Reviews (page 3 of 9)
Pretty good but pretty forgettable; I liked each individual track but don’t think I’d listen to any repeatedly. Unlike the (current) top rating, I guess I’m more of an Oasis man. 3.25/5
90s brit pop at its finest. I like a, lot of their music, but had not heard a ton of this one before. 7/10. Top song Advert
Pretty much part of me at this stage. I know this album too well!
I’m a big fan of bagging on British society (and society in general) but the pure boringness of the sound and production feels very counterproductive to any attempt at a witty critique
There was some ok stuff in there... but nothing REALLY caught me
I bet this would hit harder if I were British and like 22 when this came out. But I'm not and I wasn't so this is... fine. Right down the middle, a perfect 2.5, rounded up I guess because I can't point out much wrong other than it's overlong and wears out its welcome a bit. The front half is decent though! Eh.
Modern Life is an OK record.
Good
Heard it before. Listen, I do love Blur and this album but I don't think people need to hear it before they die unless they're a Blur fan. Three whole Blur albums on the list is too much. That said since the album is here and I love it I'm giving it a 5/5 lol 5/5
1/2
I am not now, nor have been, nor will be (probably), a britpop fan. A lot of dissonant and unusual chord choices keeps this from being generic and bland, but as a result makes a not very pleasing listening experience.
Meh - it seems almost like a piece of meta-irony. Technically well put together but just not that interesting. You could see where they were going with future albums but this is just a bit forgettable.
Yk what man modern life is fucking rubbish. Holy shit I have to listen to a bunch of brits croon for 2 FUCKING HOURS?? HOLY SHIT WHAT COULD AN ENLGISHMAN POSSIBLE HAVE TO SING ABOUT FOR THAT LONG?? THE MONARCHY?? RAIN?? FISH AND FUCKING CHIPS?? Literally what the fuck. God just kill me now. I don't think this is necessary. This makes modern life rubbish. What a banger for an 100th album milestone. Fuck. Nearly 10% through and this is what I fucking get for it?? God 33 fucking songs?? What could this possibly be about. Why do I need to her this before I die. Before the cows fucking come home?? Is this a kids cartoon?? I hate the brits. Why tf are they like this. Oh god. This is genuinely making me mad. Fuck at least give me Oasis again not the shittier shitty britpop band. Fuck. I am passionate in my dislike for shitty 90s white rock. Was the 70s/80s/90s genuinely just a cesspool of shitty white rock hailed as groundbreaking and pioneering. I guess some of it's interesting but not enough to sit through two fucking hours holy shit. God this is insufferable. I say all that like music isn't still a shitty white cesspool. This is just Sombr for old people I guess. Fml. I honestly, genuinely, sincerely don't careeeee. Like this is just plainly not that interesting. Fuck me mate. And naturally it was on fucking shuffle. Fuck off. Advert?? Do I look like I wanna hear a song about fucking ads? What tf did fat people ever do to these guys holy shit. Fuck man. Just hootin and hollerin in a really fuckin bad way actually. Holy shit I'm not even finished the first fucking disk. I would not pay 5 fucking dollars for this flaming bullshit. It's listenable. That's the most I can fucking give it. I can't give it one star because the other one stars genuinely make my ears bleed and this ones not quite that bad, but actually no fuck that I am going to give it one star because I fucking hate it. I would probably give it 2 if I was in a better mood but I'm fucking not because of this fucking album so. We'll see. Why do they genuinely sound like they're trying to be the british wiggles. Fuck you the wiggles could make better music than this, they probably do. They have me writing fucking essays as a testament to their incompetence. Oh my days. Fuck off. Did they even try to make it good? It feels like they just did some absolute fucking bullshit in the studio and had nothing fucking else to put on the album so they just slapped some shit from a butt on top and sent it off. Fuck OFF. It's even worse somehow that every individual component is somewhat fine, like nothing is special but everything is just meh, the way they've put it all together is just so fucking repulsive. Jai fucking hind cunts. Did they get the fucking tabla for this shit. I wrote jai hind before they even brought out the fucking tablas. THEYRE ALL STILL ALIVE?? Fuck those cunts. Holy shit. Fuck all the way off. Favourite: Oily Water Least favourite: Hard to choose from so many fucking options
A showing of great things to come by this band.
Went into this one expecting to like it more than I did. Not bad at all- the brit pop / alt sound I expected. What was interesting was you could kind of hear some proto-Gorillaz in Damon Albarn's voice in some of the songs. I felt like it was lacking some punchy hits though Overall- decent album
Great album! Made me appreciate them more and the Gorillaz as well! Super into this
slut
I got more into blur in my youth than the average yank, but man I hardly knew any of these, despite the catchiest album title. It's all pretty good, respect the stubborn englishness of it all but I don't have as much history with this probably to appreciate it properly yet.
I sort of forgot I was listening to them as I was working. The album kind of just existed, which is a compliment for Blur.
Boy do they sound like David Bowie at times. This was enjoyable. I'm surprised I never paid attention to them back in the day. It's a 4 on first listen, but feels like if I lived with it for a long time it would grow up to a 5. Spotify fed me the 2012 2CD box set version. I would have been happier if this ended at Disc 1. Almost 150 minutes is a bit much.
Oasis is so much better.
En camino a la banda legendaria que llegó a ser
Absolute classic
Album 149. Modern Life Is Rubbish (https://open.spotify.com/album/2gu1tAkUSoe5zTJNM0qU3g?si=hiL1n7FwRi-UpTV8sScS2Q) — Blur (1993) No, fuck these guys — 33 songs and 2 hr 18 min. I listened to a couple of songs, once again realized I don't like the sound of it and skimmed through the rest just to get through it . This album is rubbish. For me. 1/5 No liked songs
Blur seems to be struggling with their identity here. It's not quite rubbish (heh), but it's far from their finest work. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - For Tomorrow - Sunday Sunday - Resigned
Meh
-I had an ex in college who was obsessed with Britpop, so I think I'm relatively familiar with the genre (for an American). I've liked quite a bit of Britpop, but still the most celebrated, iconic albums of the genre are pretty so-so. -This definitely sounds like an "homage" to a bunch of quintessentially British bands. There is a musical nationalism here I find quite frustrating and unappealing. -the vocal harmonies sound pretty nice. -I rarely say this, but the album is too long. If they cut 5-6 songs, it would improve significantly.
I like Blur and whilst this album has the basic early blur hallmarks (cheeky cockney chappies singing about Bacardi Breezers and Steak & Kidney pie, possibly) it doesn't really have the memorable hooks to make any of these songs stick in the mind. It's no The Great Escape or even my favourite, the self titled 5th album. Not really worthy to be on this list.
britpop slaps ngl
5 aber bei Blur darf man mich nicht fragen
Blur were refining the formula but moved away from the poppy hooks that made them so enjoyable. I’m sure that some appreciate the more straight away Brit pop, I can’t help but moss the fun side.
too serious for what it is.
Have I turned on Blur? I liked this more than Parklife, but that was some time ago.
3.5/5
My thought process whilst listening to this fluctuated between "this actually isn't half bad, probably the best Blur album I've had so far" and "shut the fuck up Damon Albarn" approximately 30 times. It's way too long (not helped by the drawling "Oily Water" or disastrous "Miss America" tanking proceedings towards the second third of the album), and it tries to be psuedo-intellectual whilst ultimately coming off as a bit daft. Very Kinks-esque updated for the 90s, but I'm not the biggest Kinks fan, so go figure!
Modern life is rubbish is rubbish
A little to rock-y for me but didn't skip any songs
No buscan tanto el hit como Oasis, y en su experimentación me suelen agradar más. No es para cualquiera. Realmente no entiendo cómo los 90s buscaron rivalizarlos. El álbum hace el brit pop pero con cositas y detalles que lo sacan de la norma. Es un sólido álbum. 7/10
A blend of pub rock, psychedelics and brit pop that has some highlights but may have gone on a lot longer than necessary. Oily Water, Popscene, Mace and Chemical World stood out to me and Disc 2 was mostly a miss.
SO LONG. And for what?? The most generic sounding alt rock in the world. This was a slog. It started as a 2 for me and dropped for the sheer length
I’ve only listened to Parklife so this was a big letdown for me. Way too long and only enough good songs really to fill one album vs a double album. Just an OK for me
I like Blur but I didn’t sink into the album like I thought I would. Strong neutral but will listen to it again soon.
There’s quite a lot to like about this album. I’d never heard any of the tracks before, even those that charted. It’s an interesting and creative mish-mash of early British mod/pop with leanings towards a Kinks sound. For a young band it’s impressive and musically very ambitious. 4
Sunday Sunday on Sunday. Such a joy to listen to this all through. The sound of a band really finding its feet. Maybe Miss America and Resigned aren't quite up to scratch and the interlude should be split out from Chemical World naff but everything else here is great. All four of the band members hitting heights and showing ambition, using strings, brass and things like a melodica where it makes sense. Particular highlight: the guitar sound on Oily Water. Love it. There's a reason when they played Wembley there were 6 of these songs on the setlist.
это было хорошо
Blur's second album is another one of THOSE albums that I've been meaning to take a listen to, and unlike some other Blur albums and other musicians on the album listen list, this was good! Not my first run with Blur having liked self-titled and 13, and not liking Parklife apart from a couple songs. Modern Life is Rubbish themes are mostly about British everyday living and heavy emphasis on positivity and not anything American, which is what they were trying to do at the time. Damon Albarn (Blur's frontman) really did not like much things American, more specifically Grunge. It started because of their first tour of America went poorly and Grunge was popular at the time with Albarn saying along of the lines on how if punk was getting rid of the hippies, then he's getting rid of Grunge. So this album was a reaction against depressing, slacker, American rock and because their first album did poorly so they were also under pressure to change the sound by their label. Some songs are fairly energetic than what I was expecting, as I only knew the song "Blue Jeans" prior so I thought all songs would be in the style of that, but no, not at all! There is a nice contrast of punk-adjacent stuff (like "Chemical World") to the aforementioned "Blue Jeans" which is more like sleepy-sounding pop rock you'd hear on the next album. There are some weird stuff to compliment the rest such as "Intermission", "Commercial Break" and "Oily Water." The album cover gives off great imagery and does a good job at highlighting the point of the album. This is a good album for sure. Highlight Song/s: "Colin Zeal", "Blue Jeans" and "Chemical World"
Sería poco original decir que esté álbum es basura
Better than I remembered, but about 110 percent longer than it needs to be.
Very British, very strong.
They try so freaking hard to sound as British as possible that the album has to suffer. I mean no wonder these guys never became popular in the US. I’d much rather listen to a proper British band like oasis during this time.
(71/100)
Alright, I guess. Better than Oasis, at least. Don't really get the hype, much prefer Parklife, this just comes across as a bit harsh, and the production is thin. Not for me.
Not for me.
All the yucky Americans in the reviews keep saying "ew so British" and completely glosses over the catchy riffs. Great rock/pop album, for sure better than the Beatles rip-off that is Oasis. That being said, it did get a bit bland in its latter half. Favourite tracks: Advert, Colin Zeal, Chemical World, Villa Rosie 3.5/5
Not rubbish!
Wow I hated this
3.5
3.5
Actually I like this one better than I thought I would. For some reason I've always been at arm's length with blur though there is quite a few songs that I do enjoy in fact even love by them but full albums have never grabbed me as much. This one I can really hear The Kinks influence all over this album. In fact it has one of the same drawbacks that I have about The Kinks is that it's a bit too British for me, but much like the Kinks, I find it a wonderful listen and a quirky sort of way. Though I think I like this album the most when they dial up the guitars probably my favorite song is "Chemical World" which seems to have *all the young Bowie* feel to it. Maybe this is that turning point album of Blur I've been looking for. (8.7) ★★★★
It's good, I just don't vibr too much with Blur. 3.5 stars
I feel like you either think Blur peaked in their Britpop era or got better after they sort of abandoned Britpop. I'm on the latter team. I'm really not that high on this era of Blur. Cool album cover though. 3 stars.
Just a couple of facts, fact fans. The LNER 4468 Mallard is the world’s fastest steam locomotive, travelling at a speed of 126mph in 1938 and Blur is not just the world’s best Britpop band but also the best band of the 90s. In rejection of grunge and baggy and in the best tradition of Kinks and Small Faces they really do announce themselves as saviours of British music and the album is just a procession of one great pop classic after another. For Tomorrow, Chemical World, Sunday Sunday, that annoying piano ditty thing just after Chemical World… not rubbish at all. Absolutely superb. Easy 5 stars. This whole album sort of forms a holy trinity of Blur albums along with Parklife and Best Of Blur.
Meh.
Thoughts before listening: Blur is a weird band to me. They have really good songs, but their albums are a mixed bag. Lots of throwaway tracks that seem like more of a clever idea than a cohesive song. I felt the same about Gorillaz so maybe Damon Albarn is to blame. Review: I guess Blur was always the more punk influenced in the great britpop rivalry of the 90s. Whereas Oasis were looking at late 60s Beatles for inspiration and Pulp was focused on 70s glam rock, Blur was writing deceptively simply pop rock songs that were a direct decendant of the late 70s, early 80s punk and power pop scene albeit mixed with a Ray Davies knack for storytelling. In theory that should be the sound that most hits home for me, but I find myself more drawn to Oasis. Perhaps this is because they had more US hits which strike a nostalgia nerve for me. All that being said, I do think this is a pretty solid album. Some of the songs like "Advert", "Colin Zeal", "Coping", and "Resigned" are really drawing me in and scratching the 90s alternative itch sound wise. Still though, there are plenty of other songs that bore me. Much in the vein of the Kinks or Elvis Costello before him, Damon Albarn does make some astute and humorous observations about English society within his catchy pop rock songs. I gave Parklife 4-stars and I'll give this one 3.
This would be a five star album if Damon Albarn's voice wasn't in the band.
1. Okay, here we go. It's a little too late in the night to do this but, nevertheless, she persevered. This first one is not great. 2. Nope. 3. no. 4. nah. 5. No, this is nothing. I always knew oasis was better.
Will other Blur albums be on this list? This was a decent album, but there are other Blur albums I prefer. I don't think I recognized any songs on here. And maybe because I just listened to Dirt, but Pressure on Julian sounds like an Alice In Chains song...
Okay album, with some enjoyable parts. I liked the other albums I’ve heard from Blur more than this one, though.
нормалек, но без бенгеров, к сожалению.
Good album but nothing really mindblowing just another good album from another good band.
1.64
Very interesting to get this album as part of this project, because it felt very referential of an earlier British rock sound. It had a very 60s/70s feeling to the beginning of the album- some of the tracks sounded a lot like the Who maybe? But then the album got all loud and deconstructed in the middle- combined with the title I think they were doing something really ambitious here, trying to reinvent older rock sounds for a new era. I’m going to give it 5 stars just for ambition.
Found it a bit meh. Was hoping for more, I listened twice and found it pretty forgettable. I’m guessing Blur has some catchier/more compelling albums.
Oh good, another Blur album...and a touch over 2 hours. Wonderful Blur isn’t bad. They’re just not mind-blowing. And yet, because they’re British, those crown-kneeling, crooked-toothed, beans-on-toast-eating tea-chuggers have tried to convince everyone that Blur is on the same level as the Beatles. Listening to it, I kept thinking about the first Third Eye Blind record: polished, melodic alternative rock with strong hooks and solid songwriting. A decent album. Do you know where Third Eye Blind plays now? “Brews in the Park” in a random suburb 35 min away from the municipal airport. Maybe the amphitheater next to the penguin exhibit at your local zoo. And honestly? Modern Life Is Rubbish isn’t operating on some dramatically higher plane. The difference isn’t the music. The difference is the mythology. Which is great for history books. Slightly less impressive when you’re listening thirty years later wondering why this supposedly monumental album mostly sounds like a pretty good college radio band.
Not Blur’s best… there’s better, less annoying Brit pop out there
I thought I liked Blur but this album is so long and boring. Every song sounds the same. I had to turn it off half way through
Being a huge fan of Parklife, I had never heard this album before. Fantastic, full of quirky fun melodies and stories of British life.
Innovative rock album from an upcoming band.
a good listen. very eclectic. "sunday sunday" and "oily water" are definite highlights.
It was really good. Had some lows where I lost attention tho.
Blur is rubbish.
Garten, Gerstetten, Deutschland. Ganz okay, auf Albumlänge aber etwas nervig.
enjoyed Oily Water and Miss America. Most of the album was meh.
Relaxed and enjoyable
2.5 Stars - not very inspiring
Blur>>>>>>Oasis
He sido un poco prejuciosa, pero tenia razón, la primera cancion es la mas escuchada, la caida de escuchas de las siguientes canciones es comparable a la de cualquier montaña rusa que te pone en vertical. Flojea mucho y encima son dos discos. Algunas canciones parecen interesantes, pero en cuanto entra la bateria suena todo igual, exceptuando alguna como Miss America o Villa Rosie.
Hade svårt att ta till mig det. Jag är snäll med detta betyg
First half is a cracker and up there with their best work but it falls away towards the end and overall is a bit too long. Would have made a great 10 track album.
Enjoyed this more than I expected. Good production and some pretty catchy tunes. It’s still kinda generic 90s British rock, but better than other generic British rock!
I like blur!
Duh it's so good
Not bad. A bit more nuanced than what I expect from Blur. I always just think of them as quite silly
That's an hour of newish music for me. Bits are not total rubbish, but maybe recycle them. I kinda like the snarky lyrics.
Why are they sing-yelling at me in Extra British?
For Tomorrow - mid Advert - mid Colin Zeal - good Pressure On Julian - bad Star Shaped - bad Blue Jeans - bad Chemical World - meh Intermission - N/A Sunday Sunday - bad Oily Water - meh Miss America - bad Villa Rosie - bad Coping - meh Turn It Up - meh Resigned - bad Commercial Break - N/A
For Tommorow 4/5 Advert 3/5 Colin Zeal 3/5 Pressure on Julian 3/5 Star Shaped 3/5 Blue Jeans 3/5 Chemical World 2/5 Sunday Sunday 3/5 Oily Water 4/5 Miss America 4/5 Villa Rosie 3/5 Coping 3/5 Turn It Up 3/5 Resigned 3/5 Overall Album 2.93
The early 90s were a bit of an odd time for music. The 80s were now in the rear view mirror, rave was for the hardcore pillheads and grunge was still just a bunch of cob nobblers in Seattle. Where did that leave the indie kids? The answer was firmly looking back to the 60s. At least they were being upfront in the album title and the nostalgic picture of a steam train puffing away. On this album, Blur are harking back to the sounds of the Kinks and early Bowie, who ironically enough were themselves harking back to even earlier traditions of music hall and singers like Anthony Newley. I mean, I like the 60s, but this album feels almost apologetic for being unsure of itself and the sound they want to make. It’s fine as a whole, but their distinctive Britpop sound was yet to emerge.
Damon Albarn is Rubbish, amiright?
Very Bri'ish, of course. It's a dreary kind of mood throughout the record, but it sounds okay and the sequencing is well done. Left this one feeling kind of mediocre.
Love me some Blur. There are some seriously underrated songs on here. Is the whole thing 5 star worthy? Not quite, but still a good album.
The Special Edition version of this album is super long and a major slog. The regular version is not bad all though so I'm rating based on that one. Couple boppers on there.
Listenable. Enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
Best thing about this album is the title. But I’d go further and insert English between modern and life. To those wondering yes it’s a right wing observation. Second best thing is The Mallard which I’ve seen many times at the railway museum in York. Built at a time when England wasn’t rubbish and makes you yearn again for those days. As for the music Blur were never my favourites and Damon Albarn’s cheeky cockney whiny voice is more annoying than on any other of his albums. 2/5 13/2/26
Intermission was genuinely my favorite track here, but the rest was good
LOVED!
Of the 3-album britpop run, I like Modern Life is Rubbish the least. It's the most English and the most beholden to their roots. It's still a fantastic album with charming, silly, thoughtful, or fun songs though. It just falters under its own weight towards the end.
Kad ir trunka 2 val., nebuvo dainų, kurios įgristų. Tikrai visos įdomios ir eina išklausyti.
Listens: 3 Standout Tracks: Chemical World, Miss America This was entirely better than than Blur's self-titled album (also on the List). I don't really understand why they thought they needed to shift into generic indie, but IMO it did them no favors. This album on the other hand, I can hear clear influential styles that would eventually go on to become the Gorillaz, particularly on Miss America, which is far and away the best track. It's mellow, melancholic, subtly layered with different instrumental styles and just an overall good song.
not a fan
Couldn’t get through it
For Tomorrow Chemical World
Favorite Track: Sunday Sunday
I like Blur and so was initially surprised that I only knew For Tomorrow from this album. After listening, I'm less surprised. Other than the piano led outro to Chemical World, these tracks are not memorable.
Really enjoyed this one. Great song writing and music that is quite catchy. Highly recommend.
Love their S/T album but this one doesnt really stick out as great to me
Very British. Better than their Blur album, but too long. Starts out OK, then lots of similar fillers, strong finish with Coping, Turn It Up, and Resigned. (2.3*s) Tempo seems somewhat askew throughout Modern Life Is Rubbish, but maybe that off-tempo is why this album makes The 1001 Must Hear List
Modern Life Is Rubbish but better than a lot of other eras. Same goes for the band when compared with other Brit Pop acts as they paved the way for the genre. This 2nd release was not a s good as their later works though. This album was a bit of a blur for me. Went past pretty quick and smooth for an hour long LP but didn't grabbed me at any point. Interested in listening to their debut as comparison to see the new direction they took. Not a bad record but skippable at 2.42 stars.
Another good entry by Blur. It's a nice departure from the early shoegaze roots and opted for more of a pop sound. A couple good hits and good mix of 90's British rock sound. It works and holds up pretty well for the most part even it it does start to sound like so many other albums on this list. I try my best to remove the rose-colored glasses when listening to anything related to Damon Albarn, but the reality is he is my favorite musician for good reason. Pretty much anything he touches is decent-to-good at worst and Blur is no exception. Modern Life Is Rubbish is a solid album and really doesn't have many low points even if it is 2+ songs too long. I'll always have a lot of affection for these albums even if they are nowhere close to the pinnacle of Albarn's discography. I cite Blur as my favorite britpop act for obvious reasons but I would completely understand if that doesn't hold true for anyone who prefers any of the other popular acts. 3.25 stars
3/5
This is #day548 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… it's been forever since I last got a Blur album, way back on #day84, to be precise, when the self-titled popped up (almost typed "pooped up," which wouldn't be entirely wrong). So here we are with the third and final one. I mean, I don't really care for it, but I don't exactly mind it either. A Blur album wouldn't be a Blur album without a couple of oddball moments. Generally speaking, I agree, modern life is rubbish. Let it be a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day549.
It was ok
I'll start with the obvious: WTF is this here ahead of Parklife? Anyway, this is a very good Blur album, the first where they sound like the Blur some of us know and love. Also, there are entirely too many BritPop albums on this list, many of which are very good and most of which you didn't need to hear before you died
I tried this album in high school and it was too brit pop for me, maybe this will be the turnaround. Music is still impressive, just too britpop for me.
Pretty good but Parklife was better and this didn’t do enough to distinguish itself and warrant another spot. Perfectly fine britpop. High 3.
Better than average Britpop
Felt like this album was trying to do too many things at once. "Oily Water" would have fit right in on the Sonic Youth album from earlier this week where as the first few tracks of the album were much poppier and closer to the sound of the Blur I know. Not essential.
TLDR: I didn't care for it very much at first but after a few listens, I do think it's pretty good. Not sure it should be on this list seeing how they have 2 others here but we'll see after I hear the other 2. Before: Blur, I know their first album and liked it a little but I don't know this one. I'm sure I've at least skimmed through it though. During: First track is For Tomorrow, nothing remarkable about it. Not bad and not good. Advert, again nothing remarkable. This is the kind of music I get bored with pretty quick. Colin Zeal, nope. Nothing notable to say about tracks 1 - 7. Oh, hold on, the last 2 minutes of Chemical World are interesting. Sunday Sunday is not bad, it reminds of Lazy Sunday on the Small Faces's Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake released in 1968. Oily Water is pretty good, as is Miss America. After that, the next 3 songs are just like the first 6. The final song Resigned is OK, it has a nice transition and ends with an interesting riff, but the first 4 minutes of the song could have been condensed to just 2 minutes. After : It looks like there are 3 Blur albums in this 1001 list. Why? I think one would be plenty. The only album of their's that I liked a little back then was their first one, Leisure, which is not one of the 3. Maybe I only liked it because my girlfriend at the time liked it and used to play it all the time. Looks like I have to rate this a 3, and should it be on this list? No. Post: So I listened to this album around 4-5 times throughout the course of the day and I have to say that it did grow on me. Will I ever listen to the whole thing again? Probably not, but I do think it's pretty good and am going to rate it a 4. Favorite tracks are Oily Water, Miss America, and Resigned.
Some decent songs here but also some stinkers.
more like this album is rubbish hehehehehehehehehehehehe
Giving blink 182
More punky and more theatrical than I expected. I had the idea that Damon started off really safe and mainstream and got experimental later on. This has much more going on than I expected though. Feels kind of like pet sounds in parts. The sounds are also quite raw and punky in parts. I think I like both of these things more than I like the single friendly stuff.
This is an average album by a good band. Ultimately, this is an early album from a band still figuring out who they were going to be.
Sure
Can't get on with his voice at all
Ok album, but at over 2 hours, too long!
in the battle of performative bisexuality blur clears
Blue’s Pablo Honey. An Ok album of forgettable indie that pales in comparison to later work
Link above tried to take me to a double album that is over two hours long. No thanks. Fortunately Spotify has the option for the standard album. I mean I think these guys are big in the uk. Yes they have the woohoo song but never heard anything else from them. Let’s see - over 10 million Spotify followers still gotta be doing something right. So very British and i liked it a lot. Good stuff.
i liked it
I listened...it's Blur.
Sometimes it can be, especially when the deluxe version goes on a disc too long...
Classic album. It's aged really well, too. Intricate layering, fantastic guitar work, and great melodies. Top stuff.
The Kinks we have at home. Damon Albarn really fancied himself huh
457 albums in and there have been 2.5 Blur albums and 0 Rush albums. Make it make sense.
Pretty Interesting to hear how they had a very clear sound very early on in their career. Had a fun time listening to this one. Lots of Energy from all members
A very low 4 star. Lots of “rubbish” on this album, which is probably more the fault of execs than anything. A lot of people don’t like Albarn, but love him or hate him, he has a great ear and great taste.
Fun pop record about the daily slog of the working class. There are a few standout tracks to me and the track arrangements have some cool flourishes, but largely this sounds pretty uniform throughout.
This album is insulting! Let me explain, there are so many great albums by so many great artists on this list. New artists I’m only now discovering, a few albums by artists I knew but needed to be more familiar with, and even albums from artists I thought I didn’t like that turn out to be really good. And then there’s Blur. Boring and mundane blur. I don’t think there’s a more underwhelming and unremarkable bands of all time. Every time one of their albums come up on this list I become less and less interested or impressed with them. For what it’s worth, I do genuinely think “Song 2” is one of the best rock songs of the 2000s. But we have come so far and left blur in the dust of time. I don’t find the singer to be impressive or remarkable, but he manages to be the bare minimum, which I don’t think is noteworthy. There’s just so many better albums and bands and even genres that are left off this list so this square and dry disappointment can be on this list. It’s literally insulting to me that there is not single album by The OCs or Primus on this list but they manage to fit this crap on the list. Honestly I lost a little bit of respect for this list after this album…
another damon albarn record that i have very little in the way of a strong reaction to unfortunately! but it doesnt necessarily feel like its slipping thru my fingers either which ill take! its definitely bouncy and catchy , and tows right up to the line of how "fun" its allowed to be without losing its snottiness and cynicism, which is where britpop starts to lose Me Personally but it cant be denied its part of the appeal. i cant even rly make a lil joke about the over-presence of the genre on the 1001 list cuz tbh its been a long time since ive gotten one of these so this was actually a lil refreshing! if still clearly not my genre. but hey every time i noticed a song was playing it was very clear that it was a good song. 1001 britpop albums. ect ect.
Rubbish. Boring. Nothing standout about it.
This album proves its thesis — rubbish it is. The songs are well crafted, solidly in the Venn Diagram of The Beatles & Bowie. but I don’t care about any of them. The heavy cockney accent and frequent failure to hit the notes bother. On the whole, disappointing and boring A 2.
Just did not hit any vines musically.
Not my kind of music
Ehhhhh
This album wasn’t total rubbish.
No single standouts but good overall
Probably their best album, really bright pop-rock that does get a bit unimpressive near the end, but regardless it's great.
Nicht so geil - typisch Blur. Rotzig, jammernd und eher eindimensional. Einmal hören reicht hier.
7/10
Peak Brit pop. I know all these bands hate that term, but it is what it is. Every song is smart, witty, totally engaging, and catchy. Great stuff by a great band.
I definitely enjoyed Parklife more. This one had some great moments, but every song had something that was annoying to me. It’s hard to believe this is the same guy who’d go on to write Demon Days.
Don't think any album title has ever conveyed so perfectly how I feel about the current state of the world
Love the lyrics, fine with the music. A high 3 or low 4 but going for the former
For Tomorrow is good.
Pas mon album préféré de Blur
I love blur, easy to see why it’s so popular. My standouts are For Tomorrow and Intermission
That’s enough Blur
Wow, Blur really got better with time. Oily Water was the only stand out for me. Low 3*
I like Blur but this does not need to be 2.5hrs long
blur>>>>> oasis
An interesting album to listen to and different than other music I know by Blur. I enjoyed the album but none of the songs stood out in particular.
Was good but never did it grab me. 10 minutes after finishing the album i was whistling an oasis tune
Modern Life Is Rubbish is where you really start to see Damon Albarn's direction and writing really start to stand out and shine and make small little ripples that would later become waves later down the line. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here, Modern Life Is Rubbish isn't perfect by any means but holds quite a few notable moments of greatness within its' 58 minute runtime. This album, unalike Leisure, really helps solidify Blur's Britpop sound that would help define the genre and the heated rivalry that would rock the 90s. This album will either feel a bit simple to some and more exciting to others but I personally found it to be a pretty fun and interesting time, even with some of the longer song runtimes I personally found some of the more spunky songs like Colin Zeal and Star Shaped to be some of my favorite tracks, and much like with Leisure the back half feels significantly weaker than the first. Modern Life Is Rubbish is the first true Blur album in their very bratty Britpop sound, even if it isn't anything very extraordinary it is still a very important project in the grand scheme of their sound.
arent these guy who were rude to nardwar...
Track 1. (For Tomorrow) Very Beatles vibes. Maybe a bit of David Bowie too? 7/10 Track 2. (Advert) 7.5/10 Track 3. (Colin Zeal) 7/10 Track 4. (Pressure on Julian) 6/10 Track 5. (Star Shaped) 7.8/10 Track 6. (Blue Jeans) 8/10 Track 7. (Chemical World) 7/10 Track 8. (Sunday Sunday) 8/10 Track 9. (Oily Water) 7/10 Track 10. (Miss America) 6/10 Track 11. (Villa Rosie) 7/10 Track 12. (Coping) 7.3/10 Track 13. (Turn It Up) 6/10 Track 14. (Resigned) 6.7/10 Overall Score: 7/10
don't like this genre of music but i have to admit: it's a great album
1990s sure did have good rock music. nirvana, pearl jam, soundgarden, rcp and blur.. this is the best blur album for me. Favorite track: chemical world other picks: for tomorrow, oily water, miss america
This was pretty good. I like it when Blur really leans into their Britpop and Britishness, it gives the album more personality than their later works. Most songs here are fun and upbeat, quite a bit of variety too. Some songs dragged on for a bit too long, they'd be nice at first but then have 3 minutes of nothing tacked onto them. Still a fun album and a good effort.
- uhhmmm ..... weak and boring. I can't understand where the comparison to the writing of the Kinks comes from. Whoever writes that either doesn't listen, is grasping for something or has their head up their ass. The worst Kinks records still outshine this effort buy miles. It's almost an insulting comparison .... -
Geht so!
Solid britpop. Not the best Blur but very enjoyable.
It was okay. I don't love his voice but it wasn't bad enough to give the album a 2.
El disco contiene una de sus mejores canciones, la que lo abre. Tras ella, todo es aburrimiento, pretensiones y ruido. Damon Albarn no es cantante de nivel y el grupo suena a chicle y a música de dibujos animados de los ochenta.
Like his voice. Musically resonances of the Kinks and even St Pepper
Not any of the heavy-hitting Blur songs here and we definitely prefer Park life, but this was a decent enough album.
Liked Blur a lot in the 90s. Not convinced all their stuff holds up that well today. I don't think they have an actual *great* song per se, nor a classic album. This however, still sounds reasonable enough here if you haven't listened to it for a while, released in 1993 before Britpop hit its stride. Good start with first 3 songs and ambles on nicely enough in the first half. Chemical World remains one of their best songs and the Syd Barrett-esque Miss America is something a bit different but there's also some naff stuff here. People aren't lining up to re-listen to 'Pressure on Julian' or 'Oily Water' these days. It's also a lot longer than I remembered and it tails off a lot towards the end. It's a 3 or a 4 star, depending on how generous you're feeling. As it's fairly formulaic and nothing here is great, I'll go in the middle.
Props to the guitar player. That shit was doing wild thangs. Also, did they have a few random instruments laying around? It sounds like a few randoms came in
I'm kinda surprised. I've been previously underwhelmed by Blur, but this one was kinda good. Too long, but there were some interesting moments on this one.
And so is blur sort of.
Es entretenido, pero no es la gran cosa. Mucho menos que Parklife.
just ok
I liked a couple tracks, but mostly I just wanted it to end
6.5/10
Enjoyable enough but I wasn't really drawn in
Damon Albarn sings in a really annoying way. It's like he can't stay in the same octave for a full line. It's not pleasing to the ear.
i apologize blur i was not familiar with your game
Listened Before? N Not sure why this is described as "Britpop". It seemed rather hard-rocking for that classification. Anyway, I actually enjoyed this one for a while - then it started to wear on me. I think maybe an hour was just a bit self-indulgent for the boys but I won't begrudge them too much. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: For Tomorrow
A very typical boring 90s britpop album.
While this is still an overall good Blur album, this album’s inclusion is proving once again the author failed the readers by not limiting the number of albums per artist/band. This could have easily been replaced with another album when better examples of a band’s work are already there.
7/10
It's OK. I like a lot of this type: Shoegaze, Madchester, alternative Britpop. This is foundational there, I guess. But it doesn't really jazz me up. Damon's voice is immature and annoying at times. It got better later, but here it's thin. Most of the music is straightforward rock stuff. Nothing new or experimental, but not badly done either. None of it jumps out to grab me, but nothing made me skip either. (Well "Villa Rosie" was way too repetitive, but not horrible.) Guess that's a 3 looks like.
Quite a complete album, the lack of overplayed hits made it more enjoyable.
Another example of 90s BritPop that I probably don't need to hear again.
Soft music + nasal vocals = not particularly enjoyable
Sound of my teenage years. Loved it.
Oli parempi ku aiempi blurri mutta kyl tää aika tasapaksuksi lopulta jää. Hirveesti ei jäänyt eri biisejä mieleen kun taustalla kuunteli mutta lopulta ihan ok positiivinen fiilis jäi
Ois mitäänsanomattomuudellaan menny kakkoseen, mut chemical worldin outro nosti pisteellä joten epäansaitusti kolmonen!
Ei tämmönen brittipunkki ihan kyl uppoo. Laiskaa menoa ja laulukin vähän ärsyttävää.
Jaha lisää blööriä. Ei tääkään nyt helpoin levyskä oo lähestyä ja vähän jää etäiseks biisit. Ihan hyvää menoo ja varmaan vähän pre-prittipopin ysäri-invaasioo. Pitäs kuunnella enempi jne. Kolome.
Oli tämä parempi levy kun se edellinen arvioitava Blur. Paljon raikkaammat soundit erityisesti. Mitään hittien riemujuhlaa tämä ei ole, mutta ihan solidi kokonaisuus. Huippuhetki on kyllä heti avausraita For Tomorrow, se on omissa papereissani yksi Blurin ihan parhaita biisejä. Tuli tätäkin kuunnellessa mieleen kyllä se, että en ihan kyllä ymmärrä sitä että miksi Bluria verrataan niin usein Oasikseen. Onko se ainoastaan sen vuoksi, että olivat suurinpiirtein samoihin aikoihin pinnalla? Kun onhan tämä ihan erilaista musaa.
This is interesting. I know Blur mostly by their singles and hits. Looking at the songs on this album I think I only know a couple of the songs from earlier. I like the vibe of the first tracks, good vocals and nice drive. After a few songs though the songs are less interesting and a couple of them have prolonged and tiresome endings. All in all it’s a medium record that has too many fillers. Favorite tracks: For Tomorrow and Turn it Up
4/5
Ok, not great. 2.5
Solid album that I was no familiar with.
Not bad
Not inspired by this at all
My family hated me for making them listen to it
Parklife better
Mis-titled. Should be Blur: Our music is rubbish. 1.
Blur is really hit or mis for me. This one is a hit
Classic britpop through and through. This should probably be a 4/5, as it is a solid album, but not my favorite from their discography, but because of my own personal bias, and the fact that I’ve been listening to this album for ~20 years it’s my first 5/5.
Blur is a fun band. I recognize a couple songs from different albums, but I’ve never heard any of these not bad 2.5 stars.
…But this album isn’t
No complaints from me
Some damn good 90s Brit pop rock. Interesting songwriting and great instrumentation are abound in this album.
Its aight. 3/5
I liked this album much more than "Blur", so I guess the band's earlier stuff is more appealing to me. At kickoff I was thinking I'd give it four stars, but, to be honest, it all began to get a bit samey by the time I was halfway in, so I'm going to give it three - but it would be a high three if that was possible.
I somehow ended up with two Blur albums in a row (the nature of randomness). I wasn't a big fan of Parklife, but this was a step down in every way. Just generally bland and forgettable, I genuinely don't understand why this album would be considered an all-time top 1000. It's also crazy to me that Damon would go on to write such interesting music with the Gorillaz!
Chonky, muscular, creative. I can dig it! Will be revisiting
I didn't hate this album, but I was a little bit bored. There was nothing that pulled me in. Song I liked- Turn It Up
4.7! Very nice English rock album
The songs are better than the ones on Parklife, but it's definitely not good enough for me to ever want to listen to an hour of it? Literally just pick and Kinks album and listen to that instead, honestly!
I like me some Blur.
Some good stuff here. Some weirdo stuff too that misses the mark a bit. Typical Kinks-worship Brit-pop at times with almost equal attention given to experimentation outside that box as well. Maybe not their best album, but still a fun listen.
Britpop baby. Beatles mixed with the twang of Oasis, meets the Ramones. Can't say that I hate it. Lost some steam at the end of the album. I really like the album cover art. That does a lot for me.
It's ok
for tomorrow
I'm pretty sure I'ver never heard all of this before. Yes, they definitely went a bit overboard on mimicing Ray Davies in places but I enjoyed this quite a lot.
Um álbum bem competente de Britpop. QoA Cloudscape.
Modern life is very much like this album then. Blur were much better before they thought they were the Kinks, and even then they were much like modern life is.
More Britpop. So fucking sick of the pretense. List author's containerized sense of music really shines here.
Really dug it
Worse David Bowie
Not a good or interesting album...
Blur is a mixture of post new wave, surf rock lite, and classic Brit pop. It does not sound great reading it back but it actually works really well. They are often compared to a few very successful bands, although I would strongly suggest they have their own unique sound. This again is an odd combination, a band that at times can be a sort of common sounding, yet really is quite unique. This may not even be my favorite album of theirs but it is worth a listen to be sure.
Love-love-LOVE this album, one of my personal all-time favorites! Every single song has something interesting going on (including the interludes), and Graham Coxon is a guitar GOD on this album!
I really like Blur but this one sort of misses the mark
I don’t know enough. Does not seem as good as later albums
As an exploration into the banality and neuroticisms of modernity Albion’s lyrics sound like they were composed by a classroom of 7th graders playing the game of what-word-comes-next?. Paranoid android sound like poetry next to this. Coxon’s mixture of catchy chord progressions and arbitrary key changes in the middle of a phrase (made popular by the Beatles and others) are mildly redemptive. 2.5/5
Pretty standard Brit Pop 2h18m?? We serious here?? Fave track: For Tomorrow
Solid. 3/5
Solid but unspectacular. Starts with a bang with ‘For Tomorrow’ and ‘Advert’ but then gets lost for a while and never really recovers. Suffers from the 90s album affliction that one must fill the shiny compact disc with songs, even if some of them aren’t very good. Miss America, I’m looking at you. Or maybe it’s just that a whole album of Damon putting on that affected accent is tiresome. But that might just be me…..
I don't particularly see the appeal? too long i find the singing kinda annoying
I really don't like the vocals here. Everything else is just alright. Low 2*
British and quite noisy at some points.
This album has similarities to modern life
Passed by in a blur and not in a good way 2-3
Great - but there are better Blur albums
äh jag tyckte om detta ändå.
около брит-поп
Second album proposé après 'Parklife' qui ne m'avait pas convaincu (noté 2/5). Ce nouvel album n'est pas mieux : les morceaux sont en général inutilement longs et ennuyeux ('Miss America'). Quelques exceptions qui le sauvent de la note minimale : 'Star Shaped' (harmonie un peu plus recherchée, signature rythmique évolutive), 'Chemical World' (break piano et accélération jusqu'au final). Pas de seconde écoute envisagée. =>2/5
Pleasant listening 3.5
Fun listen until you get like halfway through and realize there’s still seven more songs. Dig the way they omit some of the Britpop quirkiness for more power pop influences.
still an Oasis guy…
This was not as easy a listen as Parklife. At times, though, it kinda sounded like Madness, and that was cool.
It was a Rush album 🤷🏼♂️
Blue is one of those bands that I’ve tried and tried several times and just can’t seem to get to click with me. I think you “had to be there” in their britpop heyday, but Oasis occupies that space in my brain. I will say this may be my favorite record of Blur’s that I’ve listened to, and I think I’ve covered most of their discography at this point.
So many better Brit bands, if they didn't do song 2 this band would have fall of to the waste side. WOO-HOO!!
This is a cut above other alternative rock of the early 90s. It’s a clear continuation of 20th century British rock, all the way down to the playful ditties like “let’s all go down the strand”. They switch it up often and even get a bit experimental at times.
One of those albums that grows on you. Not as immediately hooky as some of their later work but some decent tunes.
Modern albums are rubbish compared to the Blur train constantly putting out the hits and concept albums.
7/10 I really wanted to give this 4 stars, but the second half is just not nearly as good as the first half. Highlights: For Tomorrow Colin Zeal Blue Jeans Chemical World Advert
I am looking for background music with these 1001 albums, I found this album to be background noise. Perhaps if I was in a different mind set at the time of listening my evaluation would be different.
Not a perfect album - gets a little too self-indulgent at times - but a good one, certainly not rubbish. It makes sense why Blur are the gold standard for Brit pop.
brit pop bonanza!
Very 2.5 out of 5 for me. I liked it, and didn't outright hate any of it. But I didn't love anything either. Maybe it's all the stuff I've listened to from this that's the same genre blurring everything together
Maybe its listening to it on a Monday morning, but I just found it awfully grating
It was ok, no big hits on here. Park Life is better for sure. However a solid 3 (maybe I need to update Park Life on reflection).
Lesser known Blur songs (to me), still a largely solid album
Never have vibes with this band. This is deeper and more interesting than the famous self-titled album but I’m not into it for some reason.
Decent album 3/5
You can tell the roots of what Blur would become are here, but the songs seem to really drag on - sometimes for an unnaturally and awkwardly long time - and very little of their later lyrical wit seems present. This is the sort of album that makes yanks think all of the UK's musical output is "alright guv'ner freshen yer wahter, stuff it down the chimney" I think this is one of those albums that's a lot more historically important for doing something new than actually a Good Album
As I understand, it's a classic of it's genre, which would pave the way for future british music, and I can kinda respect that. But it's not music that I usually enjoy and I felt that it kinda droned on, especially in the beginning. Most interesting songs for me were probably Chemical World, Villa Rosie and Resigned, which probably says more about my music taste than the album lol
Would have been improved by surprise hip-hop collaborators
I'd somehow never listened to a full Blur album until now, despite enjoying plenty of their songs and being a fan of Damon Albarn's output in general. Given that this album came before a lot of their more well-known hits, it has a slightly different feel to it than I'd come to associate with Blur, but it's a side of them that I enjoy all the same. I can see how people would consider it less unique and interesting than their later output, but this sort of guitar-driven, melody-focused sound is right up my alley. Honestly, any album that just gives me lovely melodies to get lost in is going to get a good review from me. Maybe I'm just easily pleased. Miss America in particular, even though it's admittedly quite a sonic departure from the rest of the album, I thought was practically hypnotizing. I could listen to a lot of these tracks for hours. The hooks are great, the lyrics are charming in their irreverence, and the instrumentation and production are immaculate. It's just a great album from almost start to finish (tracks 4-6 are a bit whatever, but I love the rest). I'm definitely going to check out the rest of their catalogue now. Favourite tracks: Miss America, Oily Water, Colin Zeal
Don't care for Blur, don't care for Oasis. Simple as. 4/10 Favourite track: N/A
Better than Oasis, which isn't very hard to do. However, not as good as pulp
Modern life is rubbish is rubbish
For Tomorrow 3.6 Advert 3.8 Colin Zeal 4 Pressure on Julian 4.2 Star Shaped 3.6 Blue Jeans 3.7 Chemical World 3.5 Sunday Sunday 3.6 Oily Water 4 Miss America 3.4 Villa Rosie 3.5 Coping 3.6 Turn It Up 3.6 Resigned 3.5 Score: 3.685714286
a few all time classics on here, but not the whole album
This is alright, but drags on a bit. The weird noise track halfway through is pretty off-putting. I feel like Britpop in general is just not really my jam
Good solid Brit pop, but not Blurs best
blur is rubbish
Tenk å lage et album på nesten to og en halv time, og likevel kommer ingen av låtene med som topp 10 på spotify. Det er imponerende det. Forsåvidt også at jeg hørte igjennom hele.
This album by in a blur. 5/10
Très bien blur on va pas se mentir
I was so worried this would be another British punk album. Thank God it wasn't.
I know the creators of this list have a hard on for Damon Albarn, but having 3 albums from Blur plus Gorillaz plus a handful of random side projects by him is way over the top. The only Blur album that needed to be on this list is their self titled album. Full stop. Further, this is definitely their weakest offering. Pass.