Blur

this is like my fourth or fifth album to listen to today, and i'm coming down from a hot streak of 4- and 5-star albums. in comparison, this is absolute dogwater. beetlebum is fine, song 2 is straightforward but a classic, and then... there's another 12 tracks on here of overengineered and unintelligible britpop cacophony. snore. favorites: beetlebum, song 2

As I said in my last Blur album review, I find their music, lyrics and delivery, a little too pretentious. The ultimate in BritPop. Song 2 is good. I wish I liked this album more than I do.

This album starts off with beetles beetlebum which is a strange one. To put the best song first is odd because it never gets anywhere near those heights after that. The annoying song 2 follows and then its just self indulgence all the way. After their previous excellent albums this is a drop-off in quality

Some Beatles, some Oasis, some Radiohead. Too harsh, experimental, and depressing for me, but some bright spots. Favorite song: Look Inside America

Oasis till a die

Quirky, interesting in bits but in the end underwhelming.

Alkuun ihan menevää rokkia, mutta loppua kohden poppoon keskittyminen on herpaantunut ja puhdasta paskaa oli vahingossa livahtanut äänen tallentimiin puolikkaan albumin verran. Laitetaan siitä kostoksi kagone

Pääni tutki, jumbojetti! Kuuntelin tämän levyn kerran vähän sen jälkeen kun se ilmestyi, en muista lainasinko kirjastosta vai kaverilta, mutta nyt muistan miksi en koskaan palannut tähän. Sorvarin kourallinen ihan ok biisejä, kusenpoltama Song 2 ja sitten loput melkoista hevonpaskaa. Varmaan huonoin levy missä Damon Albarn on koskaan ollut mukana. En oikein löytänyt mitään punaista lankaa tältä levyltä. Tosi tunkkaisia nirvanasoundeja, eikä sävellyksetkään tosiaan ole mitään maata mullistavia. Tästä jotenkin tuntuu puuttuvan kokonaan se itseironinen meininki, mikä itselleni ainakin tekee Blurista hyvän. Epäilisin että tässä rojektissa tulee kyllä muutakin tuotantoa vastaan, sinänsä harmi että eka levy mikä tähän osui on melkein se kehnoin.

The album's only notable track is Song 2, which I should have realized was foreshadowing for its rating. This one felt like a very mediocre roller coaster: the beginning wasn't great beyond Song 2, the middle improved a little bit, then the end brought it back down to Earth from its small peak. How this band has any albums on this list, let alone three, is a mystery to me.

i know song 2 is a parody of the harder alt rock songs but it's also the only good song on the album so idk maybe the other guys are right

I’ve never listened to an entire Blur album before. I knew the single, Song 2, as it was hard to miss at the time, but I didn’t care for Britpop then. It turns out that I still don’t! Or at least not this album. I hear some of their influences here—Pavement, Bowie—and it’s mildly interesting but I’d rather listen to that than Blur’s interpretation of it. I don’t hate it, but nothing grabs me enough to want to go deeper with it either. In all, it feels a bit light, don’t know if that’s just an ingrained dislike for the genre.

Kinda more boring than I thought. Did not finish.

- 2.5 rounded down to 2 because it's fine, competent and has some interesting moments ...... but it never really goes anywhere. I was left wanting .... -

I would've been ok with dying only knowing the small excerpt of Song 2 that played in FIFA 98

I listened to this album twice yesterday, but can only remember the hit song 2, so, I suppose that tells you everything you need to know about the album. But, i never thought 'i should turn this off' during the two listens, so it's not actively bad at any moment.

One big hit and a lot of average melancholy

i wasn't really blown away by this. Song 2 is pretty awesome, but everything else i felt like was just on the album. perhaps this would require another listen, but overall i found it underwhelming

I like Song 2 and a couple others, but for the most part this album was unremarkable.

I owned this album as a teen! but only really listened to song #2, which I still thing is the best song and only one I'd really listen to again. Still, a real nice groove to this album.

Very average, other than Song 2 which is a classic. Knocked off one star because of how they treated my boy Nardwuar :(

I thought I’d like it more to be honest. Some very impressive tracks on it though.

Blur starts with promise but quickly loses its grip. Song 2 is a pure burst of fun and noise that still holds up, but most of the album drifts between half-formed ideas and filler. Country Sad Ballad Man feels like it’s building toward something that never comes. nd the middle section struggles. 2/5

If you're going to have uninteresting music, at least have vocals that are expressive and dynamic. Similarly, if you're going to have stale vocals, at least have more dynamic music. This entire album is just filler and there aren't any amount of various sounds that could save how structurally uninteresting the songs are. A massive slog to get through.

Meh, kinda boring.

Pretty punky and noisy, but had its moments. This one was bordering between 2-3 the whole time. Then Essex Dogs came on to finish.

Meh

Other than Song 2, pretty naff.

# 590 : Blur Blur – A Whole Lot of Meh, Bookended by a “Woo-Hoo” Sometimes I’ll listen to an old album and wonder why I’ve only ever heard one song from it. In this case, I know exactly why. Blur is a very ordinary, very beige Brit-rock album trying on American indie like a teenager in a thrift store. And it doesn’t quite fit. “Song 2” slaps—no denying it. A two-minute sugar rush of fuzzed-out guitars and ironic grunge mimicry. The real kicker? The one song that parodies American alt-rock is the one that made them famous in the States. That’s some delicious irony. But after that? The album becomes a bit of a… well, blur. The first two tracks are bangers, and then it’s like the band collectively took a nap. None of the other songs really spoke to me. It’s not terrible, just incredibly uneventful. Like a lukewarm pint—technically beer, but not worth writing home about. Best Track (if you must): Song 2 – the musical equivalent of a Red Bull shot in a sea of tepid tea. Verdict: ★★ for the “Woo-Hoo.” File under “albums that peaked at track two.”

I thought i didn't like blur because I liked oasis more. Turns out I just dont like blur.

This album felt like 3 hours long. Didn't enjoy much. Bleh

One of the cases where I can absolutely see, and respect why this band is on this list. However you probably could have just left it at the Gorillaz self titled, seeing as its the next, and more interesting Damon Albern project. Oh well. This just sounds like proto Gorillaz, with some more strong grunge and indie notes.

This was a slog, 1 star if it didn't have Song 2 and Essex Dogs.

Ehh

Man, and I thought this band was good. Suppose I liked Song 2 and Death of a Party because I've heard them before. The rest is a snooze fest. Actually couldn't get through most of the songs. Much prefer their album "The Magic Whip" from the 2010s.

I spent at least one point in every song thinking "is this song over yet?"

How did I not know it was just called “Song 2”? This album didn’t really feel cohesive. Some songs were fine, others were less so. Not a bad listen, but not one I will come back to.

It is an album made up almost entirely of perfectly fine movie soundtrack pieces. The phrase "workman like" occurred to me many times while listening. They are clearly skilled musicians, I'm not sure why they felt they had to make this album but it does seem to have happened under some form of duress. The cover also feels contrived, 2/5.

I think this album really lets blur down. They have so many hits but this just doesn't help, it just lacks everything and after the 4 or so albums before it's a complete let down. It's also just boring. What is it trying to be.

Not really for me but I guess I can appreciate the cultural impact.

Chatinho chatinho

Hipster bowlshit

Some very radio friendly tracks but otherwise didn’t do it for me then nor now

2 stars all day and twice a day on Sundays.

I kind of assumed that this was Blur's debut album considering how messy and all over the place it was. Damon Albarn went on to do much more interesting stuff with Gorillaz. 2/5

Nothing great here

Yeah its got a couple of good tracks but the rest is kinda boring guitar white noise to me.

Meh, mediocre to me.

This is the kind of album you'd buy for one track and then spend months trying to convince yourself you liked the rest of it so you didn't feel ripped off. To their (dis)credit, Blur does a pretty good job here of capturing the esthetic I hated most about 90s music: that noisy, lo-fi alternative garage sound with overbearing drums and simple-yet-flawed guitar riffs that sounded like a couple teenagers jerking around after school. I'm kinda tired of handing out 1s, though... and we HAVE had so many worse things on this list... so, since I was able to get through this twice without rage quitting, I guess I can justify tossing it a generous 2.

Ich komme mit der Stimme überhaupt nicht zurecht.

Sounds like a (good) tribute band to several other bands/artists. I hear The Beatles, Bowie, Nirvana, the Monkees, & others. It’s not bad, but I just don’t hear anything influential — just a lot of influences. A 2.

I don't get it. They were one of the biggest band in the UK in the 90's. How?

blur

More Brit Rock, WOO HOO! You’ve heard “Song 2”, even if you've never known that was the name of the song. It's their biggest hit and probably the only thing you know about Blur. Unfortunately, the rest of the album is pretty unremarkable 90s brit rock. I'm not going to wade into the details of Blur changing their sound for this record or what bands they chose to "take influence from" for their new sound. You've never heard their old sound anyway, so who cares. This list seems pretty insistent that brit rock is very important and that we should listen to every big record from the genre. Sadly, I don't see what this is bringing to the table that isn't covered by The Boo Radleys and Oasis before it, or Primal Scream and Franz Ferdinand after it (all albums I've reviewed from this list so far). It doesn't feel like a step forward for anything, just a 'status quo' brit rock record that managed one monster hit single. I didn't need to hear this before I died.

Like two great songs, but otherwise felt really unfinished.

After only knowing Song 2, I expected a little more from this band. After the first couple songs it's pretty uneventful. 2/5

It’s ok, fine vibes

I think I like the regular britpop Blur rather than this "we just discovered Pavement" record. Good thing there's another 2 Blur records on the list!

Never able to get into Blur. Not bad, just nothing there for me.

I'm all good with it. Solid 2/5

As an American who was only familiar with "Song 2" before this challenge, I was immensely looking forward to digging further into Blur and hopefully finding some gold. Unfortunately, I didn’t end up particularly enjoying this album. It feels like Blur is trying to poke fun at different rock trends across the tracklist, but the lack of context made it hard for me to tell whether or not I should be taking anything seriously and I tried to just enjoy the music for what it is. There are a few tracks I thought were decent, but I didn’t come away from this album with a new favorite from the band ("Song 2" unfortunately reigns supreme, for now) and I spent most my listen itching to move on to something else. Highlights: Song 2, Theme from Retro, You’re So Great, Look Inside America

Insufferably pretentious. At their best when mocking their betters.

I liked the first song? Then it kinda went downhill

Gear: Grado Hemp Artwork: 🛌🍃🟧 Production (2012 Remaster): 🙄🤔🤷 Music: 🎸🕑🇬🇧 Rating: 🚑🚑(🚑)/5

Meh. 90's music just isn't for me.

This is fine but the album feels really inconsistent. There's no overarching theme, it feels like a bunch of random ideas that got turned into songs. It's not bad but I don't think it's particularly very good. It feels like they were musical tourists and just pulled from everywhere they were visiting. Song 2 is so high school coded for me. It's the only song that feels 'polished.' Anyway, I'm not likely to revisit this.

I've been on a real Oasis kick lately and Damon Albarn's grunge tourism is not doing it for me right now.

Wasn't my vibe

Each song feels a bit different, but I wouldn't call them okay to listen to. British rock all around. Notable tracks: Death of a Party, On your own

Listening to this album just reinforces my previous understanding that these guys were a one hit wonder. And they didn't even have the creativity to give it a name--both the album and the one hit, Song 2. Without that song, this album would have been a 1/5. Really just twangy whining. This was a terrible era for rock, the late 90s, and bands in the U.S. and U.K. often just sounded like bland, watered down versions of early 90s powerhouses. This has no business being on this list--I could have very happily died before listening to this album.

Meh, it was very hit or miss.

this listening experience was a fever dream

Not very interesting, the sound blends together. The end is a bit more expetimental, so more interesting, but barely. Melodies are not that strong too..

**Just noise, most tracks sound alike

2.8

Look, I could have gone my entire life without hearing this album. It's alright, just not hooky enough for me to want to listen to it again. Nothing to grab me. Beetlebum was interesting. M.O.R. was good. Song 2 brought back memories. Outside of that, nothing notable. My Rating: 2/5

I think the algorithm has a thing for Damon Albarn. Sheeezus. This one has a few great songs and you can feel them pushing away from BritPop, but I am still not won over.

Meh. I remember the impact of this album, but listening today it did carry through like it once did. There is no denying the impact of Song 2, but the remainder of the album did not have much extra to offer.

Too much mediocre Brit Pop!!

warbly, screechy, whiny, noisy, harps??, cringy. It's not a 1 star album since I did make it through listening to all of it, but it is a significantly low value of 2 Whoo-hoo! That's over.

*1997. *First time listening to this album all the way through. Starts strong with Beetlebum, Song 2, and Country Sad Ballad Man, then falls off. *Really wanted to like this, but just didn't hit. Didn't hate it either though. *Anyone who says Blur is better than Oasis is a pretentious contrarian. *Will try giving it more listens. RATING - 6/10

Do I even like rock music anymore? Definitely not this kind of rock music. This album just seemed to go on and on and on and on...Even Song 2 wasn't the joyous harkening back to my youth that I had anticipated.

Besides Song 2, this all is very very boring Best Song: Song 2 Rating: 4.0/10 Stars: 2/5

4/10

For song 2 only

I had to unblock Blur from my Spotify just to listen to this. I'll be generous and give it 2 stars because of Song 2.

I expected this to come it at a 3 but it didn't. Was never a fan outside of Girls and Boys.

così così

Not great, but not terrible. Not an album I would choose over something else to listen to anytime soon

När Blur glömde skriva melodier. Med undantag för Death of a party.

Tem uma ou outra mais ok, mas o Blur pra mim até hj sempre bateu na trave, nunca atinge o softspot do que eu gosto

2.5. Beetlebum and Death of a Party are good songs. Wasn't that into the rest of the album though.

An interesting return, but Oasis is just more interesting im sorry.

Correcto, sin más. Entiendo a la gente a la que le guste Blur, pero a mí no me termina de convencer y mira que lo he intentado varias veces. Además, puede que Song 2 sea la canción que más me guste y ya está muy trillada. 2'5/5

Nice to see Song #2 in its natural habitat but the rest of the album felt like a grabbag. 2.5

I saw someone talking about Oasis the other day and someone else said “you seem like more of a Blur guy” and that’s the rudest fucking thing I’ve ever seen someone say on the internet. Extra star for song 2, the rest of it is mind numbing.

there was two songs on this that i found somewhat enjoyable, which was two more than expected

Song 2!!!!!!! And then a bunch of generic rock

Pretty standard BritRock - it's okay - Song 2 is a banger, but most of it is just whatever.

Still not really of fan, but it was better than Parklife.

Better than the other album we listened to by them. Still not my favorite.

A bit of a weird medley of sounds on this album. It was by no means shit but the idiom about throwing enough shit and some of it will stick comes to mind. I don’t think it really works for me as an album, I found some songs reasonably enjoyable and no denying the staying power of the first two songs on the album, but then you get the dire ending of the final two tracks. Kudos to anyone who can enjoy Essex Dogs, in particular the final interlude.

I remember listening to this album near it's release which is rare for this project. The first two songs are iconic from the era and probably sold most of the copies of this album. The rest was classic Blur noise which is fine but uninteresting. I did think you can hear some proto-gorillaz in here though in hindsight which is cool.

lame

This project has confirmed to me that I do not like Blur, nor do I like Brit-pop. Sounds like crappy indie rock from the early 90's, and not in a good way.

sounds like the soundtrack for a PS2 racing game

Song 2 is all that matters, the rest is absolutely mid

Okay I think (no memory)

Still prefer Oasis:)

Not bad, I don't need it all. Unfortunately I think I background musiced this album and didn't pay proper attention, but yeah. 2.5/5 stars.

Damon Albarn is much more interesting when he's not flying under the name Blur.

Oljud

Song 2 is a great song alot of the songs are not that great on disc 1 of the album Death of a party has a nice little bass line the album is very industrial sounding I liked the charm of You're so great Many of the songs on here are bad, although it is quiet and eclectic collection

If you like blur it's a five, i don't.

Another Blur album? Three Blur albums? I know people criticize Rolling Stone lists for having too many American acts, too many white acts, too many etc....but the number of forgettable British albums, multiples of groups that have little to no resonance outside of their time period, and certainly not enough to warrant multiple albums, is astonishing. Blur has three albums and Oasis has two...I guess Damon Albarn won after all. Except Oasis is getting ready for a reunion tour that the whole world is excited for and if Blur opened for them everyone would boo them until Oasis came on stage. It's fitting because they're like a less good Oasis. Song 2....the hit of all hits for Blur...WOO HOO! This feels like a very 90s song. This album is garbage...I'd prefer to listen to Garbage. Chinese Bombs would never get made today. This album feels like it is trying too hard to be....something. I'm not sure if it's something important or something cool or something popular. If American bands were as obsessed with the political environments of other countries, they'd be called colonialists. Keep Star Wars out of your America hating mouths. Ending with an almost nine minute spoken word drag does not help.

Standouts Beetelbum

Well, today I learned the lead guy here also formed Gorillaz. That's pretty neat. This album is just ok. Song 2 about the only notable piece. It'll go on the 1001 playlist. ~ 2 stars

This was initially a pleasant surprise to see come up. I've always liked Song 2 and it's a wonder I've never listened to this album. After hearing it, I question why it's on this list. I mean, it's but not a terrible album, but there's nothing special here. It's a fairly typical album from a one hit wonder in the 90s. Not terrible, but still, pretty bad. Song 2 keeps it a solid 2 stars.

I honestly really like some Blur songs, but I don’t like most Blur songs. None of their albums are worth a listen as a whole, in my opinion.

I only know Song 2 by Blur...and that's about the only song I liked on the album. Never liked them enough to go...oh I should listen to their whole album!, and I see why. A lot of the songs were pretty annoying, and I won't listen to this album again.

Experimentation is fine, but it has to be a means to an end - there has to be a singular goal or at least some guiding hand tying everything together. Blur maybe lacks that focus, and as a result is often more "interesting" than "listenable". Beetlebum and Song 2 always struck me as being a little too contrived as different ends of the indie spectrum, and MOR is just Boys Keep Swinging played sideways. Luckily, the album tracks you might be less familiar with do Albarn's more introspective lyrics the most justice - the moody ska of Death Of A Party, or more authentically trippy organ workout Theme From Retro, for example. Elsewhere, Look Inside America sees Blur paying tribute to themselves, so there is something for fans of their previous albums too, while Coxon gets his moment on You're So Great. Overall, less than a sum of its parts maybe, but far from the worst album you'll hear on this list.

Meh

Disco confuso e sonolento. Algumas passagens interessantes, apenas. Mais uma "bandinha".

Couple of well-known songs but the rest I didn’t care for. Not a fan.

Considered myself more of a Blur guy than an Oasis guy, but there wasn't a lot for me on this album. Maybe this is more of an outlier, but the album is just generally okay.

Blur should have stuck to playing Britpop. This is not an album that I would want to listen to again. The two hit tracks are the highlight, and I'm sure I'll hear those again plenty of times... So that will be enough, thank you.

Enkelte greie melodier. Mye gitarspill som blir verken fugl eller fisk. Best når de er Beatles light.

One good song on a otherwise weak album.

Very muddy sound for most of this album, not sure if they are being ironic or not on multiple songs. Generally didn't enjoy most of this

"Beetlebum" e "Song 2" são as únicas músicas boas. As demais são monótonas e desleixadas. "Song 2" me traz uma memória muito vívida: eu no banco de trás do carro prestava atenção no meu pai colocando um CD no rádio. Lembro do meu pai cantando "Song 2" e como aquela atmosfera do carro me contagiou. Perguntei pro meu o nome da música e, por algum tempo, eu a considerei a minha música favorita.

Some bands are one hit wonders for a reason

Okay, so I may have judged Blur a bit too harshly in my Gorillaz review, because I did actually enjoy this album quite a bit. I don't see myself returning to it on a regular basis, but there are quite a few bangers on here that I've now added to my playlists. Still prefer Oasis, though.

Can’t really put my finger on it but this album didn’t do it for me. Felt like maybe they were trying too hard to be creative and different; touching on multiple genres. Iblistened to the album twice and both times it seemed like noise in the background, nothing caught my ear. There were a couple of cool chord changes in Beetlebum and of course Song 2 is awesome but beyond that this album did nothing for me. It’s a one star album in my opinion but I’m giving it an extra star because the Blur boys wanted to fight the Gallagher brothers and I think that’s pretty fucking rock n roll.

British rock again, this was one of the better albums. But still not my style. 2.4

A couple of good songs surrounded by meh.

Pretty mundane- having a hard time finding the criticality of this one.

I don't recall listening to a lot of blur outside of sound number 2. That one still holds up... Sadly I don't feel the rest of the album does. I expected more since he went on to help create Gorillaz and that song number two has had such staying power that it would be more. So besides a couple of songs the album is really very plodding along. Like the way he sings it is like he's droning on to noise from the band. Sadly it's a miss.

Meh. Medium music from a medium era with medium impact.

2/5. Song 2 is a classic, and I still like it. But it can't carry the weight of this dumpster fire.

Kind of disappointed by this album when I bought it back when it came out. Still disappointed kind of disappointed.

Maybe wasn't the right time for this one... has so much play time I liked the opener. And you're so great. Trying to avoid the uber sad ones at the moment so the last few tracks weren't the thing.

It’s alright. Song 2 is great though

So full of promise and hope at the start, quickly faded into disappointment. Soundtrack to Tony Blair's tears.

Very disappointing. I have no desire to listen to this again. I did make it all the way through, so it's 2 stars!

2/5

That one hit song, “Song 2” wasn’t bad. The rest just felt kind of repetitive and boring to me, it’s not really even something I would say is fine. Certainly non offensive but that’s not much of an endorsement.

It was OK. Not much that really stuck out for me.

Mid.

You can see how the band members really grew when they started the Gorillaz. Less developed sound here, pretty average album.

Very British rock. I’m not the target audience.

A slightly incoherent album that oscillates between catchy radio-friendly tracks and downright unlistenable/unapproachable ones. This pales in comparison to the last Blur record on here. Standout track is: “On Your Own”

Song 2 - Iconic song Rest of album feels confusing to me, too much experimenting with song types that do not work with their sound.

One good song, a lot of turgid indie

Oasis is better

Although I do enjoy brit rock, this was not my cup of tea. A chaotic album that had a few good things ("Song 2" still is a great song!) but overall was a pain to listen to.

Rating: 5/10 Very much a mixed bag. The first two songs (especially Song 2) are excellent. This album is all over the place and the songs are not strong enough individually to justify such a lack of cohesion. I respect the experimentation but more misses than hits.

Seit mer nüd so vill... seint oder sandere Lied känni. O.k.

beetlebum suuper indierock richtig cozy. WOOO HOO. gitarresound soooooo geil. riese song. hets müese geh. country sad ballad man au wieder uuuuhuere andersch. unkohärenz chönt e schwächi sii. hahaha de gitisound isch au wieder abgfuckt. geil. aso finds nöd haammer aber super kreativ und häsig. ich mag sochli de glitchy indie rock aesthetic. chan öpis. find theme from retro etz chli mid. afoch nöd so spannend wenns sochli umetropft. you're so great sehr herzigi chords und d slide gitarre au cool. aaah guete IV moll. vezerrti gitarre tönt super am schluss. death of a party - CVP?? cute athmosphärisch aber bi null im mood für das. chinese bombs geil, ich has lieber wenns hässig sind oder wenigstens chli edge hend. look inside america sehr revolver style beatles. ah gueti musig. cool. hammer sounds super wiiter so gratuliere. movin on slappt hey. nöd meega geil aber ich checks. essex dogs findi etz ehner nervig ich check de trip hop dings aber irgendwie nai. git e ehner guets 3. scheiss hidden track. ich respektier wie experimentierfreudig sie für e populäri band sind aber ich finds etz nöd sooo cool. mengmol chli ziellos. vlt muenis au nomel ufmerksamer lose.

hahahah hä vlt verstahnis falsch aber gad rückgrat het die band nöd? kritisiere, bis es backlash git und denn en style-change mache? ich weiss au immer nanig, was ich vo song 2 sött halte, iwie cool, iwie nervig beetlebum isch aber na cool eig ok song 2 isch dreckiger als ich im chopf gha han hahaha, scjono cool country sad ballad man isch jz nöd mega miiis ding aber ich chan s chaos schätze jaa das chammer iwie für sochli alli lieder sege? finds na cool was sie mached aber fan vode einzelne lieder bini nöd puuh langsam bini am struggle hahaha essex dogs isch en hammer titel aber finds gad seehr ahstrengend DAS GAHT 8 MUNUTE ICH HAN DENKT DAS SEG EIFACH SOCHLI ES OUTRO omg ja het jz evht kei webig gmacht knaaaapps 3, willis hüfig no kreativ gfunde han oder es 2, willis halt trz rechr arsch gfunde han, musses mier na überlege

Other than the obvious killer, not my thing

Song 2 I s good. The rest, not so much.

A big fan of the music of this general time period. But never a big fan of Blur.

Damon why are you so boring

Why is Blur popular at all? They mid AF.

Listens: 1 The album felt pretty bland, monotonous from a music perspective. I didn't really focus on the lyrics too much. Has that one song that's been used in car commercials for the past 2 decades. I don't know how I feel about the fact that Damon Albarn went on to form the Gorillaz after this. The Gorillaz are generally fantastic. Maybe I need to give the album another more detailed listen.

Voisin vaikka vannoa, että tää levy on ollut tällä listalla jo… Hienosti on kaks hyvää biisiä ekana, loppu on sitten ihme huminaa jossa on joku visio mutta en jaksa kuunnella sitä selvittääkseni. Tähdet ekoille biiseille.

Is what it is. Music for those not listening.

Surprisingly bad and boring bunch of songs

finally an answer to the question: what if gorillaz sucked shit? - or - the waiter keeps coming around with a big pitcher of damon albarn trying to “top off” everyone, and you have to put your hand over your glass to stop him. you’re not really full but have plans for something better later.

This album was not good. I thought I knew and liked some Blur. Turns out that thought was incorrect. 2.5

I've listened to this album before, many years ago. There are some good songs on there but the kind of music blur makes doesn't resonate with me much. I can't say exactly why but I'm just not really drawn in by the songs. The good songs are added to my playlists since before and the others wont be.

Boring. Left no impression

Blah blah blah, Britpop is not for me, blah blah. I mean, it isn't, but I'm not going to repeat that every time I listen to one of these Britpop albums (even though I just did). But I feel like I understand my dislike for this genre much better after listening to this. Just like Oasis, there's no personality here, no unique sound to warrant this album's fifty-plus minute run time. It's just an album comprised of other pre-existing (90s) sounds from artists who did said sounds way better. I mean, even the huge song off this album 'Song 2' felt like a big ball of nothing to me. Needless to say, Daman Albarn would go on to do infinitely more interesting things with Gorillaz. Some moments here were somewhat interesting. I enjoyed the ominous 'Theme From Retro' and the organ-driven 'Death of a Party," which might be my favorite song here. The quirky, off-kilter acoustic ballad 'You're So Great' wasn't too bad either. However, everything else felt so boring and empty, especially the 8-minute closer 'Essex Dog," which did absolutely nothing for me and was just one big droney mess. So, yeah, I didn't like this one at all.

Listening was a Blur. All sounded the same.

One hit, and a lot of misses. 5/10

point7.

Almost quit listening, but made it through. It was okay, but won't be marking this as a favorite.

Não gostei muito. Timbres feios, produção meia boca, só os hits são bons

Middling listen Song 2 has been so overused by every Canadian sports franchise building that despite it being a great track, it makes me skip the tune. Death of a party and Essex Dogs were my favs. Some good dub/dancehall sounds and a fun listen. Rest of the album I was meh on

They can be quite infuriating, Blur. There is a handful of great moments on this but as with most of their albums it's topped up with Blur by numbers irritations.

Wouldn't listen again. Turns out I don't really like this album. Song 2 is fantastic, and I liked a couple of others, but overall kind of a dud for me. A couple of songs sounded like the Smiths, and not in a good way?

Didn't do it for me

I love a good sound experiment, and I'm glad they were open to trying new things, but Blur's self-titled LP falls short. As a kid I would always wonder "what if (band) made a (genre) album?" and it always provided hours of fun to speculate. However, this album is an example of it not working out. In an attempt to sound like contemporary indie and alt-rock bands in the US, Blur undergoes a stylistic change that doesn't really suit them. Some of the songs are decent, but they just don't do enough to really put them over. It may have to do with Blur's documented distaste for grunge. If they heard unlistenable garbage, then "I'm Just A Killer For Your Love" seems like a piss-take that reflects their view. Highlights: "Essex Dogs", "Song 2", "Strange News from Another Star" Blur is best when they're British. Damon's best when he's in Gorillaz.

Strong start to an album all with a solid sound, however, it felt like in the latter half it got more experimental and I lost interest since it wasn't what I was expecting. Collectively a 2/5, had they kept the momentum and consistency of the sounds within the first couple of songs it would've been a solid 3.

Ah, heck. How many fucking times: one song doesn’t make a great album. Beyond that song this just isn’t very interesting.

favorite songs: beetlebum, song 2, country sad ballad man, you’re so great, i’m just a killer for your love, movin’ on

Britpop :(

the first 2 songs baited me into thinking I would care about this album

Singles better than album tracks

I initially had high hopes for this album. I mean, Song 2 has always been an anthem and I love the first couple of Gorillaz albums, so surely this had to be good to make this list. In reality, I wasn't really a fan. But I will say, I mostly expected this to be full of post-grunge rock in the vein of "Song 2" but it was kind of all over the place. I can definitely see where Damon Albarn transitioned to the Gorillaz from Blur. I'm also not surprised I didn't love it, given that this album came out during my formative years, yet I didn't know any song other than their hit single. It wasn't necessarily bad, but it also wasn't anything truly good or even noteworthy.

Found it mostly uninteresting. "Song 2" is iconic but I'm not sure I'm really that jazzed about it as a thing to listen to on its own, outside the context of a high-energy TV commercial for cars or basketball.

Aside from Song Two which I still cannot fairly assess due to its being so overplayed when it first came out. You honestly couldn’t turn around without hearing the song. Unfortunately it ruined it a by association made me dislike the band without going deeper. Therefore this was my first time listening to the full album (or even partial). The songs were pleasant enough if not too memorable and I can see how people liked them. Unfortunately they sound “ of a time” and listening though pleasant would not be something I did without a project like this one.

Ok. Not my favorite, but some ok songs.

Even Song 2 didn't do much for me at this point

Besides the one hit song on the album, the rest was a waste of time. It’s very boring and non inspired. Of it wasn’t for Song 2, I’d rate this album a 1.

Mehh.. Not my music taste. But I liked the song "You're so Great". Also "Strange News from Another Star" is not bad. And of course "Song 2" is really famous and cool.

Damon alborn? I think that’s how you spell it is an interesting singer I always think of gorillaz when I hear blur good instrumentals and it is a good album I do find myself slipping more then a few songs but I did enjoy

Middest stuff on earth

Britpop ist nicht so meines, erinnert mich über zu grosse Strecke an die Beatles.

They're fine. Their hits are fine. All just fine.

Pretty mid actually

The Good: any song that starts off by stating Who-ho! The Bad: being lazy and naming a song “song 2”… The Ugly: trying to understand if the album title is a reference to the band’s name, or bad eye sight, or just unfiltered beer? Yeah… so… Blur… not my cup of tea. 2 serious hits on the album, they are appreciated, and I was actually enjoying my second spin of the album, digitally speaking, until I got to the song Chinese Bomb and started thinking “what the fuck am I listening to?” Thankfully I spent the biggest part of the ‘90s not worrying about which Brit Pop band was bigger; Blur or Oasis, or any of the other wankers that were out there at the time, as I was gratefully enjoying the whole Grunge scene instead. Anyways, we are here to talk about this album, and I think I say enough with the following “it’s not bad, but isn’t great either, and in your heart you kinda know that, alothough it sounds alright, it’s actually just shite” Who-ho 3* downgraded to 2*

Meh. Was waiting for something the whole album. Has that one song people know. The final song was good

Bobbins

excellent name for this not very interesting group. I guess they were popular and I did marry someone who had this album, along with other groups I could never really distinguish from each other, and then I divorced him. This is what I thought when I was listening to this shoe gaze-y sound.

Most of this I found agonizing to listen to. I'm starting to come down heavy on all these mediocre British bands, and it shows.

Their most famous song but not their best album. Kind of a tired burned out one, lo-fi, shaggy, and sprawling. Lots of songs but it's stuck halfway between their brash zannier previous style and the more experimental stuff to come. Favorites: Death of a Party, Song 2, Beetlebum

Not quite

Some obvious bangers here, but as an album, it's surprisingly incoherent although I applaud their fearlessness at this point in their career.

Mostly forgettable and boring. Favorite songs: Song 2, On your own, Movin' on. 2/5

kinda bad

Take it to the notes app. Because yesterday was a “blur” we’re reviewing this 1997 britpop excursion in another application. Will that help the typos? I hope so. It’s unbearable for anybody to read. Anyway, bring in Song 1. And then of course, song 2. Heavier Oasis? That was my hope anyway. If you’ve only heard “Song 2,” you’d be quite surprised by this opener. Count me in that group. This song is kind of boring, honestly. This feels like a track you’d hear in the waning moments of an album. Song 2 is just good. The heavy guitar, the vocals have drive and energy, and the overall distortion provides a chaotic and vibrant atmosphere. Close to a billion plays (probably at least 100,000 with me in the general vicinity), but with an attempt at fresh ears, this one goes pretty hard. Funny song title. Weird vocals. Incredibly cool instrumentation. I really like this one. And back down to earth. This sounds like a cut track from Disney Skate Adventure. 1 or 2. Was there more than one? Whatever. Next. The instrumental oddities have returned which I like, but the melody isn’t working for me. The song overall is just somehow not good. The theme from retro makes me pine for the days before personal audio allowed me to listen to this. A little bit nicer here now. I wouldn’t say that you’re so great, it the buried vocals and the return of distortion make for a nice little song. Not great in the end. Ugh. I don’t know man. Ooh the death of a party is a good proposition. Time to go home. Not be at a party. Hang yourself. Excellent idea of an evening. This isn’t a cry for help. That was a lyric. Whatever man. If you’re reading THIS deep, you’re either me or you need some sort of medical intervention. I think I’m starting to need some medical intervention. Another slog through the doldrums. Ohhh boy. Upbeat, punk-ish. Almost an interlude type song, but a burst of vigor. Super cool start. Tapers off as it goes on but dman near jolted me out of my seat to kick off. Last two songs have been an increase. Ahh this feels like a bizarro version of a song I’d love. It’s fine, but it has many of the elements I search for. It sounds like a criticism of America AND it has indie folk-ish tendencies. In the end, it doesn’t have enough heart to be truly great. Pink Floyd has begun drafting a Cease and Desist. Why now? You may ask, and that is a good question considering this album is 27 years old and they’ve had ample time. It was all about getting the right lawyer. Took years. Finally, in this review, I have broken the news that Pink Floyd is suing Blur, for sounding exactly the same as Dark Side of the Moon. That’s why you stick around in these bad boys. Next song please. Movin’ On started hot, tapered off. Ugh. I’m so bored. Essex Dogs is an odd, cool closer. Really liked this one. This album reminds me of hearing a conversation through a wall. You hear sounds that resemble words but you don’t know what they’re trying to say. This has the general ethereal shape of an exciting indie album while not fully ever forming into a cohesive statement. While the shape of it did spark my imagination, I found myself wishing for that imagined album rather than engaging with what “Blur” actually delivers. I appreciate the effort, but Blur sort of lived up to their name and went by in a blur with nothing to drag me out of the trance. 2.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Song 2, Country Sad Ballad Man, Chinese Bombs, Essex Dogs

It's a bit experimental and sonically all over the place, not for me but I admire the ambition.

1.79

Dos canciones bastante buenas (que casualmente son las 2 que empiezan el disco) y el resto bastante mediocre. Regular.

Not my thing.

Maybe a 2.5, just Goo by Sonic Youth but worse. Probably an auditory representation of the second section of Celeste 3A, except that level's actually good. End of the album gets a little better, but the start still drags it down. Has some okay songs, Beetlebum, Song 2, On Your Own, I'm Just a Killer for Your Love, but there's too much slop to justify a 3

Only good song is Song 2. Another review called the album "a blur," and funny as it is, yeah. Braindead is another word that works. Song 2 is pretty great though fr.

God I hope this is the last Blur record on the list.

Not my cup of beer.

Never really listened to Blur. Always liked Song 2 so this album gets some points just for containing that song. After listening to two Blur albums on this project now I have to say they are a great band. Great musicians. And the singer doesnt have a bad voice. The songs just dont quite hook me in enough to really grab me. But I can see why people can get into them.

All for bands/artists developing through their careers, who wants the same thing album after album, or trying to be your teen/ twenty something self when you are old enough to be that person’s dad ( or grandad in some cases). Never spent much time on Blur, so they moved on from their Brit pop sound, good for them. Obviously the album that has song 2, the sampled track heard on every sport highlight or next programme ad at the time, not sure how many times heard the whole song. It’s competent, songwriting, playing, singing and production but it just felt like a bit of a slog, hard work to get through all 50 odd minutes. Presume this means there is at least 1 other Blur album, as can’t imagine many Blur fans thinking this is their essential recording?

This album didn't need to be an hour long. Outside of Song 2, I don't think there are any I have heard before or have much interest in hearing again. Some of it started to sound a little too Smith's like, which just isn't it. I know they are one of the big British bands of the 90's but this album didn't do it for me.

Very mid. Song 2 was obviously the highlight but the rest was a blur (sorry). Still convinced that Oasis is better.

再听几张这么厌世的专我会疯掉

Song 2 is great but rest of the album was forgettable.

90s rock hairball

2 nothing memorable besides song 2

Gonna say it, Song 2 is overrated 😳 The rest of the album hardly grabbed my attention, either.

I really dislike Damon Albarn's whiney, sarcastic sounding vocal delivery. I just can't bear to listen - two minutes of the first track was enough for me.

Didn’t do it for me

Not bad

This starts out pretty well, but within a couple songs it completely falls off the rails. Songs like "Theme From Retro" are a disaster - slow, boring, and grating, the triple-whammy. After that point it never recovers. "You're So Great" they should've only used the demo as a template to record the real song, rather than putting the demo on the CD. "Death of a Party" the hook is funny but the song itself is once again the triple whammy. "Chinese Bombs" is a more-unpleasant cover of "Territorial Pissings". And every song thereafter has one or more of all those same problems. So what you've got is like 4 pretty good songs totaling 15 minutes and a huge pile of crap totaling 40 minutes. This is a great example of a CD that would've been OK if it were only 35 minutes long, only relative to that OK CD they've doubled the filler and left the killer unch. I would've given this a 1 except for "Song 2", which buys it a 2. I really like "Song 2".

Not good. Just not a good one. Very weird and didn’t sit well with me. Favorite song: Song 2

If only ever heard of their second song. The rest weren’t terrible but lot very interesting.

So, it's the album with Song 2 on it. I'm trying to find other things I like here, and You're So Great is a pretty good acoustic number. The track after, Death of a Party, is catchy in a plodding sort of way. It's followed by Chinese Bombs, a short punk rocker. There's a lot of variety here, and some of it is weirder than I expected. I wish it was more cohesive though, or that I liked more of the individual songs.

Just okay

Another boring rock band.

A slightly better album of theirs but the singer’s voice is still rough on the ears.

Started fine but it's not a great sign when an album starts dragging 3 songs in. 2/5

Boring britpop, drivel

This is Oasis’ Third best album! And it’s also Radiohead’s worst.

Did not meet expectations. A couple good tracks, but overall not that amazing.

Very hard to get into, it felt like a chore. The only positive about it is Beetlebum.

I thought I liked Blur more than I actually do, I found this album quite dull.

Fine but generally fairly boring

Rather bland and one-note.

I was VERY stressed while listening to this album. Don't know if it's the album's fault but I was just stressed. Unsure if I liked this

i don’t think it’s for me but i enjoyed

Thought I’d enjoy this one more. Starts off solid with the first three tracks but lost me in the middle. Sings started sounding samesy Fav songs: Beetlebum, Song 2, Death of a Party, Youre so great

not sure what made this a must listen

Pretty standard Brit Rock. Not terrible

Ein Knaller macht noch kein gutes Album.

Yllättävää, miten vähän tästä pidin. Song No. 2 on päheä, muuten mikään ei kolahtanut.

this felt chaotic and discordant to my ears. after listening to this album twice, i found my initial positive reaction to the funky vibes overpowered by the general messiness of the music. i could definitely see myself giving this another shot, but it really isn't my type

The second song was really nice. The rest was on the shite side

Song 2 is brilliant obviously, but the rest felt really complainey.

Song 2 is a super famous hit, the rest of the album is meh

I found it quite boring overall, had higher expectations based on Song 2

Blur's self-titled album is a curious beast. It's undeniably a product of its time, capturing the Britpop zeitgeist with infectious melodies and a sense of youthful exuberance. Tracks like "Song 2" and "Beetlebum" are undeniable anthems, showcasing the band's knack for crafting instantly memorable hooks. However, the album suffers from a lack of cohesion. It veers wildly between catchy pop, experimental soundscapes, and moments of introspective balladry. While this eclecticism can be refreshing, it often feels disjointed and prevents the album from achieving a strong overall identity. Despite its flaws, Blur remains a solid effort from a band at the height of their popularity. While it may not be their most consistent or groundbreaking work, it undoubtedly has its moments of brilliance.

Like the idea overall. Great musicians, nice song writing, but the album just doesn't hang together that. I wanted it to either be catchier or weirder and doesn't feel like it went in either direction.

Песня номер 2 оказалась очень обманчивой

One hit wonder.

It was a bit of a letdown. I prefer Damon on other projects, his voice is nice but the tracks aren’t my jam. I prefer the ones where the instrumentals are a bit more different and loud, otherwise the tracks don’t excite me.

Boring expect for the mythic song 2 of course

I'm surprised I've never listened much to these guys considering how much I like gorillaz. I now know why I don't. Oasis is better

Starts off strong, but I soon lost interest.

Song 2 is a banger. Maybe I’d rate this album a 3 if they weren’t from fucking London

One good song

I thought the album was a little too long. The music wasn’t bad, but it kind of lost my interest about halfway through.

It was better music than I expected based on Song 2 but not very interesting in comparison to other contemporary bands.

It’s mid, I don’t see the hype!

Meh. D+

I was dreading this one, I expecting to hate it. What I didn’t expect was for it to just be broadly inoffensive, dull music. I couldn’t even muster up hatred for it.

I thought this album was better, song 2 is about all it's got!

Meh. Song 2 is head and shoulders above the rest except arguably Beetlebum and the first 45 seconds of M.O.R. Seems like the perfect band for British millennials to love so much they get upset when others don't know who they are.

Song 2 rocks. Forget the rest.

There's a reason I only knew one of their songs

Song 2 gets you 2. The rest was not remarkable.

Not any appealing noise on this work for me.

Was okay. I can’t really remember anything that caught my ear, but nothing was bad either. 2.5/5 Probably won’t listen again

Not the biggest fan of this album. Song 2 is great, but short. The rest have the opposite problem imo. They're a bit too repetitive and samey, without any intensity.

Never really got into this back when it was released beyond Song 2 (which still holds up). The only other notable track was the opener (Beetlebum). The rest was pretty forgettable 90s British Alt Rock. Just didn't really hit for me, as much as I wanted it to.

Helt okej men för långt och mycket skrammel

song 2 går hårt annars vet jag inte i vilket sammanhang man skulle lyssna på det här albumet ärligt talat

Hann inte lyssna på hela! Favoritlåt: Song 2

Helt okej album, inget speciellt typ. Men song 2 e en klassiker Bästa låt: Beetlebum

It's al alright album. I remember it back when it came out and I still feel about the same. It's not bad but I wouldn't miss it if I didn't hear it again.

Sorry, I just don't get it. Another one of those UK acts that just isn't all that interesting.

Song 2 and Beetlebum are solid gold. I never liked the album that much at the time and on re-listen it still doesn't quite deliver. There's much better Blur out there!

Quite boring

“How much Damon Albarn can we fit on this list?” “Well, he hasn’t put out 1001 albums of his own yet, so keep cramming them in there!”

Best song: On Your Own, Song 2 Vibes: childhood Dad's car radio, TV soundtrack 2000s brit pop rock, beatles/bowie knock offs

Wow I didn't expect this to be so boring. So, so, so much filler. I didn't get through the double disc special spotify addition, I copped disc 1 (admittedly with a fair few moments of zoning out) and that was enough. It wasn't a bad listen, it was a nothing listen. Fav Track: Beetlebum

Meh. There was a lot to like from this genre. This is not one of them.

yo

Ok

With the Blur v Oasis thing I was always on the side of Oasis. Whilst Blur were undoubtedly groundbreaking musicians and made some great albums for the masses who adored them I was always a bit cold. I thought that their albums were a bit weird for my tastes but there was always a gem which sprang out of the weirdness to grab you and appreciate why they were so popular. In the case of this album that great song is Song 2 which I suppose half the planet are aware of. Despite its ubiquitousness I never fail to enjoy the power of the underlying riff. A really great song which stands head and shoulders above the rest of this album. I only bought this album recently. Not intentionally but because it was going cheap in a charity shop and decided because it was an album of some significance to some I needed it my collection. The only other Blur album I have is their greatest hits which is the one I like more as it mainly contains the aforementioned gems which I can play without enduring the weird. 2/5 20/3/24

It's okay

Song 2 is the best song on the album otherwise, this isn't that great a album.

I remember buying this album based entirely on the strength of Song 2, then being sorely disappointed by the rest of the album. So it's time for a revisit. Time to listen to it with unbiased, matured ears. It still sucks. There's some ok songs but most are boringly mid to terrible.