Blur tracks poll - the RESULTS thread

Resigned is unusual in that the emotion is all in the music - the vocals are quite flat.

http://astrobob.areavoices.com/astrobob/images/thumbnail/DIFFRACTONOIL.jpg

Erm....so, er, that =28 up there should obviously be an =27...

=27. Oily Water
(7 votes, 149 points)

Cheers for the Young & Lovely tips, everyone. Looking forward to hearing it (and yes, simultaneously in despair that there's so much Blur I've never heard). Stoked that so many of these results are from the MLIR era.

Imaginary Film was my top pick, although I'm still not quite sure why. It thoroughly deserves its placement, though.

Oily Water is a jam.

its pretty much consensus among blur fans about young and lovely being best bside, I'd probably put all your life above it, but yeah, its a good'un.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFBOZTz51V8

was reading this article which gives a blurb on every single blur song up until the last parklife single and it struck me how many of these are non-album tracks, like 50% almost. http://www.vblurpage.com/articles/print/stories/select_95.htm

shocking fact = I am now listening to this song for the first time ever. it is very nice!

(xp) That article is the basis of the Select article from 95 that Dog Latin was talking about (maybe on the voting thread instead of the results thread), which in itself is massively expanded in this book from 1999.

A Mr J4gger, once of these parts, has drawn my attention another small error: earlier I said that 'Me, White Noise' was the first track in the top 60 to have been given a number one vote. It was actually 'Essex Dogs' (no prizes for guessing whose number one vote that was). The only first-placed vote outside of the top 60 was for 'Dizzy'.

He lives!

http://www.howtomobile.com/images/razr2-battery-life.jpg

HA

hmm, leg involved?

26. Battery In Your Leg
(7 votes, 152 points)

I dunno, I still wonder what song they were working on before Graham quit and they (presumably) changed the lyrics to suit the occasion.

http://static.zoovy.com/img/kraftyatkrafts/-/I/ink_97233_dancing_skeletons.jpg

25. Death of a Party
(8 votes, 168 points)

Definitely not filler, imo. One of the better tracks on the album and I love the eerie organ.

Yeah (oops missed it off my vote)

I realized only now that "Death of a Party" was named as one of the unfinished songs at the end of the "Compleat Blur" article in Select. None of the other eight unfinished songs appeared on "The Great Escape" either.

Every song from MLIR is going to make this list besides "Villa Rosie", "Commercial Break", and "Turn It Up"?

slight diversion then:

88-96. Blur have recorded nine songs – to various stages of completion – that’ve never been released. ‘I Love Her’ (Seymour-era, recorded at Diorama in Great Portland Street in 1991); ‘Close’ (produced by Stephen Street for the ‘Leisure’ sessions in 1991); ‘Seven Days’ (produced by Andy Partridge for the aborted ‘Modern Life Is Rubbish’ sessions – see 44); ‘Death Of A Party’; ‘Singular Charm’; ‘Pleasant Education’; ‘Bleached Whale’; ‘Pap Pop’; and ‘One Born Every Minute’ (see 52). ‘Seven Days’ was recorded for a Mark Goodier Radio One session on April 11, 1992, engineered by Martin Colley and broadcasted on May 5, 1992.

"I love her" was released on a fan-club CD, and as such was eligible for this poll.

"One Born Every Minute" was a Country House b-side
"Close" was also a fan-club CD, I haven't heard it.

The rest? I assume some got titles changed..

"Pap Pop" sounds like it was no great loss.

Death of a Party was by far their best dalliance w/ trip-hop imo

Interesting that Death of a Party was written so early, considering it's regarded as their classic Britpop's-last-rites song.

yeah Death Of A Party was very much written in the era when Suede were getting big and Blur were being written off. it's brilliantly miserable. the 7" remix by Adrian Sherwood is a blinder. you could only get it as a kind of official promotional CD single and it cost me a fortune back in the day. loved the sleeve too
http://s.dsimg.com/image/R-677551-1301119559.jpeg

it was great to see it revived as a band favourite 2 years back, appearing not only on the MidLife compilation but also rather amazingly and incongruously bang in the middle of the encore at Hyde Park, right after Song 2 and just before
For Tomorrow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu6EomubqN8

Great Specials influence on that one. The spooky organ + the morose, Terry Hall-esque vocal.

Yes, I was going to say it reminds me a lot of Ghost Town, then I thought about the total lack of brass and thought better of it.

http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/top-of-the-pops.jpg

24. Popscene
(8 votes, 177 points)

"Popscene" is a shade over-rated imo compared to maybe some other singles of the era which will be coming up shortly.

Love 'Popscene'. Probably has added appeal to me cos it was a stand alone single not on any album which shouldn't really make any difference but somehow kinda does. My favourite of the shouty blur ones.

See, when "The Celtic Soul Brothers" failed to be a hit, Kevin Rowland did give pause, but carried on with "Come on Eileen" and all went well. Whereas Blur went "oh" and packed it.

which is why we're having this poll now rather than 3 people bigging up their only album and "Popscene".

"Popscene" is undoubtedly over-rated, but its' still great! It has such a great back-story: songwriting breakthrough -> failed single -> left off album -> live favourite. The article from Select lays it out really well. Thanks a mill for linking that btw cajunsunday; brought back happy memories of poring over it and discussing at length with my mates in secondary school. A genius bit of mythmaking.

(xposts)

well....

Had they then released "Never Clever", then carried on with "For Tomorrow", etc, things would have been only slightly different.

xp Seven Days came out somewhere too... Music is my Radar bside maybe? I know I say it on something.. though very possibly a live version

I got that remix single of Death of a Party from a record fair in my completist days. I love popscene, I had it at 3 on my list. Was really gutted when they didn't put it on the best of.

http://www.vblurpage.com/info/songlist/all.htm

No sign of "Seven Days" on here.

The story > the song. I love how Blur and Radiohead almost moved in parallel - a weak debut with big enough hits to put them in the charts while also creating a press backlash, followed by a period of misery and resentment, then the point-to-prove interim single (Popscene, My Iron Lung EP) and the brilliant second record. Both had clever, thorny frontmen who felt they'd been misunderstood and therefore had an "I'll show those fuckers" agenda. It's like a recipe for how to make a classic second record.

yeah Seven Days (BBC session version, 1992) was on Music Is My Radar CD2 . great it is too.
most comprehensive discography is, as always, hither: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Blur

ah, I see what they did!

7 Days (Live on Mark Goodier's Evening Session)
Music Is My Radar b-side

yeah. although Radiohead's interim single was 'Pop Is Dead' mind.

Goodier show was a bloody goldmine back in the day. was also the first place anyone heard recorded versions of Parklife and Bank Holiday, the following Summer in 93.

Sorry, yes, you're right. Not very good but even more of a parallel with Popscene. Good B-side though - Banana Co.

so random question: do Blur fans not rate/dig "This Is A Low"?

or is it one of those things like Cure fans ignoring "Just Like Heaven" because it's too easy to pick

It's my bet for #1.

xp yeah 'Banana Co' was great, better than the A side.

I really like This Is A Low, (esp ~pretty En-ger-lund and me..~) but I was definitely more of a Blur fan for the poppy bits. And Dizzy stole my heart, can't explain that one. I'm in Canada so I had to do some serious mixtape trading when I first got online to add more to my collection! Also bought more $20-30 CD singles than I care to admit to.. not to mention the Japanese imports!

Yeah I love This is a Low (I'm actually a Cure fan who loves Just Like Heaven too) I too wouldn't be surprised if that was number one, that or For Tomorrow.