My iPod #237: Blur - Dan Abnormal

"Dan Abnormal" is a track from Blur's fourth album "The Great Escape".

I listened to the song way before actually listening to the rest of Blur's discography. The band had performed in Hyde Park for the Summer 2012 Olympics closing ceremony, and decided to remaster all their albums for their 21st anniversary as a group. So I thought I would listen to "The Great Escape" out of all of them, even though it's not Damon Albarn's favourite nor is it the favourite of the majority of Blur fans.

Albarn once said that all the songs on the album are about him in one way or another. "Dan Abnormal" is probably the one that you could say is explicitly about him. Look at the title and then rearrange it. Does that mean it's the centerpiece of the album? Naaaaaaaah.

Apart from obvious tracks (Country House, Charmless Man, The Universal, Stereotypes), Dan Abnormal was one that actually stayed in my head after listening to the album for the first time. Not really sure why. The chorus was quite memorable, a lot of "la-la-las" are involved and the overall melody wasn't hard to forget.

It might not be very impressive for some, but I like it and that's all that matters.

My iPod #213: Blur - Country Sad Ballad Man

I'm back in uni! Yaaaaaaaaaay.

The three weeks back at home were good, well they were okay. It was nice being with the family but it did get very dull within a few days. Home just doesn't compare to university. I am sorry, sis.

"Country Sad Ballad Man" is the third track from Blur's self-titled album from 1997. Blur decided that they were done with the whole 'Britpop' scene by this time, and instead wanted to make some standard indie rock, Pavement influenced material instead of the character narratives that Damon Albarn had written for the last three albums.

I listened to "Blur" the whole way through during the late summer last year. I was lying in bed and was starting to fall asleep but I do remember hearing this tune. Coming after "Beetlebum" and "Song 2", the first and second singles which I knew inside and out, "Country Sad" was the first that left me in the place where I had no idea what was going to come next.

It takes quite some time to start. A steady, ticking drum beat along with an mouth harp start things off sluggishly, and then the deep bass and almost mono-aural guitar comes in. It all sounds very enclosed and compact. Damon alternates his pitch going from high to sounding weary and tired, whilst singing about self-pity and isolating himself from society. Entertaining stuff.

Weary and tired is very much the atmosphere that "Country Sad" achieves; that is until Graham suddenly brings in the guitars for the last minute or so which raises spirits for a bit but in the end, this song is not one to listen to if you want to make yourself feel better about something.

If you're disappointed with my 'thesis' on the song, here are some funny arrangements that you can change title too:

"Country Bad Salad Man"
"Country Mad Ballad-San"
"Country Mad Salad Ban"

.........Those aren't funny.

My iPod #212: Blur - Country House

"Country House" by Blur was the first single from the band's fourth album "The Great Escape". Released at the height of 'Britpop' in 1995, the single went head-to-head with Oasis' song "Roll with It" for the number one spot. "Country House" won, and stayed number one for two weeks before Michael Jackson knocked it off.

The song is about a man who buys a house in the country (no..... really?) to get away from the city but still isn't very happy with his life. You wouldn't be able to tell though. It reminds me of one of those songs that, when you're really drunk, you grab your mate and put your arm around their shoulder and start yelling the words along to it. Then the brass coda kicks in near the end and you start doing the can-can and stuff.

It never fails to cheer me up, even though it can become a bit grating if you were to repeat it over and over again. Just because of the over emphasised English accent and the cheery music. It just shouts out, "Hey! We're soooo British, look at us!" and that could annoy some people.

My iPod #197: Blur - Coffee & TV

"Coffee & TV" is a track by Blur from the band's sixth album "13". It was written and sung by guitarist Graham Coxon, who is joined by Damon Albarn in the chorus.

I've known this song for a long time, even though I didn't listen to all of Blur's discography until earlier this year. That's only because it was a single, and a lot of people know it for its memorable video directed by Hammer & Tongs.

I can't really listen to this song without thinking about that milk carton. The music video has nothing to do with the message of the song, which is more about wanting to break away from uncomfortable social situations and living the simple life without any worries, but it just fits. I couldn't imagine the song having any other video.

Did you know that the solo in the song wasn't even meant to be in the final version of the song? Apparently it was a placeholder until Coxon could think of something better, but it just got to the point where they couldn't because it was too late. That's a good thing to bear in mind.

Enjoy.

My iPod #182: Blur - Chemical World

I undertook on a Blur marathon earlier this year. Putting my Premium Spotify account to good use, I decided to listen the band's discography. It was not a continuous action so marathon may not be the right word, but it took me a weekend to get from "Leisure" to "Think Tank". It was not just those original albums either; they included the bonus discs including B-Sides, demos and live material that accompanied each album as part of the "Blur 21" compilation. It was a lot of hours well spent. That 'event' also helped me to realise how much good music the band actually made. Before, I just had the Best Of compilation and thought that was fine, but the deep cuts are just as good. Buy albums. Compilations are useless. Blur is probably one of my favourite bands now, and it only took a weekend of their music to make me see the light.

That's enough of that.

"Chemical World" is a tune from the band's 'fuck you America' album "Modern Life Is Rubbish". It was also released as its second single in 1993.

Like many other songs I have on my iPod, this was one that I first heard/saw when its video played on MTV2. Then, I didn't think much of the song. That's how I feel with pretty much everything I listen to. But its chorus was quite memorable and embedded itself in my head, even though I had no idea what Damon was singing in the verses.

Fast forward a few years later and do what I describe in the opening paragraph, I couldn't wait for the song to start because it was the only song - apart from "For Tomorrow" that I would be familiar with. Well, that and "Sunday Sunday" but that's a different story.

Listening to the lyrics now, still not sure what it's about. I initially assumed it was a song about the environment seeing as it was called "Chemical World" and mentions of "putting the holes in". It may be about drugs - it's all very metaphorical.

My iPod #178: Blur - Charmless Man

"Charmless Man" was released as the final single from Blur's fourth album "The Great Escape", the album which (I am not afraid to say) I actually prefer to "Parklife". What are you going to do about it? I thought so.

I saw the music video on the TV when I was about 10 or so. I thought it was quite funny. The band stalks a man, he then runs over them, but he ends up in the room where they are playing the song. You probably have to watch it to become more enthused than when you just read my description of it.

Yeah, I think the song is okay. It is not my favourite from the album; the 'na-na-nas' hook can become a bit annoying, but I guess it reinforces the whole message behind the tune. And it reminds me of a time when I could just watch music television without feeling I had something more important to do.

My iPod #82: Blur - Beetlebum

Beetlebum. What you done. She's a guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun. Now what you done. Beetlebum.

I can't remember how I came to like this song. Blur have been around for a long time, so it's pretty hard to pick out an exact time. It may just have been playing on MTV2, on one of the chart shows that the channel sometimes showed. I can remember being concerned about the censored Coca-Cola can, and the censored cigarette in Alex James' hand, and then going online to see if there was an uncensored version. There isn't one. It's not censored for a particular reason, it's just for effect.

It's good listening to the song by itself, but with the video it just seems so much cooler. Damon... stares deep into your soul. Some weird kaleidoscope effects occur. He starts making out with the microphone later on, and for the last minute or so the camera starts flying around the surrounding area. It's trippy, possibly a way of depicting the effects of drug taking. Which is what the song is about. You can see it on Wikipedia. It has references too, so it's obviously true. Obviously.

The song is the opener from their self titled album released in 1997. It was also released as the first single, and reached number one for a week until it was knocked off the top spot by LL Cool J. That's not too bad. Whatever LL Cool J's song was, it's probably better than anything in the chart today.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.