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 #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 #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.