So the new blur album has leaked...

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Search through the threads @ blur.co.uk and you'll find it.

I'm only three songs in at the moment, but it sounds really, really good at the moment, esp. the opener. Bonus points for the songs/album not being ridiculously long a la "13".

― Simon H., Monday, 3 March 2003 03:24 (twenty-three years ago)

It would only be truly great if they returned to the style of 93-95. And I sadly don't expect them to do that for several years yet...

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 3 March 2003 03:24 (twenty-three years ago)

Six songs in now, and I have no real clue as to where this is going, but I like it. "On the Way to the Club" is weird as hell. The whole thing sound skind of like a combination of everything they've ever done, from electronics to garage to pop, often at the same time (i.e. "Crazy Beat"). Trés étrange.

― Simon H., Monday, 3 March 2003 03:33 (twenty-three years ago)

Really laid back stuff. I really like 'Out of Time.'

― ben welsh (benwelsh), Monday, 3 March 2003 03:37 (twenty-three years ago)

really.

― ben welsh (benwelsh), Monday, 3 March 2003 03:42 (twenty-three years ago)

really?

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 3 March 2003 03:43 (twenty-three years ago)

How do these things get leaked?

― Evan (Evan), Monday, 3 March 2003 03:47 (twenty-three years ago)

poorly-sealed containers

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 3 March 2003 03:49 (twenty-three years ago)

The Bluebird.

― ben welsh (benwelsh), Monday, 3 March 2003 03:51 (twenty-three years ago)

im on track two and so far it's not even terrible

― mark p (Mark P), Monday, 3 March 2003 03:54 (twenty-three years ago)

Both "Ambulance" and "Out of Time" are excellent as far as I can tell. Hopefully the rest of the album lives up to the promise of the two opening tracks.

― paul cox (paul cox), Monday, 3 March 2003 04:06 (twenty-three years ago)

I've now listened to it once the whole way through (the site I got it from mixed up "Battery In Your Leg" and "My White Noise" methinks, so watch out). Can't decide where it falls in the Blur pantheon or anything, but it's probably their best since the "trilogy".

― Simon H., Monday, 3 March 2003 04:09 (twenty-three years ago)

Coxon's out of his freakin' mind for not wanting to be involved with this.

― paul cox (paul cox), Monday, 3 March 2003 04:12 (twenty-three years ago)

It's a Blur album. Therefore, it rules.

― Evan (Evan), Monday, 3 March 2003 04:15 (twenty-three years ago)

If it's actually good, it might have been Coxon's leaving that made it good.

It's a Blur album. Therefore, it rules.

The existence of Blur and 13 argues strongly against this axiom.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 3 March 2003 04:15 (twenty-three years ago)

If it's actually good, it might have been Coxon's leaving that made it good.

Now that you mention it, Ned...

― paul cox (paul cox), Monday, 3 March 2003 04:18 (twenty-three years ago)

The first song reminds me of Smashing Pumpkins circa Adore. This is a good thing.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 3 March 2003 04:20 (twenty-three years ago)

I have no idea what to make of this record, but I think I love "Moroccan People's Revolutionary Bowls Club". Not awful at all.

― Scott Warner (thream), Monday, 3 March 2003 04:25 (twenty-three years ago)

First song to kill: "Crazy Beat." Very bad idea.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 3 March 2003 04:27 (twenty-three years ago)

You don't like the little vocoder "crazy beeeeeat...yeah yeah" part?

― paul cox (paul cox), Monday, 3 March 2003 04:29 (twenty-three years ago)

13 es bueno. The video alone for "Coffee and T.V." proves this.

I think pretty much everyone agrees that Blur is the worst record they've ever made, but it's still good darnit!

As for Think Tank, it's a HELL of a lot better than I expected, especially after "Don't Bomb When You're The Bomb" and the whole "Graham's out!" thing.

― Evan (Evan), Monday, 3 March 2003 04:33 (twenty-three years ago)

Re: "Crazy Beat" -- no, it's just bad 'we're rocking out' crap. "On the Way to the Club" is the next misfire, it's clodhopping folderol. Rowntree's okay enough, that's about it. I am amused by how "Brothers and Sisters" is Damon going, "Um, uh, sorry about the Spiritualized ripoff on the last album, now we'll do a Primal Scream gospel ripoff for this one and hope nobody notices! Um, are we hip? Please?"

The video alone for "Coffee and T.V." proves this.

Best watched with the volume down, I find.

it's still good darnit!

I suppose if it was that and Rage Against the Machine to choose between, yes.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 3 March 2003 04:35 (twenty-three years ago)

Yes, "Crazy Beats" isn't very fresh at all. Album is getting way better as it progresses though. "Jets" is nice n' sleazy.

― Scott Warner (thream), Monday, 3 March 2003 04:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Heh. Is "We've Got a File on You" their most literal attempt at a Wire song yet, or is it meant to be longer than a minute?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 3 March 2003 04:41 (twenty-three years ago)

On balance, half a good album, but that's better than the last two could manage. Best songs, "Morocco...," "Sweet Song" and "My White Noise," which actually might be one of the best songs they've ever done. "Ambulance" and "Out of Time" worthy, "Jets" good if it was half its length, "Gene by Gene" not bad, some other moments here and there. In sum, they should go more goth, forget rocking out, my Adore comment holds on a more abstract level, yay.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 3 March 2003 05:05 (twenty-three years ago)

is the single 'out of time' ? it was the
single i heard thi smorn on jo whiley.
it reminded me of r.e.m. before i even saw
the title for some reason.
ace i thought. save me time someone -
which are the tuneful, beautiful, poppy, lush ones
and which are the artrock/ noisy/ waffly ones ?

for me, '13' should only have had 3 tracks.
the 3 singles. oh and 'emi' was ok i guess.

― piscesboy, Monday, 3 March 2003 13:56 (twenty-three years ago)

I disliked "13" already the first time around, and I am happy to see people are finally realising it was crap.

As I said, Blur should go back to the style they played in 95 or earlier. That is when they were really great.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 3 March 2003 14:07 (twenty-three years ago)

Search through the threads @ blur.co.uk and you'll find it.

Sorry, but this board is currently unavailable. Please try again later.

― toby (tsg20), Monday, 3 March 2003 14:10 (twenty-three years ago)

otoh alt.music.blur links to it.

― toby (tsg20), Monday, 3 March 2003 14:11 (twenty-three years ago)

Which album was "This Is A Low" on? I can't believe I missed that song the first time around. (Well, actually I can, since the sight of the name Blur was enough to make me run out of a room.)

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 3 March 2003 14:51 (twenty-three years ago)

"This Is a Low" is on "Parklife".

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 3 March 2003 14:54 (twenty-three years ago)

You don't like the little vocoder "crazy beeeeeat...yeah yeah" part?

"guest vocals by Disco Duck"

It sounds okay so far, but a lot of it is very same-y. The songs that I like the most so far are "Out Of Time", "On The Way To The Club", "Gene By Gene" (which is being mislabelled as "Battery In Your Leg"), and "Sweet Song". The rest isn't quite sticking with me yet.

I can see why Graham left - there wouldn't be all that much for him to do on this record.

I'm with Ned Raggett - this record does remind me of The Smashing Pumpkins' Adore in some ways, and the album-without-key-member-of-the-band thing is going for both of them, obviously.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Monday, 3 March 2003 15:00 (twenty-three years ago)

ok i take it back it is kinda terrible

― mark p (Mark P), Monday, 3 March 2003 15:26 (twenty-three years ago)

once again, i agree with geir! "13" was a pile of poo, and their best recs were made between 93-95. Blur don't have the lightness of touch to make more textural music, they are best off writing pop songs. But I don't see that happening any time soon...

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Monday, 3 March 2003 16:25 (twenty-three years ago)

I sort of agree - I think there have been a few very successful songs from 1999 onward, but I'd really wish Albarn would stick to what he does best, and that's straightforward pop music in my opinion. I think the "Blur" album strikes a good balance, and it's my favorite Blur record overall, but now it seems obvious that Damon is just begging for credibility. Who listens to Blur for credibility? No one this side of Madonna trend-hops as well as they do, and I wish that they'd gone in a more "electroclash" direction than this misguided white-boy-in-love-with-Fela area that they're in now.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Monday, 3 March 2003 16:46 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah, an electroclash direction would have been interesting, and it would also be kind of a new chapter in their English retro style.

Just like they saluted Specials, Madness and Fun Boy Three on "The Great Escape", and Kinks, XTC and The Beatles on "Parklife", they could have saluted Depeche Mode, Human League and Heaven 17 on a new Electroclash-influenced album.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 3 March 2003 17:03 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm know I'm almost alone in this opinion, but I think best Blur era = circa 1992-1993. I *loved* half of 13 because it was a return to this sort of warped psychedelic prog-pop. I hated the other half of 13 coz it was so obviously forced.

I'm curious to hear the new stuff, but if I learned anything from previous Blur albums, it's wait until it's finished before judging the mix.

― kate, Monday, 3 March 2003 17:08 (twenty-three years ago)

13 and the Great Escape were there biggest disappointments. Everything else = grand!

― dog latin (dog latin), Monday, 3 March 2003 19:49 (twenty-three years ago)

*sigh* why do my posts always kill threads off? I know, I know. I've tried but man, everything apart from Lynx is so bloody expensive!

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 4 March 2003 01:43 (twenty-three years ago)

How come nobody can agree on which Blur albums are any good?

― ben welsh (benwelsh), Tuesday, 4 March 2003 02:55 (twenty-three years ago)

Why should we?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 4 March 2003 02:57 (twenty-three years ago)

Just my nazi spirit I guess. I'm 3/4 german.

― ben welsh (benwelsh), Tuesday, 4 March 2003 02:58 (twenty-three years ago)

this is a very silly album.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, 4 March 2003 22:08 (twenty-three years ago)

http://www.blurtalk.com/images/covers/albums/think%20tank%20lrg.gif

So, this is the cover art huh?

― paul cox (paul cox), Sunday, 16 March 2003 00:37 (twenty-three years ago)

How come nobody can agree on which Blur albums are any good?

Simply: Blur tends to change a lot, Damon Albarn has gone through a lot of stylistic changes, and obviously different styles appeal to different people. I really like almost all of the albums, the only one I'm so-so about is their first record Liesure.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Sunday, 16 March 2003 02:58 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh, I should add that I've come to really love the whole Think Tank album since I last wrote about it here. Well, I'm still not crazy about "Caravan" and "Battery In your Leg", but close enough.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Sunday, 16 March 2003 02:59 (twenty-three years ago)

there's a massive amount of discordant noise/random shouting
on this isn't there ? there's melody by the score though and it's
way better than '13'. the artwork that was flagged up is
off the promo (it looks like a promo now i guess, looking at it)

and here's the *fabulous* proper stuff :

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00008LJFP.02.LZZZZZZ.JPG

― piscesboy, Monday, 24 March 2003 12:28 (twenty-three years ago)

well now clearly that hasn't worked,
just go to amazon uk and look it up

― piscesboy, Monday, 24 March 2003 12:31 (twenty-three years ago)

...the promo artwork looks exactly like one of the Tidy Trax dance releases.

― russ t, Monday, 24 March 2003 13:27 (twenty-three years ago)

"there's melody by the score though"

really? i haven't heard any of it, but this surprises me.

as i've said often, albarn's gift is for pop melody. he does not have the lightness of touch to make textural music. if he sees being a pop-songwriter as unworthy, then he is foolish indeed. i wasn't holding out much hope for this (Great escape to blur to 13 is a steady decline), but if it was more of a pop album, my expectations could rise...

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Monday, 24 March 2003 13:32 (twenty-three years ago)

I think Blur have done some interesting work with texture over the years, from Sing onwards. Most of TGE leaves me very, very cold, but Parklife is a wonderful alternative pop album with some really great arrangements that utilise production in a way that no other Britpop band got even close to. I must admit I'm quite looking forward to the new album; Coxon's struck me as far too much of a precious miserablist indie wanker lately.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Monday, 24 March 2003 13:41 (twenty-three years ago)

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