Project 1001: Blur by Blur

When I feel heavy metal (woo-hoo) / And I feel that I made all (woo-hoo) / Well, I lie and I'm easy / All of the time, but I am never sure why I need you / Pleased to meet you

May 15, 2025

Blur are a 90s English rock band variously described as alt-rock, Britpop, indie, and others. It’s all rock and roll to me, though as I find this album to be quite straightforward rock for the most part. The second half of the record expands beyond elementary rock to explore beyond guitars. Some of it works well, some not as much.

I didn’t hear much of their music contemporaneously and I’m only tangentially familiar with it. Blur is really good if not great. I can’t say I’m a fan, but I can see why they have a good following.

They do some cool stuff with the guitar sounds and I like the energy of songs like “M.O.R.,” “On Your Own,” “Chinese Bomb,” and “Movin’ On.”

The only genuine flaw here is “Theme From Retro”, which seems out of place with the rest of the record, a definite miss for me.

“Song 2” sounds great and at the time was unique in some ways. But its ubiquitousness at sporting events is so tired and played out that I have a hard time enjoying the song now. Bummer!

“Look Inside America” is an interesting track. My interpretation is as a kind of road song expressing a certain fascination with America while making observations as the band fulfill touring obligations like radio interviews and making and appearance on a “second rate chatshow”. The singer seems to be aware that their knowledge of the U.S. comes mostly through entertainment and media mentioning the movie Annie Hall and the lyric “Where the TV says it’s alright”. They seem slightly bewildered by the country without being judgmental some of the darker aspects encountered (suicide is mentioned).

Look inside America
She's alright, she's alright
Sitting out the distance
But I'm not trying to make her mine

I like the album but don’t consider it essential. My rating:

Rolling Stone awarded the album four out of five stars speculating that this record might prove popular in America even though British and American rock and pop tastes had diverged in the 90s.

With Blur, this glossy pop band rethinks its craft. Claiming that their current inspirations include Beck and Pavement, Blur have made an album that singer Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon say was done off the cuff…Don’t let Blur kid you, though: What still makes them great is their deep grasp of style and genre. What they haven’t done on Blur is roll out of bed, strum a few chords and loudly free-associate about the first thing that pops into their heads. This is a record that inhabits current American rock biases as cogently and intelligently as Parklife corralled the last few decades of British rock.1

Entertainment Weekly, while mentioning Blur as Oasis’ main rival in the U.K., also guessed Blur might popularize the band in America. Their B+ review included:

For reasons known only to its members, the heretofore all-too-twee British quartet has decided to refashion itself as a U.S. college-rock band, citing Pavement as a chief influence. It’s a puzzling move, given the current musical climate in which guitar bands are nervously scrambling to jump on the electronica bandwagon, but Blur pull it off.2

NME gave a slightly less laudatory review noting significant changes to the band’s approach:

It's an American thing, and one of the most disquieting about 'Blur': the idea that sounding untutored - like whacking a hardcore punk song like 'Chinese Bombs' next to a masterful hymn to inertia like 'Death Of A Party' - is in some way a genuinely truthful expression. Through Blur's previous three albums, it has been the sensitivity of the arrangements - the spectre of self-doubt lurking in 'Country House' - that has elevated their songs into the realm of the masterpiece. Missing the point a bit, Blur seem to be attempting to unlearn their craft to appear more 'real'.3

In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Mark Bennett wrote:

Blur’s music had always had its eccentricities. It is just that now these were in the foreground, thanks to producer Steve Street’s uncharacteristically lo-fi recording methods. But this album also contains some of the best songs Damon Albard has ever written. The fractured “Strange News From Another Star” and “Country Sad Ballad Man” are a universe away from the Cockney knees-up of Parklife. Meanwhile, the closing “Essex Dogs” proved to be the band’s definitive statement on the Englishness they had spent three albums trying to capture. Truly a great escape.4

Enjoy and listen without prejudice.
“And just remember, different people have peculiar tastes”
~ Lou Reed

Cheers!

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Charts

• Peak on Billboard 200 album chart: n/a
• Singles on Billboard Hot 100 chart: #61 5
• RIAA certification: Gold | December 12, 1997 6

Released on February 10, 1997. Here’s what else was happening:

Pop Culture

• Number one song: “Unbreak My Heart” by Toni Braxton7
• Number one album: Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt8
• Number one movie: Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1997 Special Edition)9
• Most watched TV programs: ER, Seinfeld, NBC Sunday Night Movie: Asteroid, Pt.1, Friends, Naked Truth, Single Guy, Touched by an Angel, 60 Minutes, NYPD Blue, 20/2010
• NYT bestseller, fiction: Hornet’s Nest by Patricia Cornwell11
• NYT bestseller, non-fiction: A Reporter’s Life by Walter Cronkite12

Some other albums released that week

• Baduizm by Erykah Badu

• Beautiful World by Big Head Todd and the Monsters

• Brighten the Corners by Pavement

• Eight Arms to Hold You by Veruca Salt

• Paco... Drop the Chicken by Salmon

• Show World by Redd Kross

• Sweet Homewrecker by Thrush Hermit

• Unchained Melody: The Early Years by LeAnn Rimes13

Sport

• Feb 2 Scotty Bowman becomes first coach in NHL history to win 1,000 games.
• Feb 4 Mario Lemieux is 7th NHL player to score 600 goals.
• Feb 16 39th Daytona 500: Hendrick Motorsports posts a 1-2-3 finish with Jeff Gordon winning the race, ahead of Terry Labonte and Ricky Craven.14

Notable Births

• Feb 9 Bella Poarch, Filipina-American singer and TikToker (most liked video on TikTok), born in the Philippines.
• Feb 9 Catie Waters, American jazz and R&B singer-songwriter, born in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
• Feb 10 Chloë Grace Moretz, American actress (Kick-Ass; The 5th Wave; Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising), born in Atlanta, Georgia15

Historical Events

• 05 Feb O.J. Simpson Civil Trial Verdict: O.J. Simpson was found liable in a civil court action for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, a landmark legal decision following his previous criminal trial acquittal.
• 07 Feb US-Russia Summit in Helsinki: The United States and Russia announced a diplomatic summit scheduled for Helsinki, Finland, to be held on March 20-21, 1997. This high-level meeting signaled ongoing diplomatic engagement between the two major world powers in the post-Cold War era.
• 13 Feb Dow Jones Crosses 7,000 Milestone: The Dow Jones Industrial Average achieved a historic milestone by closing above 7,000 points for the first time, gaining 60.81 points to reach 7,022.44, signaling strong economic performance and investor confidence.16

Notable Deaths

• Feb 9 Brian Connolly, Scottish rock singer (Sweet, 1968-79- "The Ballroom Blitz"), dies of heart failure at 51.
• Feb 9 L.F. "Jack" Owen, American blues singer and guitarist ("It Must've Been The Devil"), dies at 92.
• Feb 10 Lou Bennett, American bebop pianist, and jazz organist, dies at 70.17