Blur

Overall pretty fun

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

Song 2 is the best. Rest is ok

downloaded 1,2,5,6 and 11. listened years ago

6.5/10 Pretty much just Nevermind

Song 2 struck a nostaligic chord for a sports video game of my past. The rest of the album seems to lack like Parklife did. 2/10

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

I love when a band puts thought into the order and the flow of the album. This was a mess and all over the place.

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

I enjoyed it more than Parklife. Solid album, sounds a lot more like Oasis which I doubt they wanted to accomplish. I could start to hear some more experimental stuff come in that would lead to the Gorillaz. Overall not too shabby

Best album so far,

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.

The first two tracks are typical, impactful Blur immediately recognisable and strong. I've always had a soft spot for 'Beetlebum' and the song 2. Beyond those, the album gets a little messy. I usually appreciate Blur's ability to maintain their style while offering good song variation, which typically keeps me engaged throughout an album. On this one, however, the flow feels a bit off, and it can be disjointed. There are certainly interesting moments within the songs, but the lack of continuity detracts from any overarching album theme. It also has a more pronounced classic rock vibe than their other works, with some heavy themes explored. It didn't quite land as a hit for me, but it's not entirely terrible.

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.

3.5 The album that shows that it was wrong to ever box Blur up with Oasis, and simultaneously show how much of a shame it is that Oasis ran out of ideas after 2 years rather than expanding on their sound. Back to Blur, suffers from the classic Blurism of having way too much filler. Middle of the album really drags along. Beetlebum is such an incredible opener. Shades of what was to come with Gorrilaz in Country Sad Ballad Man. Actually ends quite well to be fair, unlike most other Blur outings.

Song 2 was bar far the best song

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.

Enjoyed this one, and of course Song#2 is a classic, and the standout track in this album. Solid 3/5 for me.

sounds like the soundtrack for a PS2 racing game

Not sure why they have a hard time finding a hook. I very much admire their broad approach to music and sound they are not confined by Brit pop I wish they were a bit more melodic on this album.

They actually have a pretty nice sound. And some of the music videos are fun.

Song 2 was a favourite of mine when it was released. The rest of the album doesn’t have the same energy but I still quite enjoyed it.

All parties eventually end, and by all accounts, Britpop was a rager. This is Blur’s comedown record - the album where they broke from the hedonistic scene that made them famous. I’ve heard people say that OK Computer killed Britpop, but Blur did it themselves 3 months earlier when they released this self-titled album. The seeds were already planted on their previous album, the third in their Britpop trilogy, 1995’s The Great Escape. That album catches a lot of shit for jumping the shark on their sound, but despite the carnivalesque excess, there’s a deep melancholy running through it. I can hear shifts in their sound and increasing experimentation, especially in the back half of The Great Escape. I think they were (consciously or not) already trying to dismantle Britpop when it was at its zenith. This self-titled fifth album is why Blur is not Oasis. It’s Blur’s Kid A (though their next album, 13, gets more glory from critics). They evolved, and found something new to create. Gone are the cheeky character ditties and bouncy horn sections. Damon’s lyrics are more personal and the music is grittier and more adventurous. Pavement always gets name-checked as a big influence on this album. I don’t have the ear to pinpoint specific moments but the record has a scrappy, lo-fi vibe that feels very Pavement-y. Blur explores a lot of styles and influences here, from trip-hop to lo-fi to space rock to punk to noise rock. I like their explorations but it’s also why I took a star off - the album feels a bit disjointed, like a series of tangents. I think this gets overshadowed by the record that follows it, the masterpiece 13. Self-titled is not my most-listened-to Blur album, but I’m always rewarded when I put it on. Of note: Beetlebum - From the opening riff you can tell this was a completely new sound for Blur. A hazy, addictive track about doing heroin. “Inject this song into my veins” was never more appropriate. I absolutely love this song and it’s one of my favourite Blur singles. Definitely a case for it as their best song. This is also the hottest music video ever made, according to me and the YouTube comments section. The more you scroll the thirstier it gets. Song 2 - Blur’s Creep. This was the band’s idea of a grunge parody. Quiet/loud/quiet with nonsense lyrics and the iconic woo-hoo chorus. An accidental smash hit that gave Damon his longed-for American breakthrough (though it didn’t last). Of course, this was the first Blur song I ever heard. No matter how overplayed it is, I don’t get sick of it. Also the quintessential hockey goal song. Country Sad Ballad Man - This is where the album diverges from the pop-grunge sound of the first two tracks and starts to widen its scope. Kind of a weird song but I don’t hate it. M.O.R. - They’ve cranked up the distortion, but this frenetic Bowie interpolation could have fit right in on Parklife. I think it’s a fun song even though it’s more of a throwback. You’re So Great - A sweet lo-fi love song. It sounds like the vocals were recorded on a toaster but that was the point. This was the first time Graham Coxon sang lead vocals on a Blur album. A little prequel to his greatest triumph, Coffee & TV off 13. I don’t feel like going into a side rant about Graham so I’ll save that for another time. Death of the Party - Dark weird trip-hop-y song that gets into my head. Not sure if the title is an explicit reference to the end of Britpop, but surely that was in Damon’s mind. Great lyric: “Another night, and I thought ‘well, well’ / Go to another party and hang myself / gently on the shelf” Look Inside America - The idea of “America” looms large in Blur’s music. Damon had a pretty tortured relationship with the States, never making it big with Blur the way he wanted to (that would come later with Gorillaz). On this song he seems to be coming to terms with Blur’s lack of stateside success: “Look inside America / she’s alright she’s alright / sitting out in the distance / but I’m not trying to make her mine” At least they had Song 2. Strange News From Another Star - Love, love, love this song. A fame-weary Damon’s tribute to Bowie. While Major Tom is lost in space, Damon can’t find his way on earth. One of Blur’s best deep cuts. Essex Dogs - I love this as an album closer. Spoken word musings by Damon about his hometown over weird buzzing clattering instrumentation. Reminds me of some of Yo La Tengo’s noise jams. A great way to end an adventurous album, and points the way to their brilliant follow-up, the masterful breakup album 13 (hey I didn’t even mention Justine in this review! I’ll save that for another time too).

Hmmm I found myself enjoying several individual tracks, but as an album it felt somewhat... disjointed? There's a little bit of everything on this, which typically is my thing, but here it felt sorta inauthentic. It almost felt like Blur were taking a step back from the brit pop explosion for the first time and realizing “wow there’s a lot of other cool music going on right now, we don’t have to just do brit pop, we can do other shit”… and then they tried a little bit of everything on this album. So there's a Portishead track and a Radiohead track (theme from retro for sure) and a Kinks track (look inside America has strong kinks energy) and more. Some of it works better than others? I’ve never really been a big trip hop fan (I really don’t get Portishead), so those inclusions were a bit lost on me (I’m looking at you Essex dogs, all 8 minutes of you). The Radiohead influence I actually found quite jarring. This thing came out after the bends and before Ok computer, but certain melodies and instrumental choices felt very The bends/creep inspired. I mean I’m sure Blur was an influence on Radiohead in some way since Blur was the bigger band at the time. But the darker/moodier melodies and guitar tones felt very Radiohead. And they did it so accurately that it felt distracting at points. Took me out of the experience. To be clear though, I did enjoy this album overall. The song writing is great. There’s some really catchy stuff here. I can feel the influence of this album on many future rock albums. And I can feel Albarn creeping towards the gorillaz sound which I think is perhaps the “final form” of these early experiments. This album is way more interesting than every oasis album, which doesn’t say much but what’s a blur review without a reference to Oasis. I love and respect that they are experimenting with their sound and taking a ton of swings on this thing rather than just doubling down on their britpop stuff. Not that there’s anything wrong with that stuff. It just seems that the band is saying through this album, we’ve done that sound and we don’t have anything more to say with it and we want to do something different… and I think that’s a hard realization to have and pursue. So I really respect that. Perhaps with more listens, the album of it all will come together in my mind. For now I kinda just want to take the tracks I love and stick em in a playlist. It’s a 3.5 for me but I’m going to round down. Stuff I liked….
 Beetlebum - love the falsetto chorus, great track Song 2 - it’s an all time grunge, alt rock banger. Weirdly I was introduced to it through an MCR cover, which still rocks. The original is the superior version of course. Plus, it’s one of those great examples of art meant as satire that was ultimately taken literally and loved unironically…. which always makes me laugh. Country Sad Ballad Man - some nice slacker rock, has pavement vibes with a hint of country 
 You’re so great - just a sweet, catchy little acoustic track. Loved it. Might be my new favourite Blur song. Chinese Bombs - great punk track. Almost felt like Arctic Monkeys before Arctic Monkeys.

Eh. A few good songs and a few that just drag.

Done

Other than a couple of throw-away songs on this album, I thought it was fine. But this is the 3rd album by Blur that has been on this list of 1001 for me to review so far. More evidence that this list is just too long. Another ho-hum three star album.

My hot music take is that despite the success of Blur and Gorillaz, Damon Albarn doesn't get enough credit for being one of Britain's best songwriters. Blur weren't a one-man band though, and they all get to share the praise for realising they'd hit a dead end with The Great Escape and massively course correcting with this album.

Another Blur classic. Bruised and aggressive

3+ Stars (9/15)

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

Um disco praticamente impecável. Mais se assemelha a um Greatest Hits do que um álbum regular. E além de tudo, um flow incrível de faixa pra faixa. Tipo de álbum que faz o tempo passar rápido, que te mantém totalmente investido de capa a capa, sem perder tempo. Até o interlude semi-instrumental Theme From Retro encaixa perfeitamente bem na ordem. Blur têm os melhores álbuns de britpop na minha opinião. Oasis possui os melhores singles. Mas quando o assunto é fazer um disco coeso e repleto de melodias memoráveis e refrões chicletes, Blur é imbatível. Este álbum em específico possui uma energia bipolar inigualável. Impossível ficar parado ouvindo faixas como Beetlebum, Song 2, On Your Own, que fazem parte do seu primeiro lado, mais animado e mânico. Após o Interlude Theme From Retro se inicia o segundo lado do álbum, com faixas mais introspectivas, e algumas baladas maravilhosas, capazes de arrancar lágrimas, como Strange News From Another Star. E não posso deixar de mencionar minha canção favorita do disco, Death Of A Party, uma vibe que me lembra bastante Crawling Up The Walls do Ok Computer. Impecável! Meu centésimo álbum! Só mais 900 e poucos... 5/5

I bought this album when it came out. I loved it then and it still holds up. Song 2 is the smash hit of course but 'On your own' has always been my favourite and tender is also a marvellous piece of music. In the end though, not all songs on this album are of the same level in my opinion so I can't really give it the full 5 stars.

Highlight Song/s: Beetlebum, Song 2, Country Sad Ballad Man, On Your Own and Death of a Party Blur's self-titled is when they started to and embrace American indie and slacker rock alongside that lo-fi sound that is present on every song. The change into this sound was very much needed, there's only so much you can do with that positive overly-British sound and I believe the 3 albums of it were enough. Now about the song Beetlebum, because I love it so much: Beetlebum is such a dreamy song. The harmonies in that song are just incredible; the calm singing as well. That sliding from the electric guitar in the verses is quite catchy, good bassline, good drums and GOOD EVERYTHING. Beetlebum's lyrics are about heroin, which I learnt from watching a documentary about them (from Trash Theory), the song just hit so much harder once I found that out and I fell in love with it more. The song then accumulates into that magnificent chaotic noisy outro.

Beetlebum and Song 2 are great. Pretty nostalgic for me, having just been at the age to discover "proper music" when the album came out. The rest is bitty, though. Some interesting experimental elements. Too much discordant, quite unpleasant sounding lo fi.

Really strong start to this one but fell off a cliff at the halfway point. I do struggle with Blur. I like the singles but beyond that there’s very little of interest to me.

Okay I think (no memory)

Still prefer Oasis:)

gud

Très différent de Song 2 que j'ai beaucoup trop écouté (et qui était une blague apparemment). C'est plutôt bon. Je donnerais 7/10, pas 8/10.

Their 4th best

Cover 6.5 Doesn't entirely live up to expectations or up to time. But it's not 80s "butt rock" or 70s disco which faired worse as far standing the test of time. Granted both disco and butt rock found their niche here and there, but 90s alt has yet to be scorned and reviled at similar levels (save one or two rock groups who people simply enjoy hating on (Nickelback, etc.). Overall, I'm glad I listened to this album. I didn't care for it when it originally came out, but I was less open than I am now.

Better than parklife

Above average album from this late 1990s/early 2000s British era. Song 2 is an all-timer. Nothing too remarkable but nothing particularly unenjoyable either. 6/10 (3/5)

A couple great stand outs, but otherwise a fairly generic sounding "garage"/grunge album.

Chill album, good for my yesterday's evening. I recommend.

Never really got Blur, apart from a few undeniably great tracks. First time listening to one of their albums start to finish - still don't get it.

nice enough

I was always a blur fan seen them many times. Would make this 10/10 if I could so 5/5 will have to do. Highly recommend

One banger and the rest meh

Classic alt rock album, enjoyed listening to this!

Vale leí mal y le puse al de Joni Mitchell la valoración de este, porque leí Blur en vez de Blue xd. El disco de Joni no lo voy a escuchar asiq imaginemonos que es un disco de los 90 que tiene punk y electrónica, cuyas 3 primeras canciones molan y le doy 4 estrellas. La valoración real de Blur está ahí.

Eeeei me gustó bastante bastante este álbum. Me quedo con algunas canciones a parte de la más famosa (Song 2 ) que por mucho que esté quemadísima es la ostia. A veces no me digáis por qué, me daba vibes de david Bowie como cantaba! Sobre todo al final del álbum. Esto no me lo esperaba para nada porque pensaba que el álbum iba a ser más punkero pero no me decepcionó nada. Damon Albarn crush extremo

Pues a ver a mí Blur me gusta mucho, y este álbum tiene temazos como beetlebum o on your own (no estoy diciendo song 2 para hacerme la interesante). El resto de las canciones tb me gustaron bastante, son todas muy Blur. Creo q sobre 10 le pondría un 7'5 así q bueno. Además Damon Albarn es la polla

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.

Had a few good jams!

Can you believe the singer also made gorillaz? 8/10

Nice enough

Oljud

I was already a Gorillaz fan by the first time I got to this album and remember being pretty dismissive of it but really enjoyed it as a non shitty teen. lots of fun noisy shit going on. Fav tracks: "Country Sad Ballad Man", "Death of a Party", and "Chinese Bombs"

Even as a big damon fan, I find listening to most Blur albums is not really for me. I would say about every other song on here is good though

Maybe the Blur album I’ve liked most on this list, if only for sounding less generically britpoppy. Still, aside from Song 2 (the only one I’d heard before), pretty mediocre. Favorite: Song 2

Loved this record when it came out, I had been a Blur fan for a few years but they had definitely exhausted the whimsical character studies of middle England by this point. Tapping into a more lo-fi, exprimental American sound at a time when I was starting to discover different bands like Pavement and Sonic Youth made this a firm favourite of mine. Closer Essex Dogs kind of sets the scene for the even more sprawling 13. I kind of lost interest in Blur a bit there and feel like this is the sweet spot of having some amazing hits like Parklife but with Graham's guitar more prominent on the likes of Beetlebum and Song 2.

4.5 stars, rounding up because i love blur and this album is so good

6/10 - can kinda be slept on a bit tbh. Doesn’t quite have the more high brow music that comes to dominate blurs later work

Love Blur, Damon Albarn is seriously talented. Not my favourite album though, I much prefer Parklife and The Great Escape. Song 2 is iconic tho

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

3.5

3.5

No songs that I would play on purpose, but I’d be happy to listen to most of them on the radio or at a party is they came up

love

Muy muy bueno Buen inicio y buen final Song 2 es una de mis canciones fav

This is the fun one. Fits perfectly for a specific mood, while hardly being groundbreaking and having a bunch of really hideous tracks. The treak, I guess, is to not take Blur too seriously, but than, even Blur didn't take this album serious, why people try? On Your Own, You are So Great and Look inside America hurt my ears and Song 2 is ruined by all the commercials it was in. But Beetlebum, Country Sad Ballad Man, Death Of the Party and Strange News from Another Star are the highlights.

The album was great, I've download a few songs and I will continue listening to Blur for sure.

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

Great album very consistent

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.

Art school in-jokes, lad pub grim, headache all the way down. Music for radio rotations, warm lager festivals and corporate fairgrounds.

Woo hoo

Standouts Beetelbum

Wow I strongly disliked this album. It sounds like random garage metal that didn't fit together and often vaguely/strangely reminded me of other songs I've already heard of.

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.

This was a lot better than I expected, having not listened to any of Blur’s other music aside from Song 2.

The genre is my thing. The album was great, but nothing really jumped out as something particularly profound. I'll give it a couple more listens to make sure it wasn't a matter of my mood. Good stuff, but maybe not great?

Meh

Spoko

Too much filler among the killers

I only knew the second track, which is the one everyone knows. I had it on a mix CD I made in high school, so it was one of my cruising the neighborhood rock out tunes. In the back of my mind, I always thought I should listen to the full album, so I was happy to see this prompt. The rest of the album lacks the energy of Song 2, however, so I was disappointed. The vibe really settles in on the last few tracks, and there are some good vibes and sounds, but for the most part, uneventful.

Great songs. Some are playlist songs. I love this album

Hard rock rocks hard

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

Get off to a great start but tails off into something pretty uninteresting it’s a shame cause I was excited when this one came up

Hell yeah

Dope

I enjoyed this Blur album more than the other ones I've listened to as part of this project (Parklife & Modern Life is Rubbish) Definitely seeing some shades of Gorillaz in a few of the tracks.

Yes!! One of the best albums!

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

Never felt the urge to listen to any Blur records based on my exposure to their singles which were mostly never to my taste, but enjoyed this. Experimental sounds, with good dynamics and diversity in the songs throughout the album. Great tones from guitar & bass. Will definitely revisit the album.

This eponymous 1997 album marks a pivotal moment for Blur, the band that helped define 90s British music. Moving beyond their Britpop roots, Blur embraces a raw, stripped-down sound, reflecting a burgeoning interest in American indie rock and even grunge. It captures the pent-up energy of a post-punk youth, channeling the era's restless spirit. This album stands as a testament to the band's evolution, showcasing their versatility and willingness to reinvent, cementing their place as key figures in the alternative landscape of the 90s.

Great album! I really like Coxon’s guitar style. Listened from beginning to end and enjoyed every track. 5

이거야뭐 ㅎ

One song that’s recognizable but otherwise forgettable.

Hørte på det to ganger, den eneste sangen som satt sæ va «Song 2», som æ jo har hørt før. Det e litt nostalgisk, men ikke veldig.

beetlebum and song 2 are so good and the rest of the album is just a....blur

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.

Beetlebum Song 2

4- flere pop perler, blandet med mer utflytende å litt eksperimentelle sanger. Look inside America, den hadde jeg glemt av litt, for en fin sang.

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

Some solid singles, Enjoyable album overall.

ITS A CLASSIC! YOU'RE SO GREAT BLUR! LOL

One good song on a otherwise weak album.

Not a bad album, just kind of boring.

The joke song becomes the hit and the rest is solid but can see why a little levity/self sabotage can create something better.

Some songs you’ll recognize. Green Day feel

90’s rock classic

Song 2 - obvious banger Love the dynamics

90’s alt rock, I like it

A couple of very boring songs here and there, but overall a fantastic album

i dig it. song 2 is lowk modern indie classic. country sad ballad man is lowk whiny but thats def the point. i like M.O.R. nothing stands out a whole lot but none of it is bad thats for sure. very brit pop. i can taste the bowie. i like it but it also doesnt stand out. i lowk just cant do the brits ig

Hit or miss, but definitely too long... Some great songs, a lot of forgettable ones, should have been much shorter... Still a good overall vibe...

A lot of stylistic experimentation on this one ends up making the album feel a little disjointed. Definitely a big departure from the ‘90s Brit-pop sound of their earlier albums. This feels like a very talented band with varied musical interests feeling around for a new direction. Favorite tracks: Song 2, I’m Just a Killer for Your Love, Look Inside America

It's ok, I guess?

Just OK.

This album has one of the best songs from the era of alt rock in song 2, it's also just a great album!

O disco começa muito bem com Beetlebum e já engata com a clássica Song 2. Uma pena que, além dessas duas, meu único destaque seja para a bela Strange News from Another Star. O resto do disco passeia entre faixas agradáveis e outras esquecíveis. Momentos como Essex Dogs tornam o disco praticamente um borrão na minha memória. Nada do que ouvi no disco homônimo do Blur é propriamente ruim, mas esperava mais.

Ainda que eu só tenha conhecido a banda de fato depois de adulto, escutando os discos e tal, esse álbum é nostálgico de certa forma pra mim por causa de duas músicas, "Song 2" (tema do Fifa 98) e "Look Inside America". Essas eram algumas das poucas músicas que eu tinha ouvido da banda quando adolescente, junto de "Coffee & TV". O Blur não é uma banda espetacular, mas tem uma discografia bastante regular e foi uma das bandas mais importantes dos anos 90. Esse disco álbum não é o melhor deles, mas talvez seja o mais variado, com ótimas canções.

Started off strong but fell off pretty quick.

Rating 3.25 Notable songs: song2, beetlebum You know what for a blur album this actually wasn't that bad. The first 2 songs are obviously bops, especially in the UK. The ones following were alright and weren't too bad. I never got to the end songs due to time but it was actually okay, which I don't often say about blur. Probably their most notable album though.

Did not give this album as much attention as I would've liked when listening. Beetlebum is nice.

Some good songs in there but not anything that really hits home for me.

From "Beetlebum" to WOOOOhoooOOO song (2) it is easy to see why this eponymous album is a monolith of Brit pop or whatever the heck you want to call it. Their sound is one that has clearly moved away from the unknowingly, over concerned toothiness of a band like the Beatles or another Brit band I don't really deem to care enough about (I'm discovering that, maybe, I'm a little xenophobic when it comes to British people, specifically those of whom I'm an American counterpart; Jung really eats his heart out for this kind of stuff, projections and jealousy and whatnot) and transitions to a sound receptive to its time while moving the needle, or the whole scale really, of what it means to be a 'serious' or 'unserious' artist. I don't know, maybe I'm trying to say its defiant, but it isn't so in spite of its face. Blur's eponymous album pays tribute to their legacy, and unlike earlier, proto-Blur-sounding albums, it wonderfully defines their sound. All this being said, whatever. I don't really care for pre-00's pop. Still a job well done, 8/10.

Beetlebum // Song 2 // Country Sad Ballad Man // Theme from Retro //

Extremely consistent album which elevates their style from earlier albums mixing it with more hard rock. Blur is just a really great listen which captivates the whole way through.

not bad not bad not my favorite blur but not bad

Surprisingly enjoyable 4.5

Didn't know any tracks but beetlebum and song 2, thought like most blur this was good but not quite great. I like the blur sound, the chord progressions are always off kilter and getting places I wouldn't expect. Think there were a lot of songs which while good were more of background music than demanding your attention. Which is fine but unlikely to be a favourite. Might benefit from another listen but it's not going to be a 5, 3.5 for now. .

A diverting listen, but wouldn't be back. I don't really get Blur, they straddle, and stay in, the boring parts of Britpop. Quite dreary without too many musical flashes. I'm m not a fan of the songwriting. An extra star for Song 2 brings up the rating.

Not sure I've heard this album before. Not as good as the previous album we had. Song 2 and beetlebum are pretty good though. Progeny said this last time, but I was never a big blur fan Still a 3 if not 3.5

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

It’s got this classic rock thing blended with texture sometime that I really appreciate.

Better than Coldplay

This has aged better than I was expecting, and has some decent songs on it. Nothing too exciting, but I'd happily listen to again.

Good stuff. Really good instrumentals and more interesting than a lot of other britpop stuff. Slightly long for what it is though.

Love this one & love that everyone is surprised that not at 14 tracks are Song #2

"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.

Worse than Oasis, not one good song. Still this horrible mix that destroys the dynamic range.

Some bands are one hit wonders for a reason

OK rock

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.

Some interesting, Gorillaz-like songs, but overall falls a bit short compared to Parklife, the other Blur album I've listened to from this list. 13, if I remember correctly, may have been better too. Still, Song 2, Death of a Party, Strange News from Another Star and Essex Dogs were great. 3.65*, rounded down.

Fun rock album, will listen again

The best to ever do it. Made Jazz that was accessible to the masses

Was excited to listen but was disappointed.

It was fine

Real solid ‘90s BritPop album. Had a bit of everything…

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.

blur!! listened to some songs by them before, initial response - nice vibe, pretty long but good for background music, 3/5, not completely my vibe; country sad ballad man - have heard before, don't love the irritating sound effects but its alr, lyrics and voice pretty good, except when it gets high..

Definitely an 'aggressive and emotional' collection of songs, as described by drummer Dave Rowntree (as compared to the band's prior offerings. "Song 2" will always be a banger, and I was pleasantly surprised by the dark and moody songs that acted as an interesting contrast to "Song 2" and the other faster/more aggressive recordings.

Ohhhh, it’s THAT song. I recognize that song. Such an iconic “WOO HOO.” I’m actually surprised to see this album came out in ‘97 - but after listening to it, it definitely sounds like the 90s. A lot of sleeper songs in between the cool songs.

Bloody brilliant

Love the singles but never been convinced by any Blur album I've listened to in full. This is no exception.

A bit too much Too long Too much freaky sounds

I don't want to spend more time on this than I already have. Its whatever. Some songs were annoying, some were eh. Only decent song was Death Of A Party. Best song: Death Of A Party

Blur lives up to its name and all their songs kind of run together in my mind. They’re more a sound than a collection of hits. I’m glad that DA used this to go on to make the great Gorillaz albums, and I’d look for a Blur greatest hits album, but record by record they’re not pulling me in

I remember first hearing their first single Girls and Boys and didn’t really like it although there was something different about it. When this album came out, Song 2 was everywhere, and I absolutely loved it. As a whole the album is solid but doesn’t have enough to keep me coming back.

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.

Brit Pop jamz.

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.

Some great tracks, some filler though, and not keen on weak vocals at times.

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.

This Oasis fan won't switch sides! I get why people like Blur, I get why people prefer Blur to Oasis, I get why Blur is often called more cerebral than Oasis (still, the most cerebral Britpop band is surely Pulp?). I do like many Blur songs. But I just don't connect with them enough.

Is it as good as Parklife? No but it's still a pretty good album. Favorites: Beetlebum, Song 2, M.O.R.

Nit bad

Substantially better than I thought it would be. Favorites: Chinese Bombs, Movin' on Least Favorites: Beetlebum, Country Sad Ballad Man 3.5

In the great Britpop war of the 90’s where you were either in the Oasis camp or the Blur camp - I always generally tended to lean towards Blur. There was always a certain unpredictability as their discography grew since they tended to be more experimental than the band the media pit them against. This particular album really has a great flow to it with very subtle style changes throughout the tracklist. It’s relaxing, chill, angry, distant, personal, cryptic and upfront and it flips between all of it effortlessly. Simple melodies on the surface, complimented with complex production underneath. It really shows how experimental Albarn was becoming, and how comfortable he was doing so. Personal favourite tracks: Song 2, M.O.R, On Your Own, Chinese Bombs, Look Inside America. I usually appreciate it more when artists evolve as their discography grows. The fact this band never once sat on a particular way of doing things is commendable, in my opinion. I probably lean more towards Gorillaz as that outfit gives Albarn way more room to REALLY experiment. But this is a really, really solid Blur album. 4/5

I’d like to give half stars. Specifically, this would be 2.5 from me. I appreciate the Bowie references here, but this was a musical era that I skipped. I might have just been busy raising little kids, but I wasn’t listening to a ton of popular music in this time frame. It was a little shouty in places, an approach that puts me off, a la Oasis. Some good songs, including the one I had already heard, that everyone has heard. I’m ok with the 3 star rating.

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

A thing that non-Britons miss about Blur is that they were considered by the British music press and beyond, even through the Life trilogy, a band for (gasp) the least-discerning music consumers of all time: teenage girls. Pin-ups. Not a boy band exactly, but certainly not Serious Rock Musicians. Even after Popscene, one of the songs credited with kicking off britpop, they were slagged off as a bit preposterous. I had no idea about any of this though I could always detect that the NME and Melody Maker, alongside late 90s music forum posters, were forever looking down on them. Suede and Pulp? Serious bands. Oasis? Ridiculous, but actual rock and rollers. Blur? Cmon, them? Too pretty, too upper class! My experience, otoh, was seeing Damon affect a hip hop or punk frontman posture during the Parklife tour, like, hey, he’s one of us! The songs were a bit too ensconced in provincial concerns and whatnot, but he wears the same clothes as I do, and they like the same bands I do. Gotta check back in on them someday. Well, that day came in the summer of 1997 in Texas, when I was perusing the lone CD store south of Austin and heard “Song 2”, asked a cashier wtf? this is Blur? the Country House guys? and he was like I KNOW! I didn’t quite embrace the whole record at first, this was the same summer as OK Computer, The Wrens’ Overnight Success, my deep Archers of Loaf dive, but over the next 2 years I memorized just about every bit of feedback and non-sequitor on there. Song 2 still had some life before 13 came around and was not yet the arena timeout fixture it became stateside, but the better parts of the record were the murky, noisy, delay-laden album cuts like Essex Dogs, Death of a Party, Strange News, plus the “I can’t believe this is britpop” charms of MOR and On Your Own, let alone the throwback feel of Look Inside America. And then there’s Coxo’s warbly slice of heartfelt perfection, You’re so Great, maybe the most lo-fi GBV thing on here, just with better guitar-playing (sorry Bob). This all set them up unfairly in my own mind as the band that could give Radiohead a run for Best Band heading into the 2000s, but oh well, things took a turn.

meh 3/5

5/12/25. Love Blur, and this album in particular because they tried to take a different direction from "Britpop" and they succeeded. Outside of the obvious Song 2, there are lot of good gems in this one.

Song 2 and Beetlebum are great but the rest of the album didn't make any impact on me.

Released at the tail end of Britpop, this album saw Blur finally move away from their blinky-blimey, mockney pretensions and shift into a more post-grunge, indie style. Ironically, their shortest track Song-2 was the one that finally made an impact in America and it’s probably the best thing on here. The rest is mostly ok, with the most interesting part for me being the 8 minute experimental track Essex Dogs which reminded me of David Bowie from this era.

At the end Blur got really better and more interesting. Sure, there's Song 2 (and it's a hit come on, you'd have to be a cold fish not to enjoy this song, it's a bit like Smells Like Teen Spirit), but the rest of the album is pretty nice to listen to, they are trying to explore different territories, it doesn't always perfectly work but at least they tried.

Este disco les abrió la puertas de América, ya fuera con la beatlemaniaca Beetlebum o la célebre punk Song 2 como temas centrales. Hay de todo ,el Bowie berlinés en M.O.R., más Brit Rock en Country salad ballad man, trip hop I’m Just a Killer for Your Love, la oscura Theme from Retro, la dulce You’re So Great con G. Coxon a la voz principal o el cierre con la electrónica Essex Dogs. Diverso y variado, y de gran calidad. Fue un álbum muy importante en un año excelente. De aquí les siguió uno aún mejor: 13. Aun así son mejores Modern Life Is Rubbish y obviamente su obra maestra Parklife. También el último The ballad of Darren. Se acabó la fiesta brit y comenzaba la crisis para muchos, pero ellos, listos como nadie, ya estaban a otra cosa. Discos del 97: Radiohead: OK Computer, Spiritualized: Ladies And Gentlemen We’re Floating In Space, The Prodigy: The fat of the land, The Verve: Urban Hymns, Cornershop: When I Was Born For The 7th Time, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: The Boatman’s Call, Erykah Badu: Baduizm, Wilco: Being There, Portishead: Portishead, Primal Scream: Vanishing Point, Tindersticks: Curtains, Björk: Homogenic, Bob Dylan: Time Out Of Mind, Yo La Tengo: I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One, The Chemical Brothers: Dig Your Own Hole, Belle And Sebastian: If You’re Feeling Sinister, Shleep de Robert Wyatt Teenage Fanclub: Songs From Northern Britain, Mogwai: Young Team, Daft Punk: Homework, Stereolab: Doots And Loops, The Make-Up: Sound Verite, Eels: Beautiful Freak, Erykah Badu: Baduizm, Echo & The Bunnymen: Evergreen, Prefab Sprout: Andromeda heights, Dinoasaur Jr.: Hand It Over, Buenavista Social Club: Buenavista Social Club, Elliott Smith: Either, Or, Janet Jackson: The velvet rope, Smog; Red apple falls, Built to Spill: Perfecto from now on, The Jayhwaks: Sound of lies, Kent: Isola, Ocean Colour Scene: Marchin' already, Paul Weller: Heavy soul, Cotton Maher: Kontiki, Luna: Pup Tent, Foo Fighters: The colour and the shape... Y también: Spice Girls: Spiceworld, U2: Pop o Aqua: aquarium...

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.

Good singles. Not a standout album.

More interesting, experimental and diverse than I originally thought. Song 2 is still, despite being overplayed, a banger!

It’s alright. Song 2 is great though

It's starts well but those two opening tracks also highlight the problem with the album - each song is essentially a simple riff that often doesn't really go anywhere. There's plenty of experimental sounds but they don't really add much value. I'm sorry to say I was a bit bored by the end of it all.

A return to form by the Blur boys

This was their comeback album after the shockingly shite great escape. Heavier sound for them that works. Some great sounds song2 beatlebum and on your own great standout tracks.

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

Very enjoyable; indie pop classic.

I recall listening to this a bunch of times when it first came out. Relistening today, I only remembered Beetlebum and Song 2, which are still great, but zero nostalgia of anything else.

Hmm. This is intriguing. I like some of the jangly indie rock and more upbeat tracks. I also like the gauzy soundscapes they can create. The singer’s aggressively British accent detracted for me, and there were no standout songs on an admittedly-distracted listen, except for the ubiquitous “Woo Hoo!” number, which I shamefacedly added to my like playlist. I’d be up for another listen and re-consideration, if not for the relentless gauntlet of daily albums…

Not bad. Couple songs to enjoy.

with the exception of Song 2, mostly uninterested

british indie pop classic. not much more apart of Song 2... 3/5

meh

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

All the while I got my albums and timelines confused, and initially thought that this record was was Blur's first. Save for the hits and a few other songs, it mostly feels uninspired and indistinguishable, like it came from a band that hadn't found their sound yet. Definitely not something that came from an already established name. Standouts are Song 2, Beetlebum, Look Inside America, and Movin' On.

What the hell is a beetlebum? There's so many cool bits of guitar work that I enjoyed (M.O.R scratchy harmonics., Country Sad Ballad Man....whatever that was) but I ultimately just don't enjoy the vocal style they use for the majority of the record, which is a departure from the one song I actually knew (Song 2, naturally). Genuinely full of surprises though - Chinese Bombs threw me for an absolute loop. Overall, I liked it, even past the vocals.

9 out of 10

9.5/10

2/5

Music for brit blokes.

At first I didn't know who they were and then I listened and now I know who they are

It was better than I expected given the whole "Song 2 was a joke" thing.

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's fine. Love the fuzz bass in Song 2, but the rest is just fine.

I am enjoying this album more than I thought I would. Not a worldbeater but solid.

This one has grown on me over the years. This album gets overlooked because if “Sing 2,” which is fun, but there’s a lot of good things going on here. Much like Radiohead, they creat a cool vibe with distorted guitars. Love it.

A lesser known blur album for me minus the hits. Nothing major stood out, but still a good listen.

Twee-est grunge ever

I was latecomer to Blur's music, except for the big hits, but then really got into them over the last few years. Now they're one of my favorites. If I were to hear one of their albums without knowing the release date, I would have a hard time figuring out what decade they were from...which is one of the best things about them. Favorite tracks: You're So Great, Beetlebum, Song 2

I wanted to like this more but I just don't think they had more than a couple of great songs in them. Their desire to be the Beatles, the Clash, and the Smiths all rolled into one is palpable. Beetlebum is their best song, but in reality they most closely resemble the Beatles in that their early and late work have nothing in common. 3.5

This is blur's "post-success" album. Their previous record, 1995's The Great Escape, was a huge hit, but it really wasn't that great. The band members, particularly Graham Coxon, were miserable with the direction they had taken, and that shows in this album. Coxon's love for American indie rock like Sonic Youth and Pavement is apparent in his guitar work, while you can hear the outline of what would someday become Gorillaz in tracks like On Your Own, I'm Just a Killer for Your Love, and Death of a Party. I would say this is Blur's most cohesive record, thematically messy and miserable, with hints of their past and future mixed together. Unfortunately, it does suffer from the bloat that all blur albums seem to have, but the good tracks are absolutely killer. My favorites are beetlebum (possibly their best song), song 2, death of a party, and you're so great. (Side note that I will expand upon when Modern Life is Rubbish comes up: Graham Coxon is, in my opinion, one of the all time great guitarists and he really doesn't get the appreciation he deserves. But, like I said, I'll come back to it. This review is long enough already. Also, 13 should probably be on this list.)

Beetlebum and song2 are the best by far on this album, look inside america i liked too. The second half was otherwise not too remarkable.

Woo-Hoo everyone, Woo-Hoo This is a pretty good album. I own it and have listened to it more than once. Obviously everything on the album is overshadowed by Song 2. It always sounded gimmicky to me, but the gimmick worked. Probably 95% of the people who bought this album bought it for that track not to mention it being everywhere in popular culture for years after. Woo-Hoo

3 out of 5. The second half really loses me, but overall I give this album a 'so-so.'

Wow, pretty blown away that I’ve slept on this one until now but previous Blur albums failed to grab me so I’d probably just naively assumed they were all similar. The variety on this album keeps it from getting boring, something I thought was missing on say Modern Life. The lack of their brand of (for me) corny, pseudo-quirky Cockney thing that was there in abundance early on is a great progression imo. I can definitely hear early prototypes of the Gorillaz sound in this album - as well as parts sounding slightly darker, almost Radiohead-esque, with a hint of a trip-hop influence. No skips on this album, every track had something different, and considering I only knew of two songs near the beginning that is quite impressive. Amazing guitar work by Coxon as per usual, some really cool and interesting sounds. Will definitely be listening again. I can’t think of a reason to not give this my first 5/5. Standout tracks on first listen: Beetlebum (obviously) On Your Own Theme From Retro Death of a Party

Yeah good

Some good songs some okay songs, Beetlebum and Song2 are classics. Could get a beer to those songs.

🦍 Golira Starts off very strong, but falls off a bit.

I like song 2. I’d like this album more if more songs sounded like song 2. Was gonna give it a 4 but they have a song making fun of America so they lost a star. One of the thickest English accents I’ve heard in music.

No es el mejor album de Blur pero ellos se merecen estar en esta selección

Some great tracks on here but inconsistent. Some of the more experimental stuff is not my favorite stuff from them. The stand out tracks are some of my favorites from Blur, Beetlebum, On your Own, MOR. Others are easily forgotten.

Some fantastic memories!

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

Mid.

Deep soundscapes. Need to relisten.

Song 2 is about the only song worth listening to here. The rest is just a Blur!

I really like this album. I was only familiar with one of the songs. I loved hearing all of the other songs. The last song Essex Dogs is so good!

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.

Mostly forgettable. I could see the origins of some really great work with the Gorillaz later. Nothing I really disliked, but nothing exciting after Song 2.

I really enjoyed this. Probably partially nostalgic.

I’m an American whos been exposed to ten times more Gorillaz music than Blur music. I’ll happily admit that and all biases that come with it. But maaaaan it’s so clear that Gorillaz was a freeing, more fulfilling channel of creation for Damon Albarn. You can even hear the Gorillaz creativity wanting to claw out of its early stages, “Theme From Retro” shares some sonic qualities with “Glitter Freeze” from the Plastic Beach album. Albarn is said to have wanted to take a more serious angle to his songs with Blur, so naturally the first two songs on here are “Beetlebum”, then a song that goes WOOHOO! LOL. I liked the ending minute of “On Your Own” as a nice singalong anthem. Maybe that’s my pick from this project. Also, “Essex Dogs” has a super cool intro, but doesn’t really feel apart of this album. I thought Spotify auto-played some sort of Massive Attack song after the album just ended. Can’t say I got a ton to take with me on this musical list journey. This record *blurred* right by HAHAAAAAA. 2/5.

No strong feelings about this album. Only familiar with Song 2. I'd listen again though.

Very distinctive frontman :) Quite a mix of very catchy motives with some, almost, experminetal stuff. Love how some songs barely balance on the edge of decomposing into chaos.Not the best mix though. It's my second one and again it's close enough for my taste. Rather simplistic and popy

probably not going in the intended way of mostly knowing him from Gorillaz, so this feels restricted in a weird way, as I guess with Gorillaz, there's so much creative freedom. There is some really good songwriting and composition in here. I'm pretty sure the heavier songs like song 2 were making fun of the grunge stuff but they are also quite good despite that. He's obviously an amazing singer, and guitar parts are amazing. Some songs are really messy and feel a bit lazy. Favourite songs: beetlebum, song 2, M.O.R, theme from retro, death of a party, I'm just a killer for your love, strange news from another star, Essex dogs. Overall around 7/10

I’d never listened to anything other than Song 2 but I was impressed. Grungy 90s rock but a decent amount of range and variety between the tracks.

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”

For some reason I never listened to this album before today and looks like I was missing out. Really enjoyed it and a departure from Parklife.

Not bad, not exciting. The whole album was kind of, fittingly, a blur.

Solid album. I’d give it a 7/10 but I’ll round up to 4 stars. Sounds like lots of inspiration from the British Invasion. Thought I heard some bits from the Kinks, but it all comes pretty close sounding to Oasis too. Enjoyable rock album. The first two songs were definitely the strongest for me.

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

First Listen - Have heard of Blur before Yooooo its song 2 holy fffuuuuu

Sounded a bit generic but not in a bad way, definitely no The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

I've known the song Song 2 for most of my life due it it being a radio song but I had no idea it was by Blur and I had no idea it was called Song 2. Overall this feels like a pretty forgettable album but I thought the experimental nature of the album was interesting. There was quite a bit of variety in the album too with some songs sounding like other 90s artists.

Why more Blur?? Why more British indie?? This one is fine. I liked the acoustic songs. I think its mostly on the list because of Song 2, which frankly, isn't a good song. Its not a song that anyone chooses to listen to. Its just a song that shows up in commercials and instagram clips and sports games. And if I'm being honest, I didn't hate this. Its fine. I didn't mind listened to it. I could probably even grow to really enjoy this, but mostly its kind of meh to me.

I've always wanted to get more into Blur so happy this came up fairly early on A lot of people seem to complain that they just copied American alt rock and grunge on this but I like that they did that and managed to retain their own personality. It does sound a lot like those styles, but it stills sounds like Blur to me. I'm Just a Killer For Your Love is a good example There's a good amount of variety too. Beetlebum has an airy, carefree quality, while Country Sad Ballad Man has a bit of a lofi twang. Everyone says they're sick of Song 2 but I don't feel like I actually hear it that much. I love the thick chunky bass and the riff is cool, doesn't bother me that it was supposed to be a bit of a pisstake because it's a great tune The album is maybe slightly too long and could've been slightly trimmed, (I'd probably say M.O.R. and On Your Own, I wasn't too fond of those) but it's not too big an issue Highlights: Song 2, Country Sad Ballad Man, Beetlebum I'm Just a Killer For Your Love

Other than track 2 - this album was not my vibe! Song 2 seems to be an outlier to the entire album.

Song 2 natürlich super, aber der Rest hat mich nicht abgeholt. Fand das Album insgesamt eher meh

Ich liebe Damons Stimme, egal in welchem Projekt. Das Album war medium, paar schöne Britpop Sounds, paar nicht so geil. Song 2 ist 5/5.

It was alright

One good song, a lot of turgid indie

I have come to appreciate the lack of cynicism in 90s Brit-Pop. This album, inspired by American Indie Rock, adds a counter culture edge but maintains it's pop sincerity.

I haven't listened to this album in its entirety for about 20 years. Absolutely blown away by how well it holds up in 2025.

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.

I guess someone thinks this is spectacular? I couldn't even get through it.

Die meisten Lieder haben mich nicht wirklich gecatcht, auch nicht vom Vibe her. Sie sind also im Grunde genommen nur im Hintergrund gelaufen, ohne dass ich groß darauf geachtet habe. Die Live-Versionen der Lieder habe ich dann auch gar nicht fertig gehört.

77% Best: Song 2; M.O.R.; I’m Just a Killer for Your Love; Movin’ On Must-Hear? Not quite

En we hebben weer eens een FIFA soundtrack entry te pakken. FIFA 98 om specifiek te zijn. Toen mensen nog de échte Ronaldo bedoelden als ze het over Ronaldo hadden. Song 2 dus. Het blijft een vet nummer ook al heb je hem vrijwillig of onvrijwillig sowieso te vaak gehoord inmiddels. De rest van het album is een stukje minder legendarisch wat mij betreft. Een stukje lekkere indie rock naar de mens toe. Een soort Fontaines DC uit de jeugd van de millenials. Wat dat betreft maakt het algoritme het me de laatste dagen wat makkelijker, maar het had ook wat goed te maken na Missy Elephant. Het album is een tikkeltje aan de lange kant en met zo'n ellenlange galmtrack als 'Theme from Retro' doe je mij totaal geen plezier. Ook wordt het naar het einde toe af en wat te noisy en te kunstzinnig voor me, bijvoorbeeld bij 'Chinese Bombs'. Dit zorgt ervoor dat ik toch weer uitkom op een 3 voor Blur. Ik vind Blur wel leuk maar liever in iets kleinere porties.

I poked around, and I think the NAM version of Blur is Pavement. This album played long after my enjoyment for it ended. The only song I didn't hate on this album was Song 2, and I didn't love it.

I actively did not like this album. I kept looking at the song list and thinking "is it over yet?" The first 2 songs started off okay, and I thought "Maybe I was wrong about Blur". Nope. Same opinion. What would this be equivalent to in North America, since this is considered "Brit-pop"? Green Day? Third Eye Blind? Or is more along the lines of Nirvana, Soundgarden? Anyway, this is a terrible album.

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.

So much better than I thought it would be. Song 2 sucks

Quite dull in hindsight. As to why you would take such an over saturated influence as American indie for your primary source on an album is sort of baffling. Is it some insane hubris whereby you are thinking "oh, we can show the Americans how to do this better?" 2.5*

I think I may have reviewed another Blur album here at one point and this one is... better. It has that more solid 90's alt post-punk, electronic leaning vibe I like. Sometimes I think of music as really straightforward, to like or dislike based on various criteria, blah blah blah, but sometimes there is something a bit less feasible or clear and it is most apparent between the same bands albums where one is a yes and one is a no, same musicians, different world. This album just has "something" that the last one does not, and it is a nice groove. Because of my strong wish not to underrate any music in general and give it the fair to middling three stars automatically, I will slightly overrate this album simply to distinguish it from the rest.

Outside of Song 2, which remains as anthemic as any nonsense song ever written, Blur's self-titled, maybe more so than any other record in their discography, hints at Damon Albarn's growing need to expand beyond the bounds of what Blur was. The dingy sounds that would come to define large swaths of the first Gorillaz album start to leak out here, 4 years before its release and a couple of years before it was recorded. In that way *Blur* is fascinating as a document of both a band and its frontman in periods of transition.

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

An unappealing blur is the best way to describe Blur. Overly long with one song worth listening too.

Really prefer Damon Albarn in Gorillaz over this 90's Brit-rock. Didn't hate or love this one. Standout: Beetlebum

Fun album, but most songs are forgettable. Beetlebum, song 2 and death of a party are great

Muy bueno y buenos recuerdos

Albumi #196, 11.04.2025 Blurin viides albumi julkaistiin vuonna 1997. Mielestäni yksi parhaista Blurin albumeista, jolta ei oikeastaan löydy huonoa kappaletta.

A mid album for me. There are some bangers, and some I’d skip past. Definitely some catchy tunes though.

More enjoyable than expected. Quite eclectic too. 3.5

Having won the Britpop battle but effectively lost the war, the only thing for Blur to do now was retreat towards uncharted, hazier territory. Diving headfirst into murkier waters, they came out of it a different entity, one less fixated on Kinksian topics and brass accompaniments and more inclined to become buzzier, abstract, abrasive and taciturn. With a low heart rate, facing sped-up lights on the gurney, Blur roared back to life to reject what came before once again. But what would come afterwards only indicated that the clock was ticking and all good things must come to an end.

So much more than just Song 2. Really cool album.

Not my cup of tea! I thought it was gritty and interesting, but the second half of the album didn't interest me as much as the first. I can now say I know who sings the "woohoo!" song!

Looking For America, With Its Kooky Nights And Suicide 1001 Albums Generator 4 (04/08/2025) Before listening to this album, I knew precisely two things about Blur: that they were one of the big four of the Britpop movement and that they had that song that goes “WOO HOO!”. These two facts existed in conflict in my mind, as Song 2, though poppy and British, is decidedly not Britpop, but I honestly didn’t think much of it. Blur, the self-titled fifth album by Damon Albarn’s Blur solves the mystery. You see, Blur was the first of Britpop's big four to shed themselves of the genre, and Blur was the album that marked this shift in their career. It also happens to contain their biggest hit, Song 2 (the WOO HOO! song). Let's start here. When listening to this song with the context of Blur beginning to move away from Britpop, which never took off in America due to being "too British" (those Revolutionary War grudges go deep I guess), it is impossible to not feel as though this was a big fuck you to the American music industry, showing that they could have a hit in the states if they wanted to. The song is comically simple on its surface, and started out as a joke between Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon. But, and maybe this is due to the fact that I am an American, this song is amazing. It is perfectly catchy, fuzzy, and faux-amateurish, but with the polish of a band in the midst of their prime. This album is nearly as eclectic as an album squarely in the alt/indie rock sound can be. The first five songs are an amazing run, featuring the two biggest hits in Beetlebum and Song 2, the nearly alt-country Country Sad Ballad Man, the upbeat, punky M.O.R., and the psychedelic On Your Own, which features great acoustic/electric guitar layering. Honestly, if you were to diffuse this album down to its core sounds and influences, it would probably look something like this run of five. Other highlights include Death of a Party, which has an amazing organ sound and great lyrics about the rise of AIDS in the party scene, and the hardcore punk rock Chinese Bombs, an homage to the late great Bruce Lee. Movin' On is one of the best "garage rock" type songs here. The repeated highly fuzzed riff that plays throughout the verses between vocal phrases and the chorus with its wordless backing vocals are both so catchy. The eclecticism of this album works against it at points. You’re So Great, I'm Just a Killer For Your Love, and Strange News From Another Star are relatively soft, sleepy, psychedelic songs that don’t stick with me. Essex Dogs, the experimental closing track, feels more like a studio exercise than a full blown song. Some of those exercises work; the last 2 minutes of the song are quite striking, but the song does not feel cohesive. My first foray into the works of Damon Albarn outside of his work with (as?) Gorillaz is a mixed bag. Masterfully produced throughout, there’s more good than bad here, especially in the first half, but there’s a handful of songs that don’t do anything for me. Solid 3.5/5 Favs: Song 2 M.O.R. Death of a Party Least Fav: Strange News From Another Star

Growing up in the 90s, it was impossible to miss Song 2. I taped the album from a friend. I don't remember much, so this is mostly a new listening experience. Beetlebum Song 2 Country Sad Ballad Man M.O.R. On Your Own Theme from Retro You're so Great Death of a Party Chinese Bombs I'm Just a Killer for Your Love Look Inside America Strange News from Another Star Movin' On Essex Dogs

still such a hit and miss band for me

Other than the obvious killer, not my thing

A favorite from the 90’s