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| Track list: 1. Beetlebum 2. Song #2 3. There's No Other Way 4. The Universal 5. Coffee & TV 6. Parklife 7. End of a Century 8. No Distance Left to Run 9. Tender 10. Girls & Boys 11. Charmless Man 12. She's So High 13. Country House 14. To the End 15. On Your Own 16. This Is a Low 17. For Tomorrow 18. Music Is My Radar Running time: 77 minutes Released: 2000 |
I was never a fan of Blur during the Britpop years, not them, not the other lot, nor the horde of wannabe copycats that peddled indie guitar music of various degrees of blandness. I did fall for Embrace briefly though - as mentioned here. I warmed to them retrospectively, though Damon Albarn's other work (I have a trainwreck of an album from Graham Coxon too). Not enough to acquire actual albums, but enough to pick up the best of. I haven't re-engaged with their reformation either.
It's been an odd week; although I've been at home all evening for the last 4 days, only yesterday, Friday, was completely clear and then I was just so washed out from work (an attempt to get away early failed) that tucking into this was not an option. I am doing so now instead of Christmas shopping or a plethora of other things that maybe I ought to do today. Oh well. Beetlebum has a scuzzy feel to it - appropriate for my low mood and layabout levels of success today - but largely washes over me without much in the way of serious consideration. It seems to me to be a bit of a strange choice to open the collection with - not particularly catchy, not a stand out for good or bad, and possessed of a long outro that makes it feel more like a closer. The polar opposite of the tight and punchy Song #2 in that regard. This is a Marmite track - not because you either love or hate it, but more specifically I can love or hate it depending on when I hear it. It suits certain emotions, situations and contexts better than others. Today's context is actually rather neutral.
We finally get to something a bit catchier; there is something about Albarn's vocal on There's No Other Way which validates the laziness I feel right now, and a reassurance about the riffy composition. I don't feel a strong connection to the track though, and I suspect this is going to be one of those really annoying posts where my dominant mood blunts interaction with the album I am consuming in any meaningful sense. Its as if I am more filling out an hour than really listening to this disc.
Overuse in adverts has not spoiled The Universal though. I never connected the tune, and thus those ads, with Blur at all at the time, because they never used the voice and I wasn't familiar with the song. OK, so Albarn's voice is kinda annoying on the chorus and the lyric leaves a lot to be desired but the core tune is so solid that it has a timeless quality to it, those iconic strings setting the whole thing up. I have been toying with the idea of another crappy project... some kind of micro-blog of all the plentiful bad ideas and stream of consciousness rubbish that my head fills up with when I am on my own - which is most of the time. I have an unquiet mind, and it drives me crazy. Sharing that madness with an uncaring world could release the pressure valve that generates such nonsense. Or not. Won't happen though - no smartphone so no access to post when my mind is at its worst - i.e. when trapped, solo, nothing doing.
I am not feeling this at all. Coffee & TV slides by like traffic outside behind a closed curtain - I am aware it is there but only dimly so. I think I don't like the song, and the occasional use of discordant sounds or effects make it worse. Be gone! Parklife slides past too, which is a more reliable barometer of my engagement level. This is another Marmite tune. I appreciate its attempt at peppiness - the clean snap and hard edges to the riffs give it a liveliness that is welcomed, but beyond that... not today.
I do dislike winter; its not been cold yet this year but the wind has been so constant, rattling around in the chimney, and the whole getting dark mid-afternoon thing is interminable. Its not a time of year I want to have to go out and traipse around shops as we are expected to do in the run up to Christmas. This year my mind and energy levels are balking even at the idea of online shopping. Bah humbug and all that. Working 2 more weeks yet; it all feels a fair way away still. I don't recognise No Distance Left to Run at all, but I like its rather downbeat air, subdued, more in tune with how I feel right now. Its down, but there is brightness there in spots - very high, very soft, keyboards giving nice clean tones. It is just enough of a sprinkle of optimism to stop the lead weights pulling it down.
Tender is... I am not sure it is likely to survive the day. It is a mix of a nice cadence with a tuneful, if muted, singing, and horrible harmonies, really annoying lines and alternate vocalists. Listening now, the tune just does not work. When Damon is singing on his own in the verse, there's a nice little semi-country feel to the music, the rest of the time there is some presence or other that sets my teeth on edge. Oh, and then there is the fact it goes on for 7 minutes 40 seconds, slowly spinning round between the shorter pleasantries and the longer stretches of needling. I don't think I can put up with that again. And that, (absent) ladies and gentleman is only half way.
I am grateful for the staccato and electronic sounds of Girls & Boys mixing things up. It is a complete palette cleanser after the tedium of Tender. Its not a song to hang much cogent discussion on (though to be honest the paras above probably prove I am not up to cogent discussion!), and you can definitely criticise it for its uniformity and lack of change up once it establishes itself, but in the context of the rest of the album, it's a really well placed number, stirring this listener, ending in good time and giving way to a tune that I completely fail to recognise until the words hit my ear. I think I generally prefer Blur when they inject some kind of catchiness, which here is provided by the nah-nah-nahs and the bass hammering note after note.
I didn't recognise She's So High at all, passed me by. Country House next, its not a good song but it has that catchy rhythm which makes it far more engaging than several better tracks and I find myself enjoying its breeziness up until the point that they inject a slow sad sound in the middle of it. That passes quickly but the mindless magic has been punctured by the abrupt nature of the switch in tempo and mood and I find myself wishing it over before it finishes. The final quarter of this disc is made up of track titles I don't know, but unsurprisingly To The End is more familiar once it starts, if only in the chorus. I like the more open sound of this track, the greater arrangement - with the core band part being relatively small or simple, though the drums get a bit too repetitive for my liking. The soaring strings my favourite touch, though Albarn's more open singing helps too. Ah yeah. Should have recognised On Your Own as a title - never mind. No, this one I don't like, maybe I had blanked it. Rhyming psycho killer and gorilla sums it up. Oddball. I don't see anything in this.
I feel like I should be near the end, but the last three tracks are all over 5 minutes long so there's almost half an album to go by the measure of some recent listens. The first of those three is a distant song - music seeming much closer to the ear than vocal. It feels muted or matured somehow, more rounded. I rather like the way the zenith points seem to have the guitars rebelling against that maturity rather than working within it, making their mournful cries heard and carrying more weight for it. The song rather peters out, which is a shame but it was a nice little surprise for me. Whilst I did not recognise This is a Low even after it started, I do recall For Tomorrow now I hear it. I don't think much of it as it seems to be caught between two (or even three) stools. Catchiness, poppiness, and the rounder more mature sound. There are bits and bobs from these three approaches sprinkled over this track and it manages to satisfy none of the aims. The la-la-las in the chorus feel out of place in the open arrangement, likewise the Madness-esque trumpets are a giant WTF in context. Its a mess, really. I'm sure people that very much enjoy Blur can find more to like amidst the different elements here but for me? Trying too much, managing nothing, overstaying its welcome.
The last track starts really... well, contrary to any expectations I had. This is not one I was ever familiar with and it sounds like it has rocked up here from another album and another band. It develops nicely though, an underlying groove that I can appreciate. And just as I type that it gets interrupted by what sounds like a long loud fart. Like Country House earlier, this sudden intrusion breaks any sense of connection to the track and snaps me out of the groove. Now I hear it from the outside it doesn't feel like it has enough craft to draw me back in... until I suddenly am recaptured by a pivot point. This is a really frustrating track and it will have to go... too much mediocrity built around a couple of very solid patterns. I don't like being sucked in and spat out; I'd prefer to be kept at arms length throughout, able to appreciate it from outside, than constantly be readjusting my position on something like this.
As the surprise wears off, and the silence (laptop fan background noise) returns as the dominant sound in my ears I find myself feeling... not a lot. There are some tracks on here that I really like, there were a few I really didn't, and a bunch that I recognise mostly as the background sounds to my teenage years - no strong feelings. It's alright, I guess, but Albarn has done much better since.
It's been an odd week; although I've been at home all evening for the last 4 days, only yesterday, Friday, was completely clear and then I was just so washed out from work (an attempt to get away early failed) that tucking into this was not an option. I am doing so now instead of Christmas shopping or a plethora of other things that maybe I ought to do today. Oh well. Beetlebum has a scuzzy feel to it - appropriate for my low mood and layabout levels of success today - but largely washes over me without much in the way of serious consideration. It seems to me to be a bit of a strange choice to open the collection with - not particularly catchy, not a stand out for good or bad, and possessed of a long outro that makes it feel more like a closer. The polar opposite of the tight and punchy Song #2 in that regard. This is a Marmite track - not because you either love or hate it, but more specifically I can love or hate it depending on when I hear it. It suits certain emotions, situations and contexts better than others. Today's context is actually rather neutral.
We finally get to something a bit catchier; there is something about Albarn's vocal on There's No Other Way which validates the laziness I feel right now, and a reassurance about the riffy composition. I don't feel a strong connection to the track though, and I suspect this is going to be one of those really annoying posts where my dominant mood blunts interaction with the album I am consuming in any meaningful sense. Its as if I am more filling out an hour than really listening to this disc.
Overuse in adverts has not spoiled The Universal though. I never connected the tune, and thus those ads, with Blur at all at the time, because they never used the voice and I wasn't familiar with the song. OK, so Albarn's voice is kinda annoying on the chorus and the lyric leaves a lot to be desired but the core tune is so solid that it has a timeless quality to it, those iconic strings setting the whole thing up. I have been toying with the idea of another crappy project... some kind of micro-blog of all the plentiful bad ideas and stream of consciousness rubbish that my head fills up with when I am on my own - which is most of the time. I have an unquiet mind, and it drives me crazy. Sharing that madness with an uncaring world could release the pressure valve that generates such nonsense. Or not. Won't happen though - no smartphone so no access to post when my mind is at its worst - i.e. when trapped, solo, nothing doing.
I am not feeling this at all. Coffee & TV slides by like traffic outside behind a closed curtain - I am aware it is there but only dimly so. I think I don't like the song, and the occasional use of discordant sounds or effects make it worse. Be gone! Parklife slides past too, which is a more reliable barometer of my engagement level. This is another Marmite tune. I appreciate its attempt at peppiness - the clean snap and hard edges to the riffs give it a liveliness that is welcomed, but beyond that... not today.
I do dislike winter; its not been cold yet this year but the wind has been so constant, rattling around in the chimney, and the whole getting dark mid-afternoon thing is interminable. Its not a time of year I want to have to go out and traipse around shops as we are expected to do in the run up to Christmas. This year my mind and energy levels are balking even at the idea of online shopping. Bah humbug and all that. Working 2 more weeks yet; it all feels a fair way away still. I don't recognise No Distance Left to Run at all, but I like its rather downbeat air, subdued, more in tune with how I feel right now. Its down, but there is brightness there in spots - very high, very soft, keyboards giving nice clean tones. It is just enough of a sprinkle of optimism to stop the lead weights pulling it down.
Tender is... I am not sure it is likely to survive the day. It is a mix of a nice cadence with a tuneful, if muted, singing, and horrible harmonies, really annoying lines and alternate vocalists. Listening now, the tune just does not work. When Damon is singing on his own in the verse, there's a nice little semi-country feel to the music, the rest of the time there is some presence or other that sets my teeth on edge. Oh, and then there is the fact it goes on for 7 minutes 40 seconds, slowly spinning round between the shorter pleasantries and the longer stretches of needling. I don't think I can put up with that again. And that, (absent) ladies and gentleman is only half way.
I am grateful for the staccato and electronic sounds of Girls & Boys mixing things up. It is a complete palette cleanser after the tedium of Tender. Its not a song to hang much cogent discussion on (though to be honest the paras above probably prove I am not up to cogent discussion!), and you can definitely criticise it for its uniformity and lack of change up once it establishes itself, but in the context of the rest of the album, it's a really well placed number, stirring this listener, ending in good time and giving way to a tune that I completely fail to recognise until the words hit my ear. I think I generally prefer Blur when they inject some kind of catchiness, which here is provided by the nah-nah-nahs and the bass hammering note after note.
I didn't recognise She's So High at all, passed me by. Country House next, its not a good song but it has that catchy rhythm which makes it far more engaging than several better tracks and I find myself enjoying its breeziness up until the point that they inject a slow sad sound in the middle of it. That passes quickly but the mindless magic has been punctured by the abrupt nature of the switch in tempo and mood and I find myself wishing it over before it finishes. The final quarter of this disc is made up of track titles I don't know, but unsurprisingly To The End is more familiar once it starts, if only in the chorus. I like the more open sound of this track, the greater arrangement - with the core band part being relatively small or simple, though the drums get a bit too repetitive for my liking. The soaring strings my favourite touch, though Albarn's more open singing helps too. Ah yeah. Should have recognised On Your Own as a title - never mind. No, this one I don't like, maybe I had blanked it. Rhyming psycho killer and gorilla sums it up. Oddball. I don't see anything in this.
I feel like I should be near the end, but the last three tracks are all over 5 minutes long so there's almost half an album to go by the measure of some recent listens. The first of those three is a distant song - music seeming much closer to the ear than vocal. It feels muted or matured somehow, more rounded. I rather like the way the zenith points seem to have the guitars rebelling against that maturity rather than working within it, making their mournful cries heard and carrying more weight for it. The song rather peters out, which is a shame but it was a nice little surprise for me. Whilst I did not recognise This is a Low even after it started, I do recall For Tomorrow now I hear it. I don't think much of it as it seems to be caught between two (or even three) stools. Catchiness, poppiness, and the rounder more mature sound. There are bits and bobs from these three approaches sprinkled over this track and it manages to satisfy none of the aims. The la-la-las in the chorus feel out of place in the open arrangement, likewise the Madness-esque trumpets are a giant WTF in context. Its a mess, really. I'm sure people that very much enjoy Blur can find more to like amidst the different elements here but for me? Trying too much, managing nothing, overstaying its welcome.
The last track starts really... well, contrary to any expectations I had. This is not one I was ever familiar with and it sounds like it has rocked up here from another album and another band. It develops nicely though, an underlying groove that I can appreciate. And just as I type that it gets interrupted by what sounds like a long loud fart. Like Country House earlier, this sudden intrusion breaks any sense of connection to the track and snaps me out of the groove. Now I hear it from the outside it doesn't feel like it has enough craft to draw me back in... until I suddenly am recaptured by a pivot point. This is a really frustrating track and it will have to go... too much mediocrity built around a couple of very solid patterns. I don't like being sucked in and spat out; I'd prefer to be kept at arms length throughout, able to appreciate it from outside, than constantly be readjusting my position on something like this.
As the surprise wears off, and the silence (laptop fan background noise) returns as the dominant sound in my ears I find myself feeling... not a lot. There are some tracks on here that I really like, there were a few I really didn't, and a bunch that I recognise mostly as the background sounds to my teenage years - no strong feelings. It's alright, I guess, but Albarn has done much better since.
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