POPSCENE 1990 - 2000

Blur will release their long-awaited best of collection on October 30th, dotmusic can exclusively reveal.

The album – 'blur: the best of' - is released almost exactly ten years since the band's debut single 'She's So High', and contains 18 tracks, including one brand new song.

'Music Is My Radar' closes the record, and will also come out as a single on October 16, despite previous reports that the band would release a different track – 'Black Book' – to accompany the greatest hits.

Blur bass player Alex James spoke to dotmusic yesterday to give us the lowdown on the compilation.

He explained the rudimentary title. "We were going to call it 'The Best Blur Album In The World Ever' or 'From Bars To Mars', but we thought that would be a bit silly."

"Market research suggested now was the time for us to release the record. It also told us that the thing all the girls liked was Damon's eyes," he said.

The album (full tracklisting below) collects the majority of the band's singles, although Alex said there was one notable absence.

"'Popscene' is a personal favorite. But that's just destined to be the lost great single. Singles are difficult beasts. A lot of the tracks that you can become emotionally attached to are album tracks or even b-sides.

"It's very difficult to get away from singles and listen to them objectively."

Alex also explained the creation of 'Music Is My Radar', which was recorded as the band went into the studio to lay-down a B-side to 'Black Book', which had been produced by former Verve studio guru Chris Potter.

"We went in to do the B-side, which is quite a tall order, and the track just came out. Our A&R man came down and he just wet his pants and we decided that this was a better single."

Alex describes the track as "a voodoo bonfire. It's very groovy. I'm going to have to start wearing a cardigan. It's a magical voodoo love dance."

Blur are now expected to begin work on their next album later this year, with Potter at the helm, after William Orbit, the producer of '13' was unable to commit to the record.

Alex explained: "We'd like to get working again before Christmas. I'd forgotten I was a bass player and it was very nice to go back and for it all to flow. I didn't realise how lucky we were, without sounding soppy."

The full track listing for 'blur: the best of' is:

Beetlebum
Song 2
There's No Other Way
The Universal
Coffee & TV
Parklife
End Of A Century
No Distance Left To Run
Tender
Girls & Boys
Charmless Man
She's So High
Country House
To The End
On Your Own
This Is A Low
For Tomorrow (Primrose Hill version)
Music Is My Radar

The album will be released on CD, cassette, double vinyl, and minidisc formats. A limited edition of the CD will feature a bonus live CD, recorded at London's Wembley Arena in December 1999 during Blur's 10th Anniversary Singles Night Tour.

The full track listing of the live bonus CD is:

She's So High
Girls & Boys
To The End
End Of A Century
Stereotypes
Charmless Man
Beetlebum
M.O.R.
Tender
No Distance Left To Run

From vblurpage.com:

"Music Is My Radar" radio premiere

"Music Is My Radar" gets its first airing on BBC Radio 1's Steve Lamacq show tonight (September 5).

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