Blur: Classic Or Dud

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?

already have the 21 cd box, but i went ahead and splurged on the vinyl box. what a wonderful thing it is.

I have the vinyl box, but not the most recent album so I'm a little annoyed that the box is whole yet incomplete

Yeah, I have all the boxed cd versions, similar annoyance.

And that singles set from the ten year anniversary was incomplete when issued.

http://blurarchiveproject.blogspot.com/2012/08/out-of-box-update.html

oops. hit enter too early.
that's a bunch of shit that wasn't in the box set. looks pretty good. downloading now.

my local record store has the magic whip on vinyl at a pretty good price. might pick it up next week.

Wow, thanks for the link! Makes up a bit for not having TMW vinyl. Some kind fellow on reddit sent me an empty TMW ice cream container that was sold in the UK, so silly but fun on my shelf

i think that may be the site i got the Reading '93 and the infamous 92 'Gimme Shelter' shows from. great site

is this that bur archivist guy who encodes absolutely everything in 128 kbps

yup.

all that and his Seymour mp3s have an extra e at the end. Sheesh!
I thought I had a pretty good collection (I imported the Me Me Me single into Canada in the 90s ffs) but by the time I get through all these downloads I will have a "lock me up" worthy collection!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weDtDwHk6LQ

what is the record shop owner's accent??!?!!

Mitigated for the TV, I reckon.

I was more shocked to find out that Dunoon had a record shop!

Pink Floyd show back in 67 or 68 did not go well for them at all, apparently.

what is the record shop owner's accent??!?!!

Tennessee?

Of all the songs to look at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEy5LBHq6OQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM_2EERaJP0
(as above, but Modern Life Is Rubbish)

Uhhh that is totally fucking amazing. I could listen listen to musicians yammer on and on about their albums all day.

No mention of Andy Partridge at all, though?

Toward the very end, surprised that the guy didn't know that AP had produced three tracks, he seems to like XTC too. Graham is such a sweetheart.

partridge comes up toward the end when the host compares villa rosie to xtc.

It was interesting to hear how he got the sounds in Oily Water, but also frustrating when you see him playing things as everything is so complex I know I couldn't possibly play it myself.

I was gutted Graham didn't remember he played a chair leg on Miss America

what is the record shop owner's accent??!?!!

Tennessee?

It's not Tignabruaich, that's for sure.

Can you imagine...
https://www.instagram.com/p/ChRRCvnMEkI

https://preview.redd.it/mw1mm6wcxuh91.png?width=1202&format=png&auto=webp&s=a396615a2264df3e004cef3590de7be8671ca9b1

"Blur. 1994.
Early front cover visual for the album that would become Parklife.
Soft Porn was one of the working titles for the album, and images of London were woven into the developing musical content. So glad that this title and visual direction faltered at the first hurdle though."

Looks more like a Pulp cover

ha exactly my thought!

font is similar to this - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/PulpIntro.jpg

lol that album cover would’ve been perfectly fine. a lot more fitting than the racing dogs. that title, though…

John's got brewer's droop
He gets intimidated by the dirty pigeons
They love a bit of him
(Soft porn!)

Not seen that Softporn cover since in years. Always thought it was Pulp as hell too.