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Just wondering seeing as they've never been mentioned on this forum (this thread prompted by the news of Oarsis returning of course!!).
My verdict? The odd decent record or two but nothing special. They're very successful but so what? They just exist, don't they? Here's my breakdown analysis:
Damon = Charlatan Alex = Sloane Playboy Graham = Fidgety Nerd David = Gary Numan
okay - let's hear yours!!
Couldn't give a fuck about Blur to be honest. I can't think of more than half a dozen even remotely acceptable Blur songs, so yes they are shite :)
The universal is one of my fave songs of all time, but 90% of what they do is on the shite side....
I quite enjoyed boys and girls...or girls and boys...whatever it was called...I also liked Song 2 until it became a staple for television commercials, athletic venues, and well, you get the idea...
Was given the Greatest Hits CD as a gift, and there are a couple of tunes that I actually like, although the long version of Tender goes on way too much.
Speaking of Blur toons in an ad, thought I heard The Universal in one, but I can't rightly recall what the ad was for.
Still have a tape of videos that the local college TV station showed, and that's where I first laid eyes on Blur: Country House, the one with Jo Guest. Got a laugh out of that one, and the one with the runaway milk carton. I guess it's sad when the videos have to prop up the songs.
I like their stuff a lot. especially some of the early stuff, before they started ripping off Pavement (stephen malkmus rocks!). but even then...they were still pretty good.
Blur = The Small Faces Oasis = Status Quo
Give me The small Faces anytime;)
(except fer Supersonic, Take me away, I will believe, Cigarrettes & Alcohol & Rockn roll star)
Blur have done some great tunes - the album 'Blur' has a load of decent stuff on it. Problem is 50% of what they do is utter rubbish. Damon's a twat as well.
The thing about Blur to me is that they are not memorable. Sure, you hear a song and it is good, but then you forget them. You don't remember the words. THe thing is remember about Blur the most is their album with the dogs on the cover. What does that say? Where is Peter Saville?
Originally posted by Green Was given the Greatest Hits CD as a gift, and there are a couple of tunes that I actually like, although the long version of Tender goes on way too much.Speaking of Blur toons in an ad, thought I heard The Universal in one, but I can't rightly recall what the ad was for.Still have a tape of videos that the local college TV station showed, and that's where I first laid eyes on Blur: Country House, the one with Jo Guest. Got a laugh out of that one, and the one with the runaway milk carton. I guess it's sad when the videos have to prop up the songs.
the universal was used ofr a british gas ad (around the time when people started clicking their fingers & a blue flame would appear)
my tuppenceworth
blur have done a lot of great songs, have now gone in potentially more interesting/less commercial lo-fi direction, & all credit to them for doing that, they could easily have done a parklife 2 & raked it in (cf oasis who have not developed).
They're one of those "great singles bands" that can never seem to get it together over the course of an entire album. I have the self-titled (because of the "who-hooo!" song, of course), and I have to say, while there are some great tracks (Death of a Party, MOR, Beetlebum), they just can't do a decent album. So, I say for singles-they're good, albums-not so good. :D
God I didn't know it was supposed to be uncool to admit to liking some of Blur's music. There must be some terrible stigma attached to that. It appears their Britpop phase has become like an millstone round thier necks which probably explains why the've been trying to shake that off by getting ever weirder and artier. Maybe Damon's just pretentious now or whatever, but there's a few Blur songs I like, I even had that "dreadful" Parklife album somewhere: I liked "To The End" - that's a great song I have to admit. "This Is A Low" too. "You're So Great" I loved. "Parklife" just irritated me after a while as did all their novelty songs like "Country House" - what crap that was! "Song 2" just got on me tits as well... "Coffee and TV" is okay. But that last Lp was a bit arty farty pants wa'n't it? At least they make an effort to change with each album, even if it does look very contrived, unlike bleedin Oasis. (zzzzzz)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't those boring old MOR shitehawks Travis ripoff the chorus to Blur's "Universal" on their song "Driftweed" (sic). When I heard it I swore they sounded almost note for note the same - and even the words too....!
I just found out that one of the guys from Blur is in the "group" The Gorillaz" (spelling?)
Anyway, am I the last to know this? :p
Originally posted by April I just found out that one of the guys from Blur is in the "group" The Gorillaz" (spelling?)Anyway, am I the last to know this? :p
Probably? Gorillaz also has Del the Funky Homosapien and Dan the Automater involved in most of their songs, both of whom have done work with Prince Paul on the Handsome Boy Modelling School Project!
Ok apparently as uncool as it is, I really like Blur. Admitedly I only own the best of, but I like pretty much everything on it apart from Tender, which I cant stand.
but their diverse and interesting all the time in my opinion, only going by singles here. I have one album track on mp3 Strange News From Another Star, which is a top song.
I think its the Brit pop stigma shining through here with this anti Blur sentiment.
Blur are great. "Leisure" contains a few boring tracks, but every album after that is quite strong throughout. The last two, "13" and s/t are probably the best, but I quite like the brit pop trilogy of MLIR, Parklife, and TGE as well. The biggest problem with Blur is that they now almost seem to be competing with New Order for longest time between albums, though I guess they actually still have years to go before they could win that one. But this delay, as well as the rapping, are two reasons to hate Gorillaz.
Blur is extremely bipolar in terms of quality songs, it seems. the last album was even more in this direction than previous ones had been, but it still had some particularly standout moments ("You're So Great" comes to mind immediately, even though it sounds like it was recorded in a tin barrel that was sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic...which i know was the point, but still. ^^)
the thing that bothers me now is that it seems like they've lost some of the sense of humour that they used to have. whatever happened to incredibly smarmy great moments like "Charmless Man"? and they had great videos, too.
(yes. i know. Gorillaz. but i don't think that's the entire answer, either.)
My girlfriend Charly was actually quite keen on Blur for a while - during the 1993-95 Britpop period. I couldn't really handle it cos the whole scene was so false, seeing Damon doing that TOTP Britpop thingy just made my skin crawl - half of the bands on that thing were utter utter SHITE (Menswear? Cast? Who else?..). Charly used to always play Modern Life and The Great Escape (she too got sick of Parklife in the end), but my problem with those records are that he (and it IS mostly Damon's doing, you gotta admit) is trying too hard to go: "Hey! Look at us! Aren't we Vaudevillean?!!" I mean they even threw in a few fooking Cardiacs ripoffs just to prove the point...but, fook me, I used to like the Cardiacs when I was a teenager...fook knows why.... Apart from a handful of songs, Blur really don't make much of an impression on me. When they started they were just another baggy copyist band right down to their look, that's why I was so suspicious about them. I'm just pleasantly surprised that they've lasted this long and become so big over time. My respect for them has to be grudging to say the least. Fair do's then.....
the gorillaz album has really grown on me, theres some fine tracks on it (even ordered the new one - g-sides out later this month)
I've heard that Blur's new album will make Radiohead look like Travis. Well, that's got to be a good thing. Let's hope it makes Radiohead give up the music business and instead go and live in a cave with no contact with the outside world.
Hey! stop knocking Radiohead - that last album was ace! I actually went out and bought it! And that - coming from somebody who never really cared much for their first three "rock" albums!!
Blur are going in an ever weider direction? Doesn't that just prove to you how self-conscious Damon and folks must be then in order to really alienate the rest of their fan base? I wonder what they're going to contrive this time? Warped-space-time-continuum-cosmic-dub-freakouts-with -NO-GUITARS-AT-ALL???!! Hmmmm, Well, that's Graham out of the band for a start then! :evil:
i really loved blur during the whole britpop thang, and i still really like some of the stuff they did then. the last good song they did was song 2 and then they started going downhill. i didn't get 13 but i doubt it was any good as the singles they released from it were crap, mundane and boring, particularly tender. and then music is my radar - now that wasn't even a song! utter shite! and as for the gorillaz :headoff:
