10 Incredible Blur Songs You’ve Probably Never Heard
A bit of a blur. And another bit. And eight more.
Blur are one of those restless bands who are constantly moving forward, like a shark. They master one sound only to get bored and drop it.
This desire to evolve and experiment probably makes them closer spiritual heirs to The Beatles than Oasis ever were but that’s probably an argument for another list at another time...
Anyway, the point is Blur have recorded a vast amount of engaging music. Catchy hooks and strong melodies have remained a constant across their many stylistic changes. With such a big back catalogue some of it is bound to be overlooked.
After all, we could tell you, not unreasonably, that every Blur album has its merits and each is worth your time but that time is limited and there’s a lot of other music to get to. Not to mention TV, film, video games, enjoying family and friends. Under the circumstances, many people will happily settle for a greatest hits collection.
So if eight stylistically diverse studio albums is too much work, delving into brilliant B-sides, outtakes and rarities is probably too much trouble for anyone but the most die hard of fans. Unless someone had collected them into a handy list for you.
10. Popscene
While Blur would become the architects of Britpop their debut album Leisure saw them chasing rather than setting trends. Early hit There’s No Other Way just barely transcended it’s Madchester influences but elsewhere the band, bedecked with bowl cuts, felt dragged down by the baggy beats and indie-dance vibes.
Popscene said a very firm goodbye to all that. Probably the best known song on this list, the stand-alone single was built around the drum pattern from Can’s Mother Sky, featured prominent brass and a sneering, angry vocal. It’s a direct, precise track without an ounce of fat on it.
The lyrics are a statement of intent, Damon spitting his disgust at an underachieving music scene of identikit also rans. “Everybody is a clever clone... so in the absence of a way of life, repeat it again and again.” In attacking the self congratulatory London indie scene Blur announced their intention to transcend it.
The single was inexplicably panned by the music press and only limped into the lower reaches of the charts. They left it off The Best Of Blur as if to punish us for not buying it the first time.