Blur reinvented themselves with the lo-fi indie eclecticism of their eponymous fifth album. Tabloids exploited the rivalry between Blur and Oasis as "The Battle of Britpop," which culminated in a simultaneous release of singles by both bands. Blur's "Country House" beat out Oasis' "Roll With It" by almost sixty thousand copies; but Oasis' album '(What's the Story) Morning Glory?' subsequently went on to become on of the best-selling albums in British history, out-selling Blur's 'The Great Escape' by eleven million copies. Damon Albarn remembers, “Things got utterly out of hand; it stopped being a joke.” In the wake of this hoopla, Blur decided to abandon Britpop for a more experimental embrace of styles utilizing elements of electronica, psychedelia, dub, and noise that were prominent in American Alternative rock. Albarn explains,“We just wanted to distance ourselves from everything British, really.”
Tensions within the band between bassist Alex James and guitarist Graham Coxon also contributed to the new direction. Coxon recalls: "I was drinking to drown the voices that were asking me, 'What are you doing? It was linked to my experience of being in Blur: I felt a sort of rootlessness. I was happiest at the beginning when I thought we were struggling towards the same sort of goal. At the beginning the voice was quiet enough for me to ignore. As time went on, the music became, I guess, more angled towards commercial success, and there were other issues that I was very much against, or didn't feel very much connection to. Like Britpop or lad culture, or football, or politics. That's when I began to get lost. And I began to wonder if the other people had been lying to me all along about what they wanted out of a group, and how they wanted to be seen."
'Blur' was recorded in London, England and Reykjavik, Iceland. Producer Stephen Street considers: "The weariness you can hear in Damon's singing at times was obvious, he'd had enough of playing the game. It was the LP where there were no outside pressures - only internal. Damon and Graham had been in each other's pockets for so long, then you've got the relationships between their partners, and themselves. Graham had an ex who was dating Jamie Hewlett, who Damon was now hanging out with. Damon and Graham came into this record damaged, and were healed by making it. Yes, it saved the band, though only for a little while, of course." 'Blur' went to number four in Sweden, number three in New Zealand, and topped the British album chart.
Stephen Street says the heroin-inspired leadoff single, "'Beetlebum' was where everything fell into place. We went to Iceland to record for a couple of weeks. Damon wanted to get away from London, and he loved it there. He did his vocals late afternoon, and we went out for dinner that night. When I listened back to it the following morning, I was nearly moved to tears. Damon was very proud of it, too, it's the moment when he defined his voice." It became Blur's last number one single.
"And when she lets me slip away
She turns me on
All my violence is gone
Nothing is wrong"
The throwaway "Song 2" became the band's biggest hit in the US, where it is still played at stadium events. It went to number six on the US alternative chart and peaked (appropriately enough) at number two in the UK.
"(Whoohoo!)
When I feel heavy metal
(Whoohoo!)
And I'm pins and I'm needles
(Whoohoo!)
Well I lie and I'm easy
All of the time I am never sure
Why I need you
Pleased to meet you"
"M.O.R." stands for "middle of the road". The song was inspired by David Bowie's 'Boys Keep Swinging'; so much so that Bowie and Brian Eno were given songwriting credit after legal action. The single peaked at number fifteen in the UK. The music video was directed by John Hardwick.
"Here comes tomorrow (Here comes tomorrow)
One, two, three episodes (Three episodes)
We stick together (We stick together)
Gone middle of the road (Middle of the road)
Cos that's entertainment (That's entertainment)
It's the sound of the wheel (Sound of the wheel)
It rolls on forever (Roll, roll forever)
Yeah you know how it feels (Know how it feels)"
"On Your Own" went to number five in the UK.
"So take me home, don't leave me alone
I'm not that good, but I'm not that bad
No psycho killer, hooligan guerilla
I dream to riot, oh you should try it
R. E. Perot, got gold card soul
My joy of life is on a roll
And we'll all be the same in the end
Cos then you're on your own
Then you're on your own"
Coxon wrote and sang on "You're So Great".
"And I feel the light
In the night and in the day
And I feel the light
When the sky's just mud and grey
And I feel the light
When you tell me it's OK
Cos you're so great, and I love you"
"Death of a Party"
"The death of the party
Came as no surprise
Why did we bother?
Should have stayed away
Another night
And I thought well, well
Go to another party and hang myself
Gently on the shelf"
"Strange News from Another Star"
"All I want to be
Is washed out by the sea
No Death Star over me
Won't give me any peace
All I want is light relief
Put the crazies on the street
Give them guns and feed them meat
They'll shoot the Death Star down
Dig a hole and put it down
A thousand miles underground"
"Movin' On" speaks to the band's disaffection for the record industry game.
"At the music heist
I met the gourmet man
With aluminium lungs
Sucks out all he can
He sees the whole world go flip
In a stunt bug style
Cos he's a parasite
With a cellulite pile
Well he can smile"
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