modern life is rubbish

Blur reinvented themselves in the wake of bankruptcy and homesickness to create this bold Britpop response to grunge. They had broken into the baggy music scene with their debut album 'Leisure'; but when they decided to move away from that sound on a new single 'Popscene', they found themselves unable to repeat their success. The band found out that they were sixty thousand pounds in debt and were sent by their label Food on an extensive tour of the US to try and recoup some of their losses. While on tour, the band was discouraged by the lackluster response of the crowds to their music and by the overwhelming presence of grunge music. Damon Albarn listened to a tape of the Kinks during the entire tour, which influenced the direction of their new album.

Sessions for 'Modern Life Is Rubbish' began with XTC's Andy Partridge as producer; but the band was unhappy with the results and decided to team up again with Stephen Street, who had produced their hit single 'There's No Other Way'. The group also co-produced with John Smith and Steve Lovell. The album featured Damon Albarn on vocals, piano, and keyboards; Graham Coxon on guitar and backing vocals; Alex James on bass guitar; and Dave Rowntree on drums; with Kick Horns on brass and Kate St John on oboe.

Albarn reveals: "It was me attempting to write in a classic English vein using kind of imagery and words which were much more modern. So it was a weird combination of quiet nostalgic-sounding melodies and chord progressions, [with] these weird caustic lyrics about England as it was at that moment, and the way it was getting this mass Americanized refit ... I was putting my whole existence into Blur's music. I felt very passionate - for the first and last time in my life - about being English. I just felt America had screwed me badly. It had taken away a lot of my dreams (laughs) ... Suede and America fuelled my desire to prove to everyone that Blur were worth it. There was nothing more important in my life. I wouldn't want to feel like that again."

'Modern Life Is Rubbish' only made it to number fifteen on the British album charts; but it marked a new direction for the band and set the stage for their next album. Coxon says: "'Modern Life Is Rubbish' was overlooked because of the rise of grunge, but we were halfway to somewhere ... We were just fighting for our life as a group. We were just writing about everyday life, which was basically pretty awful.”

James considers: "'Modern Life Is Rubbish' had done... something. The time was definitely right to strike with the masterplan. We had a great relationship with the producer. We'd been playing together nearly every day for two or three years - and that's the only way to get good. We understood each other."










http://www.blur.co.uk/















"For Tomorrow" 

"Blue Jeans" 

"Chemical World" 

"Sunday Sunday" 

"Miss America" 

'Modern Life Is Rubbish'
full album:

All songs written by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree.

"For Tomorrow" – 4:18

"Advert" – 3:43

"Colin Zeal" – 3:14

"Pressure on Julian" – 3:30

"Star Shaped" – 3:25

"Blue Jeans" – 3:53

"Chemical World" – 4:02

"Intermission" – 2:27

"Sunday Sunday" – 2:36

"Oily Water" – 4:59

"Miss America" – 5:34

"Villa Rosie" – 3:54

"Coping" – 3:23

"Turn It Up" – 3:21

"Resigned" – 5:13

"Commercial Break" – 0:56

blur

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.

http://www.blur.co.uk/

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)"

Blur-MOR-1997 by newcanadian

"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"

"Essex Dogs" includes the hidden track "Interlude".

"In this town, cellular phones are hot with teens

In this town, we all go to terminal pubs

It helps us sweat out those angry bits of life

From this town, the English army grind their teeth into glass

You know you'll get a kicking tonight "