[Sony]

i listened to the new Blur album, "Think Tank" and i think it's pretty good. they seem to have quite a lot of CDs out. which ones would you recommend?

 

[bong]

umm, take your pick, all of them are quite different from each other:

"Leisure" is a mix of musical genres that were popular in the UK at the time, which were "shoegazing" (guitar effects, echoey and droney mix and production) and the "baggy" or "madchester" (agreeable pop melodies, dancy drumbeats). songwriting and music quality wise, it's Blur's worst, and has the band's most loathed song called "Bang." highlights are "She's So High," "There's No Other Way," and "Sing."

"Modern Life is Rubbish" escapes the hype of the first album, and Damon Albarn actually writes thought-provoking lyrics, mostly having to do with social commentaries with a witty humour. think The Kinks and The Jam. the band also sounds much more confident and are really getting into their own, although the album also has it's fair share of misses. highlights are "For Tomorrow," "Advert" "Coping" "Chemical World," "Popscene," and "Resigned."

"Parklife" is their masterpiece. extending from the social commentaries from "Modern Life..." but now with a broader scope and excellent music and songwriting, this is definately Blur v.1 best album. every track on it is strong, the band attacks with disco dancing ("Girls and Boys"), melodramatic ballads ("To The End"), spiky pop ("End of a Century," "Tracy jacks," "London Loves"), punk ("Bank Holiday"), chant alongs ("Parklife"), general zanyness ("The Debt Collector," "Far Out," "Lot 105") and their best song in their whole catalog, the epic "This is a Low." this is the album that made Blur superstars, and it's an era defining record.

"The Great Escape" further expands on Albarn's social commentaries and observations, but instead of his usual wry, witty sense of humour, his lyrics are becoming more obsessive and paranoid. the surface of the record still holds the melodic guitar pop the band was known for, but if you dig deeper with more careful listens, the record is a much darker, depressing affair as opposed to "Parklife." "Country House," "Charmless Man," "It Could Be You," "He Thought of Cars," and "Fade Away" are great songs.

by the time "The Great Escape" had run its course, Blur became disillusioned and almost broke up. along with Suede, Oasis, and Pulp, they had rejuvinated Brit-Pop but literally pinned themselves into a corner with it. they counteracted with the very lo-fi unBrit-pop like "Blur." if you could peel away the brit-pop arrangements of their songs and add a healthy dash of lo-fi effects and general experimentation but keep their sense of songcraft, you have their self titled album. the whole album is great with "Beetlebum," "Own Your Own," "Death of a Party," "I'm Just a Killer For Your Love," and "Strange News from Another Star" being some of the stronger tracks.

Damon Albarn had broken up with his girlfriend Justine Frishmann (leader of Elastica) and much of "13" deals with the break-up. the album takes the lo-fi experimentation of "Blur" and adds some self-indulgence and a healthy dose of electronics via producer William Orbit. the results are stunning! "Tender" and "No Distance Left to Run" are heartfelt ballads, Graham Coxon sings on the devilish likable "Coffee and TV," and "Battle," "Trailerpark," "Trimm Trabb," and "Caramel" are definately the songs that define this album. my fave! and if you like "Think Tank" you'll probably like this one as well, although the pace on "13" is a bit slower than "ThinkTank."

if all of this seems too good, or too much,

you might want to try "The Best Of Blur," which has the best singles that covers all the albums i've mentioned. you'll basically be up to date with their hit singles up to "Think Tank."

hope all of this helps. i definately had fun typing!

i love Blur...

 

[mclaren20]

Quote:

Originally posted by bong hope all of this helps. i definately had fun typing! i love Blur...

really, i never would guessed...
...
..
.



thanks thoug bong, that was a good read.

 

[markl]

I like the self-titled album and 13 best. 13 is a great headphone album. I thought Think Tank was totally unfocused a big disappointment, they fired their guitar player who added so much to their sound.

Check out the Best of, it's great start to finish contains most Blur everyone would need.

Mark

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Although I mostly agree with Bong on his assessments of the individual albums (I really liked Leisure, though), 13 is probably closest to Think Tank, so I would recommend getting that next, based on the original post.

 

[bong]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dusty Chalk Although I mostly agree with Bong on his assessments of the individual albums (I really liked Leisure, though), 13 is probably closest to Think Tank, so I would recommend getting that next, based on the original post.

yeah well... Blur's worst is still better than many's best!

i like "Leisure" as well (never said i didn't), i think its a great marriage of Shoegazing and Baggy, i don't know any other album that has this kind of feel to it (The Charlatans' "Between 10th and 11th" comes close, but still very much Baggy).

i listened to it last night while sleeping (after my post) and the melodies started coming back. i should've included "High Cool" and "Bad Day" as highlights as well.

also, the US and UK versions differ. the US version drops the excellent "Sing" and adds "High Cool" and "I Know." take your pick, all three songs are good.

"Leisure" was actually my first Blur purchase back in 1992. i heard "She's So High" and "There's No Other Way" on a local modern rock radio station (92.7 WDRE) and i loved these songs. i wasn't aware that "Modern Life is Rubbish" was released in 1993 and skipped it until i heard "Girls and Boys" on the same radio station in 1994. "Parklife" was my second Blur purchase.

cheers.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by bong i like "Leisure" as well (never said i didn't)

Sorry, didn't mean to make it sound like you didn't like Leisure, I just think we differ in that it is one of my top three favourite albums by them, with Modern Life is Rubbish and Parklife (although the latter two are completely different albums). Quote:

Originally posted by bong Blur's worst is still better than many's best!

Agreed.

 

[Newbiez]

Blur - Blur ...

I do think that is where they started to get away from trying to compete with Oasis and just experiment, weird musical thingy and sounds and all that. I lost that album, but you just gave me a few more reasons to buy a new one.

 

[JaZZ]

The ones I own are 13 and Think Tank, and I like both. But as always with Blur I don't like all of the songs the same.

 

[miroslav]

I`ve been enjoying "Think Tank" immensely for the past month and I remember I saw "13" in the local CD shop. Well, gotta get it after this thread.

 

[wasifazim]

having lived through the oasis v. blur wars (trying times, those) while in secondary school, I'll always have a soft spot for Parklife...britpop's crowning achievement as far as I'm concerned (well, that and Pulp's "A Different Class"). The only other Blur records worth holding on to (in this man's opinion) are "The Great Escape" and Blur's eponymous follow-up (worth buying just for "On Your Own").

a fab writeup, bong.

- w

 

[bong]

Quote:

Originally posted by wasifazim having lived through the oasis v. blur wars (trying times, those) while in secondary school, I'll always have a soft spot for Parklife...britpop's crowning achievement as far as I'm concerned (well, that and Pulp's "A Different Class"). The only other Blur records worth holding on to (in this man's opinion) are "The Great Escape" and Blur's eponymous follow-up (worth buying just for "On Your Own"). a fab writeup, bong. - w

thanks wasifazim!

i would have to agree that "Parklife" was brit-pop's defining moment. i do agree Pulp's "A Different Class" comes in second (but i feel "His 'N' Hers" was a stronger album). Oasis' "Definately Maybe" would definately be third. all three albums help define a generation.

other brit-pop essesntials IMO would be Suede's self titled debut, which basically started the 90's britpop scene in the first place. Supergrass' "I Should Coco," Gene' "Olympian," Ash's "1977," Manic Street Preachers' "Everything Must Go," and Mansun's "Attack of the Grey Lantern."

i loved the whole Blur vs. Oasis thing. it was one exciting moment in music history.

 

[Newbiez]

Oasis only truly break away with "What's The Story (Morning Glory)" .....and Pulp never did wanted much to be a part of the so caleld 'war' ..Blur was very much different from Oasis. They are more of an so called 'aquired' taste while Oasis is more of a anthem making sing-a-long band.

DT and Coffee, helps me starts the day...
DT and Coffee, shaking Allllll the way....

awww.... how I miss those days..

 

[miroslav]

I`d like to thank you all for recommending Blur`s stuff. After "Think Tank" as my first Blur album [size=xx-small](which I like very, very much)[/size] I also got "13" and an unofficial double Best of collection and now I`m totally occupied by their music.

I must have played "Girls and Boys" 15 times during the weekend.

With the addition of The Cure`s "Bloodflowers" and an excellent Kula Shaker compilation, I am redescovering my love for more traditional, guitar oriented sound after months in house, trance and stuff like that..It feels so good to make a U turn.

Since Newbiez mentioned it, it must have been over a year since I listened to "What`s the Story..." First thing to do after work today.

"Everything Must Go" is a great reminder too.

 

[Silver]

Quote:

Originally posted by bong umm, take your pick, all of them are quite different from each other: "Leisure" is a mix of musical genres that were popular in the UK at the time, which were "shoegazing" (guitar effects, echoey and droney mix and production) and the "baggy" or "madchester" (agreeable pop melodies, dancy drumbeats). songwriting and music quality wise, it's Blur's worst, and has the band's most loathed song called "Bang." highlights are "She's So High," "There's No Other Way," and "Sing." "Modern Life is Rubbish" escapes the hype of the first album, and Damon Albarn actually writes thought-provoking lyrics, mostly having to do with social commentaries with a witty humour. think The Kinks and The Jam. the band also sounds much more confident and are really getting into their own, although the album also has it's fair share of misses. highlights are "For Tomorrow," "Advert" "Coping" "Chemical World," "Popscene," and "Resigned." "Parklife" is their masterpiece. extending from the social commentaries from "Modern Life..." but now with a broader scope and excellent music and songwriting, this is definately Blur v.1 best album. every track on it is strong, the band attacks with disco dancing ("Girls and Boys"), melodramatic ballads ("To The End"), spiky pop ("End of a Century," "Tracy jacks," "London Loves"), punk ("Bank Holiday"), chant alongs ("Parklife"), general zanyness ("The Debt Collector," "Far Out," "Lot 105") and their best song in their whole catalog, the epic "This is a Low." this is the album that made Blur superstars, and it's an era defining record. "The Great Escape" further expands on Albarn's social commentaries and observations, but instead of his usual wry, witty sense of humour, his lyrics are becoming more obsessive and paranoid. the surface of the record still holds the melodic guitar pop the band was known for, but if you dig deeper with more careful listens, the record is a much darker, depressing affair as opposed to "Parklife." "Country House," "Charmless Man," "It Could Be You," "He Thought of Cars," and "Fade Away" are great songs. by the time "The Great Escape" had run its course, Blur became disillusioned and almost broke up. along with Suede, Oasis, and Pulp, they had rejuvinated Brit-Pop but literally pinned themselves into a corner with it. they counteracted with the very lo-fi unBrit-pop like "Blur." if you could peel away the brit-pop arrangements of their songs and add a healthy dash of lo-fi effects and general experimentation but keep their sense of songcraft, you have their self titled album. the whole album is great with "Beetlebum," "Own Your Own," "Death of a Party," "I'm Just a Killer For Your Love," and "Strange News from Another Star" being some of the stronger tracks. Damon Albarn had broken up with his girlfriend Justine Frishmann (leader of Elastica) and much of "13" deals with the break-up. the album takes the lo-fi experimentation of "Blur" and adds some self-indulgence and a healthy dose of electronics via producer William Orbit. the results are stunning! "Tender" and "No Distance Left to Run" are heartfelt ballads, Graham Coxon sings on the devilish likable "Coffee and TV," and "Battle," "Trailerpark," "Trimm Trabb," and "Caramel" are definately the songs that define this album. my fave! and if you like "Think Tank" you'll probably like this one as well, although the pace on "13" is a bit slower than "ThinkTank." if all of this seems too good, or too much, you might want to try "The Best Of Blur," which has the best singles that covers all the albums i've mentioned. you'll basically be up to date with their hit singles up to "Think Tank." hope all of this helps. i definately had fun typing! i love Blur...

On a side note, I find the lyrics of "This is a Low" rather incomprehensible. Do you get the meaning of it at all?