Reviews (page 4 of 8)
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.
Oasis is so much better.
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
-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.
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
A little to rock-y for me but didn't skip any songs
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.
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.
(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.
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!
3.5
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.
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.
Okay album, with some enjoyable parts. I liked the other albums I’ve heard from Blur more than this one, though.
Good album but nothing really mindblowing just another good album from another good band.
Not Blur’s best… there’s better, less annoying Brit pop out there
It was really good. Had some lows where I lost attention tho.
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
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!
Not bad. A bit more nuanced than what I expect from Blur. I always just think of them as quite silly
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.
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.
Listenable. Enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
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.
Favorite Track: Sunday Sunday
Love their S/T album but this one doesnt really stick out as great to me
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
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.
Some decent songs here but also some stinkers.
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.
i liked it
I listened...it's Blur.
Sometimes it can be, especially when the deluxe version goes on a disc too long...
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.
7/10
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.
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
That’s enough Blur
Wow, Blur really got better with time. Oily Water was the only stand out for me. Low 3*
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.
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
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.
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.
Es entretenido, pero no es la gran cosa. Mucho menos que Parklife.
just ok
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.
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
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.
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!
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
Ok, not great. 2.5
Solid album that I was no familiar with.
Not bad
Parklife better
Blur is really hit or mis for me. This one is a hit
…But this album isn’t
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.
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
Um álbum bem competente de Britpop. QoA Cloudscape.
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
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…..
Great - but there are better Blur albums
около брит-поп
Pleasant listening 3.5
still an Oasis guy…
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.
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.
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
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
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
Would have been improved by surprise hip-hop collaborators
Better than Oasis, which isn't very hard to do. However, not as good as pulp
a few all time classics on here, but not the whole album
This album by in a blur. 5/10
My history with Blur started at Parklife, so visiting this early record was interesting. It's an odd mix...some nice Brit-pop although not many radio-ready hits. All in all, there's not a lot that's very memorable. It's almost like the album they play on the overhead in a used record shop.
Haven't heard this one before, it's a well produced and created album that brought new life on to Blur. Great songs and great pace. Found it very good overall, although it drags at the end, a little long for my liking.
Has a few songs that stand out, but otherwise very generic alt pop stuff.
I find Blur tricky to rate. I like their music, but it's right at the pointy end of pretentious Brit Pop wank. They have some excellent tracks, which probably means I'm a greatest hits kinda guy. I'm glad I listened to the original track listing and not the whole Spotify album, which went for almost 2 hours and 20 minutes!
Everything just sounded like a cloudy Saturday morning after staying up to late the night before. I wasn't really excited about it but there wasn't anything that was inherently bad, it was just blah. I just sat around and chilled.
I want to like this more than I do. It's like all the right elements are there but it just doesn't click into place for me.
Blur is never dull. Their songs feel like a grab bag of prizes at the carnival. Occasionally they drop a truely timeless banger, like Girls & Boys or Song 2, but mostly they feel like an oddities band to me. I don’t dislike them, I just don’t ever feel compelled to listen to them. Same goes for this record. I’ll say 3.5 here.
I was hoping for more from this. I gave it a few tries but it just kept feeling like a blur. The second half of Chemical World was pretty cool, and Sunday Sunday was probably my favorite overall track.
It was an alright album. Never can top Oasis….
More pedestrian British stuff. Nothing jumps out here as special
I like their punk Kinks kind of sound on several tracks; "Colin Zeal" is even an attempt at their own "Well Respected Man." This was intriguing enough musically to keep me listening, but the storytelling kinda circles the same few ideas, and none of the tracks quite jumps out enough for me. But I appreciated the excuse to give them a real listen.
“For Tomorrow” is a killer song. The rest of this still feels like a band finding themselves. It’s all pretty fun, but none of it stands out to me. Their next album, Parklife, is where everything clicks into place and then a string of modern classics are shortly after it. Bonus points (but not stars) for one of my favorite album covers and titles.
3,5
It has that distinct British rock sound that I'm not a big fan of, but by all means it's not a bad album. Cool train on the cover though.
#167/1001. Well, this sounds like a blur album. Decent Brit pop, nothing to hate too much, nothing to love too much.
Not a big fan of blur, bit i am a fan of damon and gorillaz
It’s alright, not an amazing album for me.
This one flew by me. Not bad, not interesting enough to remember.
A good listen. Not their best work but enjoyable. 3/5
There's some good stuff in here, but in the end it's not really standing out from other 90's Britpop which this entire list seems to be made up of. They get a star for not being Krautrock.Also, this group sounds more like The Kinks which is a good thing and keeps things tight. I like that. 1 star for effort. Less annoying singing than Oasis, so give them a star for that. Other than those 3 stars, I can't seem to go higher on the rating scale. 3 / 5 stars
Like it 3/5
Strong
I love Blur, but I think it took them a while to get into their stride - i'd rate this album as "fine"
I liked it for the most part. It just ran a little long.
7.8 - avg seems kinda high. It was fine but not anything crazy. Vibes but kinda weird a lot of the time. Favorite songs were Chemical World and Oily Water (8.2). Least favorite were Coping and Turn it Up (7.6).
Pretty good but fairly generic british alternative. Albarn has a much more original sound in his other project.
What is up with Damon Albarns infatuation with hellish circus music? Album was not too bad. I liked some of the guitar riffs
This album is too long by about 20 minutes. And it's so overly British, I don't even know how to feel. Yeah, it's not unlistenable, I just don't want to listen to it anymore. This album doesn't even have the woo-hoo song on it, so there's that.
Enjoyed the album but not one of my favourites from blur.
Good, solid brit-pop listen.
two Blur albums in a row out of 1000 is insane. it's prestidigitation For Tomorrow: really like the production on this, although that might just be the remaster. I respect a lalalalalala chorus. they love to make a relatively straightforward pop song with just a handful of weird twists and choices and I think it works most of the time, there was a lot of the same on Parklife Advert: punky. kind of a Weezer vibe? I dig the guitar riff and the energy, this one's gonna be stuck in my head Colin Zeal: he's pleasing himself he's pleasing himself aaaaaaaaaaaa (this is a pretty cool song, the chorus is a little too repetitive for me so I don't know if it'll stick but I was entertained) Pressure on Julian: these vocals do not sound good at all. the lyrics/vocal delivery kind of made me cringe at times too and I'm not even really a lyrics guy. appreciate the swing but it missed me Star Shaped: vocals are a step up from the last track but like...only one step. not a huge fan of this one Blue Jeans: the drums sound soooooo good. the song itself is just okay, I want to like it more than I do but it just doesn't quite click Chemical World: that guitar tone is bananas like actually. this is a cool one, it hooked me more and more as it went along which is always cool for a song that's longer like this. 0/0 because the hurdy gurdy ass outro was only two minutes of the song and not all six Sunday Sunday: not feeling it much. like The Hoosiers if they were less good Oily Water: they went stupid on the production for this one, that skittery glitchy effect on the guitars is so sick. I like how much they let this song breathe, the last two or three minutes are almost completely instrumental Miss America: they put this song in a cave. feels 10 minutes long Villa Rosie: some really solid WOOHOOs on this one. everything else is just okay Coping: filler. sounds decent but doesn't do that much Turn It Up: this song isn't bad, maybe a little stagnant Resigned: kinda dull. crazy outro though for no reason it's hard to not compare the two albums getting them one right after the other. I think Parklife is a slightly better album with better hooks but I prefer the sonic palette of this one overall. this one appeals to my personal tastes more but the songwriting isn't quite as strong. also Parklife is just purely more fun, this album is a little more serious and moody (which I often prefer, but Parklife has a charm to it that this record doesn't really) __ SCORE: 6.5/10 ADDED TO PLAYLIST: For Tomorrow, Advert, Chemical World, Oily Water
Every college band at a liberal arts school in the 90's? To be fair, I didn't hate it - and in fact - at the time when I was at a liberal arts school in the 90's I probably would have absolutely loved this if I had discovered it then. But as it stands, I'm listening to this for the first time in 2025 and it's fine. Take it or leave it.
Edgy-ish oasis. Still hard to hear this and not think of "If Gorillaz was experimental alt at first"
Fine.
A bit underwhelming, not as 60s mod/ Kinks influenced as I hoped. Also Damen's singing is more annoying on this album compared to Parklife. There were still some standouts like "Blue Jeans". Will need to give it another listen! high 3/5
Blur before Bllur became Blur. Nice little album here, catchy tunes.
Blur's debut album was commercially praised initially but soon fell out of favor. Their follow-up album featured a makeover incorporating traditional Brit-pop influences, Anglocentric themes about dreams, tradition, and prejudice of the suburbs, and clean production incorporating a wide-range of instrumentation. The album was a turning point in their critical reception. Overall, I enjoyed the wide range of the songs, but still felt it was a little bland for my taste.
An enjoyable but not all the memorable dose of 90s indie rock.
I don't hate this, but I also just don't get the appeal of Blur. In the whole britpop battle of Blur vs. Oasis, consider me totally team Oasis. And I think I finally figured out my issue with Damon Albarn: when he goes into falsetto, he sounds almost indistinguishable from Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel. And now I can't un-hear it.
Previously rated: Blur (3/5) ********************* About as average a British rock album as you can get.
It’s fine
everysong is almost good or almost bad
Niet de beste Blur
Holy shit the British is turned up to 11 in this album. It's hard to take, honestly. I liked when they leaned more into the weird, alternative styles.
Seems like an ok album but doesn't have any of the hits
95/1001 Blur - Modern Life is Rubbish Heard before? ❎ Revisit? ❎ Haven't got a lot to say about this to be honest, it just seems a fairly run of the mill indie rock record...
Extremely okay. This list has so much britpop and this an unremarkable example.
kan se lite proto-gorillaz från Albarn. inte dåligt, men för långt :(
Pretty damn good! Inte helt min smak men absolut ett okej album :)
Well it was better than Park Life
Didnt need to be that long, but some bangers in there
There are a few good songs and nice soundscapes. Not every song is same. In total: average.
This is actually pretty good. Awesome guitar sounds at least. Very cool for it's time.
It was ok...kind of meh to be honest. But not bad, just nothing I would seek out ever again.
This was fine. Nothing groundbreaking, and I dare say there might be a bit too much Britpop on this list, but the genre can be very hit or miss for me. I've liked everything I've heard from Blur previously, but this is the first time I've listened to an entire album. Started off strong but then faded a bit. Average overall.
I just can't seem to vibe with Blur. It's fine, but I don't really care.
Not bad.
As far as Britpop goes, this was one of the more listenable albums on this list. I’ve found I generally can’t stand Britpop, in large part because it comes across as incredibly whiney to my ears. This wasn’t quite so bad. Perhaps, as I read, they were trying to emulate the Kinks. I’m going with three stars, which is definitely rounding up because I don’t think it’s bad enough to warrant only two, but I’m not going to be listening to this again anytime soon.
The album that invented Britpop, I think. It's far from Blur's best outing. They would begin to shine an album later, which I reviewed a year ago. Graham Coxon's unusual guitar style is clear on "Modern Life is Rubbish". There are some standouts like "Oily Water" and "Turn It Up". 3 stars for "Modern Life is Rubbish".
This is the third Blur album we’ve gotten. 😳 It’s not bad—the first half is pretty good, in fact—but it’s not great either.
I’m not a person who would have thought that Blur had two albums on this list - mostly because I’m unfamiliar with any of their work besides the eponymous 1997 album featuring Song 2. This album sounds more British if that makes sense - it seems made for that audience. Not unenjoyable as a whole - some songs are fairly pedestrian, but there are several worthwhile tracks. The melodies are good, the overall sound of alt rock distortion is there. Theres a lot of tremolo. Notable songs include Advert, Blue Jeans, Chemical World, Miss America, Resigned.
Better than I had expected (only really know their Best Of), certainly in terms of the guitar work, but there’s something about Damon Albarn’s delivery that irritates me.
Très moyen surtout par rapport à ce que Blur est capable de faire.
It didn't make much impact on me. Neither hated nor loved this album. It was mostly ignorable, early-90s pop rock.
I've heard some music by Gorillaz, the band created by Blur's frontman David Albarn, so I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting. All I knew was that this was gonna be some of the typical surburbanite core/melancholia/descending chord worship that defined most Britpop of the mid 90s. Sure enough, I was right. I've always wanted to hear a Blur album, but maybe this just wasn't the right one. It's sounds so very unsure. It's muddy -- like a paint smear -- starts out bright and focused then gradually gets messier. The album artwork is absolutely gorgeous though, had fun staring at it!
Really boring actually
Inoffensive Brit rock. It takes no risks. It gets no rewards.
There is nothing really great or memorable about this album, and it gets annoying after the first few songs because it all sounds the same.
Pretty fun Britpop album. Now that I’ve had a few Blur, I seem to enjoy them over most of those bands. A bit kookier, not too serious, lots of interest guitar parts and sounds. While I enjoy listening; I’m also sure not much sticks with me other than a few songs, and I’m not sure that it left me craving more to be a “must revisit”. I’d but self-titled Blur a notch above this and Parklife, and this probably edges out Parklife for me for now… Blur seem to capture that space right between a 3 and 4 that makes it hard to choose.
Very British!
Blur is fine. All their songs blend together for me.
Pretty meh on the first listen but feels like it would grow on me if given the chance. Best songs were advert, Chemical world and oily water
Oh yeah it’s the other Brit pop band (or the other other if you like Pulp). Fine album, but you can tell why Oasis won the battle, this isn’t anywhere near as accessible as definitely maybe
Just too long which dilutes the talent. There was probably a 4-star album in there… 3.3
First album out of the 1001 and a strong 3/10 album to start with. Love the accent the instrumentation, had some very good moments, but felt some parts were weaker. Might return to it, but will definitely check out their more popular works.
A good Britpop album Highlights: - Villa Rosie - Colin Zeal - Sunday Sunday
Blah blah blur.
Probably the Blur album that I'm least familiar with. It's fine, but nothing really piqued my interest.
I don't know Blur's music at all, but I was pretty sure I've heard something by them before. So when this started...I swear I thought, "Is this a prank? Did someone upload a fake album to YouTube?" Wikipedia explains what I kind of gathered, that they're "Britpop" and specifically that they're influenced by "British guitar pop" like The Who and XTC. It sounds like a throwback to an earlier era. But...maybe not in a good way? It's the first album I've hit so far that I wanted to shut off not because it's bad but because halfway through I'm like "yeah OK I get it". By the end it was so droning that I nearly bumped it down to 2 stars, but, OK, not-my-genre-etc.
Cover 7.2 Unfamiliar with their catalog, aside from Song 2 ("woohoo!"). This was just ok. Nothing really stood out to me. I mean there was some interesting songs but I not worth a re-listen.
I liked Chemical World, but the rest kinda... blurred...
Pretty indifferent towards this one. Felt pretty generic to me tbh.
A flashback to some of the more mediocre elements of college radio in the 90s that I could have lived without.
I thought I might like this better on another day, but it turns out I don’t.
It's alright. Sounds very British, guvna.
This is ok but…not super memorable
It's not a terrible album, but not one I particularly love. Generally the sound is quite cool, and there's songs on which it works quite well, especially towards the end of the album. But I struggle a bit with Blur. I find they remind me too much of an arrogant, posh side of the south of England. I don't love Oasis either but compared to when I was teen, when I was a big Blur fan, a lot of the fascination for them has also waded. I did have a thought listening to the end of, Chemical World, are you trying to be clever or funny. But anyway, wouldn't necessarily re-listen to this one.
Oasis or Blur? I still don't understand the hype for these two bands. As an enormous fan of Brit Pop, that these are the faces of it still confounds me. So many more interesting groups out there. Album is fine. Just like all of their albums are fine.
You can tell Blur was finding their footing with this one. I don’t think it quite reaches the heights of Parklife, but it’s still solid. Miss America is kinda just nothing. Favorites were For Tomorrow, Advert, Chemical World, Oily Water, and Turn It Up.
Almost OK. 2.5
Solid, but not amazing.
Not a big blur fan but it's listenable
Modern Life is Dull... Just like this album. Little intrigue or diversity of sound and the runtime is much much too long. I thought I liked Britpop before this list, but now…? 2.5⭐️
Blur is an amazing band, but this is not their best album. Advert is a nice song!
Degelijk album met mijn favoriete Blur nummer: Popscene! Ook andere hits zoals Chemical World, For Tomorrow, Advert ... Maar ook wat te lang. Daarom een 3.4
Cool, like blur, but not a massive fan of this album
ANOTHER Blur album. You can feel the influences in this one from the Jam and other late 70s/early 80s. Was quite enjoyable.
I like blur. But this is the longest and most British album I've ever heard. I couldn't finish it. Just too much. Blur is a better band but oasis has better songs.
Not my favourite Blur album tbh
Definitely not bad, but also definitely not my thing.
First time listening to this album, and enjoyed some of the tracks. Only recognized a couple of their songs from another album, and wasn’t aware of how much they had produced. So this felt fresh even though they had been around for some time. Can definitely feel the influence of other bands, like The Kinks, Squeeze.
I likened this more to the self-titled album as opposed to "Parklife" which I liked more. I liked the extra instrumentation in "Sunday Sunday" and "Star Shaped" that was pretty cool. But ultimately, I felt this album was too similar to the s/t album, and I question why two albums that are like that needed to be in the list. Top tracks: "Chemical World," "Sunday Sunday", "Star Shaped", "Resigned"
It may be a defining album for Britpop but it's kind of boring. These guys got better with time and their next album Parklife was a lot better. I listened to it a second time and started feeling like maybe they were going for a Kinks kind of thing. So maybe give them some respect for that but I haven't loved the Kinks albums. It just felt like for every cool song like Advert, Pressure on Julian, Chemical World, or Coping there's an equally dull song like Blue Jeans, the Intermission (following Chem World), Miss America, or Resigned.
Demasiada voz con "efecto megáfono". Me ha gustado la frescura de los instrumentos. 6/10
Colin Zeal is quite fun and has a great little guitar melody. Pressure on Julian a bit of a step down though. Damon's vocals can be a bit grating here - I feel like he softens his accent later in his career.
i also don't feel taken seriously by this album
It's fine. Somehow feels more cartoonish than his later work
So far, I've always really liked the stuff I've heard from Blur. A 2-hour album that inspires would also inspire me. Unfortunately, that's not the case with this album. Nothing of the first half stuck in my memory. In the second half I became impatient, jumped from track to track and was a bit bored. In the end, I stopped listening to the album. 3/5
Poppy but dissonant early indie rock. All around interesting, great distorted guitars. Heavier Camper Van Beethoven vibe.
I thought this was good, I basically like Blur. But it did get a bit harder to like Blur with this being the third one in the last couple months on here. Don’t know what that says.
i liked this a lot (wanted to give it 3.5)
Funky guitar rhythms. Damon’s witty voice sings about everyday life of ordinary people going to work, saying all the same things, someone being proud of himself because he’s on time, Energy like a train going full speed Favorite song: for tomorrow / blue jeans / resigned Least favorite song: pressure on Julian Almost Britpop boxed with early green day pop punk attitude
Not their best
Honestly probably a 4, just a lot of the tracks sound like The Smiths. This isn’t bad but I wasn’t in the mood to listen to that
More of a late 70’s/early 80’s new-wave pop punk sound than I was expecting. Maybe later stuff would be more gritty rock.
Too monotonous for it to be a staple on my playlist, but otherwise decent album
Lite långt för att lyssnas på fler än en gång. Bra, men inte vad jag tänkte att blir var.
Blur is one of those bands who, in my opinion, have one great album (Parklife) and a lot of albums with a few good songs and a lot of 'eh' moments. This is one of the albums with the 'eh' moments.
some good songs but overall too long
I'm more of a Parklife man, and this doesn't hold as many obvious hits, but there's no denying that it laid the foundations for greatness and demonstrated the beginnings of what those that love Blur love about them. Oily Water is my favourite track here.
This is my third Blur album, and I think I can say that while I "get" them, I don't love them like some people really do. I'm not saying I'd be on the Oasis side of the rivalry between these two groups, but I don't think I'm necessarily team Blur. They're ok. But each album carries with it this sense of...aloofness? I don't think that quite nails it. Let's just say that it's painfully obvious these guys went to art school. Their music has this smartness about it, a sense that they know more than the listener does and there's some joke that they're in on and the listener, try as they might, just can't be. This could also just be a cultural difference in humor and taste. But I don't really get the jokes when they're there, and I honestly can't even always understand the lyrics anyway. For me, this album follows the same blueprint as the prior ones - some catchy riffs and melodies, some offbeat lyrics and themes, some lyrics I simply cannot understand, and a sense that there's a joke I'm not in on. Three stars. Standout Tracks: Advert, Chemical World, Coping, Turn It Up, Resigned
Another Blur album, was hoping that after their last one, I'd be done with it, but no such luck. Just like all other Blur albums, this is fine, and totally unremarkable and not at all essential.
Nice listen, but they can do better
It's certainly not RUBBISH, but it's not as good as the other Blur albums on this list
It is cheeky, jangly, and a very British time capsule of the early 90's. It feels like it’s elbowing for space on an overcrowded Britpop tube ride. I liked it OK… just not hopping back on this train soon.
Like it. Would give 3.5 if I could. Classic blur
3,5
This album is not rubbish, but it's merely OK. 3/5 #86
Very British with the thick accents. I didn't know Blur or what to expect. It was a bit long but I enjoyed it. A pretty solid 3.
Rating: 6/10 The first song is the best, the rest is pretty good but too long overall. Definitely not as interesting or experimental as their other albums from this list.
Good but with a few parts that dragged. Looking forward to more Blur!
For Tomorrow is very good. One of my favourite Blur songs. The rest of the album? Eeehh
Interesting conception
The souns of a darker, grungier blur is quite good if still very eclectic. But the very posh British vocals and some of the songs take me out of the vibe.
3.5 - pretty good, pretty British
it’s ok, but not one of the 1001
Always been weak for Britpop
Not my favorite Blur album. Just ok. Kinda vanilla to me.
I kind of liked this one, and for the most part enjoyed listening to it, but then again, there was nothing special about it and it just didn’t grab me. It didn’t seem unique enough to me to make this list, but what do I know?One of my frequent complaints for many of these records is that some of the songs just run too long, and the album itself is longer than it needs to be; that happens again with this one. I also found the cockney accent to be a bit annoying after awhile. This for me is a strong three star album…probably won’t bother listening to it again, but I wouldn’t mind if it were playing somewhere and I happened to be there.
Arrangements with strings and all kind of variations pushed into one album. Still it somehow stays together as an entity.
This album is decent—nothing that gives me goosebumps or evokes any strong reactions one way or the other. Solid, but not remarkable.
Not their best, but decent brit rock album none the less. I feel this one is missing the hits for me, tracks like Beetlebum or Song No. 2 come to mind off the top of my head.
6/10 It is fine. This was a bunch of sounds in a not too unpleasant arrangement. there were some sneering English accents, so that's nice. 5-21-205
Started off strong with the first song but not very memorable after that
33 songs, over 2 hours? Thankfully I checked to see what the original release had and I stopped with disc 1. Marginally better than the other Blur record I heard on here. They seem like something I should like, but something is missing that I can not quite put my finger on.
Nice album but I prefer Parklife #musicaky #albumsky 3/5
Honestly really good. Not too memorable, but a solid album.
Didn't these guys do that "Woo Hoo" song? Can we listen to that one?
between yesterday and this, a good reminder that this book was compiled by a british man. this is significantly better than the fall, imo. best are chemical world and miss america
Not bad. I generally like Blur's sound, though I don't find it exceptional. "Chemical World" is the standout, silly and weird and instrumental. "Resigned" is another fun little instrumental one.
ok, some good stuff, great title, lovely artwork, but the best was yet to come.
Nice, but not my favorite from them
I liked this better than Parklife, to be honest. It was okay.
interesting music, if not enough to truly stick in mind
There is a lot of good But never a good sign when the first track is the best song on an album by far. Still good. Too long. Blue Jeans is good.
Pretty fun, eclectic and joyful, still miles better than anything Oasis could manage, but has too many similar songs and drags on just a touch.
A bit disappointed here. The first song rules and it got my expectations a hit too high. It's all very nice and listen able but a bit boring compared to the album with the dogs running on it. Feels like it's just a bit too slow and chill for my taste
A surprisingly consistent and interesting album from a band I don't really think of as an 'album band'. There's plenty of different sounds on this - of course the early 90s grunge-esque scene, but also some pleasantly slow and relaxing tracks. 'Miss America' harks back to Planet Caravan in a lovingly fresh way. I like this album, but not completely in love with it. Best Tracks: - Miss America - Blue Jeans Worst Tracks: - Pressure On Julian Rating: 6.5/10
Decent but nothing special
Not really for me!
There are some good parts to this album, but overall it is pretty average. 3 stars or C+.
Well, that's a lot of Brit Pop. I kind of enjoyed it. Does that make me a bad American?
first cd: rather rubbish / second cd: quite all right
There is nothing wrong with this album, but it fell a bit flat for me. Not sure what the issue is, because the songs are performed well, the harmonies are on point as always.. Not sure. I preferred Parklife much more to this.
Decent
This is pretty good with some nice guitars and ideas. It wears its The Kinks influence on its sleeve, which isn't a terrible thing, but the album really started to bleed together for me by the last few tracks and I had no real desire to listen more than once. Low 3.
Nothing on this album really stuck out to me on first listen, but I can’t say the experience was entirely unremarkable. The songs just aren’t overly catchy or impressionable, but the social commentary at least feels important. To those that came of age in a world already thoroughly ‘Americanised’ it’s easy to forget about the cultural rebellions in our own backyards. So there’s a British sense of humour through each track that takes aim at those changing times. Which is all well and good, and necessary even. But I do struggle a bit to find the joy in the listening experience. There are no bad songs by any means (The closest I got to connecting with the music was Colin Zeal), but the sarcasm on display here just makes it all feel a little bit like being on the outside of an ‘in joke’. All that said, there may be more than meets the eye here on repeated listens as the arrangements are interesting and the guitar work is impressive. A light three stars ✨
Underrated band really, some songs on here are bangers and should be considered classics
Sounds like Ziggy Stardust and the Kinks had a baby
Coming in with relatively positive takes here again for Blur. Oddly, this album sounds a lot more fresh than the self titled album we had earlier (which was released in 97'). Much of the punk rock vibe here seemed ahead of its time (sounded more like early 2000s alt -- kind of like the Hives). I wouldnt say I dug any of the popular tracks here more than the others /shrug My favorite song that Ive added to my playlist is Miss America. That tune sounds like The Brian Jonestown Massacre and caught my ear both times through this album.
Love Blur but there are better albums than Modern Life. I hope to see some in this list.
One of the few cases where later music from the band is just plain better. This is a good album, although thematically it feels like a forced 2nd draft full of good ideas not quite tied together completely. I didn’t mind, though. There is wry, suburban commentary that is witty rather than preachy, and the songs are fun and interesting.
It’s there. Failed to impress me, but not bad. Something’s just missing and I couldn’t tell you what it is. There were some good moments, but also some very boring parts as well. Probably wouldn’t listen again and go back to Song 2 being the only Blur song I know.
Surprisingly enjoyable
I love Blur and think Damon Albarn is a pop genius but this is one of their weaker efforts. I think The Great Escape belongs on here instead, or even Think Tank
It’s an overall solid album. I was never into blur or britpop to begin with but this is a good album, maybe one that can actually get me into that time period of music but for now I’ll stick with grunge
It's fine. I like Blur, but I think this album is a bit hit and miss. This is more of a transitional album, and they really hit their stride on Parklife. I'd imagine Parklife has to be on this list, otherwise I find it extremely sad that this album is here instead of the one that sent them stratospheric. Also, I love Gorillaz. That has nothing to do with this album, of course, but I just wanted you to know.
Easy listening - Indie rock
The high points really are great, though there are quite a lot of meandering fillers
Tune
3.5/5 stars