Reviews (page 2 of 13)
The only Blur song to get regular airplay here is Song 2. This ain't anything like Song 2. I get the impression that this album is trying hard to recreate the feeling of a mid-period Beatles album with the shifting styles and songwriting. The production is good - it has some unquestionably 90s aspects but I'd argue it's aged better than some of it's peers. The album doesn't seem to take itself too seriously. I can see how and why this is on the list. I enjoyed this a lot more than Definitely Maybe. 3.5
Fun nostalgia-filled album that is very much of its time. Blur make me smile, they always sound like they're enjoying themselves. It's never a chore to throw some Blur on, singalong, and enjoy the anthems. Nice happy stuff.
I guess this must be a British thing. Some people absolutely adore this album. It's even in the top 100 of Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums, where he gushes that “Parklife was a stunning album of high-quality, undeniably English pop.” "Undeniably English” is the key phrase: no one outside of England cared much about this album. The UK numbers are solid: 4× Platinum, 1.2 million copies, #1 on the charts. But cross the Atlantic and things fall apart. In Canada, it sold 50,000 copies and peaked at #41. In the US? Barely a blip — it topped out at #61. Meh.
Crap life
What a mess. Corny. Ugh.
Blur, what's all this then??? You were supposed to be good??? Parklife is such a good song, but then you decide to just do bland ballads with sappy string arrangements??? And what's with the incoherent, half-assed genre-hopping??? Time to listen to some Gorillaz instead, then.
Just…why?? I can’t imagine putting this on a best of list.
Utterly mediocre
Cheesy Songs. Boring Production.
So many top reviews but not a single one explained why I’m supposed to like this shit album. It’s not even good, certainly not great.
I don't much care for British people
Eh. Why are there Blur albums on this list? Like the others nothing is good about this album.
parklife dares to ask the question: "what if a handful of guys with absolutely no lyrical talent got together and made an unnecessarily long album?"
At least its not American shit.
Sorry, I found this ridiculous and not in a good way.
WTF did I just listen to?? (Just about) Every song is a collection of random thoughts that don’t seem to have a single common thread or theme worth giving a crap about. And I normally dig a fine English accent but for some reason it didn’t help this album at all (Parklife was God awful and Bank Holiday might be the dumbest sh*t I’ve ever heard). This album/band should be removed from the interweb. And it looks like I made it to the end…finally.
I was not a fan there wasn’t really one song on the album I enjoyed
Not a vibe, kinda ew
Not a fan
Pijnlijk bri-ish
This is piss in a pint glass. Boring, smug nonsense built on tired British clichés. Working-class music for people who watch the working class from a safe sistance. Not clever. Not deep. Just happy-go-lucky garbage dressed up as something smart. Music for mental toddlers.
Utter shite
Nails to a chalkboard
I never understood the popularity of this album.
Hate to do it, but I have to side with Oasis on this. Blur sort of sucks.
annoying af if you ask me
What?
Not good
i knew i'd probably hate it and it sucks that i'm right
This album is obnoxious. Not good. Fucking shit Brit pop.
Really hated at first then kinda eased into it, then finished by hating it
blimey this was hot garbage
ну я не знаю что написать у меня сегодня плохой день....
This album sucks
Hate it. 0 stars.
This album physically hurt me to listen to.
I'd forgotten what a great album this is.
The music of my teenage years. I enjoy this more every time I hear it. Britpop, for all its flaws, does get a bit too much criticism these days. This album is unapologetically British and it’s brilliant.
I guess it's Blur week. Something tickled me as familiar on "Modern Life is Rubbish," but it finally connected while listening to this album that the Damon Albarn behind this album is the same as the one behind Gorillaz. After listening to several Blur albums, this seems to be the moment when he really started developing the style that would come to define his later work. This album is pretty fun. It starts to drag a little towards the end, but there's enough energy left over to close things out well. I considered giving "Modern Life..." five stars the other day, so I think between the two it balances out. I was listening to one of my other playlists while I wrote this, and a song by The Good, the Bad & the Queen came up and... yep, that's definitely Damon Albarn as well. I guess he's quite prolific... and I'm not great at recognizing voices! Favorite track: "Girls & Boys"
me encanta!!! amo blur :) y este álbum tiene grandes canciones
This is gonna get a 5
Banger album met bangers
how usually im not the biggest fan of 90s rock, then blur always slaps
Album #99: Parklife - Blur Genre (W): Britpop Singles: Girls & Boys, To the End, Parklife, End of a Century, Tracy Jacks I have listened to this album once before. Thoughts?: I love the production of this album, and the versatility of the genres. It’s poppy, it’s rock-tinged, it’s awesome. So British! I think Damon Albarn is a great lyricist. Maybe his affiliation with Gorillaz is why I love this album so much. Favorite songs: All of it!!
This band is like Coldplay if they actually understood what having fun means. I always have to appreciate a band that's around just to have some fun with an otherwise pretty same-y genre, as much as I love a lot of Britpop artists. The majority of the album is infectiously goofy, especially the higher-energy songs like the title track or Girls & Boys. Then there's a song that I feel I can only describe as a early 20th century waltz, followed immediately by a song about random stars, both of which are thrown right in the middle for the hell of it. Despite that, they decided to put This Is a Low right at the end. It's a really weird tone change that works incredibly. It's all the weird risks that make this album what it is, and what it is is one of the best albums of its kind on this list.
Love this album
Just a shade too long with some definitely cuttable things but what's good here is so good. I don't know why I've never listened to it. I love Gorillaz and Ive loved most blur I've listened to (including 3 off this album that are just stellar). And the whole is definitely more than the sum of its parts, moving briskly between short and punchy rockers, Kinks-esque story-songs about little England, and then some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful tracks on anything. But maybe more importantly for my maybe too generous rating today, I listened to it first in a good chill mood, and second in a very not chill angry upset mood and it hit just right in both. Better in the second for sure. EDIT: Weeks later and I'm still jamming out to this, if I can't give this one a 5 I don't know what's getting one Standout tracks: girls and boys, park life and this is a low of course. But also Tracy jacks, badhead, to the end, end of the century, and I've had trouble in the message centre in my head for like a week for some reason
Feeding pigeons gives me a sense of enormous well-being
Maybe my Britpop bias showing again but some classics
One of my favourite albuns
The first CD I ever got. Still a great album today. I was firmly in the blur camp, whilst everyone else seemed to be going mad for Oasis. There's simply no contest in my opinion. blur were so much better in every way.
Qué discazo por favor! Hit tras hit
Great album! Had never really listened to blur before but enjoyed it very much. Did not really like the most popular songs, they were too pop and synth for my like. But it has gotten some really underrated pop rock gems in the middle.
Banger
I didn't love Modern Life is Rubbish and thought I just didn't love Blur, but I really enjoyed this one! It scratches an itch in my brain for poppy indie and I actually appreciate the heavy British themes and accent.
Amazing album once again.
I know Blur from the singles and Cool Britania. First listen to the album and am surprised at the variation. The wonderful Badhead which takes me back to the 60s Kinks.. Followed by an oompah band on the Debt Collector genius. The big question 4 or 5.
i liked this album
This isn’t an album of songs. It’s a functioning environment. What Blur do here is build a model of a place - not just geographically, but psychologically and socially. People move through it, systems shape them, routines carry them along, and every so often something breaks, or opens, or reveals what’s actually underneath. The early stretch establishes the rules. Behaviour is patterned, desire is procedural, identity is something performed within constraints. The city is alive, but not in a romantic sense. It observes, absorbs, and moves on. You are part of it, whether you fully belong or not. As it progresses, the focus tightens. The external gives way to the internal. You start to feel the cost of that system - the fatigue, the misfires, the sense that communication isn’t quite landing, that effort doesn’t resolve cleanly. The loops are still running, but they’re no longer comfortable. Then the album does something most records wouldn’t dare. It opens up completely. The scale shifts. The language of infrastructure - the Shipping Forecast, the rhythms of broadcast and routine - becomes emotional. Not metaphorically, but directly. It taps something below conscious thought. It’s no longer observation. It’s contact. And just as you’re left there, in something vast and involuntary, it brings you back. Not with a grand statement, not with resolution, but with a small, almost absurd piece of continuity. Life goes on. The system resets. The kettle goes on. That’s the achievement. It holds humour, sadness, observation and scale in the same space without collapsing into any one of them. It never overstates its case, never demands to be understood, and never loses control of its own logic. You don’t listen to it for answers. You step into it, recognise the patterns, and leave with a slightly clearer sense of how things actually feel to live through. That’s why it lasts.
Bien.
Always loved this album, bought it when it came out, absolute class
Confidence is a preference, pa tako i sa ovim albumom se nešto desilo. PARKLIFE! Nije najbolja stvar na svijetu ali mene apsolutno ne zanima koliko se zabavljam. PARKLIFE! Ko ne osjeti ovu veselu energiju nešto mu fali u životu samo ne znam tačno šta. PARKLIFE! Ja sam dio ovog krda koje svake godine odlazi na ljetovanje u Grčku i sluša ovaj album. PARKLIFE! Nema boljeg lijeka za sumoran dan i sumorno vrijeme od nečeg što ovako zvuči. PARKLIFE! Na našem zvaničnom porodičnom izboru za najbolju Blur pjesmu ikad Badhead je ubjedljivo pobijedila. PARKLIFE!
AMO BLUR, no más que decir.
Mi mamita me dio la vida y Damon las ganas de vivirla.
This is great, only knew them from song2.
А теперь сравните с музыкой простых работяг из Манчестера в 1994 году. Спустя кучу лет уже и забыла, какая у этого альбома крутая вторая половина без этих дурацких синглов (и я не про to the end и end of the century. К этим бэнгерам вопросов нет). Минусы лейбла, который тебе говорит какое название взять и какие синглы вставлять. Ну бог им коммерческий судья. С to the end и до конца альбома каждая песня любимая. После какого-то тягучего Modern life is rubbish, этот мастерпис ощущается еще более по-человечески. Все равно люблю и обожаю.
It's a shame Blur are most known in the state for a piss take on grunge music because Blur is an amazing band. So much variety on this album.
as someone who has this album cover on a t-shirt and several pictures of damon albarn on my fridge i don't think i've listened to this album as a whole even once 😭 that changes today
Oui ! Je connaissais déjà mais je n’avais jamais écouté un album entier C’est un grand oui
I fell in love with this and to this back in ‘94 as a curly-haired, acne-ridden sixteen year old, but haven’t listened to the whole album for decades. The swaggering anthems are as loved and familiar as your Fred Perry polo and Harrington jacket, but on re-listen it’s the deeper cuts that shine - To the End, This is a Low, London Loves. Alex James’ bouncy and sophisticated counter-melodies on bass are the oft-overlooked secret weapon that elevates this beyond more plodding early nineties Indie (I refuse to use the ‘B’ word)
It gives me the feeling of a day somewhere sunny in England—I’ve never been, but that’s how I imagine it—full of parties, that kind of youthful joy, but also with moments of calm, maybe even a bit of reflection. I ended up discovering Blur songs I didn’t know before, and now I love them. I appreciate the album much more beyond just the hits; it’s not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be.
Historical, beautiful, damon albarn i love u
This album was so much fun omg. Instrumentals like Elliot smith (thanks Ezra) vocals that make me energized. Shit was fire
Classic!
One of my favorite albums of all time. Blur's main things are making fun of the middle class and complaining about how modern life sucks. But at times, Damon Albarn would strip off the pretense, sing a love song, admit he's just as vulnerable as the people he writes about. He's a brilliant lyricist who hides his love for the world behind mockery and indifferences. 10/10 album
Damon albarn is a social experiment.
Absolute classic. Never listened the whole way through before
Girls & Boys End Of A Century Parklife Bank Holiday To the End London Loves Trouble in the Message Center Clover Over Dover
Clear 5
Know what I mean?
Perfection
Fine aged britpop
Odd to reflect on the intensity and importance of the blur oasis battle back in the britpop era . It only really lasted 1 album as it became clear which band had longevity and which was a vehicle for two twats.
Love, love, love this album.
60s flavor in the 90s rebel spirit. Bangers, anthems of the working class, great feeling
This album is hard to describe without saying it may be the most British album you will ever hear. This album is like a cartoonish version of waking up to go to primary school in the U.K., with you posh school uniform and mop top hair. Girls & Boys sounds like a song made to hypnotize nonbinary people to get them convert to their assigned sex. It's a really good song. I love the bass tone in Tracy Jacks, there's just something very mbv about it? The song parklife is dumb but great. Badhead is such a great song and such is To The End. London Love kinda just fucks idk. Clover over Dover is great and has a lovely harpsichord. Songs like The Debt Collector, and Lot 105 are just so charming, and those songs are probably the most disliked I imagine, but they are fun little instrumental songs. There's a lot I enjoy in this album that I have a hard time trying to articulate what it is about that's great, so I suppose I will have to return to this review, but ultimately I really like this album. Blur surprised me, I didn't expect this kind of fun attitude and was expecting more of a brooding oasis type situation, which I very fortunate to not get. This was great, fuck the British.
No. 138 I liked this album very much. It sounds so true and so fun.
Fun and nostalgic.
This record is eccentric, weird, and easily accessible at the same time. And that's about the highest compliment I can offer to an album that is one of my favorites of the 90s and is the best record of the BritPop era. I never understood the Oasis v Blur debate. Oasis excelled at big dumb stadium anthems while Blur excelled at pretty much every other form of rock and pop music, and have a generational talent as their primary songwriter vs a guy who knows three chords. Guess who I'm picking in that debate
Parklife - это абсолютное величие. Большая часть легендарных Britpop релизов ассоциируется у меня с ярким, солнечным летом, этот альбом не исключение. Сколько здесь приятных, приставучих мелодий, соседствующих с тихими шедеврами, и уже, легендарными композициями. Girls & Boys - хитяра всех танцевальных клубов тех лет, легкомысленнная и зажигательная. Tracy Jacks - невероятная приставучая, классная песня с заводными гитарами, скрипкой и catchy припевом. Обожаю её. Parklife - буквально один из гимнов Великобритании. Bank Holiday - привет от Blur в сторону панка. Badhead - хочу отдельно выделить её. Насколько меланхоличная, красивая песня. Это просто нужно прочувствовать. London Loves - своего рода, оммаж в сторону Боуи. Великолепная гитарная работа от Коксона, симбиоз электронного звучания с роком. This Is A Low - потрясающая песня, по сути, является "закрывашкой" альбома. Столь атмосферная, столь британская, чувственная песня, от которой чувстуется сырость, дождь и запах свежего эрл грея. Здесь по разному проявили себя все ребята из Блюр, даже глупенькая Far Out от Алекса Джеймса звучит мило и классно. Этот альбом так многогранен и хорош, что говорить о нем можно ещё долго. Такое сочетание жанров, инструментов, такая характерность, столько влияния от их главных вдохновителей из 60-х. Я думаю, те кто действительно его оценил, и сами прекрасно это понимают. Что и говорить, бритпоп в девяностых - последнее великое событие в истории Английской рок-музыки со времен Британского Вторжения в 60-х.
Blur - Parklife (1994) Вывод: Наблюдение за жизнью Британии, запечатление облика эпохи; повседневность как материал искусства Повседневность как спектакль. Blur на этом альбоме фактически превращают обычную британскую жизнь в серию маленьких сценок. Люди в транспорте, офисные служащие, скучающие пары, странные персонажи городских парков всё это становится материалом для песен. В отличие от американского альтернативного рока начала 90-х, здесь почти нет трагизма. Скорее наблюдение со стороны: немного иронии, немного сочувствия, немного тепла. Музыкально альбом строится на удивительно лёгком фундаменте. Гитары звучат ярко и чисто. Но внутри этой простоты спрятано много разных источников: британский поп 60-х, глэм-рок и даже танцевальная музыка. В результате песни звучат одновременно традиционно и слегка театрально. В первую очередь обращает на себя внимание разнообразие ритмов. Некоторые вещи почти танцевальные, другие размеренные и меланхоличные. При этом сами мелодии остаются подчеркнуто британскими: ясными, чуть сентиментальными и немного ностальгическими. Вокал играет здесь ключевую роль. Албарн поёт не как типичный рок-фронтмен, а скорее как рассказчик. Его интонации иногда звучат насмешливо, иногда почти театрально. Но за этим всё равно чувствуется человеческая теплотa. Даже самые ироничные песни не превращаются в холодную сатиру. Особенно интересно, как альбом работает с образами. Песни часто выглядят как небольшие зарисовки городской жизни. Это делает пластинку похожей на музыкальный альбом наблюдений: вместо абстрактных тем здесь конкретные персонажи и ситуации. В этом смысле 'Parklife' продолжает старую британскую поп-традицию, где музыка тесно связана с повседневной культурой. В начале 1990-х британская гитарная музыка находилась в странном положении. С одной стороны влияние американского гранжа, с другой электронная танцевальная сцена. Blur пошли в противоположную сторону: они обратились к британскому поп-наследию и сделали его центральной частью своего звучания. Именно поэтому Parklife часто воспринимается как один из альбомов, которые сформировали эстетику бритпопа. В итоге альбом звучит как яркая и немного эксцентричная поп-картина Британии 90-х. И он один из самых характерных: лёгкий, наблюдательный и полный мелких деталей повседневной жизни.
so fucking good
Pure class
Ok, cette nouvelle écoute avec mon propre CD m’a refait évaluer mon opinion sur le meilleur album de Blur. Bon, ça reste The Great Escape, mais Parklife est proche en maudit!
Lo conocía y me gusta, varios temazos como boys and girls and parklife por ejemplo
Muziek voor coole mensen
ik voel wel wat voor die park leven
ja leuk die parklife
classic shit
An album that I go out of my way to listen to already, this was just another excuse to hear it. A record that I never get tired of putting on, it shows Blur at the height of their powers but starting to experiment with various styles of songwriting, with Graham Coxon's guitar work branching into different territories that he would further develop as the band went on. Everyone in the band is at the top of their game, with Damon Albarn sounding aggressively British in a way that I love. One of the best albums of the 1990s and one that still sounds fresh.
i love blur i love damon albarn
An absolutely masterpiece of Britpop. Obviously mileage will vary based on your attitude towards the genre, as a Brit myself this is heritage so you’ll have to forgive my bias. Also the fuck is up with the top review for this album. Like wooooah no way in the list of 1001 albums the same genre comes up once or twice, like yeah no shit dude
Classic!
The things I'd let Britpop era Damon Albarn do to me. Love in the 90s was paranoid.
I love this album some much
Phenomenonal. Maybe its because im biased about this certain genre of music, but i absolutely loved almost every song on this record and i feel like im gonna return to this one more often. There were maybe 2 songs that werent my favorite however they were not bad by any means. Highlights: Girls&Boys, Parklife, Bank Holiday, To The End, This is a Low.
awesome!!
Banger. Better now than it was then. Almost makes Damon bearable
Easily Blur’s best work
This was awesome. Blur never fails to surprise and delight me with their inventive brand of unexpected musical choices. It was like alt pop, but with a brilliant sense of musicality and ingenuity that made me happy to listen to. I listened to it all the way through twice and could've gone for more. Five stars, easily.
Hype hype hype. Blur is top. Just right music for me
It’s not even my favourite Blur album, but it’s one of the foundation records of its period, still a reference point now.
Pop, britpop, new wave...You name it, you have it. Depilaos las cejorras, Gallaghers
En su día no les presté atención, pero hace años que descubrí este disco y, la verdad, es un pepino.
100% a bias pick for me but i loveee this album esp the first half
Cool
Je l’ai écouté la semaine dernière ça veut tout dire. Blur c’est vraiment un groupe à part Damon a une voix particulière que j’aime bcp on dirait qu’il s’en fout mais en bien
lovinggggg
Excellent
I LOVE IIIIT
Brilliant album, haven’t listened to in years. Having previously been considered one of their weaker records I think it’s rightfully being reappraised as a masterpiece
Already loved Girls & Boys and love the fast singing and instrumentals of some of the songs, and the slower, more meaningful lyrics of the other songs. The songs are so different, but they fit.
All Bri'ish all the time innit. My 3rd Blur album and they're one of the better Britpop bands I've found during this project. I like this album a lot, but as I've stated before there isn't any 16 track record that wouldn't be made exponentially better by cutting 4 to 6 tunes. That being said, this album is as solid as you'll get from this project. Dig it.
The premier Britpop album that truly should be listened to at least once. Damon Albarn is a great songwriter. The songs vary making it a easy to listen to the entire album. Graham Coxon is a good guitar player too.
i loveee blur i love you damon albarn
Surprisingly, I really enjoyed this album. Eclectic range of songs, very catching
Wonderful
Yeah absolute classic, even on the songs I didn't know so well. Loved it. 4.5* rated up
the brits
Park life describes a very specific type of British working-class council estate life, that is both immediately recognisable and deeply personal to me. Poverty is often turned into a caricature, but this is not what Blur wants to do here. Instead, we get reality mirrored to us: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Picking favourite songs off' this album is a near-impossible task. Nonetheless, I want to highlight "The debt collector" here. Lord, what a song. It's a carnival-esque waltz instrumental, that becomes more eerie the longer you listen to it. I also have to give a shout-out to the gender-fuckery that is "Boys and Girls"
HELLLLL YEAHHHHHHHH BLUR BABEYYYY end of a century this last day of the year.. .beautiful
One my all time fav album and what showed why burns the better band
Fun pop album from Blur here. I think this is better than the other on this list with Song 2 which is an epic song. Im a fan so this gets a bump to a 5.
I could get into this!
odličan album, vesel, živahan, dinamičan, malo punk, jasno mi je zas imaju beef s Oasisom; nadam se da ce mi u buducnosti opet doc neki blur album
Really loved this one, honestly, 5 stars
Better than Oasis
Loses momentum half way through. Some great songs I had never heard before on here.
Nice
Yeah this is my first perfect score. I’ve always really liked this album but with this listen I realized there’s really not a single moment where I’m ever bored or not in slight awe of what they’re doing with these tracks. Girls & Boys is one of the greatest rock singles of the decade honestly. Entire band on point, but I’m most in love with Graham Coxon’s playing on this album, so off kilter and choppy but it works perfectly, almost post-punk at points. I still haven’t even heard any other Blur album lol, maybe I should get on that.
"If you've read some of my other reviews on brit pop bands you will know that this is the best Blur album of all time, hands down, no arguments no fighting me on this, just accept that you know deep down this is the best Blur album of all time." In my opinion, this is the best, most accurate summation/review. I can not do better than this...way to go, mate.
I think Modern Life is Rubbish is my favourite Blur album but I still think this is really, really good. Pop music with something to say, a bit of variety (not like that other five-letter band). Enormous amounts of fun, interesting lyrics, musical twists. Even though at the time I dearly wanted to escape Boys and Girls, that is still a great pop single. Deservedly on this list and I do listen, and will listen, again.
ah okay, NOW i've reached the point where i can clearly see (or rather, hear) what this britpop divide is all about - this is the first blur album i've listened to in it's entirety (yes i do know and like gorillaz, yes i did know this is what damon albarn did before all that). unfortunate for me i've watched a video essay or two (plug for trash theory on youtube!! go watch his stuff!!) and have some background context on blur and this album in particular, as i think that gives this album a bit more weight (or, to be germane: a bit more bite) for me in addition to just being a solid album. still, to think about the music itself, i had no problem listening to this on repeat for a few days getting through the holidays and just needing SOMETHING to listen to in the background. now that i'm back to pass judgement, it's a bit of a chicken and egg situation for me: do i like this album because i listened to it on repeat and got familiar with it, or do i like this album because it's good enough to put on repeat without complaints? it's a little bit of both at this point, which puts the album at a solid 5 for me even though on first pass it was probably more like a 4. looking forward to listening to the other blur and britpop albums on 1001 and comparing notes!! random tangent: the jovial thematic asides in the debt collector and to the end reminded me of kingdom hearts (traverse town and twilight town themes, notably) which REALLY hooked me on the more subdued moments of parklife. so on totally arbitrary and personal metrics parklife has nostalgic pull on me despite this being the first time i've ever listened to it!! highlights - girls & boys, end of a century, parklife, badhead, the debt collector, far out, to the end, london loves, trouble in the message centre
Classic throw back for the UK in the 90s A real journey for me. Have it on CD in my car for a BB ad drive hole
miss when British people sang in British accents, let’s bring that back
When it comes to 90s Britpop, this is probably my favorite album. It’s just a fun, lighthearted listen that captures the upbeat spirit of the time. There’s a lot of variety on here, some songs have orchestral arrangements, others lean into dance rock, but the whole album feels consistent and cohesive from start to finish. It’s just a great blend of different styles while still keeping that classic Britpop sound.
This is definitely not a low.
Mein liebstes Blur Album. Hier ist vorallem am Anfang eine Riesen Hitdichte und trotzdem zeigt sich, dass Blur die experimentierfreudigere und mutigere Band sind im Vergleich zu Oasis. Ganz großes Britpop Kino
Objectively, this album is probably 4/5. But for me, this was one of the albums that helped me get into alternative rock sound that is undoubtedly my favorite. I've always much preferred Albarn in Blur as opposed to Gorillaz. Cant say the same about ALLLLLLLLLLL THE PEOPLLLLLLLLLLE. But this is a 5/5 for me.
Sounded punk to me at first listen but upon further inspection it is technically Britpop. I just let Modern Life is Rubbish play after this and got through like most of that because I couldn’t get away from Blur’s sound. Parklkfe is an awesome album with attitude.
This is the most br*tish thing I think I've ever heard. But I had quite a bit of fun with it. This may come as a surprise to everyone when I, an American, have never listened to Blur outside of Song 2. I know, I know hold your questions. Some more well-rounded people have been waiting for this one and I cannot lie, I think I understand why. Parklife was an absolute hoot. Lot 105 was a very fun album closer. My biggest gripe is that Trouble in the Message Centre spells center all fucky. I do not know that much about Damon Albarn. I'd kinda prefer it that way because every time I do hear about him he seems somehow more br*tish or like more of an asshole (read br*tish). He said something about Taylor Swift "not writing her own music" which caused some online drama I suppose. I'm neither here nor there on it, but what does my opinion matter I'm just a white guy? Any-who, this album was a great time and I feel better having listened to it. I've thrown it on more than I normally throw on the albums of the day and I'll probably throw it on in the future, so it's getting an a-okay from me. Dips and Dive/5 (that's a little Cockney Slang for you, Erik (I'll appropriate redcoat culture all I want they deserve it))
One of the classics from the Britpop era. Lots of hit singles on this one, along with some equally great album tracks. Trouble in the Message Centre is my favourite Blur song. And I’d argue that This is a Low is Blur’s best song overall (and maybe Damon’s best vocal). I’ve always been impressed by how unconventional Graham Coxon’s guitar work was throughout all of Blur’s discography, even on their more acclaimed albums like this one. Along with albums from a handful of other bands, this helped define the 90s in Britain.
This was a first time listen for me. Thanks to this project, I've been listening to bands I'd heard of but never gave myself the opportunity to appreciate. What I've found is that I really like Britpop a lot. I don't think there's been one album in that genre that I haven't enjoyed. What I can say about Parklife is that it's so far the one I've enjoyed the most. Every song put a smile on my face thanks to something-a little musical bit or a fun turn of the phrase. Yes, it's definitely derivative of music that came before it, but I didn't care one lick about that. In fact, I like the recognition of where some songs came from. There's part of me that doesn't feel this deserves a five rating, but there's another part trying to come up with reasons why not and I'm struggling to find any. I think that first part is just the surprise of how much I love this record. And no, a non-PC album cover isn't enough of a reason to dock a star.
One of my favourite albums from the ‘90’s
Blur is always great
Streets like a jungle on which the herd travels to Greece. On holiday, on a sunny beach, a paranoid girl likes boys who like boys who beat girls who do boys like they’re girls who do girls like they’re boys - always should be someone you really love
I really loved this album in the 90s. I still do!
I've been on a run of great music for over a week now. All types of eras and genres from the 50s to the 90s, I've moved my feet to salsa and blissed out to ambient, but this is the first album of that run I really know inside out. Parklife was one of the first albums I ever bought, on cassette, at the height of Britpop. I've enjoyed other Blue albums down the years but I do think this is their peak and I knew without listening it was almost certainly a 5 for me. However, I put it on and even noticed some new things that hadn't really stood out before like the exquisite harmonising on the backing vocals in End of a Century or that Damon shouts 'A-G-A-I-N' in Bank Holiday, I always heard the first two letters but thought he was just making random 'Ay Ay Ay' noises after that or the weird clicking buried in the Clover Over Dover mix. Although the bigger hits are on the first half of the album I actually think it gets better as it goes on, with the run through the underrated London Loves through to This Is A Low among the best sequences of the decade. It's prompted me to go back and listen to their comeback record The Ballad of Darren again and while that doesn't get close to this, it has it's moments too. I know this charmed run will have to end soon, eventually my greyhound will come in last with something I just don't want to listen, but for the time being, I'm just enjoying it, because it's giving me an enormous sense of wellbeing. Parklife!
Amazing!!
Basically a punk record put through a charming, British filter. On paper it could be awful but albarn and co created something distinctive, cohesive and at times hilarious. For me the pinnacle of Britpop. Girls and boys is timeless, this is a low is a lesser known masterpiece.
Think the 90s might be taking the lead
The line for Brit Pop from the Kinks goes straight through Blur and I am totally here for it. Love this so much.
Ending with Lot 105 is funny. High 4, big fan of blur and this album
The definitive Britpop album, overflowing with sunny and infectious melodies and unabashed in its pure Britishness - from the accents to hanging out at parks and drinking tea. Blur is one of my favorite bands - something of a latter-day Kinks - and while this isn’t my favorite Blur album it is in many ways their signature statement. A classic.
Sweet
Without the fond memories of being a teenager and listening to this album on my friend’s Walkman on the bus (we had a earbud each), I’ll admit the title track would be an little annoying. However, the rest of Parlikfe holds up so well. Forget the whole Britpop/Blur v Oasis bollocks - This Is A Low and End of a Century are just incredible songs.
I was raised on a diet of Britpop!
First time listening all the way through, absolute banger album!
Really fun and catchy!
Tbh idt it’s quite a 5 but I’m feeling generous
One of my all time favorites.
Girls & Boys is so queer I love it I also like when girls do boys like girls
Indie pop perfection
This is a superb album. A must for any collection
I'm a fan of blur, and knew some songs from this album, but never listened to it start to finish. It's definitely a vibe. Not actually what I was expecting, but still great. Knowing now that the singer went on to form the gorillaz, I really do hear some early similarities.
I had a blast listening to this. I was already familiar with Blur and have listened to some of their famous tracks. I really enjoyed listening to a full set of tracks from them. It's my kind of music and I can see myself replaying certain tracks for a while. This was my favorite album for this week.
Dang, I guess I just like Britpop. Great songwriting, melodies, lyrics, production, etc. 4.5/5.0: Excellent
Good
The best britpop band. Lovely album, i prefer Modern Life is Rubbish only out of nostalgia 93/100
Part of the so-called Brit Pop moment in time, these were the infinitely more talented alternative to the tosswits called Oasis. Parklife remains probably their best work in a totally solid canon
Grade
well I have a tattoo of this album cover so I think I like it
+ Damon + also there are dogs on the cover
There are a bunch of great songs on here. "To The End" is maybe my favorite, or "End Of A Century," or "This Is A Low", though obviously the big hits (Girls & Boys, Parklife) are fantastic too. I really like Coxon's guitar so in "London Loves." Lots of reviews here saying, in effect, "I guess you had to be there." Well, I was, and this is a five.
Loved this when it came 9ut still holds it own.
This is such a comforting album, for me, as it has been on such heavy rotation in my house.
Love this shit. It's 4 stars but I'll give it 5 because I love it.
KÓZKA!!!!!!
C'est mon album préféré de Blur. J'ai plus de sympathie pour Blur que les détestables de Oasis.
J'ai pas un aussi grand attachement émotif à Blur comme avec Oasis qui est un band de mon adolescence. Mais c'est vraiment varié (des bouts à la Talking Head, du New Wave, des petits trucs à peine qui sonnent un peu hard rock), plaisant, plein de English Wit (ennui, dérision) In the End on entend la belle voix de Albarn pas mal à nue comme dans certains passages de Gorillaz plus tard. C'est beau. Parenthèse, ce top 1001 commence à montrer ses couleurs de plus en plus secte British.
From the first song (the crowd pleasing girls and boys) to the tuneful and funny Tracy jacks this album hits all the right notes. It is the best postcard of britpop circa 94. Hard to fault. Lyrically blur were never better than this. Bears repeated listens too which is the sign of a great album. Personal favourite this is a low puts this album into "great" territory
Starts strong, falls off a bit but ends well. Really a Britpop album with a ton of different influences. 4/5
An all-time great album.
Idk they were gonna bring it like that. Lotta ways they keep it fresh and still the same essence throughout. That accent in this makes me feel, as they say now, "cunty"
Still sounds great after 30 years! One of my favourite Britpop bands delivering great sounds and clever witty lyrics. Love this album!
Peak classic Blur. In a word this album is FUN! Liked Songs Added: Girls & Boys Tracy Jacks End Of A Century Parklife Far Out To The End Trouble In The Message Centre Magic America This Is a Low
Park loife
Wall to wall bangers
One of my favourites!!
All style and frill that pummeled me into submission and completely won me over
I love everything Damon Albarn does.
Classic of its time
Parklife is my favourite album and encapsulates what was great about them for me: fun, cheeky, hit lines and hooks that become earworms and mundane drudgery of British everyday culture being brought to life.
An absolute classic. But then I loved Britpop - still do - so that’s an influence. But this is a masterpiece and a formative album for me. Sparkles of pop genius throughout and then This Is a Low brings the house down.
Love it
Cresci ouvindo o trabalho de Damon Albarn; Blur, Gorillaz, The Good The Bad & The Queen, seus projetos secundários como Dr. Dee e Rocket Juice… Enfim, quando cheguei na maioridade eu já estava basicamente fatigado do homem ao todo, visto que tive tanta exposição a ele quanto um jovem Brit crescendo nos anos 90. Não ajuda o caso que Blur desapareceu, e que Gorillaz foi ficando cada vez pior após Plastic Beach. Então quando penso nesse álbum, eu acabo revirando os olhos. Acabei sendo exposto até demais a ele. Mas aí coloco ele pra rodar e começo a ouvi-lo, e imediatamente lembro do porquê eu ser tão fascinado por essa banda durante meus anos formativos. Volta tudo na hora. Os refrões hipnotizantes, as guitarras cintilantes (toda a instrumentalização, na verdade), a voz do Albarn e o seu alcance monstruoso, as letras secas e temas corriqueiros. É tudo extremamente agradável. É um álbum fácil de ouvir, quase relaxante, até nas partes mais agitadas. Eu cogitei reduzir a nota em 0.5 devido a duração… mas não é necessário. O tempo passa rápido ouvindo-o, não consigo pensar em nada que eu cortaria. Talvez eu trocaria a ordem das faixas, pois, do jeito que ele é, ele acaba ficando desbalanceado tendo suas melhores faixas todas no início do álbum. Mas não é um problema grande o suficiente para eu reduzir a nota 5. Blur vs. Oasis? Oasis pelos singles, Blur pelos álbuns! Não acredito que as pessoas ainda debatem isso quando a resposta é tão óbvia! ;) 5/5
Another from my younger years. In my collection
Wow, what an album, I did prefer Oasis in the 90’s. 5 star
I did debate not even listening and just automatically awarding 5 stars, because I adored this album in the 90s, but I thought I better check. Still love it. Especially "End of A Century" and "This Is A Low". 5/5
Jebenica, već sam preslušala hehe
izvrsno!
Best
I’ve already heard 2 Oasis and 1 other Blur album during this project, and this is easily the best of the bunch. It’s incredibly cohesive compared to “Blur.” It wonderfully blends 80s pop and 90s rock. I love it.
i likey
my fav from blur
Lets not pretend this isn't one of the best albums of all time
One of the few albums I have every song liked on Spotify
fun
One of the best records of the 1990’s. A slice of British life, like a modern Kinks.
Este disco lo quemé en su época. Además de escucharlo en casa me encantaba escucharlo en los bares cuando salía. Qué tiempos!!! No sé cómo se verá desde la perspectiva de alguien con otra edad, mayor o menor, y que no lo encaje en su vida universitaria. Mi top serían estas «Girls & Boys», «End of a Century», «Parklife», «To the End», «Trouble in the Message Centre» y «Clover Over Dover» de 5 estrellas y el resto de 4. Así que en conjunto le voy a subir la media por el cariño.
Loved this. There was a lull mid-album where I thought it might be just running out of steam. But no! It came back with a bang which makes me think this flow is deliberate. Will need repeat listens for sure.
The year, 1997. Grunge was dead. Pop, nu-metal and corporate rap were all over the airwaves. There was pop punk, sure, but it wouldn't really take off for another couple of years. Like many USAians, I was introduced to Blur via "Song #2". I didn't know that I needed Blur in my life, but did and they came through for me. After seeing the "Beetlebum" video on MTV Europe, I was sold. I dove deep into their back catalog and this record in particular really grabbed me. The first five tracks are just perfect, and the rest of the album is deep and timeless.
PARKLOIFE
Favourite tracks: London loves; park life; girls and boys; Tracy jacks; to the end; bank holiday; end of the century
one of my favorite "new" discoveries in this project strikes again with a winner for me. i tangentially knew blur and a few of their songs, but listening to their albums has opened up a whole world for me. really quintessentially british and clever in a way that is reminiscent of classic british bands (yes, such as the kinks). my favorite songs here were the title track, 'boys and girls,' and 'trouble in the message centre' - but there really isn't a bad track here. it gets a little goofy with the instrumental retro-lounge tracks, but i think that just adds to the vibe of the record. really enjoyed it!
Another great album...Very English...Oasis vs Blur...I always thought Blur was the winner
I guess this is Damon at his most Ray Davies but 30 years on, it still works.
If anyone reads this, go and read ‘Blur: 3862 Days’. I think they were one of the few British bands that had massive appeal, arty kids loving stuff like Death Of A Party or Trimm Trabb, teenage girls loving the quiff flicking from Damon and Alex, blokes in their fifties who appreciated Tender and Out Of Time, and the lads phwoarr-ing over Jo Guest and Sara Stockbridge in the Country House video. They offered much more than your average band. This is their coup de grâce for me, I was 7 when it came out and I’d make my dad play it on repeat. Speaker-popping, bubbly bass lines all over it, and solid drumming from Davey boy. More brilliant quintessentially English lyrics (building on the rejecting Americana that runs through Modern Life Is Rubbish). Superb vocal performances, especially on To The End. And as always, masterful guitar work from Coxon. The singles are all such massive singalongs it’s so impressive, Girls and Boys, Parklife, End Of A Century, To The End. I mean come on! Obviously Blur VS Oasis was just a media construct, but while we’re talking about it. The singles on Definitely Maybe are all pretty mega, whereas every song on Parklife are winners, even Debt Collector, Lot 105 and Far Out if you don’t mind some silliness. The song Parklife is a work of genius, seeing it live with Phil Daniels, and Harry Enfield poncing around as a Tea Lady, will live with me forever. It’s as English as Waterloo Sunset and it’s something intrinsic with our culture.
Another 5 star album from Blur? This project had revealed that I’m really into this band I only previously knew 3 songs of prior. And since this project also had me listen to an Oasis album, to which I gave 1 star, I now know who I would have rooted for in their classic feud. Shoutout to the very Belew/Fripp by way of Bowie guitar playing and the sharp & very British songwriting.
The epitome of Britpop. I probably can't be truly objective about this album as it was one of the first cassettes I ever owned and I wore that sucker out. And then I also bought it on CD as soon as I had a CD player and I also bought the LP when I saw it one day because I had to have that iconic front cover in the largest format I could buy. I spent hours perfecting the riffs on Parklife, End of a Century, Jubilee and Magic America on my first electric guitar while trying to get my hair to look like Damon Albarn's. It was genuinely a life-changing album for me and I can listen to it anytime, from front to back and on a loop. If I'm trying my hardest to be objective, I'd highlight the variety and musicality of Tracy Jacks, Badhead, The Debt Collector, To The End and This is a Low. Here was a band who had self-imploded on tour in America two years prior, come back with the fantastic Modern Life Is Rubbish, which wasn't rubbish but didn't sell very well and now had to make this record work, somehow, in order to save their career. It's the sound of Damon maturing into a top-tier songwriter while Graham Coxon cemented his place as one of the finest and most versatile guitarists of his generation. It's lyrically astute and sad and funny and a remarkably vivid reflection of Britain in the mid-90s. For me though, most importantly this is the album where Alex James comes of age. Blur's elegantly effortless bassist kicks proceedings off with the classic intro to Girls & Boys and sets the entire tone of the album. It's not just a collection of moody musings, oddball characters, doomed love songs and wry observations from park benches and underground trains and nostalgic windows into a resurgent London. It also repeatedly implores you to get up and dance, bop, pogo and mosh, by having the coolest rhythm section in British music at the time. There seems to be a bit of anti-Britpop backlash in some of the reviews and ratings here, and for this to be sitting with an average rating below the global average is absolutely criminal. I can only assume that you just had to be there and the majority of my fellow album generators weren't, which I guess makes me the lucky one. It gives me a sense of enormous wellbeing. And then I'm happy for the rest of the day, safe in the knowledge that there will always be a bit of my heart devoted to it. An absolute stone-cold classic.
When it comes to the big 4 of Britpop, Pulp and Suede definitely have their fans, but the real stars of the show were always Blur and Oasis. I have listened to all of the Pulp and Suede albums on this list, but for whatever reason, I'm just now getting my first Blur album nearly 500 days into the project, and I still haven't gotten Oasis yet! Fortunately, I am now able to have an opinion on Blur, specifically their 1994 album, Parklife. What's my opinion? This album's great! I just got the Gorillaz album on the list a little over a week ago, which actually gives me the benefit of being able to compare the two big musical projects attributed to Damon Albarn. The two bands definitely have things in common, as well as some major differences. One of my favorite things that the bands have in common (at least from the albums I've heard) is the variety in songs for a given album. I loved the variety in Gorillaz self-titled and I love the variety in Parklife. There are definitely rock elements here, but Blur really puts the "pop" in Britpop, especially in this album's first half. Look at a song like the opener, "Girls & Boys." First of all, the song's great, but secondly, try to think about what genre you'd call this song. Yeah, you could just say Britpop, and I guess you'd be right. But the blend of rock, pop, disco, and new-wave is really unique. Other songs like the final (actual) song, "This Is a Low" lean closer to a more standard rock affair. That song's also amazing by the way. Damon Albarn's singing is solid throughout the album. The writing is just as varied as the songs themselves, which is a good thing. Parklife is a distinctly British album, but not in an annoying way. There are definitely elements of 90s British culture here, but there's definitely a bit of satire here that's always welcome. I will say that my one problem with this album is that the first half is quite a bit stronger than the second half, with such stand-out songs like the aforementioned "Girls & Boys," "End of a Century," the title track, and "To the End." Of course, the second half isn't devoid of great songs. You still have songs like "To the End" and the also aforementioned "This Is a Low," but the first half is definitely more consistent. Other than that, yeah this is a perfect representation of what Britpop should be. Fun, unique, and distinctly British, yet not juvenile to a point of annoyance. Parklife is great. Light 5/5.
Unlike some of the other mainstream Brit pop of the era, this is rather experimental and builds upon a sound.
Excellent
This is not my favorite album by blur or maybe even my top 3, but I still believe it is a 5 star album, because it both had the impact and the integrity and still holds up due to it being such an amalgamation of so many influences that it creates something so original and fresh that has never been replicated. It's also such a pick-me-up due to its mostly up-beat nature. Even the slower songs have an ornate and flowery quality.
lovr this album
Another top album of all time
Awesome
This is just a perfect album, fantastic highs but the whole thing is cohesive and varied. Amazing guitar playing throughout.
Masterpiece
TRACY JAAACKS. XTC album in disguise, and a damn good one too.
9/10 Mostly very fun and cheeky but then suddenly its earnest and heartbreaking. Very diverse musically. Highlights: This is A Low End of a Century Parklife Jubilee Magic America Trouble in the Message Centre Girls & Boys Clover Over Dover
Pre-listening thoughts: BLUR!!!! Post/during listening thoughts: this is the most British album I have ever heard in my entire life. This is what watching peep show as an American feels like. I love this album though it is so good. Britpop peaked here (and with pulp and supergrass). 9.5/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: bloody right innit Fav tracks: no skips. Least fav tracks: none
Great album. I've known this one about 10 years. From the opening track, "Girls & Boys," the sound of the album stands out uniquely within its genre. For all the discussion of the Britpop wars between Oasis and Blur, this album came out a year and a half before Oasis released anything that could come close to competing with this album. And as much as I love "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova," they don't strike you the way this album does, with the addictively weird instrumental accents on "Girls & Boys," the French passages in "To the End," the carnival instrumental of "The Debt Collector," or the upbeat rock of "Trouble in the Message Center." This album showed an eclectic mix of genres and styles that really shines and when you think about it, makes Damon Albarn's transition to Gorillaz frontman way less surprising than if you only knew him from "Song #2" beforehand. Everything they tried on this album feels wildly successful when viewed altogether, and is clearly the best Britpop album I know, if for no other reason than it is immediately and obviously unique.
Man I love Blur, not one bad song and the album went by so fast, 10/10
They always compared Blur and Oasis but the bands were different and this album shows that Blur is a lot more interested in more complicated sounds. It is a great album.
Fab.
Get some exercise to a classic Brit Pop machine.
Fav: This Is A Low Least Fav: Lot 105 Shoutout to all the people who gave this it’s rightful 5/5. Blur are without a doubt one of the 90s best bands
Love it. Love it. Love it. Simpsons: Yes
I really didn’t want to like this. I went into it thinking this was just another one of those British bands that the author of this list thinks deserves to be on the list and no American author would probably consider it. Much to my disappointment, I loved it. It was a great album. I could listen and relisten to this album. It would work on a mixed tape. I look forward to the other Blur albums.
A very groovy/feel good album from London
Dette albumet er som å se på Wallace & Gromit, det er så koselig, vittig og erkebritisk. Digger det noe teatralske som dukker opp støtt og stadig i korte trekk. Låta Parklife er jo i seg selv et rent kunststykke i britisk tørr humor. Generelt også bare veldig mye trivelig og hookete musikk.
Starter ekstremt sterkt, med en rekke energiske poprocklåter med erkebritisk historiefortelling. Ender opp på noen litt rare steder i andre halvdel, men med nok leken sjarm til at jeg er med hele veien. Favorittlåt: Parklife
You should cut down on your pork life mate. Get some exercise.
Girls who are boys Who like boys to be girls Who do boys like they're girls Who do girls like they're boys Who like boys to be girls Who do boys like they're girls Who do girls like they're boys Who like boys to be girls Who do boys like they're girls Who do girls like they're boys Who like boys to be girls Who do boys like they're girls Who do girls like they're boys Who like boys to be girls Who do boys like they're girls Who do girls like they're boys Who like boys to be girls Who do boys like they're girls Who do girls like they're boys Who like boys to be girls Who do boys like they're girls Who do girls like they're boys Who like boys to be girls Who do boys like they're girls Who do girls like they're boys Always should be someone you really love
Uhh ja jeg synes jo det er en klasse plade og Blur er et klasse band. Det er nok lidt mindre min lyd end Oasis og måske mangler det lidt kant.. Har været meget mellem stor 4 eller lille 5 og tror vi ender på en lille 5 faktisk, fordi det er en virkelig fed plade som er lækker at høre i gennem for enden til anden. Synes faktisk nok Parklife er det fedeste track faktisk, ikke Girls and Boys.
Captures a particular place and time yet still sounds current . Fun, great hooks, incredible range, stellar songwriting. This is a Low is 🤌
Los 90 son un mundo hermoso
Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur of what is known as (Parklife)
Very good, my favorite Blur album
Liked it!
One of the most British albums to exist, but charmingly so.
I’m mature enough to admit that Blur won the Britpop wars of the 90s.
one of the best albums ever by anyone ever
Peak nostalgia
Did not use a private spotify session for this. I got into Blur when I lived in London and couldn't figure out why we Americans embraced Oasis, but "Song 2" was Blur's only Top 40 song in the states.
This is a very cool album. Sounds great still. I had forgotten how much I like tracks like End of a Century. And Badhead. Full of fun, sing-a-long lyrics - pure entertainment. But also so much more than that. Both loud and quiet. A textured reflection on society: songs like Park Life, that everyone sings along to, are great, but it also reflects the other side of all of us. As in, even when we are all so jolly at the party, we have other things we are dealing with in life. To the End. I really enjoyed listening to this again, and Damon's voice (both written and singing) is strong throughout. Not quite a five star because I don't love every track ... but a 4.5, for sure. Oh, actually, what the heck - l enjoyed it a lot - let's go 5!
Peak Britpop. Lighthearted, fun, with great lyrics and stories throughout, and unmistakably British. Girls & Boys, Tracy Jacks, End of a Century, Parklife, Badhead, To the End. This is Blur firing on all cylinders.
Belter and light years ahead of Oasis - think we all know who won the britpop battle really ;)
Song for song I still prefer Modern Life Is Rubbish (which was 2 years ahead of it's time) but Parklife is still a essential album.
The high water mark of britpop and Blurs best album.
Absolute 5*. A perfect album. Can't put in words how much this record meant and means to me so I won't.
Great!
Every track is a little pop gem of yummy goodness. Makes me happy and pumped up just to hear it!
Wow! Just so good.
Great album. Blur are a great band!
Great album. Fast then slow. Soundtrack to my student ( mature ) days. Every song is a banger.
Listened already. Love it. Always loved BLUR. Specially Parklife as an album. And I thank my cousin for letting me listen to it. 5-5-5-5-5. It’s a 5
This album succeeds as being a classic because it’s 1) unabashedly British 2) is well crafted, both individually and collectively and 3) defines a genre and an era without exception.
All my life, only Blur song I knew was Song #2. Shame on me, this is one of the best albums I've heard all year.
this was fantastic! the guitar work and the drumming were amazing through out and the cheeky lyrics about pop culture and the new wave elements were all super fun. definitely a new favorite.
I love Blur and I love this album. The blend of so many different styles of music on one album and they all seem to work together in a way few bands have been able to do. I'll gladly listen to this one (and, honestly, pretty much any Blur) again. Actually, I might go listen to it again now.
Love this. Hadn’t really listened to blur properly before but really enjoyed this with some big hits on it. Will listen again.
Instant 5 star. The album cover is even my phone background rn. This is one of the only albums to feel like it matches the BritPop name. Only 1 or 2 I don’t really care for. So good Rating: 4.9
Remember buying it when it came out and saw them on The Great Escape tour a few years later, love both albums, listening back to Parklife, it was so influential
Part of the fabric of life in the UK in the 90s, but still with a few lesser known tracks as well. This is a low was a highlight for me; one of my favourite blur songs, and of course the title track is one of the great memes of our time. An absolute joy to revisit, and a reminder of how good the charts of the era could be!
Girls and Boys was a monumental discovery for me... what I would give to hear this album again for the first time. Trouble in the Message Centre, Badhead, End of a Century and Tracy Jacks are long lasting favourites from this album. Still can't make up my mind whether this is my favourite album from blur...
I don’t need to listen to Parklife to know it’s a five star album. I still listened to it again, because it is just fantastic. What I think is really overlooked is the Pop aspect of Blur’s early work. To The End is not only one of my favourites from the album, but it’s also just a classic, very 60’s almost Chanson-esque, Pop structure. It’s a true spiritual successor to the work The Kinks and The Beatles were doing, bringing modern sensibility to classic song structure and creating a new standard for Pop music. The conventional wisdom is that Blur might have won the battle of Britpop, but Oasis won the war. I’m not so sure. More music not only sounds like Parklife nowadays, but also takes it’s cues from their songwriting and ethos. The mixture of humour and heartbreaking sincerity plays much better than Oasis’ self-aggrandising, and has been much more influential on the recent character and story driven direction Indie Rock has taken in recent years. And also, it’s just a fucking good collection of music. And that’s all it needs to be
This Is A Low, To The End, End Of A Century, all absolute bone fide classic songs. This album is near perfect pop, Damon Albarn is almost definitely a genius, the man doesn't stop working and has so many musical projects. Blur deserve their place among the great British bands. And, I always preferred Oasis!
I wasn't into 'Britpop' at the time. I was into dance music and DJing to an adoring bedroom wall. But my mates lived it. A lot of it sank in by osmosis. I have a lot of fondness for it. They didn't do Blur, though. But I've alway appreciated them, without ever really exploring them. I thought I would like the album. It's got a couple of quintessential Blur tunes, but I didn't know what to expect of the rest. And I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Definite Kinks influence, lots of experimentation, styles all over the place. Just more interesting that a bit of Rock and Roll. I'm xennial biased, but I like it.
Was a blur fan in the mid-90s so this was a nice trip down memory lane. It held up well and I enjoyed it just as much as I did back then.
I was 15 when this came out and Britpop was huge in the UK at this time and me and my friends dived into as many bands as we could. Blur were always one of my favourite Britpop acts (I actually preferred them to Oasis, but didn't tell my friends that as they were all huge Oasis fans) I love there ability to adapt and change musical styles. This Album is fantastic and relistening to it reminds his good. The hits are great Girls & Boys, Parklife, End of the Century and To The End are all great, Tracy Jacks, Bank Holiday, London Loves and Magic America are catchy as hell but stand out This is a Low is swirling melodic and beautiful.
i always thought Modern Life Is Rubbish was my favorite Blur album, but idk this one has been hitting lately edit: the generator has this new edit feature which is great because the Parklife cd was recently in my car for a month straight on loop... five stars babey!
What a goddamn classic. Wonderful pop songwriting, the Alice of life lyrics, just an absolute gem.
Can hear the Gorillaz sound peaking in here and there
I get up when I want Except on Wednesdays When I get rudely awakened by the dustmen
Damon Albarn album count (not just this website): 6, or 3 Blur (Modern Life is Rubbish, The Great Escape, self-titled) 2 Gorillaz (self-titled & Demon Days) The Good the Bad & the Queen (self-titled) ...And yet at times I still feel I haven't *gotten* it yet. Perhaps Parklife will spark my understanding of the Albarnsphere. There are definitely some sparks happening The racing hound cover is surprisingly accurate to the rate in which this album fires out creative ideas. The Kinks/Bowie comparisons are almost too easy to make, but like what 69 Love Songs does (more aggressively), it also checks in with styles of dance, punk and new-wave that preceded it a few short years prior. Okay, Damon’s voice is same-as-it-ever-was, but... scratch that. "To the End" is the best thing I've heard that guy do vocally. Ridiculously fun album, and I don't even consider myself a Blur fan (*cues up The Ballad of Darren right afterward to possibly contradict myself*) HL: "Girls and Boys", "Tracy Jacks", "End of a Century", "The Debt Collector", "To the End", "Clover Over Dover", "Jubilee", "This Is a Low" June 23, 2024
Favourite early blur
One of the if not the best brit pop albums. Eclectic with brilliant guitar work.
This cover is all I needed to know that this was a 5 star album. Helped that the songs were also really good. Literally all of them are good and some are just amazing. My favorites are "Girls and Boys", "Parklife", "To the End", and "Badhead".