Show & Tell: Blur – Fool’s Day
Posted on 25. Apr, 2010 by Simon in Music, Show & Tell
Remember the mid-late nineties, when you were spending all day watching Pop-Up Video while stuffing your face with Arch Deluxes? It may seem crazy in retrospect, but during those halcyon days, there was at one point a legitimate debate over who the greatest modern (at the time) British band was: Oasis or Blur.
It seems almost quaint in hindsight; while Wonderwall and Don’t Look Back in Anger crushed full soccer stadiums with the power of simple melodies, countrymen Blur seemed to cast a relatively pall glow. Almost antithesis to the clean tone of the Gallagher brothers, Blur were defined by intriguing arrangements and the signature juxtaposition of Damon Albarn’s lithe vocals against Graham Coxon’s crunchy strat. Sure, Song 2 turned into a stadium anthem and Beetlebum got radio play, but the shadow of Cast No Shadow was all too real — the argument settled itself as Blur faded into the background of college radio.
Lead singer Damon Albarn split to do his cartoon side project and Blur disbanded. Like any good superhero hypothetical debate however, time changes all the variables. Blur have a new single out, and Oasis stuck around only to fizzle out like so many sparklers on a Chuckie Cheese pizza.
The best part is, Fool’s Day is a pretty exciting direction for Blur to go. It picks up rather succinctly from where the band left its final pre-reunion album, 2003′s Think Tank. Fool’s Day has no chorus, and in classic 90′s style features a kick-ass distortion laden guitar solo. Part plaid shirts, part skinny jeans, but distinctly all Blur. Rumours of a forthcoming album have my fingers crossed.
Bonus: does the official record label video of the new Blur single above harken the same black and white vinyl close-up that begins Oasis’s Wonderwall video? Coincidence. Maybe. Maybe not.
jessekg
Apr 26th, 2010
wow, that just started a solid morning of nostalgic procrastination on you tube and wikipedia – Oasis, Blur, then the Verve. Snapped out of it at Paul Weller, though now all I want to do is watch trainspotting again.