unpopular blur opinions

[Pavlich]

Some interesting points by Coopa, Pavlich. lumaka and stephen.

Blur were a fantastic group with lots of popular singles that made them a household name, and are now confined to that era of popularity. Kids growing up and going through all the albums and videos and everything means they're exploring another time.

In joining this forum, it surprised me that there wasn't a bigger membership who were "there at the time", i.e. in their youth during the 90s chart success of Blur.

By contrast there is a younger generation of fan, perhaps vaguely acquainted with Blur songs in childhood, actively seeking them out in adulthood.

Though I am pleased about this - it gives the 'Blur family' a lasting longevity. I remember thinking that 'Leisure' was a good album for indie fans, and Blur might be able to sustain a few years for those fans

Then the 'Popscene' single came out and faded away quickly - I thought, "that's it, we probably won't hear much more from Blur...."

But somehow, they rode it out, and they continue to do so....

Hah. Was it pretty priding to see them become so big with Parklife and have the Britpop wars with Oasis? I mean they were one of the last absolutely massive bands in the UK.

I heard songs like Tender as a kid in car trips and Girls & Boys, Song 2, Parklife were here and there but I always loved the melancholy of Damon and a lot of the music my parents liked fed into and from that too. Some of my favourite bands were from my parents' final forays into trendy music.

[AdvertBreak]

I can't remember a time when I didn't know Blur. I grew up with them as with many other bands, in this case via Parklife and songs on compilations pre-2005 and then the Best of and Think Tank in 2005, thanks to my parents, before becoming a more serious Blur fan when Midlife came out.

[TracyJosh]

The Great Escape's main flaw is that almost every song sounds like an attempt at a top 10 single as opposed to a collection of songs varying in format that make a great overall album.

It also suffered from occasionally trying to mimic successful songs on Parklife.

Entertain me = Tired cynical old man version of Girls and Boys

Country House is the Parkflife of the album. A great hit and earworm but it's overly Anglo centric knees-up style means the amount of times it can be listened to and enjoyed were always going to be limited.

Topman = London Loves


I still adore The Great Escape though!

These flaws make it all the more interesting in some ways .

[aldamasta]

For all the shit that Country House gets, it's just an amazing pop song when you separate it from all of the Battle of Britpop stuff. I will always think that the "blow, blow me out..." part is one of Damon's finest moments. Such genius to have that in the middle of a song that, on the surface, seems like just a fun silly little song.

[TracyJosh]

For all the shit that Country House gets, it's just an amazing pop song when you separate it from all of the Battle of Britpop stuff. I will always think that the "blow, blow me out..." part is one of Damon's finest moments. Such genius to have that in the middle of a song that, on the surface, seems like just a fun silly little song.

Yeah I agree. It is quite a widely accepted view on this forum that the "Blow, blow me out..." break down is the saving grace of that song.

Also seems to be widely agreed that the very literal, slapstick video for the song didn't help...

[Mallard No. 22]

Hah. Was it pretty priding to see them become so big with Parklife and have the Britpop wars with Oasis? I mean they were one of the last absolutely massive bands in the UK.

Hah! You could say it was. And so it should be.

More precisely, it was invigorating to see them become 'massive'. When they started, they got a good top ten hit quite quickly, but so did The Soup Dragons, The Farm and Jesus Jones, and where did they go?

And the first album was for the indie fan , rather than the radio listener. I liked it, but the over-riding feeling was that they may keep going with an indie-following, but not set the charts on fire. Much like The Inspiral Carpets or Ride. The 'Modern Life Is Rubbish' album maintained this feeling.

It was the release of the 'Girls & Boys' single, in a quickly unexpected way after this, that started the building blocks to a greater career. It was a good move, that captured the audience beyond indie.

This continued with 'Country House' and as other say the "blow, blow me out...." break gave that song a depth beyond sing-a-long.

[Forever Low Man]

the blur jeans demo from blur 21 is my favorite blur song

I don't know what it is that draws me in but it does and it's beautiful
maybe it's the harmonies

[KingLouieLouie76]

the blur jeans demo from blur 21 is my favorite blur song

I don't know what it is that draws me in but it does and it's beautiful
maybe it's the harmonies

I consider "Blue Jeans" to be one of their most underrated songs and I love how they revived it around '99/'00 (especially the Meltdown performance). I wish they brought it back during the last few reunions and hope they do it if they ever perform another concert together. It's also ideal for Damon's vocal range and Graham can still nail those backing harmonies well!

[saltandgin]

I love the end of Country House when there are three melodies going on at the same time.

[Forever Low Man]

I love the end of Country House when there are three melodies going on at the same time.

if you like that sort of thing, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVF_q1ZbU-4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[AdvertBreak]

I love the end of Country House when there are three melodies going on at the same time.

if you like that sort of thing, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVF_q1ZbU-4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

if you want more, saltandgin, what you want is this. There's what...eight melodies at the same time by the end..and it sounds beautiful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErWSYJYKM-Q" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[damon008]

haircuts matter, i,d love damon to have his 90s hairdo in a gig lol

[metalhipslop]

I skip Tender and start with Bugman when I listen to 13. Tender seems too out of place in my opinion, but it's a great single.

[Forever Low Man]

I skip Tender and start with Bugman when I listen to 13. Tender seems too out of place in my opinion, but it's a great single.

you deserve to be banned for that

[metalhipslop]

I skip Tender and start with Bugman when I listen to 13. Tender seems too out of place in my opinion, but it's a great single.

you deserve to be banned for that

For skipping a gospel singalong that is almost 8 minutes long? and is the first song of the record?