely. It's one of the albums keepers for me along with There Are Too Many of us, Pyongyang and I thought I Was a Space Man.

I hate Ghost Ship. For me the quality of each song is on the x axis while the amount of Coxon input is on the y. Whenever I feel like I could be listening to another Albarn project I lose interest.

Somewhat hilariously, Anthony Fantano (alias "theneedledrop") gave The Magic Whip a 6 and mystified a great deal of Blur fans with his descriptions of the tracks. Turns out he was reviewing a fake leak comprising of old Blur B-sides and had to hastily re-do his review.

― You’re being too simplistic and you’re insulting my poor heart (Turrican), Monday, May 4, 2015 2:18 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Anyone else ITT do this? Not me, oh no no....

it's hard to deduce who's dislike of the album is winning here, think it's going to take a few more months of analysis

This album is great. I hear it all around town in various shops and houses. Every track is a pleasure.

*sound of three sleeping giants awaking*

*sound of three sleeping giants awaking*

― PaulTMA, Tuesday, May 19, 2015 7:31 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

You're seriously convinced that some of us have been lining up to slag this album off for the sake of it since the album was first announced, aren't you? I can't speak for the others, obviously, but I wanted to be able to file this record alongside their '90s classics, and I just can't. It's nothing to do with waiting in the wings for the album to come out only to slate it at the first opportunity just for the sake of it.

hey, I think this has two good songs on it

I think it has its highlights too, but I'm just not convinced by the whole.

I wish you guys liked it more, but to each their own. I'm super into it. One of my favorite records of 2015, and one of my favorite Blur records.

I think nearly every song is terrific. The weakest is I Broadcast, just generic Blur, but it lasts for two minutes and I enjoy it while it's on. Otherwise, there is so much beautiful detail on this record.

I hear it all around town in various shops and houses.

They were playing it in the Union St Fopp this lunch time. A dreary record for a dreary day.

Yeah, I likes it also.

I did go for the Japanese edition (not actually expensive), and it has one extra track on the end, which is better for it: The normal last track sort of just 'ends', whereas the mostly instrumental extra is somewhat knocked off but works.

At this stage I could live without New World Towers, Ice Cream Man and Ghost Ship but love the rest and think Pyongyang is a bona fide classic. It only falters when Damon clearly couldn't be bothered to build on a vocal melody and stretches it out for a whole song like he did on Everyday Robots.

Paris, yesterday (don't know if this is available worldwide, sorry if it isn't)

http://concert.arte.tv/fr/blur-au-zenith-de-paris

The audio could have been synched better on this video :-(

Don't know what to think tbh - are they always this loose/sloppy?

They have a history of being loose and sloppy, yeah. That performance they did at the Brit Awards in recent years springs to mind.

by the way, the audio synch problems will be solved shortly, according to the comments

"Une version optimale du concert sera mise en ligne dans les plus brefs délais."

Oh my fucking word!

I'm really glad he doesn't post on here anymore.

http://concert.arte.tv/fr/blur-au-zenith-de-paris

reuploaded! the audio synch problems have been solved

So I gave The Magic Whip another chance today and I still don't particularly feel that, on the whole, it's that great. Found myself really enjoying 'Pyongyang', though... it's like Japan doing a cover version of 'Gimme Shelter'.

"Go Out" turns out to be the big standout. Love it. Funny that it was the first track they leaked.

Mixed emotions about this band. Damon wrote some glorious ballads- To The End, Blue Jeans, Out of Time - but then he did all that stuff that epitomised the 90s - smug, superior, pastiche, not half as clever as it thinks it is. Like Hirst was to the art world. Coxon was an inventive guitarist, but the band only had one songwriter. You could tick off his influences - oh, that one's a bit like the Jam, or the Specials, or Ray Davies - but he rarely transcended them. He only really shone on the ballads.

Was going to say, number one album but off the chart after 13 weeks.

Then again, that's only one week less than Think Tank.

yeah but it's 2015

I was going to say that, yes.

Anyone else at MSG, last night?. Shit was fun.

yeah

what an ungood venue for music, especially trying to mix an 18-piece band

interesting that they've been throwing around a few lesser-played songs on dates of late; Country Sad Ballad Man, Caravan, etc. also Villa Rosie was soundchecked for one of the last few dates according to Setlist FM. Villa Rosie!

i was like 3rd row/center on the floor. sounded great to me.

Damon said on Friday that they hadn't played Country Sad in 20 years

I dont think thats true.

Meltdown Festival, 2000 - according to this: http://www.setlist.fm/stats/blur-13d6bd65.html (Sad = 24th in the list)

I guess that's close enough for jazz..

Probably because up to then they seemed to play it all the time. So, possibly not needing too much rehearsal.

I dunno, I guess I'm at that stage of leaving the bus now. I enjoyed the new album very much and it fits right in with the best of the old stuff, but I am unbothered by anything else Damon's done over the past ten, I feel it's Thanks and So Long...

Demon Days is probably the last Albarn-related release that I could say that I wholeheartedly enjoyed, and that came out a decade ago?